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The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglican tradition, with foundational doctrines being contained in the Thirty-nine Articles and The Books of Homilies.[2] The Church traces its history to the Christian hierarchy recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the 3rd century and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. Its members are called Anglicans.
In 1534, the Church of England renounced the authority of the Papacy under the direction of Henry VIII, beginning the English Reformation. The guiding theologian that shaped Anglican doctrine was the Reformer Thomas Cranmer, who developed the Church of England's liturgical text, the Book of Common Prayer.[2] Papal authority was briefly restored under Mary I, before her successor Elizabeth I renewed the breach. The Elizabethan Settlement (implemented 1559–1563) concluded the English Reformation, charting a course for the English church to describe itself as a via media between two branches of Protestantism—Lutheranism and Calvinism—and later, a denomination that is both Reformed and Catholic.[3]
In the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic and Protestant martyrs. This continued into the later phases, which saw the Penal Laws punish Catholics and nonconforming Protestants. Various factions continued to challenge the leadership and doctrine of the church into the 17th century, which under Charles I veered towards a more Catholic interpretation of the Elizabethan Settlement, especially under Archbishop Laud. Following the victory of the Roundheads in the English Civil War, the Puritan faction dominated and the Book of Common Prayer and episcopacy were abolished. These would be restored under the Stuart Restoration in 1660.
Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has used the English language in the liturgy. As a broad church, the Church of England contains several doctrinal strands: the main traditions are known as Anglo-Catholic, high church, central church, and low church, the last producing a growing evangelical wing that includes Reformed Anglicanism, with a smaller number of Arminian Anglicans.[4] Tensions between theological conservatives and liberals find expression in debates over the ordination of women and same-sex marriage. The British monarch (currently Charles III) is the supreme governor and the archbishop of Canterbury (vacant since 7 January 2025, after the resignation of Justin Welby) is the most senior cleric. The governing structure of the Church is based on dioceses, each presided over by a bishop. Within each diocese are local parishes. The General Synod of the Church of England is the legislative body for the church and comprises bishops, other clergy and laity. Its measures must be approved by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
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- ^ Church of England at World Council of Churches
- ^ a b Samuel, Chimela Meehoma (28 April 2020). Treasures of the Anglican Witness: A Collection of Essays. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-5784-2.
In addition to his emphasis on Bible reading and the introduction to the Book of Common Prayer, other media through which Cranmer sought to catechize the English people were the introduction of the First Book of Homilies and the 39 Articles of Religion. Together with the Book of Common Prayer and the Forty-Two Articles (which were later reduced to thirty-nine), the Book of Homilies stands as one of the essential texts of the Edwardian Reformation, and they all helped to define the shape of Anglicanism then, and in the subsequent centuries. More so, the Articles of Religion, whose primary shape and content were given by Archbishop Cranmer and Bishop Ridley in 1553 (and whose final official form was ratified by Convocation, the Queen, and Parliament in 1571), provided a more precise interpretation of Christian doctrine to the English people. According to John H. Rodgers, they "constitute the formal statements of the accepted, common teaching put forth by the Church of England as a result of the Reformation."
- ^ Anglican and Episcopal History. Historical Society of the Episcopal Church. 2003. p. 15.
Others had made similar observations, Patrick McGrath commenting that the Church of England was not a middle way between Roman Catholic and Protestant, but "between different forms of Protestantism", and William Monter describing the Church of England as "a unique style of Protestantism, a via media between the Reformed and Lutheran traditions". MacCulloch has described Cranmer as seeking a middle way between Zurich and Wittenberg but elsewhere remarks that the Church of England was "nearer Zurich and Geneva than Wittenberg.
- ^ Hampton, Stephen. "Anti-Arminians: The Anglican Reformed Tradition from Charles II to George I". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
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