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Church of England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Church of England
The Church of England logo since 1996.
Classification Anglican (1534- ), Western Christianity (597-1534)
Orientation Mainline
Polity Episcopal
Associations Anglican Communion, Porvoo Communion
Geographical Area England, Isle of Man, Channel Islands
Separations Congregationalism, Methodist Episcopal Church, other Methodist denominations, some Baptist and other English Protestant denominations
Members 26 million[1]
Ministers 20,259[2]
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[3] in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and provincial churches.
The Church of England considers itself to be both Catholic and Reformed: [4]
- It is 'Catholic' in that it views itself as a part of the universal church of Christ in unbroken continuity with the early apostolic and later mediæval church. This is expressed in its strong emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers, in particular as formalised in the Apostolic, Nicene and Athanasian creeds. [5]
- It is also 'Reformed' to the the extent that it has been influenced by some of the doctrinal principles of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The more Reformed character finds expression in the Thirty-Nine Articles of religion, established as part of the settlement of religion under Queen Elizabeth I. The customs and liturgy of the Church of England, as expressed in the Book of Common Prayer, are based on older Catholic tradition but have been moderately influenced by Reformation liturgical and doctrinal principles.[6]
History
According to tradition, Christianity arrived in Britain in the first or second century (probably via the tin trade route through Ireland and Iberia), and existed independently of the Church of Rome, as did many other Christian communities of that era.
The earliest unquestioned historical evidence of an organized Christian church in England is found in the writings of such early Christian fathers as Tertullian and Origen in the first years of the 3rd century, although the first Christian communities probably were established some decades earlier. Three English bishops, including Restitutus, are known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, and a number of references to the church in Roman Britain are found in the writings of 4th-century Christian fathers.
Britain was the home of Pelagius, who nearly defeated Augustine of Hippo's doctrine of original sin.
The Church of England traces its formal corporate history from the 597 Augustinian mission, stresses its continuity and identity with the primitive universal Western church, and notes the consolidation of its particular independent and national character in the post-Reformation events of Tudor England.
The Pope sent Saint Augustine from Rome to evangelise the Angles in 597. With the help of Christians already residing in Kent he established his church in Canterbury, the former capital of Kent (it is now Maidstone), and became the first in the series of Archbishops of Canterbury. A later archbishop, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus, also contributed to the organisation of English Christianity.
Simultaneously the Celtic church of St Columba continued to evangelise Scotland. The Celtic church of North Britain submitted in some sense to the 'authority' of Rome at the Synod of Whitby in 664. Over the next few centuries the Roman system introduced by Augustine gradually absorbed the pre-existing Celtic Christian churches.
The English church was under papal authority for nearly a thousand years, before separating from Rome in 1534 during the reign of King Henry VIII. A theological separation had been foreshadowed by various movements within the English church such as the Lollards, but the English Reformation gained political support when Henry VIII wanted an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Under pressure from Catherine's nephew, the Emperor Charles V, Pope Clement VII refused the annulment. Eventually, Henry, although theologically a doctrinal Catholic, took the position of Supreme Head of the Church of England to ensure the annulment of his marriage. He was excommunicated by Pope Paul III[7].
Henry maintained a strong preference for the traditional Catholic practices and, during his reign, Protestant reformers were unable to make many changes to the practices of the Church of England. Indeed, this part of Henry's reign saw the trial for heresy of Protestants as well as Roman Catholics.
Under his son, Edward VI, more Protestant-influenced forms of worship were adopted. Under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, a more radical reformation proceeded. A new pattern of worship was set out in the Book of common prayer. This was based on the older liturgy but influenced by Protestant principles. The confession of the new reformed church was set out in the Forty-two Articles (later revised to thirty-nine). The reformation however was cut short by the death of the king. Queen Mary I, who succeeded him, sought to return England again to the authority of the Pope and undo the reforms. Many leaders and common people were burnt for their refusal to recant of their reformed faith. These are known as the Marian martyrs and the persecution has led to her nickname of "Bloody Mary".
Mary also died young and so it was left to the new regime of her half-sister Elizabeth to resolve the direction of the church. The settlement under Elizabeth I (from 1558), known as the Elizabethan settlement, created what we know today as the Church of England. It produced a church which was moderately Reformed in doctrine, as expressed in the Thirty-nine Articles, which some characterise as moderate Calvinism.[citation needed] It also emphasised the continuity with the Catholic and Apostolic tradition of the Church Fathers and a liturgical style similar to that prior to its reformation. It was also an established church ( constituationally established by the state with the head of state as its supreme governor). The exact nature of the relationship between church and state would be a source of continued friction into the next century.
For the next century, through the reigns of James I, who ordered the creation of what became known as the King James Bible, and Charles I, and culminating in the English Civil War and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, there were significant swings back and forth between two factions: the Puritans (and other radicals) who sought more far-reaching Protestant reforms, and the more conservative churchmen who aimed to keep closer to traditional beliefs and Catholic practices. The failure of political and ecclesiastical authorities to submit to Puritan demands for more extensive reform was one of the causes of open warfare. By Continental standards, the level of violence over religion was not high, but the casualties included a king, Charles I, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Under the Commonwealth and then the Protectorate of England from 1649 to 1660, Anglicanism was disestablished and outlawed, and in its place, Presbyterian ecclesiology was introduced in place of the episcopate. In addition, the Articles were replaced with the Westminster Confession, and the Book of Common Prayer was replaced by the Directory of Public Worship. Despite this, about one quarter of English clergy refused to conform to this form of State Presbyterianism.
With the Restoration of Charles II, Anglicanism too was restored in a form not far removed from the Elizabethan version. One difference was that the ideal of encompassing all the people of England in one religious organisation, taken for granted by the Tudors, had to be abandoned. The religious landscape of England assumed its present form, with the Anglican established church occupying the middle ground, and Roman Catholics and those Puritans who dissented from the Anglican establishment, too strong to be suppressed altogether, having to continue their existence outside the National Church rather than controlling it.
Continuing official suspicion and legal restrictions continued well into the nineteenth century.
Doctrine and practice
See also: Anglicanism and Anglican doctrine
Church of England doctrine can be summarised in its canon law as follows:
Canon A 5 Of the doctrine of the Church of England: "The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal."[1]