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The Church of England logo since 1998.
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and is the "mother" of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the oldest among its nearly 40 independent national churches.
The Church of England considers itself to stand both in a reformed tradition and in a catholic one (as in Greek: καθολικός, meaning "pertaining to the whole"):
- Reformed insofar as many of the principles of the early Protestants as well as the subsequent Protestant Reformation have influenced it, and insofar as it does not accept Papal authority.
- Catholic in that it views itself as the unbroken continuation of the early apostolic and later medieval universal church, rather than as a new formation. In its customs and liturgy it has retained more of that tradition than most other reformed churches.
History
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. This interpretation is disputed by the Roman Catholic Church which sees the creation of the Church of England as marking a break with English Christianity prior to the Reformation.
Christianity arrived in Britain in the first or second centuries (probably via the tin trade route through Ireland and Spain), and existed independently of the Church of Rome, as did many other Christian communities of that era. Records note British bishops, such as Restitutus in attendance at the Council of Arles in 314, and, even more significantly, Britain was the home of Pelagius, who nearly defeated Augustine of Hippo's doctrine of original sin. The Pope sent Saint Augustine from Rome in the 6th century to evangelize 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, amongst the earliest of whom the Greek Theodore of Tarsus also contributed to the organisation of English Christianity.
Simultaneously, the Celtic Church of St Columba continued to evangelize 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.
England adhered to the Roman Catholic church for nearly a thousand years, before the English church separated 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 his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. Under pressure from Catherine's nephew Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Pope Clement VII refused the annulment and eventually Henry, although theologically a Catholic, decided to become Supreme Head of the Church of England to ensure the annulment of his marriage.
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. Under his son, Edward VI, the church became theologically more radical, before rejoining the Roman church during the reign of Queen Mary I, in 1555. The settlement under Elizabeth I (from 1558) of a mildly Protestant, Catholic, apostolic, and established church (i.e. subject to and part of the state) led to great civil strife in the following century.
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Stained glass window in Rochester Cathedral, Kent.
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 an Anglican established church occupying the middle ground, and Roman Catholics and those Puritans who dissented from the establishment, too strong to be suppressed altogether, having to continue their existence outside the national church rather than controlling it. Restrictions and continuing official suspicion and legal restrictions continued well into the nineteenth century.
Membership
In addition to England proper, the jurisdiction of the Church of England extends to the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and a few parishes in Flintshire and in Radnorshire, Wales. In recent years, expatriate congregations on the continent of Europe have become the Diocese in Europe.Structure
The British monarch (at present, Elizabeth II), has the constitutional title of "Supreme Governor of the Church of England"; the Canons of the Church of England state, "We acknowledge that the Queen’s excellent Majesty, acting according to the laws of the realm, is the highest power under God in this kingdom, and has supreme authority over all persons in all causes, as well ecclesiastical as civil". The church is then structured as follows:- Primacy, e.g. Church Of England. This is the area under the jurisdiction of a Primate, e.g. the Archbishop of Canterbury. A primacy may consist of one or several provinces.
- Province, e.g. York and Canterbury (these are the only two in the Church of England). This is the area under the jurisdiction of an Archbishop, e.g. the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Decision making within the province is the responsibility of the General Synod (see also above). A province is sub-divided into many dioceses.
- Diocese, e.g. Durham, Guildford, St Albans, more. This is the area under the jurisdiction of a Diocesan Bishop, e.g. the Bishops of Durham, Guildford and St Albans, and will have a cathedral. There may be a small number of assistant bishops, known as Suffragan Bishops, within the diocese who assist the Diocesan Bishop in his work, e.g. in Guildford Diocese, the Bishop of Dorking. The Bishops will work with an elected body of lay and ordained representatives, known as the Diocesan Synod, to run the diocese. A diocese is sub-divided into a small number of archdeanconry.
- Archdeaconry, e.g. Dorking. This is the area under the jurisdiction of an Archdeacon. It will consist of a number of deaneries.
- Deanery, e.g. Lewisham, Runnymede. This is the area for which the Rural Dean is responsible. It will consist of a few parishes in a local area. The Rural Dean will be the incumbent of one of the constituent parishes. The parishes each elect lay (that is non-ordained) representatives to the Deanery Synod. Deanery Synod members each have a vote in the election of representatives to the Diocesan Synod.
- Parish, this is the most local level, often consisting of one church building and community, although nowadays many parishes are joining forces in a variety of ways for financial reasons. The parish will be looked after by either a Vicar, Rector, Priest-in-Charge or Team Vicar/Rector, who may also be known as the Incumbent. The running of the parish church is the joint responsibility of the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council (PCC), which consists of the parish clergy and elected representatives from the congregation.
Primate
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Dr Rowan Williams is the current Archbishop of Canterbury.
Diocesan Bishops
The process of appointing diocesan bishops is complex, and is handled by a body called the Crown Nominations Committee, which submits names to the Prime Minister (acting on behalf of the Crown) for consideration.Representative bodies
The Church of England has a legislative body, the General Synod. Measures of Synod have to be approved but cannot be amended by the UK Parliament before receiving the Royal Assent and becoming part of the law of England.Worship and liturgy
The Church of England embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest and bishop.The Book of Common Prayer
In addition to the Book of Common Prayer, the church has a number of other liturgies available to it. Alternative books, the 1980 Alternative Service Book and, subsequently, the 2000 Common Worship may be used. Both differ substantially from the Book of Common Prayer, though the latter includes in the Order Two form of the Holy Communion a very slight revision of the prayer book service altering only one or two words and allowing the insertion of the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) before Communion. Order One follows the pattern of modern liturgical scholarship.Doctrine and practice
- See also: and
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Canterbury Cathedral from the southwest. It houses the cathedra or throne of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and is the mother church of the Diocese of Canterbury (east Kent) and the Church of England, and the focus for the Anglican Communion.
In both beliefs and practices, or forms of churchmanship, the Church of England is mixed: in some of its congregations worship remains closer to Roman Catholicism (see high church) than most Protestant churches, but in others it is difficult to distinguish between the Anglican forms in use and the uses of other Evangelical bodies (see low church). Its constitution affirms many relatively conservative theological beliefs, its liturgical form of worship is traditional, and its organisation embodies a belief in the appropriateness of the historical episcopal hierarchy of archbishops, bishops, and dioceses.
In many people's eyes, the Church of England has as its primary distinguishing heritage its breadth and "open-mindedness". Today, beliefs and practices range from those of the Anglo-Catholics, who emphasise liturgy and sacraments, to the far more preaching-centred and less ritual based services of Evangelicals and the high-octane gatherings of the Charismatics. But this "broad church" faces various contentious doctrinal questions raised by the development of modern society, such as conflicts over the ordination of women as priests (accepted in 1992 and begun in 1994), and the status of non-celibate homosexual clergy (still unsettled today). In July 2005 the divisions were once again apparent, as the General Synod voted to "set in train" the process of allowing the consecration of women as bishops; in February 2006 the Synod voted overwhelmingly for "further exploration" of a scheme that would also allow parishes that did not want a woman bishop to opt for a man instead.[2]
The church also has its own system of canon law, and judicial branch, known as the Ecclesiastical courts, which likewise form a part of the UK court system. Such courts have powers especially in relation to the care of churches and churchyards and the discipline of the clergy.
Ecumenical relations
Like many other Anglican churches, the Church of England has entered into full communion with the Old Catholics. In the late 20th century it also became a founding member of the new Porvoo Communion. The Church of England stands in full communion with the other churches in the Anglican Communion. The Church of England is also a full member of the Conference of European Churches.Related churches
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Saint Peter's Church, in St. George's, Bermuda, is the oldest Church of England (now Anglican) church outside the British Isles. Consecrated in 1612, it was rebuilt more than once.
In Scotland, the Church of Scotland is recognised in law as the "national church" although it is not established in the same way as the Church of England. The Church of Scotland has a Presbyterian system of government. A smaller Anglican church also exists in Scotland, namely the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is in full communion with the Church of England. Its history is complicated, involving alternating periods of official promotion and persecution: for a time, because of its association with Jacobitism, it had to operate sub rosa.
When the Episcopal Church in the U.S. became independent of the Church of England after the American War of Independence, the leadership of the Church of England did not believe itself legally able to consecrate new bishops without requiring of them the standard oath of loyalty to the crown. Consequently it was the non-juring bishops of the non-established Scottish Episcopal Church who consecrated the first American bishop, until new legislation allowed the Church of England to relax its policy.
The Church in Wales, previously a part of the Church of England, was disestablished in 1920 and at the same time became an independent member of the Anglican Communion.
Financial situation
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Hereford is one of the church's forty-three cathedrals, many with histories stretching back centuries.
The Church of England, although an established church, does not receive any direct government support. Donations comprise its largest source of income, though it also relies heavily on the income from its various historic endowments. As of 2005, the Church of England had estimated total outgoings of around £900 million.
Historically, individual parishes both raised and spent the vast majority of the Church's funding, meaning that clergy pay depended on the wealth of the parish, and parish advowsons (the right to appoint clergy to particular parishes) could become extremely valuable gifts. Individual dioceses also held considerable assets: the Diocese of Durham possessed such vast wealth and temporal power that its Bishop became known as the 'Prince-Bishop'. Since the mid-19th century, however, the Church has made various moves to 'equalise' the situation, and clergy within each diocese now receive standard stipends paid from diocesan funds. Meanwhile, the Church moved the majority of its income-generating assets (which in the past included a great deal of land, but today mostly take the form of financial stocks and bonds) out of the hands of individual clergy and bishops to the care of a body called the Church Commissioners, which uses these funds to pay a range of non-parish expenses, including clergy pensions, and the expenses of cathedrals and bishops' houses. These funds amount to around £3.9 billion, and generate income of around £164 million each year (as of 2003), around a fifth of the Church's overall income.
The Church Commissioners give some of this money as 'grants' to local parishes; but the majority of the financial burden of church upkeep and the work of local parishes still rests with individual parish and diocese, which meet their requirements from donations. Direct donations to the church (not including legacies) come to around £460 million per year, while parish and diocese reserve funds generate another £100 million. Funds raised in individual parishes account for almost all of this money, and the majority of it remains in the parish which raises it, meaning that the resources available to parishes still vary enormously, according to the level of donations they can raise.
Most parishes give a portion of their money, however, to the diocese as a 'quota'. While this is not a compulsory payment, dioceses strongly encourage and rely on it being paid; it is usually only withheld by parishes either if they are unable to find the funds or as a specific act of protest. As well as paying central diocesan expenses such as the running of diocesan offices, these diocesan funds also provide clergy pay and housing expenses (which total around £260 million per year across all dioceses), meaning that clergy living conditions no longer depend on parish-specific fundraising.
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The old and new Coventry Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Coventry. The new cathedral was built next to the ruins of the old, which was destroyed in the Second World War.
In addition to consecrated buildings, the Church also controls numerous ancillary buildings attached to or associated with churches, including a good deal of clergy housing. As well as vicarages and rectories, this housing includes residences (called 'palaces') for each of the Church's 114 bishops. In some cases, this name seems entirely apt; buildings such as Archbishop of Canterbury's Lambeth Palace in London and Old Palace at Canterbury have truly palatial dimensions, while the Bishop of Durham's Auckland Castle has 50 rooms, a banqueting hall and 30 acres (120,000 m²) of parkland. However, many bishops have found the older palaces inappropriate for today's lifestyles, and some bishops' 'palaces' are ordinary four bedroomed houses. Many dioceses which have retained large palaces now employ part of the space as administrative offices, while the bishops and their families live in a small apartment within the palace; and in recent years some dioceses have managed to put their palaces' excess space and grandeur to profitable use as conference centres. All three of the more grand bishop's palaces mentioned above — Lambeth Palace, Canterbury Old Palace and Auckland Castle — serve as offices for church administration, conference venues, and only in a lesser degree the personal residence of a bishop. The size of the bishops' households has shrunk dramatically and their budgets for entertaining and staff form a tiny fraction of their pre-twentieth-century levels.
References
1. ^ The History of the Church of England. The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England. Retrieved on 2006-05-24.
2. ^ [1]
2. ^ [1]
See also
- List of Church of England dioceses
- British monarchy
- Church of England parish church
- Religion in the United Kingdom
- List of Church of England bishops
- Appointment of Church of England bishops
- Ritualism
External links
- Church of England website
- Find a Church in the Church of England ("A Church Near You")
- Historical resources on the Church of England
- Church of England history in the West Indies
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