History of the Church of England

The Church of England traces its history back to the year 597, when Pope Gregory I sent a group of missionaries under Augustine of Canterbury to England. Augustine of Canterbury became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

## Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, the Church in England was fully part of the Roman Catholic Church, under the authority of the Pope in Rome. Over time, the English church gained many legal rights, land, and wealth.

The early English Church was shaped by a mix of traditions. One stream came from Roman Christianity (via Augustine of Canterbury), another from the old Romano-British church, and a third from Celtic Christianity (linked with figures such as St Aidan and Cuthbert).

A key moment was the Synod of Whitby in 664, where the English Church adopted Roman practices, which brought it more closely in line with Western Christianity.

Through this period, the Church of England had two archbishops (Canterbury and York), many dioceses led by bishops, and monasteries played a major role.

## Reformation (1509–1603)

In the 16th century, Henry VIII (reigned 1509–1547) broke with Rome. When the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII used the English Parliament to pass laws that made him Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Henry VIII also dissolved the monasteries, seizing their land and wealth.

After Henry VIII died, his son Edward VI introduced more Protestant reforms. But when Mary I (a Catholic) became queen in 1553, she reconnected the English Church with Rome for a time. After Mary I, Elizabeth I became queen in 1558 and re-established a separate Church of England.

Under Elizabeth I, the Elizabethan Religious Settlement (1559–1563) set out the doctrine and practices of the Church. Important standards for faith and worship were the Book of Common Prayer (first version 1549) and the Thirty-nine Articles (1571).

## After the Reformation

Over time, the Church of England came to see itself as a via media (“middle way”) between Catholicism and Protestantism, and between different Protestant traditions (for example, Calvinism and Lutheranism).

In the 17th century, the rise of Puritanism contributed to the English Civil War (1642–1651). During the Commonwealth period (1649–1660), the monarchy and the episcopal structure were abolished, and the Book of Common Prayer was banned.

When the monarchy was restored in 1660, the Church of England was also restored. Clergy who would not accept the restored settlement were forced to leave in 1662.

A turning point was the Toleration Act of 1689, which allowed non-Anglican Protestant groups (who accepted the Trinity) to exist legally. The constitutional position established then (with the Church of England as the established church) has largely remained.

## Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic movements (18th–19th centuries)

In the 18th century, the Evangelical revival brought a new energy to the English Church. Clergy and laypeople like John Wesley, Charles Simeon, and John Newton emphasized its Protestant heritage.

In the 19th century, the Oxford Movement (also called the Tractarian movement) led by John Henry Newman, John Keble, and E. B. Pusey sought to recover more of the Roman Catholic Church tradition in Anglicanism, especially in liturgy and theology.

The growing ritualism sparked tensions; in 1874, Parliament passed the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 to restrict some of the High Church (“Anglo-Catholic”) practices.

## Expansion and Modern Period

As the British Empire grew, the Church of England became a “mother church” to many Anglican churches around the world. These churches now form the Anglican Communion.

In the 20th century, the Church engaged more in the Ecumenical movement, seeking unity with other Christian denominations.

Legally, a major change came in 1914 with the Welsh Church Act, which disestablished the Church of England in Wales (creating a separate Church in Wales).

## Theology and identity

Over its history, the Church of England has balanced different traditions: High Church / Anglo-Catholic, Low Church / Evangelical, Arminian, Calvinism, and central church.

Scholars argue that a distinct “Anglican orthodoxy” developed, combining liturgical and doctrinal elements in a way that drew from both Protestant and Catholic traditions.

## Legal and constitutional position

The English monarch remains the Supreme Governor of the Church of England — a role established in the Acts of Supremacy in the 16th century. The Church is organized into dioceses, each led by a bishop, with local parishes and a national governing body called the General Synod.

## Other websites

- Project Canterbury, Documenting Anglican History Online
- A Covenant between the Methodist Church in Britain and the Church of England was signed on 1 November 2003