Anglicanism

Abstract

Abstract The term “Anglican” is now used to refer to those regional or national Christian churches that have received their tradition of doctrine, discipline, and worship from the Church of England and are in communion with its chief ecclesiastical officer, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The world‐wide Anglican Communion comprises 38 such churches, often referred to in that context as “provinces,” among them the Episcopal Church in the United States. Once these formal facts have been stated, definition becomes difficult. Exactly what Anglicanism consists in has been a contentious matter since the 16th century, when ecclesia Anglicana , “the English church,” began to have an institutional identity of its own. The pragmatic way in which the contention has usually been dealt with is itself a notable characteristic of Anglican Christianity, and one that implies that Anglicanism is best understood concretely, in its history. An account of beginnings is especially essential.