Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is a global Christian fellowship comprising the Church of England and numerous autonomous national and regional churches in full communion with one another. Although these churches share historical roots and a broadly common theological heritage, each is self-governing and maintains its own structures, liturgical practices and ecclesiastical legislation. The archbishop of Canterbury serves symbolically as a focus of unity and is recognised as primus inter pares—first among equals—without jurisdiction outside England. With an estimated 85 to 110 million adherents, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian body in the world, following the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Foundations and Identity

Anglican identity is shaped by its continuity with the historic Church in England, known in Latin as ecclesia anglicana. Anglican churches share the conviction that they belong to the “Four Marks of the Church”, professing unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. Their worship and doctrine are rooted in foundational texts such as the Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-nine Articles of 1571 and the Books of Homilies. These sources articulate a theological outlook that accommodates evangelical, central and Anglo-Catholic traditions.
Doctrinally and historically, Anglicanism has been interpreted in several ways: as a Reformed expression shaped by the work of Thomas Cranmer; as a via media between Lutheran and Calvinist Protestantism; and, for others, as a form of Christianity that is simultaneously Catholic and Reformed. Because of its ties to England and the former British Empire, Anglicanism remains especially prominent in regions of the Anglosphere, although it has a substantial presence in Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Ecclesiastically, each member church of the communion is fully autonomous, often led by a primate or presiding bishop and organised according to episcopal polity. Full participation in the sacramental life of one member church is open to all communicant members of every other, reinforcing the sense of shared identity across diverse cultures and contexts.

Historical Development

The origins of the Anglican Communion lie in the English Reformation. Under Henry VIII, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, briefly reunited under Mary I and separated again under Elizabeth I in 1570, following her excommunication. Despite these political and religious upheavals, the English Church saw itself not as newly constituted but as a reformed continuation of the ancient Christian community in England.
The spread of Anglicanism beyond the British Isles occurred largely through the expansion of the British Empire. Early missionary organisations—such as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1698), the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (1701) and the Church Missionary Society (1799)—played major roles in establishing Anglican communities abroad. By the mid-eighteenth century, the only autonomous Anglican churches were the Church of England, the Church of Ireland and the Scottish Episcopal Church. St Peter’s Church in St George’s, Bermuda, founded in 1612, is the oldest surviving Anglican church building outside the British Isles.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, new dioceses were founded across the Empire, initially under the oversight of the bishop of London. After the American Revolution, Anglican parishes in the United States organised themselves into the Episcopal Church, reflecting the shift from colonial oversight to local governance. Further dioceses were established across British North America, India, Australia, the West Indies and other territories, often accompanied by the appointment of colonial bishops.
The creation of the Colonial Bishoprics Council in 1841 accelerated the expansion of dioceses and the formation of provincial structures led by metropolitan bishops. By the mid-nineteenth century it had also become clear that overseas churches required their own legal authority, distinct from that of the Church of England. This led to the gradual emergence of independent national synods and, eventually, fully autonomous provinces.

Institutional Formation and the Lambeth Conference

The Anglican Communion took formal shape in 1867 with the convening of the first Lambeth Conference in London, chaired by archbishop Charles Longley. These gatherings, held roughly every ten years, serve as a forum for consultation rather than legislation. Their significance lies in demonstrating unity through episcopal collegiality without imposing uniformity of doctrine or discipline. They have nevertheless exercised considerable moral influence across the communion.
The Lambeth Conference of 1998 proved especially significant. It addressed matters of human sexuality and highlighted the growing divergence between provinces in the global North and those in the global South. For the first time, bishops from developing regions decisively influenced the conference’s outcome, underscoring the demographic shift within global Christianity towards Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Contemporary Tensions and Schisms

The dispersed authority of the Anglican Communion, while allowing flexibility, has also contributed to doctrinal and social tensions. In recent decades debates concerning human sexuality, gender, liturgy and ecclesial authority have intensified. Some provinces in developed nations have adopted more liberal stances, while others have maintained more conservative positions.
These disagreements have led to several de facto schisms, including the formation of the Anglican Church in North America. Some churches remain in full communion with only selected provinces while still claiming membership in the wider communion. In February 2023, following the decision of the Church of England to permit blessings for same-sex partnerships, ten provinces and associated Anglican realignment bodies announced that they no longer recognised the archbishop of Canterbury as primus inter pares.

Differences and Continuing Debates

The Anglican Communion’s multinational character and the absence of a central governing authority have encouraged diversity but have also intensified disputes. Liturgical reforms, approaches to biblical interpretation, the ordination of women, and the church’s stance on social and ethical matters have all been sources of contention. As Anglicanism spread beyond the cultural influence of Britain, these issues became more complex, reflecting local cultures, political contexts and theological priorities.