Anglicanism
is a
denomination
within
Christianity
. It is made up of the
Church of England
and the
Anglican Communion
(a group of Anglican churches from many other countries). The term Anglicanism includes those who have accepted the
English Reformation
as embodied in the Church of England or in the offshoot Churches in other countries that have followed closely to its
doctrines
and its organisation.
[1]
[2]
In the English Reformation, the English Church kept the early Catholic ministry of
bishops
,
priests
,
deacons
, and most of the doctrine and liturgy. The event that led to the Anglican Church was the outright rejection of the
Pope
. This meant they also rejected the Catholic Church as an organisation.
It is sometimes seen as being the middle way between
Roman Catholicism
and
Protestantism
. That is why it is not always thought of as Protestantism.
The term
Anglican
comes from the phrase
ecclesia anglicana
. This is a
Medieval Latin
phrase dating to at least 1246. It means 'the
English
Church'.
[2]
The noun
Anglican
is used to describe the people, institutions, churches, traditions and ideas developed by the
state established
Church of England
and the
Anglican Communion
, a theologically broad and often divergent affiliation of thirty-eight provinces that are in communion with the
Archbishop of Canterbury
.
Anglicans can have many different beliefs. For example, there are a range of beliefs about Holy Communion. Some Anglicans believe that the bread and wine becomes the actual Body and Blood of Christ. Other Anglicans think that Holy Communion is about remembering the life of
Jesus Christ
and his death on the
Cross
. The first ('High Church') is in the minority. It is similar to the belief of
Roman Catholicism
and
Orthodoxy
. The second (the majority 'Low Church') is like the belief of most
Protestants
. It is fundamentally a Protestant church because the Bible is the source of authority, not the Pope.
The name Anglican for this Church comes from the Latin word for English because the Church started in England. In the British Isles, Anglicanism has been the official or State religion in all parts at one time or another. Anglican Church leaders, and the
State
, worked together in what is called the alliance of
Throne
and
Altar
or
Church
and
State
. Together, they tried to make the Anglican denomination as broad and welcoming as possible to a wide range of Christian believers.
They did this to try to get as many citizens as they could to worship in the official church.
When
Henry VIII
wanted to
divorce
from
Catherine of Aragon
, the
Pope
refused to divorce him. As a result, King Henry split from the Roman Catholic Church and started the
Church of England
. The
English Parliament
, through the
Act of Supremacy
, declared King Henry VIII to be the "Supreme Head of the Church of England" in order to fulfill the "English desire to be independent from continental Europe religiously and politically." This act said that the
king
, not the
pope
was the head of the Church of England. With this act, Henry VIII was not only free to divorce his wife and remarry, he also made England free from the
interference
of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
Although now separate from Rome, the English Church, at this point in history, continued to maintain the Roman Catholic
theology
on many things, such as the
sacraments
.
[3]
Over time the Church of England was reformed even more, in what is known as the
English Reformation
, which it gained a number of characteristics which has finally formed the modern day Anglican Communion.
[4]
In the British Isles, and early British colonies, this was done to try to defeat both the followers of the
Roman Catholic
Church and all the kinds of Protestants too by including their best ideas, traditions, and practices in the Anglican Church. Now, the only place in the
United Kingdom
where Anglicanism is still the official religion is
England
, where the monarch,
King Charles III
is the
Supreme Governor on Earth
of the
Church of England
. The effective government of the Church is by the
Archbishop of Canterbury
, and the legal Church Parliament known as the
General Synod
.
In the rest of the world, Anglicanism was spread by overseas colonisation, settlement, and missionary work. It functions there as an ordinary denomination of Christianity without special status. Anglicans around the world join together in a group of national churches in countries where there are Anglican Churches to make the world-wide
Anglican Communion
. There are more than 80 million Anglicans in the world today. Most live in Africa and Asia and are not of British ethnic heritage anymore.
The
Anglican Communion
is struggling today with questions about the role of women and gay people in the Church. As the
Anglican Communion
deals with these serious issues, some have split into liberal and conservative groups. Already, there are Anglicans who have broken from the main Churches to form their own separate groups of believers. Some use the term Anglican combined with the word
Catholic
,
Christian
,
Reformed
, or
Episcopal
.
At the same time, leaders from the
Anglican Communion
hold talks with the
Roman Catholic
and
Orthodox
Churches to try to work toward Christian unity. At times, there has been some progress. Also, the Anglican and
Lutheran
Churches have agreed to a high level of shared beliefs, leadership, and practices called
intercommunion
.
- History
- Movements and denominations
- Prominent Anglican Thinkers
- ↑
Amercian Heritage Dictionary under
Anglicanism
- ↑
2.0
2.1
Catholic Encyclopedia under
Anglicanism
- ↑
Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions Thomas Arthur Russell
.
Universal
. 2010.
ISBN
978-1599428772
.
- ↑
Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions Thomas Arthur Russell
.
Universal
. 2010.
ISBN
978-1599428772
.
Henry VIII's son, Edward VI (1547-1553 CE), led the church along more Protestant lines in liturgy and doctrine as evidenced by the Prayer Books of 1549 and 1552 CE.