Anglicanism
In 1534, the English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy. This law declared King Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England. The move ended centuries of papal authority over English ecclesiastical matters. Henry needed to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon after twenty-four years together. Pope Clement VII refused the request under pressure from Emperor Charles V. Henry acted domestically to resolve the issue without waiting for Rome. Legislative steps like the Submission of the Clergy in 1534 supported this break. The Statute of Provisors and Statute of Praemunire had already limited papal power since the mid-1300s. These laws reserved royal approval for church appointments and banned appeals to papal courts. Henry and his theologians cited these historical customs to justify royal supremacy. They argued that the crown traditionally governed the Church. The immediate catalyst was dynastic necessity rather than pure theological conviction. Yet the break laid the foundation for a distinct national church. Under Henry VIII, Catholic doctrines and liturgical celebrations continued despite the separation from Rome. No changes were allowed during his lifetime except for the break itself.
Queen Elizabeth I revived the Church of England in 1559. She established a uniform faith and practice through parliamentary legislation. This event is known as the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. The settlement stopped radical Protestant tendencies seen under King Edward VI. It combined elements of the 1552 prayer book with the conservative 1549 prayer book into the 1559 Book of Common Prayer. Protestantism entered a state of arrested development after this point. Neither laypeople nor clergy perceived themselves as Anglicans at the start of her reign. The term via media did not appear until 1627 to describe a church refusing definite identification as Catholic or Protestant. Historical studies before the late 1960s projected later spirituality onto the earlier period. Modern scholars now debate the extent of Calvinism among English elites and ordinary churchgoers from the 1560s to the 1620s. In 1662, King Charles II produced a revised Book of Common Prayer acceptable to high churchmen and some Puritans. This version remains authoritative today. A crisis of identity occurred in 1776 when American patriots declared independence. Most signatories were nominally Anglican. Their services included prayers for the British royal family which became problematic during war.
British colonial expansion began planting churches around the globe from the 17th century onwards. These churches used and then revised the Book of Common Prayer until they produced their own service books. By the end of the 19th century, over ninety colonial bishoprics had been created. They gradually coalesced into new self-governing churches on Canadian and American models. The case of John Colenso, Bishop of Natal, reinstated in 1865 by the Privy Council demonstrated that episcopal extension required distinct ecclesial authority. Bishops of Canada and South Africa instigated the first Lambeth Conference in 1867. Further conferences followed in 1878 and 1888 at ten-year intervals. Papers and declarations framed continued debate on identity and ecumenical discussion. In 2020, the global center shifted to sub-Saharan Africa with 63,556,000 adherents there. Europe held 24,400,000 while Oceania contained 4,565,000. Northern America had 2,689,000 and Asia held 1,230,000. Latin America accounted for 959,000. The term Anglicanism was coined in the late-19th century to describe this common religious tradition. It also applied to the Scottish Episcopal Church which shared this identity despite earlier origins within the Church of Scotland.
Richard Hooker published his eight-volume work Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity starting in 1593. This treatise dealt comprehensively with church-state relations and biblical interpretation. Hooker described authority as derived primarily from scripture informed by reason and tradition. Scripture serves as foundational authority while reason and tradition remain vitally important secondary authorities. The analogy of a three-legged stool is often incorrectly attributed to him but reflects his actual hierarchy. Thomas Cranmer authored the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer. Other influential divines include John Jewel, Matthew Parker, Lancelot Andrewes, and Jeremy Taylor. The Cambridge Platonist movement evolved into Latitudinarianism emphasizing reason as the barometer of discernment. The Evangelical Revival influenced figures like John Wesley and Charles Simeon re-emphasized justification through faith. Wesley and George Whitefield took messages to the United States influencing the First Great Awakening. Methodism eventually broke away structurally after the American Revolution. Frederick Denison Maurice played a pivotal role inaugurating Christian socialism transforming Hooker's emphasis on social justice. The Cambridge triumvirate included Joseph Lightfoot, F. J. A. Hort, and Brooke Foss Westcott shaping 19th-century biblical scholarship.
The original Book of Common Prayer appeared in 1549 revised in 1552 and again in 1662. It replaced various Latin rites with a single compact volume in English so all realms would have one use. Suppressed under Queen Mary I it was revived by Elizabeth I in 1559. This version became mandatory in England and Wales by the Act of Uniformity until the mid-20th century. Worship services range from simple low church formats to elaborate high church Anglo-Catholic ceremonies. High church services often resemble pre-Vatican II Tridentine rites with vestments incense and sanctus bells. Low church services focus on Biblical exposition sermons and intercessory prayers without candles or incense. Daily offices include Morning Prayer Evening Prayer called Evensong when sung chorally and Compline. These derive from ancient monastic offices of Matins Lauds Vespers and Compline. Choral foundations established by Elizabeth herself maintained daily singing in thirty-four cathedrals and royal chapels. The Three Choirs Festival began in 1719 combining Gloucester Hereford and Worcester choirs. Composers like Edward Elgar Ralph Vaughan Williams Gustav Holst Charles Villiers Stanford and Benjamin Britten contributed works to this tradition.
The spectrum of Anglican belief and practice remains too large for simple labels. Many locate themselves in broad-church traditions as an amalgam of evangelical and Catholic elements. Resistance to traditional Catholic ceremonial led to breakaway churches like the Free Church of England formed in 1844. The Reformed Episcopal Church emerged in North America in 1873. Charismatic worship has grown significantly in the early 21st century affecting both Anglo-Catholics and evangelicals. Liberal churches may use freely structured forms including patterns borrowed from Taizé Community or Iona Community. Eucharistic discipline varies with some provinces inviting all baptized Christians while others restrict communion to confirmed members. Fasting before communion is practiced by some but not all. Most priests require at least one other person present citing Matthew 18:20 though some Anglo-Catholic priests say private Masses. Fermented wine is a canonical requirement unlike Roman Catholicism where bread and wine are offered in both kinds. No international juridical authority exists over the forty-two autonomous provinces of the Anglican Communion. Each province has its own primate and governing structure taking national regional or geographical forms. Bishops must be consecrated according to apostolic succession which Anglicans consider a mark of catholicity.
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Common questions
When did King Henry VIII become the Supreme Head of the Church of England?
King Henry VIII became the Supreme Head of the Church of England in 1534 when the English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy. This law ended centuries of papal authority over English ecclesiastical matters and was driven by Henry's need to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
What is the origin date of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement for Anglicanism?
Queen Elizabeth I revived the Church of England through the Elizabethan Religious Settlement on the 2nd of May 1559. This event established a uniform faith and practice combining elements of the 1552 prayer book with the conservative 1549 prayer book into the 1559 Book of Common Prayer.
How many adherents does Anglicanism have in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2020?
As of 2020, there are 63,556,000 adherents of Anglicanism in sub-Saharan Africa where the global center shifted that year. Europe held 24,400,000 adherents while Oceania contained 4,565,000 and Northern America had 2,689,000 during this period.
Who wrote Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity starting in 1593?
Richard Hooker published his eight-volume work Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity starting in 1593 to deal comprehensively with church-state relations and biblical interpretation. He described authority as derived primarily from scripture informed by reason and tradition rather than papal decree.
When was the original Book of Common Prayer first introduced for use in England?
The original Book of Common Prayer appeared in 1549 revised in 1552 and again in 1662 to replace various Latin rites with a single compact volume in English. This version became mandatory in England and Wales by the Act of Uniformity until the mid-20th century after being suppressed under Queen Mary I.