those Protestants who believed that the essence of the Gospel lay in the

doctrine of salvation by faith in the death of Christ, which atoned for

man's sins. Evangelicalism stressed the reality of the "inner life,"

insisted on the total depravity of humanity and on the importance of the

individual's personal relationship with God and Savior. They put particular

emphasis on faith, denying that either good works or the sacraments (which

they perceived as being merely symbolic) possessed any salvational

efficacy. Evangelicals, too, denied that ordination imparted any

supernatural gifts, and upheld the sole authority of the Bible in matters

of doctrine

High church was associated with the Tractarian movement began about 1833

and ended in 1845 with John Henry Newman's conversion to Roman Catholicism.

It was also called the Oxford Movement because Newman, a fellow of Oriel

College (part of Oxford University) and vicar of St. Mary's, the University

church, and others were based there when they began the Tracts for the

Times in 1833. There were exactly 90 Tracts, the majority written by

Newman, arguing in general that the truth of the doctrines of the Church of

England rested on the modern church's position as the direct descendant of

the church established by the Apostles. Pretty obviously, such an argument

was a conservative answer to the various contemporary challenges to the

authority of religion in general, Christianity in particular, and

specifically Anglicanism Catholicism, fueled by the same need for

reassurance as was the Evangelical revival. Since the 16th century the

Church of England had prided itself on being the via media, or middle road,

between Roman Catholicism and a more radical Protestantism.

The Church of England has, in its several ways, been the Church to uphold

the dignity of the individual. It gave the lead, for example, not only in

the abolition of slavery but it played a critical role in stopping the

slave trade itself. Today, of course, it is a Church at the forefront of

the practical fight to right injustices, restore the dignity of people

everywhere and put the world on a sustainable economic footing without

ruining the planet upon which God put us.

II. The Church of England today

We are now in what many call the post-modern era and the Church of England

is experiencing a resurgence of interest in matters of faith as well as in

the Church itself. Calls to the ministry are up, giving for the Church's

work is up and the Church is confident that, with and by God's grace, it

can make an increasingly valuable contribution to the life of the nation,

its people, and do so far beyond its borders as well.

Anglicans are numerous on every continent and constitute the principal

Christian community in many areas, notably in Africa.

The Book of Common Prayer exists in 170 languages. There are about 45

million Anglicans worldwide. There are three million Episcopalians in the

US.

At least one survey indicates that, among all denominations in this

country, we have the highest percentage of members who take time for daily

prayer.

There is little doubt that, among all groups of Christians, we Anglicans

are the most diverse and the most tolerant. Anglicans are still facing

persecution in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, Communist China,

the Soviet bloc nations, Central Africa, and Central America.

Throughout the world, over one thousand new Christian churches open their

doors each Sunday. As always, Christianity flourishes wherever it shows

people its highest ideals.

1) The essence of being an Anglican

The Scriptures and the Gospels, the Apostolic Church and the early Church

Fathers, are the foundation of Anglican faith and worship. The basic tenets

of being an Anglican are:

* They view the Old and New Testaments 'as containing all things necessary

for salvation' and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.

* They understand the Apostles' creed as the baptismal symbol, and the

Nicene creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

* The two sacraments ordained by Christ himself - Baptism and the Supper of

the Lord - are administered with unfailing use of Christ's words of

institution, and the elements are ordained by him.

* The historic episcopate is locally adapted in the methods of its

administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of

God into the unity of his Church.

Anglicans uphold the Catholic and Apostolic faith. Following the teachings

of Jesus Christ, the Churches are committed to the proclamation of the good

news of the Gospel to the whole creation. In practice this is based on the

revelation contained in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds, and is

interpreted in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and

experience.

By baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a person is made

one with Christ and received into the fellowship of the Church. This

sacrament of initiation is open to children as well as to adults.

Central to worship for Anglicans is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist,

also called the Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper or the Mass. In this

offering of prayer and praise, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus

Christ are recalled through the proclamation of the word and the

celebration of the sacrament. Other important rites, commonly called

sacraments, include confirmation, holy orders, reconciliation, marriage and

anointing of the sick.

Worship is at the very heart of Anglicanism. Its styles vary from simple to

elaborate, or even a combination. The great uniting text is The Book of

Common Prayer, in its various revisions throughout the Communion. The Book

of Common Prayer, alongside additional liturgies gives expression to the

comprehensiveness found within the Church whose principles reflect that of

the via media in relation to its own and other Christian Churches. The

Lambeth Conferences of the 1950s and 1960s called for more up-to-date

national liturgies and this is going on today. No matter how distinctive

each is, they are all clearly of the lineage of The Book of Common Prayer.

Another distinguishing feature of the corporate nature of Anglicanism is

that it is an interdependent Church, where parishes, dioceses and provinces

help each other to achieve by mutual support in terms of financial

assistance and the sharing of other resources.

To be an Anglican is to be on a journey of faith to God supported by a

fellowship of co-believers who are dedicated to finding Him by prayer and

service.

2) Today’s Organisation of the Church of England

The Church of England is organised into two provinces; each led by an

archbishop (Canterbury for the Southern Province and York for the

Northern). These two provinces cover every inch of English soil, the Isle

of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly and even a small part of

Wales.

Each province is built from dioceses. There are 43 in England and the

Diocese in Europe has clergy and congregations in the rest of Europe,

Morocco, Turkey and the Asian countries of the former Soviet Union.

Each diocese (except Europe) is divided into parishes. The parish is the

heart of the Church of England. Each parish is overseen by a parish priest

(usually called a vicar or rector). From ancient times through to today,

they, and their bishop, are responsible for the 'cure of souls' in their

parish. That includes everyone. And this explains why parish priests are so

involved with the key issues and problems affecting the whole community.

Her Majesty the Queen is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and

she also has a unique and special relationship with the Church of Scotland,

which is a Free Church. In the Church of England she appoints archbishops,

bishops and deans of cathedrals on the advice of the Prime Minister. The

two archbishops and 24 senior bishops sit in the House of Lords, making a

major contribution to Parliament's work.

The Church of England is episcopally led (there are 108 bishops) and

synodically governed. The General Synod is elected from the laity and

clergy of each diocese and meets in London or York at least twice annually

to consider legislation for the good of the Church.

The Archbishops' Council was established in 1999 to co-ordinate, promote,

aid and further the mission of the Church of England. It is composed of 19

members and 7 directors whose task is to give a clear sense of direction to

the Church nationally and support the Church locally.

The Church of England issues its own newspaper: The Church Times, founded

in 1863. It has become the world's leading Anglican weekly newspaper. It

has always been independent of the Church of England hierarchy. It was a

family concern until 1989, when ownership passed to Hymns Ancient & Modern,

a Christian charitable trust. The Church Times was started to campaign for

Anglo-Catholic principles, which it did with vigour and rudeness. But in

the 1940s and '50s the paper began the move to broaden its outlook and

coverage. It now attempts to provide balanced and fair reporting of events

and opinions across the whole range of Anglican affairs. The rudeness we

now leave to our readers. For a longer history of the paper

III. Church of England becomes an International Church

Anglicans trace their Christian roots back to the early Church, and their

specifically Anglican identity to the post-Reformation expansion of the

Church of England and other Episcopal or Anglican Churches. Following the

discovery of the "New World", Anglicanism spread to the Americas, Asia,

Africa and Oceania (the central and south Pacific). Some 37 national and

regional Anglican Churches were established in various parts of the world,

which together became known as the Anglican Communion.

Historically, there were two main stages in the development and spread of

the Communion. Beginning with the seventeenth century, Anglicanism was

established alongside colonisation in the United States, Australia, Canada,

New Zealand and South Africa. The second state began in the eighteenth

century when missionaries worked to establish Anglican churches in Asia,

Africa and Latin America.

As a worldwide family of churches, the Anglican Communion has more than 70

million adherents in 38 Provinces spreading across 161 countries. Located

on every continent, Anglicans speak many languages and come from different

races and cultures. Although the churches are autonomous, they are also

uniquely unified through their history, their theology, their worship and

their relationship to the ancient See of Canterbury.

The Anglican Communion has no constitution, governing body, central

authority or common liturgy. It is merely a loose association of autonomous

Churches with similar origins. Since 1970 it has been disintegrating, as

some member churches have brazenly tampered with essential elements of the

Faith and con no longer claim to have the same Scriptures, Creeds,

Sacraments and Ministry as the rest of the Catholic church. Since 1987

those Churches have included the CHURCH OF ENGLAND herself.

Conclusions

There have been Christians in Britain since AD200 and probably earlier.

Through war, peace, famine and prosperity, the Church was critical in the

development of society, law, buildings and the quiet piety of the people.

English civil power and the Church developed in an increasingly uneasy

parallel. Two points of contention were the Church's wealth and its ties

with Rome. These differences came to a head in the 1530s, when King Henry

VIII wished to obtain a divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon. And Act of

Supremacy was issued. This Act reaffirmed the King’s sovereignty over the

English Church and State and gave Henry power over all moral,

organizational, heretical, and ecclesiastical reform which until this point

had been left to the Church. The new church was christened Ecclesia

Anglicana.

But in 1550's, however, under Edward VI, the English Church became

Protestant in doctrine and ritual, and even then it remained traditional in

organization. Under the Roman Catholic Mary I a politico-religious reaction

resulted in the burning at the stake of some prominent Protestants and the

exile of many others, which led in turn to a popular association of

Catholicism with persecution and Spanish domination. When Elizabeth I

succeeded to the throne in 1558, however, she restored a moderate

Protestantism, codifying the Anglican faith in the Act of Uniformity, the

Act of Supremacy, and the Thirty-Nine Articles.

Under reign of Charles II. Puritan laws and censorship are repealed; the

theaters re-open. The conflict with Puritanism leaves distrust for

religious individualism and emotionalism ("enthusiasm") among Anglicans.

This will continue through the "Great Awakening". During "Great Awakening"

Christian revival took place in England and America.

The trend during Victorian Era rediscovered of liturgy and church history

and spreading Christianity. In the mid-nineteenth century, then, the Church

of England was disorganized. Though its adherents were largely

conservative, a considerable portion of its leadership was, ideologically

speaking, perilously close to Catholicism, and the religious census of 1851

showed that it was reaching only about fourteen percent of the population

of England.

When the British Empire expanded in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, so

too did the Church. And today the Anglican Communion has more than 70

million adherents in 38 Provinces spreading across 161 countries. Te

Churches are committed to the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel

to the whole creation. In practice this is based on the revelation

contained in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds, and is interpreted in

light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and experience. The

Anglican Church is open for people who are united in their creed and their

love of Christ Jesus, the Son of God and what He means for them and for the

world around them.

Bibliography

1. The Anglican Catholic Church, second edition, 1998, published by The

Anglican Catholic Church

2. Dickens, A.G. The English Reformation. Second Ed. University Park, PA:

The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1989

3. Rupp, Gordon. Religion in England 1688-1791. Oxford: Clarendon Press,

1986

4. Morgan, Kenneth O., ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. New

York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

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