Back Anglikaanse Gemeenskap Afrikaans الاتحاد الأنجليكي Arabic Comunión anglicana AST Англиканско съобщество Bulgarian Iliz anglikan Breton Comunió anglicana Catalan Anglikánský svaz církví Czech Y Cymundeb Anglicanaidd Welsh Den anglikanske kirke Danish Anglikanische Gemeinschaft German
 Anglican Communion | |
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| Type | Communion |
| Classification | Protestant[note 1] |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Scripture | Protestant Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Stephen Cottrell (acting) |
| Secretary General | Anthony Poggo |
| Region | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Founder | Charles Longley |
| Origin | 1867 Lambeth Conference, London, England |
| Separated from | Roman Catholic Church |
| Branched from | Church of England |
| Separations | Continuing Anglican movement (1977) Some participants in the Anglican realignment (since 2002; partial) |
| Members | 85 - 110 million (2024) |
| Official website | anglicancommunion.org |
| Logo |  |
| Anglican Communion |
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| Part of a series on Anglicanism |
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| Theology |
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The Anglican Communion is a Christian communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion.[1] The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as primus inter pares ("first among equals"), but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England. Most, but not all, member churches of the communion are the historic national or regional Anglican churches.[2][3][4][5] With approximately 85 - 110 million members,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] it is the third-largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.[6][13]
The Anglican Communion was officially and formally organised and recognised as such at the Lambeth Conference in 1867 in London under the leadership of Charles Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury. The churches of the Anglican Communion consider themselves to be part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, with worship being based on the Book of Common Prayer.[14] The traditional origins of Anglican doctrine are summarized in the Thirty-nine Articles (1571) and The Books of Homilies.[14]
As in the Church of England itself, the Anglican Communion includes the broad spectrum of beliefs and liturgical practises found in the Evangelical, Central and Anglo-Catholic traditions of Anglicanism; both the larger Reformed Anglican and the smaller Arminian Anglican theological perspectives have been represented.[15] Each national or regional church is fully independent, retaining its own legislative process and episcopal polity under the leadership of local primates. For many adherents, Anglicanism represents a distinct form of Reformed Protestantism that emerged under the influence of the Reformer Thomas Cranmer,[14] or for yet others, a via media between two branches of Protestantism—Lutheranism and Calvinism—and for others, a denomination that is both Catholic and Reformed.[16][17]
Most of its members live in the Anglosphere of former British territories. Full participation in the sacramental life of each church is available to all communicant members. Because of their historical link to England (ecclesia anglicana means "English church"), some of the member churches are known as "Anglican", such as the Anglican Church of Canada. Others, for example the Church of Ireland and the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, have official names that do not include "Anglican". Conversely, some churches that do use the name "Anglican" are not part of the communion. These have generally disaffiliated over disagreement with the direction of the communion.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "St Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church History". 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ "The Anglican Communion". The Church of England. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "The Anglican Communion". The Anglican Centre in Rome. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Chapman, Mark D. (2015). "Anglicanism, Japan, and the Perception of a Higher Civilization in the Early Twentieth Century". Anglican and Episcopal History. 84 (3): 298–320. ISSN 0896-8039. JSTOR 43685136.
- ^ "Member Churches". Anglican Communion.
- ^ a b "Pubblicati l'Annuario Pontificio 2021 e l'Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2019" (in Italian). L'Osservatore Romano. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ Office, Anglican Communion. "What do Anglicans Believe? New study guide published by the Anglican Communion". Anglican Communion Website. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (16 September 2015). "What is the Anglican communion and why is it under threat?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ "Anglican communion to restrict US Church over gay marriage". BBC News. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Morgan, Timothy C. (9 August 2022). "Anglican Division over Scripture and Sexuality Heads South". Christianity Today. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ "The Anglican Communion official website – "Provincial Registry"". Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- ^ Goodhew, David (22 February 2022). "Is Anglicanism Growing or Dying? New Data". The Living Church. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Gina A. Zurlo (2022). Global Christianity: A Guide to the World's Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. 5. ISBN 9780310113614. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c 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."
- ^ Hampton, Stephen. "Anti-Arminians: The Anglican Reformed Tradition from Charles II to George I". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Avis 1998, pp. 417–419.