Anglicans

This entry defines both Anglican and Anglicanism and continues with a brief account of the latter as a distinctive theology within Christianity. It then describes the nature and development of the Church of England, before turning to the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The word Anglican originates in the expression ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase meaning “the English Church.” Anglicans are adherents of Anglicanism (a much later term), which refers to a distinctive tradition within the Christian church. The mother church of Anglicanism is the Church of England; worldwide, Anglicans are those in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Anglicanism, as expressed in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, is both “catholic” and “reformed”—meaning that it combines continuity with the Catholic tradition (the creeds and a distinctive ecclesiological structure and aspects of liturgical practice) with Protestant understandings of theology and ministry. From the 18th century onward, three distinctive currents can be discerned both within the Church of England and elsewhere. These are (1) the evangelical tradition, which emphasizes the authority of Scripture and justification by faith and personal conversion; (2) the Catholic tradition, which stresses continuity with the medieval (Catholic) [Page 36]church and thus the apostolic succession; and (3) the liberal tradition, which underlines the importance of reason in theological exploration. These are currents that shift and adapt over time, combining in many different ways within both individuals and communities. More recently, a fourth influence has become important. The charismatic movement emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit—its roots lie in evangelicalism, but it has undoubtedly influenced people and groups from different traditions (Anglican and other).

The beginnings of the English Church go back to the time of the Roman Empire, when elements of Christianity took root in the Roman province of Britain. A second step occurred at the end of the sixth century, when Saint Augustine—a Benedictine monk—was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to Britain with the aim of converting King Æthelberht to Christianity. The mission was successful: In 597, Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury (Æthelberht's principal town) and established the See of Canterbury. For these reasons, Augustine is considered the “Apostle to the English” and the founder of the English Church. It is important to note, however, that these efforts combined both with the remnants of the old Roman and British church traditions and with a third component—a distinctive Celtic tradition, which came from the extremities of Britain and was associated with saints such as Aidan and Cuthbert. A second archbishopric was established in York in a church that, until the Reformation, was firmly part of the Western tradition and accepted the authority of the pope.

The changes that took place at the time of the Reformation are necessarily complex in the sense that the religious or theological developments that occurred at this time are inseparable from the political upheavals that were also taking place. All over Europe, both national and local leaders were looking for ways to assert their independence, taking advantage of the latest theological currents in order to reject supranational authority (whether secular or religious) and to legitimate new alignments. The notion of cuius regio, eius religio (meaning “whose realm, his religion”) became paramount as the old order, in the form of a unified Christendom, began to fall apart.

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