Some Background on the Anglican Tradition

The Anglican (English-speaking) Tradition of Christianity traces its story back to the 2nd century, when Christianity originally arrived in what became known as the British Isles. Due to its geographic separation from mainland Europe, Christianity in the British Isles (modern-day Ireland, Scotland, and England) developed its own unique character - seen for example in what is known as Celtic Christianity.

At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England took its own distinctive path that differed from the reformers on the Continent and from Roman Catholicism - the via media (middle way). While the story of Henry VIII and his failure to receive an annulment from the Pope is often popularly suggested as the reason for the English Reformation, this is only a very small part of the story (and not a particularly honorable one). The English Reformation is best understood as an attempt to restore English Christianity to its earlier form - a state existing prior to unhelpful medieval excesses that plagued much of the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation. Rather than being a static event, the English Reformation continued over several hundred years and ultimately led to a movement that spread beyond the British Isles. Eventually each region (province) became autonomous from the Church of England, having its own local structure and governance. The Anglican Communion, to which we belong, is the result of a global movement. At this point the Anglican Communion’s connection to the Church of England is simply symbolic and relational. In many ways, the Anglican Communion’s center has shifted from England to the global south. For example, there are now more worshipping Anglicans in Nigeria than in England.