Why is the British monarch also called Defender of the Faith?

The British monarch traditionally bears the title “Defender of the Faith” which also appears on British coins as “F.D.”  As it’s been back within the news currently, now’s time to think about it in additional detail.

Defender of the Faith

Defender of the Faith is a title originally given by popes to numerous monarchs who rendered service to the religion. The first British monarch to be given the title was actually a king of Scotland. In 1507, throughout the reign of Henry VII, Pope Julius II had awarded James IV of Scotland the title “Protector and Defender of the Christian Faith”, for diplomatic and military support to the papacy. James IV was married to Margaret Tudor who was the daughter of Henry VII, and in 1509 her brother Prince Henry became King Henry VIII of England. Later James IV’s brother-in-law Henry VIII would also receive the title. 

Martin Luther

In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses of complaints against the Catholic Church to the parish church door at Wittenberg within the German state of Saxony. Luther’s ideas and sentiments weren’t completely latest. Similar views had been espoused by earlier evangelical movements just like the Lollards in England and the Hussites in Bohemia. However, the presence of the brand new technology of the printing press within the Holy Roman Empire (roughly what’s now called Germany) enabled Luther’s writing to be printed and disseminated to a big audience. This led to what’s often called the Reformation and the beginning of Protestantism. 

In October 1520, Martin Luther published “De captivitate Babylonica ecclesiae”, which he wrote in Latin. In English it’s often called “On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church”. In this Luther accused the Catholic Church and the Papacy of keeping the Church in captivity. He likened Rome to Babylon where the exiled Israelites were held in captivity within the Old Testament. In this book Luther argued there are only three true sacraments, which for him were baptism, penance and the eucharist. Luther felt that these were the one ones instituted by Jesus, and he dismissed the opposite 4 sacraments, which were confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and extreme unction (anointing the sick) as mere ceremonies. Hardly surprisingly, the Church authorities didn’t take kindly to it, and the book had not long been out before Pope Leo X issued a papal bull against Luther.

Henry VIII v Martin Luther

Meanwhile from 1518, Lutheran ideas gained an avid audience in England, and Luther’s books in Latin were read by the educated classes and discussed by students at Cambridge University. At this time, King Henry VIII was a staunch Catholic and observed the ceremonies and traditions of the Church, although we may note that a lot of his personal morals weren’t particularly holy.

In July 1521, Henry VIII, possibly with the assistance of Thomas More and Thomas Wolsey, wrote “Assertio Septem Sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum” in Latin, which was dedicated to Pope Leo X. It was printed in English as “An Assertion of the Seven Sacraments against Martin Luther”. It was a direct reply to Luther’s “De captivitate Babylonica ecclesiae” and defended the normal sacramental system. Ironically when considering later events, the king also maintained the sanctity of marriage and the supremacy of the Pope. 

In July 1522, Martin Luther replied with “Contra Henricum Regem Angliae”, translated into English as “Against Henry King of the English”. Luther openly criticised Henry’s motivations, accusing him of getting little real interest or knowledge in theology. In 1523, Thomas More then wrote “Responsio ad convitia Martini Lutheri” in reply which was his first theological work.

The Pope’s Response

The Pope read the king’s document and liked it. On October 11, 1521, Pope Leo X granted Henry VIII the title of “Fidei Defensor” (Defender of the Faith), and his wife Queen Catherine of Aragon used the title ”Fidei Defensatrix”, as wife of the titleholder. It was confirmed by Pope Clement VII in 1523.

The King’s Divorce

Meanwhile from 1525, Henry VIII sought a way out of his marriage to Catherine. Divorces were sometimes allowed to monarchs by a Pope. However the difficulty for Henry VIII was that Catherine had been his deceased elder brother Arthur’s widow, and he had married her with a dispensation from the Pope. Popes have a repute for not wanting to be seen to be fallible, and he was not inclined to revoke a dispensation awarded by a previous Pope. In addition, Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor who controlled Rome and the Pope after sacking it in 1527. Emperor Charles V thwarted the papal annulment taking it as a family insult.

Break with Rome

Unable to realize an official Church divorce, Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII engineered a spiritual Brexit by a series of laws which undermined papal authority until 1534, when the Act of Supremacy asserted the independence of the “Ecclesia Anglicana” (Church of England), and Henry VIII appointed himself and his successors because the supreme rulers of the English Church, and in 1536 he began the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Title Revoked

The king who had written against Luther, was now repudiating the Pope whose authority he had so robustly defended. Clement VII died in 1534, and he was succeeded by Pope Paul III. In January 1537, Pope Paul III granted the title “Fidei Defensor” to Henry VIII’s nephew, King James V of Scotland, hoping he would resist his uncle’s Reformation path. 

In 1538, Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry VIII and revoked the title of “Fidei Defensor” from him. It was all somewhat symbolic because Henry VIII not recognised the authority of the Pope. Henry VIII liked the title and kept using it regardless.

Title Bestowed by Parliament

In 1544, the English Parliament passed “An Act for the King’s Style”, granting Henry VIII and his heirs the hereditary title of “Fidei Defensor” in Latin, “Defender of the Faith” in English. The latest idea was that the monarchy was still called to safeguard the religion, but that faith was now practised in the shape of the Church of England. All subsequent monarchs have retained the title of ”Fidei Defensor” or “Defender of the Faith” as a part of the royal title. The British monarch can also be head of state of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and another nations. “Defender of the Faith” was faraway from royal title in Australia in 1973 and in Canada in 2023 but stays a part of the royal title in New Zealand.

British Coins

It was in 1714, throughout the reign of King George I, that the abbreviation “Fid. Def.” or “F.D.” first appeared repeatedly on British coins. It has appeared on all coins since, with one exception. On the obverse (back) of British coins, you will discover the pinnacle of the monarch and the name and letters around the edge. Most British coins still in circulation have “Elizabeth II D.G. REG. F.D.” on them.

Since 2022, newly minted coins now have “Charles III D.G. REX F.D.” on them. The “D.G.” stands for “DEI GRATIA” which suggests “By the Grace of God”. In Latin “Rex” means king, and “Regina” means Queen. The “F.D.” stands for “Fidei Defensor” which is Latin for “Defender of the Faith”. So, the “D.G. REX F.D.” means “By the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith”.

 The letters “F.D.” also appear on the coins of Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey, but not on the coins of other states like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where Charles III can also be king. The only time that “D.G. and F.D.” were left off, was in 1849 when the brand new florin (two shillings) coin, just read “VICTORIA REGINA 1849”. It caused a scandal and the coin gained the nickname of the “godless florin”, so in 1851 the coin was redesigned. These “godless florins” are actually wanted by coin collectors.

Summary

The title of Defender of the Faith was given to the person of Henry VIII for defending the Catholic faith against Lutheranism and was then unsurprisingly revoked after he created the Church of England. The title was then bestowed back upon Henry VIII by the English Parliament to recognise the monarch’s role as head of the Church of England, and it became hereditary. Today King Charles III retains the title of “Defender of the Faith” which appears on coins as “F.D.”. The faith in query is the Christian faith in its Protestant form. However, with the present king’s interest in other faiths, he has tended to use it more generally.