Church Of England Anglican Communion Catholic And Reformed

The Mother Church of the global Anglican Communion, the Church of England was established in England. Among the thirty-eight independent national churches of the communion, it is the oldest. The church believes itself being catholic and reformed.

The 597 Augustinian mission is the source from which the Church of England traces its formal corporate history. It is believed that it was the first or the second century in which Christianity arrived in England. Though its existence was independent of the Church of Rome, it was under the papal authority for nearly a millennium.

It was only during the reign of King Henry VIII, who wanted dissolution of his marriage to Catherine of Argon to be able to marry Anne Boleyn, that the two churches split. It was under pressure of that the Roman church refused the separation and excommunicated the King, who had declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.

The Church of England structural hierarchy starts with Primacy, which may consist of several provinces, and is under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury or the primate. The province is an area under the control of an archbishop, two in England the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. A province is further made up of a number of dioceses, where diocesan bishops like those of Durham, Guildford and St. Albans, have authority.

The area under the authority of the archdeacon, like Dorking, is an Archdeaconry, the next tier of the Church of England structural hierarchy, having quite a few deaneries like Lewisham and Runnymede. With parishes in those specific areas, the deaneries are under the authority of their own rural deans. The parishes, bringing up the lowermost tier, are the local level. Watched over by a Vicar, Rector or Priest-in-Charge, the parish is the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council and the Incumbent (Team Vicar or Rector).

The Archbishop of Canterbury, southern province of England, is considered the senior most primate or bishop of the Church of England. Many of the other Anglican Churches have fallen into communion with the Old Catholics, and the English Church is no exception. It is The Conference of European Churches member.

The Church of England receives no direct Government support or aid, even though it is an established church. In the past, the parishes collected the amount from their members and in return spent a rather huge proportion of it. This implied that the amount the clergy was paid depended directly upon the wealth of the parish. It is this that made parish advowsons a rather well liked and valuable gift in some parishes. Church of England