What Does It Mean to Be Anglican?

Anglican churches are those that trace their spiritual heritage to the Church of England. Our beliefs and worship are grounded in the authority of Holy Scripture and shaped by the richness of the Book of Common Prayer. These two sources provide both the theological foundation and the spiritual rhythms that continue to sustain Anglican worship around the world.

Anglicanism is not merely a historical or national identity; it is a living communion of believers who hold to the faith once delivered to the saints, expressed through the enduring witness of Scripture, the sacraments, and the creeds of the early church.

A Global Communion

Today, there are over 77 million Anglicans spread across 34 independent Provinces. Each of these Provinces functions as a national or regional church and is self-governing. Leadership is typically entrusted to an Archbishop or Primate, who shepherds the church at the provincial level.

Though each Province operates independently, there exists a sense of global fellowship. This fellowship is expressed most visibly through a voluntary communion of bishops and churches, historically gathered under the spiritual leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is sometimes referred to as primus inter pares—first among equals—serving as a symbol of unity, not a source of centralized authority.

The Rise of GAFCON

In more recent years, a new voluntary communion has emerged within the broader Anglican tradition. Known as GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference), this movement was formed by leaders committed to preserving and proclaiming the orthodox faith in the face of growing theological and moral confusion in parts of the Anglican world. GAFCON represents a renewed commitment to biblical authority, classical Anglican theology, and missionary zeal.

The Role of Bishops and Local Churches

Each Anglican Province is further divided into dioceses. A diocese is a geographic area of churches led by a bishop, who serves as a spiritual father and teacher. Within each diocese, priests care for the people of God at the parish level. These clergy serve under the authority of their bishop, ministering Word and Sacrament to their congregations.

This structure ensures that Anglican churches are not isolated or self-reliant, but rather part of a larger, interconnected body that seeks to remain faithful to Christ and His Gospel.

Anglicanism did not begin because Henry VIII wanted a divorce.

This is a common misconception, but it reduces a rich and ancient heritage to a single political event. The roots of the Church in England run much deeper than the 16th century. Anglicanism is not simply a product of the Reformation—it is the continuation of the Christian faith as it was planted, preached, and preserved in the British Isles from the earliest centuries of the Church.

The Church Was in England Before It Became the Church of England

Long before there was a Church of England, there were Christians in England. According to early Christian legends, Joseph of Arimathea traveled to Britain, and some tales even suggest that the young Jesus may have visited with him. While these stories remain unverified, they reflect a long-standing belief that the Christian faith reached the British Isles early in its history.

Historically, we know that Roman soldiers occupied Britain in the first century, and it is likely that some of them were Christians. The message of Christ began spreading throughout the Roman Empire after Pentecost around 33 AD, and Britain was not beyond the reach of that mission.

By 47 AD, there is evidence that Canterbury, which would later become the ecclesiastical heart of Anglicanism, already had a Christian presence. In 209 AD, the Church in Britain bore witness to martyrdom through the sacrifice of St. Alban, the first recorded British martyr.

By the early 4th century, British bishops were participating in the life of the wider Church. Three bishops from Britain attended the Council of Arles in 314 AD, a sign that the English Church was already recognized as part of the universal Christian body.

The Gospel continued to spread throughout the British Isles in the centuries that followed. St. Ninian (394 AD), St. Patrick (432 AD), and St. Columba (563 AD) were all missionaries and bishops sent to bring the light of the Gospel to Scotland and Ireland. These early saints helped form what is now known as the Celtic Church, a rich spiritual tradition known for its prayerful devotion and monastic discipline.

In 600 AD, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine to evangelize England more formally. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and established closer ties between the English Church and Rome. Yet even then, the Church in Britain already had deep indigenous roots.

Finally, in 664 AD, the Synod of Whitby marked an important moment of unity when the Celtic Church agreed to conform to the practices of the Roman Church, especially in calculating the date of Easter. This was not the beginning of Christianity in England—it was a moment of unification within the already ancient Church in the Isles.

England Breaks with Rome

The Reformation in England did not arise in isolation, nor was it merely the result of royal politics. It emerged within the wider context of church reform that was already stirring across Europe.

The Broader Reformation

In 1517, Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, sparking what would become the Protestant Reformation. His call for reform in doctrine and practice echoed far beyond Germany, raising questions about authority, Scripture, and the nature of the Church. These ideas quickly spread across Europe, including to England.

The English Reformation Begins

In 1534, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, declaring King Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England. While political motives were certainly at play, the act signaled a decisive break from the authority of the Pope in Rome. This move allowed for new reforms in doctrine, worship, and church governance to take shape.

By 1536, English Bibles were being placed in every parish church, making the Word of God accessible to the people in their own language. This was followed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s publication of the English Book of Common Prayer in 1549. Cranmer’s liturgy was more than a translation—it was a theological vision rooted in Scripture, patristic tradition, and the clarity of Reformation convictions.

The Turmoil of Mary’s Reign

Following the death of King Edward VI, Queen Mary ascended the throne in 1553 and returned England to Roman Catholicism. Her reign was marked by persecution of Protestant leaders, including the martyrdom of Archbishop Cranmer in 1556. His death was a defining moment for English Protestants, many of whom fled into exile but later returned with renewed resolve.

The Elizabethan Settlement

When Queen Elizabeth I took the throne in 1558, she sought to stabilize the Church in England. Her long reign secured the reforms begun under Edward VI while allowing room for a breadth of expression within a shared liturgical and doctrinal framework. This became known as the Elizabethan Settlement.

Under her leadership, the break with Rome was cemented—not merely politically, but spiritually and ecclesially. The 1559 edition of the Book of Common Prayer gave the English Church a common voice in worship, while the 1563 Articles of Religion defined its doctrinal identity. These documents established the Church of England as distinct from both the Roman Church and the radical wings of the Continental Reformation.

Anglicanism would emerge from this era not as a reactionary movement, but as a church seeking to maintain the catholic faith, reformed according to the Word of God and ordered by the wisdom of the early Church.