What is the Anglican Communion?
The Anglican Communion is a worldwide network of 38 autonomous geographic areas called “provinces.” English colonists and missionaries spread Anglican Christianity to every corner of the world between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. The Communion is the third largest body of Christians, having more than seventy-million members. Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches are larger.
During the Reformation in the 16th Century, Henry VIII declared the Church of England independent of the Roman Catholic Church with himself as its head. It was the result of many factors, some political and some theological, but it has given rise to a distinct form of Christianity, known as Anglicanism. The Episcopal Church is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the churches around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England, and maintain a communion with it, hence the name Anglican. Other members of the Communion include the Anglican Church of Canada and the Anglican Church of Nigeria. In fact, most Anglicans now live in Africa. The member churches of the Anglican Communion are joined together by choice in love, and have no direct authority over one another. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, is acknowledged as the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, but while respected, the Archbishop does not have direct authority over any
The Anglican Communion consists of 38 provinces (large regional networks of parishes and dioceses) worldwide, 37 of which (including the Episcopal Church, U.S.A) are the legacy of missionaries from the Church of England spreading the faith throughout the British Empire, and beyond. The genius of the missionaries’ work was raising up leaders from the indigenous populations, so that new, independent churches grew to be in fellowship with, but not governed by, the Church of England. The result today is an Anglican Communion that is held together by bonds of affection, prayer book worship, and tradition rather than law, although the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered the Anglican Communion’s nominal leader.
