Church of England

History

Middle Ages

There is evidence for Christianity in Roman Britain as early as the 3rd century. After the fall of the Roman Empire, England was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, who were pagans, and the Celtic church was confined to Cornwall and Wales. In 597, Pope Gregory I sent missionaries to England to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons. This mission was led by Augustine, who became the first archbishop of Canterbury. The Church of England considers 597 the start of its formal history.

In Northumbria, Celtic missionaries competed with their Roman counterparts. The Celtic and Roman churches disagreed over the date of Easter, baptismal customs, and the style of tonsure worn by monks. King Oswiu of Northumbria summoned the Synod of Whitby in 664. The king decided Northumbria would follow the Roman tradition because Saint Peter and his successors, the bishops of Rome, hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

By the late Middle Ages, Catholicism was an essential part of English life and culture. The 9,000 parishes covering all of England were overseen by a hierarchy of deaneries, archdeaconries, dioceses led by bishops, the primate of All England, the archbishop of Canterbury, and ultimately the pope who presided over the Catholic Church from Rome. Catholicism taught that the contrite person could cooperate with God towards their salvation by performing good works (see synergism). God's grace was given through the seven sacraments. In the Mass, a priest consecrated bread and wine to become the body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation. The church taught that, in the name of the congregation, the priest offered to God the same sacrifice of Christ on the cross that provided atonement for the sins of humanity. The Mass was also an offering of prayer by which the living could help souls in purgatory. While penance removed the guilt attached to sin, Catholicism taught that a penalty still remained. It was believed that most people would end their lives with these penalties unsatisfied and would have to spend time in purgatory. Time in purgatory could be lessened through indulgences and prayers for the dead, which were made possible by the communion of saints.

Reformation

In 1527, Henry VIII was desperate for a male heir and asked Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. When the Pope refused, Henry used Parliament to assert royal authority over the English church. In 1533, Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals, barring legal cases from being appealed outside England. This allowed the Archbishop of Canterbury to annul the marriage without reference to Rome. In November 1534, the Act of Supremacy formally abolished papal authority and declared Henry Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Henry's religious beliefs remained aligned to traditional Catholicism throughout his reign, albeit with reformist aspects in the tradition of Erasmus and firm commitment to royal supremacy. In order to secure royal supremacy over the church, however, Henry allied himself with Protestants, who until that time had been treated as heretics. The main doctrine of the Protestant Reformation was justification by faith alone rather than by good works. The logical outcome of this belief is that the Mass, sacraments, charitable acts, prayers to saints, prayers for the dead, pilgrimage, and the veneration of relics do not mediate divine favour. To believe they can, would be superstition at best and idolatry at worst.

Between 1536 and 1540, Henry engaged in the dissolution of the monasteries, which controlled much of the richest land. He disbanded religious houses, appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided pensions for the former residents. The properties were sold to pay for the wars. Historian George W. Bernard argues:

The dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s was one of the most revolutionary events in English history. There were nearly 900 religious houses in England, around 260 for monks, 300 for regular canons, 142 nunneries and 183 friaries; some 12,000 people in total, 4,000 monks, 3,000 canons, 3,000 friars and 2,000 nuns....one adult man in fifty was in religious orders.

In the reign of Edward VI (1547–1553), the Church of England underwent an extensive theological reformation. Justification by faith was made a central teaching. Government-sanctioned iconoclasm led to the destruction of images and relics. Stained glass, shrines, statues, and roods were defaced or destroyed. Church walls were whitewashed and covered with biblical texts condemning idolatry. The most significant reform in Edward's reign was the adoption of an English liturgy to replace the old Latin rites. Written by the Protestant reformer archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the 1549 Book of Common Prayer implicitly taught justification by faith, and rejected the Catholic doctrines of transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the Mass. This was followed by a greatly revised 1552 Book of Common Prayer, which propounded a Reformed view of the Lord's Supper (cf. Lord's Supper in Reformed theology). Along with The Book of Common Prayer, The Thirty-nine Articles and The Books of Homilies, assembled through the efforts of the reformer Thomas Cranmer, became the basis of Anglican doctrine after the English Reformation.

Stuart period

Struggle for control of the church persisted throughout the reigns of James I and his son Charles I, culminating in the outbreak of the First English Civil War in 1642. The two opposing factions consisted of Puritans, who sought to "purify" the church and enact more far-reaching Protestant reforms, and those who wanted to retain traditional beliefs and practices. In a period when many believed "true religion" and "good government" were the same thing, religious disputes often included a political element, one example being the struggle over bishops. In addition to their religious function, bishops acted as state censors, able to ban sermons and writings considered objectionable, while lay people could be tried by church courts for crimes including blasphemy, heresy, fornication and other 'sins of the flesh', as well as matrimonial or inheritance disputes. They also sat in the House of Lords and often blocked legislation opposed by the Crown; their ousting from Parliament by the 1640 Clergy Act was a major step on the road to war.

Following Royalist defeat in 1646, the episcopacy was formally abolished. In 1649, the Commonwealth of England outlawed a number of former practices and Presbyterian structures replaced the episcopate. The Thirty-nine Articles were replaced by the Westminster Confession. Worship according to the Book of Common Prayer was outlawed and replaced by the Directory of Public Worship. Despite this, about one quarter of English clergy refused to conform to this form of state presbyterianism. It was also opposed by the other Puritan Nonconformists who rejected the very idea of state-mandated religion, and included the Congregationalists like Oliver Cromwell, and the Baptists, who were especially well represented in the New Model Army.

After the Stuart Restoration in 1660, Parliament restored the Church of England to a form not far removed from the Elizabethan version. Until James II of England was ousted by the Glorious Revolution in November 1688, many Nonconformists still sought to negotiate terms that would allow them to re-enter the Church. In order to secure his political position, William III of England ended these discussions and the Tudor ideal of encompassing all the people of England in one religious organisation was abandoned. The religious landscape of England assumed its present form, with the Anglican established church occupying the middle ground and Nonconformists continuing their existence outside. One result of the Restoration was the ousting of 2,000 parish ministers who had not been ordained by bishops in the apostolic succession or who had been ordained by ministers in presbyter's orders. Official suspicion and legal restrictions continued well into the 19th century. Roman Catholics, perhaps 5% of the English population (down from 20% in 1600) were grudgingly tolerated, having had little or no official representation after the Pope's excommunication of Queen Elizabeth in 1570, though the Stuarts were sympathetic to them. By the end of 18th century they had dwindled to 1% of the population, mostly amongst upper middle-class gentry, their tenants, and extended families.

Union with the Church of Ireland

By the Fifth Article of the Union with Ireland 1800, the Church of England and Church of Ireland were united into "one Protestant Episcopal church, to be called, the United Church of England and Ireland". Although "the continuance and preservation of the said united church ... [was] deemed and taken to be an essential and fundamental part of the union", the Irish Church Act 1869 separated the Irish part of the church again and disestablished it, the Act coming into effect on 1 January 1871.

Victorian era: 1840s to 1890s

Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the disestablishment of the Church of England. Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851. They were a clear majority in Wales. Scotland and Ireland had separate religious cultures. and gradually the legal discrimination that had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed. Legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were also largely removed. The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to conversions and immigration from Ireland. Secularism and doubts about the accuracy of the Old Testament grew among people with higher levels of education. Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal) gained appeal among academics in the south. Historians refer to a 'Victorian Crisis of Faith', a period when religious views had to readjust to accommodate new scientific knowledge and criticism of the Bible.

The strong evangelical movement inside the Church of England placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits, child discipline and self-criticism. As well as personal improvement, importance was given to social reform. Utilitarianism was another philosophy that saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress. An alliance formed between these two ideological strands. The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality, and political reform in order to establish a democracy. The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the nonconformists (part of the evangelical movement outside the Church of England )—especially Methodists—in England and Wales with the Liberal Party. This continued until the First World War. The Presbyterians played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland.

Overseas developments

As the English Empire (after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the British Empire) expanded, English (after 1707, British) colonists and colonial administrators took the established church doctrines and practices together with ordained ministry and formed overseas branches of the Church of England.

The Diocese of Nova Scotia was created on 11 August 1787 by Letters Patent of George III which "erected the Province of Nova Scotia into a bishop's see" and these also named Charles Inglis as first bishop of the see. The diocese was the first Church of England see created outside England and Wales (i.e. the first colonial diocese). At this point, the see covered present-day New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. From 1825 to 1839, it included the nine parishes of Bermuda, subsequently transferred to the Diocese of Newfoundland.

As they developed, beginning with the United States of America, or became sovereign or independent states, many of their churches became separate organisationally, but remained linked to the Church of England through the Anglican Communion. In the provinces that made up Canada, the church operated as the "Church of England in Canada" until 1955 when it became the Anglican Church of Canada.

In Bermuda, the oldest remaining British overseas possession, the first Church of England services were performed by the Reverend Richard Buck, one of the survivors of the 1609 wreck of the Sea Venture which initiated Bermuda's permanent settlement. The nine parishes of the Church of England in Bermuda, each with its own church and glebe land, rarely had more than a pair of ordained ministers to share between them until the 19th century. From 1825 to 1839, Bermuda's parishes were attached to the See of Nova Scotia. Bermuda was then grouped into the new Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda from 1839. In 1879, the Synod of the Church of England in Bermuda was formed. At the same time, a Diocese of Bermuda became separate from the Diocese of Newfoundland, but both continued to be grouped under the Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda until 1919, when Newfoundland and Bermuda each received its own bishop. The Church of England in Bermuda was renamed in 1978 as the Anglican Church of Bermuda, which is an extra-provincial diocese, with both metropolitan and primatial authority coming directly from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among its parish churches is St Peter's Church in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of St George's Town, which is the oldest Anglican church outside of the British Isles, and the oldest Protestant church in the New World.

Early 21st century

Under the guidance of Rowan Williams and with significant pressure from clergy union representatives, the ecclesiastical penalty for convicted felons to be defrocked was set aside from the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003. The clergy union argued that the penalty was unfair to victims of hypothetical miscarriages of criminal justice, because the ecclesiastical penalty is considered irreversible. Although clerics can still be banned for life from ministry, they remain ordained as priests.

Bishop Sarah Mullally has insisted that declining numbers at services should not necessarily be a cause of despair for churches, because people may still encounter God without attending a service in a church; for example hearing the Christian message through social media sites or in a café run as a community project. The Church of England estimates that 35 – 50 million people visit its churches as tourists annually. Additionally, 9.7 million people visit at least one of its churches every year and 1 million students are educated at Church of England schools (which number 4,700). In 2019, an estimated 10 million people visited a cathedral and an additional "1.3 million people visited Westminster Abbey, where 99% of visitors paid / donated for entry". In 2022, the church reported than an estimated 5.7 million people visited a cathedral and 6.8 million visited Westminster Abbey. In 2024, 9.87 million people visited a cathedral, up from 9.7 million in 2019. Nevertheless, the archbishops of Canterbury and York warned in January 2015 that the Church of England would no longer be able to carry on in its current form unless the downward spiral in membership were somehow to be reversed, as typical Sunday attendance had halved to 800,000 in the previous 40 years:

The urgency of the challenge facing us is not in doubt. Attendance at Church of England services has declined at an average of one per cent per annum over recent decades and, in addition, the age profile of our membership has become significantly older than that of the population... Renewing and reforming aspects of our institutional life is a necessary but far from sufficient response to the challenges facing the Church of England. ... The age profile of our clergy has also been increasing. Around 40 per cent of parish clergy are due to retire over the next decade or so.

Between 1969 and 2010, almost 1,800 church buildings, roughly 11% of the stock, were closed (so-called "redundant churches"); the majority (70%) in the first half of the period; only 514 being closed between 1990 and 2010. Some active use was being made of about half of the closed churches. By 2019 the rate of closure had steadied at around 20 to 25 per year (0.2%); some being replaced by new places of worship. Additionally, in 2018 the church announced a £27 million growth programme to create 100 new churches.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a sizeable effect on church attendance, with attendance in 2020 and 2021 well below that of 2019. By 2022, the first full year without substantial restrictions related to the pandemic, numbers were still notably down on pre-pandemic participation. According to the 2022 release of "Statistics for Mission" by the church, the median size of each church's worshipping community (those who attend in person or online at least once a month) stood at 37 people, with average weekly attendance having declined from 34 to 25; while Easter and Christmas services had seen falls from 51 to 38 and 80 to 56 individuals respectively. The reports for 2023 and 2024 showed a mixed picture: compared to pre-pandemic trends, the Church's average weekly attendance was 8% below and 4% below what was expected, respectively. The numbers attending particular services such as baptisms (up 20% and 29%) and marriages (up 24% and 42%) had increased compared to the projected pre-pandemic trend but this was attributed to pandemic-related postponements rather than a natural increase.

Examples of wider declines across the whole church include the following.

Doctrine and practice

Thomas Cranmer, the guiding Protestant Reformer who shaped Anglican doctrine after the English Reformation, was instrumental in the compilation of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Book of Common Prayer and Books of Homilies. The canon law of the Church of England identifies the Christian scriptures as the source of its doctrine. In addition, doctrine is also derived from the teachings of the Church Fathers and ecumenical councils (as well as the ecumenical creeds) in so far as these agree with scripture. This doctrine is expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal containing the rites for the ordination of deacons, priests, and the consecration of bishops. Richard Hooker's appeal to scripture as the primary source of Christian doctrine, informed by church tradition, and reason, has been influential in hermeneutics.

The Church of England's doctrinal character today is largely the result of the Elizabethan Settlement. The historical development of Anglicanism saw itself as navigating a via media between two forms of Protestantism—Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity—though leaning closer to the latter than the former. The Church of England affirms the protestant reformation principle that scripture contains all things necessary to salvation and is the final arbiter in doctrinal matters. The Thirty-nine Articles are the church's only official confessional statement. The Church of England did retain three orders of ministry and the apostolic succession of bishops, as with the Scandinavian Lutheran Churches (such as the Church of Sweden) and Roman Catholicism. Its identity has thus been described as Reformed and Catholic. There are differences of opinion within the Church of England over the necessity of episcopacy. Some consider it essential, while others feel it is needed for the proper ordering of the church. The Bible, the Creeds, Apostolic Order, and the administration of the Sacraments are sufficient to establish catholicity. The Protestant Reformation in England was initially much concerned about doctrine but the Elizabethan Settlement tried to put a stop to doctrinal contentions. The proponents of further changes, nonetheless, tried to get their way by making changes in Church Order (abolition of bishops), governance (Canon Law) and liturgy. They did not succeed because the monarchy and the Church resisted and the majority of the population were indifferent. Moreover, "despite all the assumptions of the Reformation founders of that Church, it had retained a catholic character." The existence of cathedrals "without substantial alteration" and "where the "old devotional world cast its longest shadow for the future of the ethos that would become Anglicanism," This is "One of the great mysteries of the English Reformation," that there was no complete break with the past but a muddle that was per force turned into a virtue.

Worship and liturgy

In 1604, James I ordered an English language translation of the Bible known as the King James Version, which was published in 1611 and authorised for use in parishes, although it was not an "official" version per se. The Church of England's official book of liturgy as established in English Law is the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). In the year 2000, the General Synod approved a modern liturgical book, Common Worship, which can be used as an alternative to the BCP. Like its predecessor, the 1980 Alternative Service Book, it differs from the Book of Common Prayer in providing a range of alternative services, mostly in modern language, although it does include some BCP-based forms as well, for example Order Two for Holy Communion. (This is a revision of the BCP service, altering some words and allowing the insertion of some other liturgical texts such as the Agnus Dei before communion.) The Order One rite follows the pattern of more modern liturgical scholarship.

The liturgies are organised according to the traditional liturgical year and the calendar of saints. The sacraments of baptism and the eucharist are generally thought necessary to salvation. Infant baptism is practised. At a later age, individuals baptised as infants receive confirmation by a bishop, at which time they reaffirm the baptismal promises made by their parents or sponsors. The eucharist, consecrated by a thanksgiving prayer including Christ's Words of Institution, is believed to be "a memorial of Christ's once-for-all redemptive acts in which Christ is objectively present and effectually received in faith".

The use of hymns and music in the Church of England has changed dramatically over the centuries. Traditional Choral evensong is a staple of most cathedrals. The style of psalm chanting harks back to the Church of England's pre-reformation roots. During the 18th century, clergy such as Charles Wesley introduced their own styles of worship with poetic hymns.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the Charismatic Movement significantly altered the worship traditions of numerous Church of England parishes, primarily affecting those of evangelical persuasion. These churches now adopt a contemporary worship form of service, with minimal liturgical or ritual elements, and incorporating contemporary worship music.

Just as the Church of England has a large conservative or "traditionalist" wing, it also has many liberal members and clergy. Approximately one third of clergy "doubt or disbelieve in the physical resurrection". Others, such as Giles Fraser, a contributor to The Guardian, have argued for an allegorical interpretation of the virgin birth of Jesus. The Independent reported in 2014 that, according to a YouGov survey of Church of England clergy, "as many as 16 per cent are unclear about God and two per cent think it is no more than a human construct." Moreover, many congregations are seeker-friendly environments. For example, one report from the Church Mission Society suggested that the church open up "a pagan church where Christianity [is] very much in the centre" to reach out to spiritual people.

Women's ministry

Women were appointed as deaconesses from 1861, but they could not function fully as deacons and were not considered ordained clergy. Women have historically been able to serve as lay readers. During the First World War, some women were appointed as lay readers, known as "bishop's messengers", who also led missions and ran churches in the absence of men. After the war, no women were appointed as lay readers until 1969.

Legislation authorising the ordination of women as deacons was passed in 1986 and they were first ordained in 1987. The ordination of women as priests was approved by the General Synod in 1992 and began in 1994. In 2010, for the first time in the history of the Church of England, more women than men were ordained as priests (290 women and 273 men), but in the next two years, ordinations of men again exceeded those of women.

In July 2005, the synod voted to "set in train" the process of allowing the consecration of women as bishops. In February 2006, the synod voted overwhelmingly for the "further exploration" of possible arrangements for parishes that did not want to be directly under the authority of a bishop who is a woman. On 7 July 2008, the synod voted to approve the ordination of women as bishops and rejected moves for alternative episcopal oversight for those who do not accept the ministry of bishops who are women. Actual ordinations of women to the episcopate required further legislation, which was narrowly rejected in a General Synod vote in November 2012. On 20 November 2013, the General Synod voted overwhelmingly in support of a plan to allow the ordination of women as bishops, with 378 in favour, 8 against and 25 abstentions.

On 14 July 2014, the General Synod approved the ordination of women as bishops. The House of Bishops recorded 37 votes in favour, two against with one abstention. The House of Clergy had 162 in favour, 25 against and four abstentions. The House of Laity voted 152 for, 45 against with five abstentions. This legislation had to be approved by the Ecclesiastical Committee of the Parliament before it could be finally implemented at the November 2014 synod. In December 2014, Libby Lane was announced as the first woman to become a bishop in the Church of England. She was consecrated as a bishop in January 2015. In July 2015, Rachel Treweek was the first woman to become a diocesan bishop in the Church of England when she became the Bishop of Gloucester. She and Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton, were the first women to be ordained as bishops at Canterbury Cathedral. Treweek later made headlines by calling for gender-inclusive language, saying that "God is not to be seen as male. God is God."

Same-sex unions and LGBT clergy

The Church of England has been discussing same-sex marriages and LGBT clergy. The church holds that marriage is a union of one man with one woman. The church does not allow clergy to perform same-sex marriages, but in February 2023 approved of blessings for same-sex couples following a civil marriage or civil partnership. The church teaches "Same-sex relationships often embody genuine mutuality and fidelity." In January 2023, the Bishops approved "prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God's blessing for same-sex couples." The commended prayers of blessing for same-sex couples, known as "Prayers of Love and Faith," may be used during ordinary church services, and in November 2023 General Synod voted to authorise "standalone" blessings for same-sex couples on a trial basis, while permanent authorisation will require additional steps. The church also officially supports celibate civil partnerships; "We believe that Civil Partnerships still have a place, including for some Christian LGBTI couples who see them as a way of gaining legal recognition of their relationship."

Civil partnerships for clergy have been allowed since 2005, so long as they remain sexually abstinent, and the church extends pensions to clergy in same-sex civil partnerships. In a missive to clergy, the church communicated that "there was a need for committed same-sex couples to be given recognition and 'compassionate attention' from the Church, including special prayers." "There is no prohibition on prayers being said in church or there being a 'service'" after a civil partnership. After same-sex marriage was legalised, the church sought continued availability of civil partnerships, saying "The Church of England recognises that same-sex relationships often embody fidelity and mutuality. Civil partnerships enable these Christian virtues to be recognised socially and legally in a proper framework." In 2024, the General Synod voted in support of eventually permitting clergy to enter into civil same-sex marriages.

In 2014, the bishops released guidelines that permit "more informal kind of prayer" for couples. In the guidelines, "gay couples who get married will be able to ask for special prayers in the Church of England after their wedding, the bishops have agreed." In 2016, the bishop of Grantham, Nicholas Chamberlain, announced that he is gay, in a same-sex relationship and celibate, becoming the first bishop to do so in the church. The church had decided in 2013 that gay clergy in civil partnerships so long as they remain sexually abstinent could become bishops. "The House [of Bishops] has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate."

Bioethics issues

The Church of England is generally opposed to abortion but believes "there can be strictly limited conditions under which abortion may be morally preferable to any available alternative". The church also opposes euthanasia. Its official stance is that "While acknowledging the complexity of the issues involved in assisted dying/suicide and voluntary euthanasia, the Church of England is opposed to any change in the law or in medical practice that would make assisted dying/suicide or voluntary euthanasia permissible in law or acceptable in practice." It also states that "Equally, the Church shares the desire to alleviate physical and psychological suffering, but believes that assisted dying/suicide and voluntary euthanasia are not acceptable means of achieving these laudable goals." In 2014, George Carey, a former archbishop of Canterbury, announced that he had changed his stance on euthanasia and now advocated legalising "assisted dying". On embryonic stem-cell research, the church has announced "cautious acceptance to the proposal to produce cytoplasmic hybrid embryos for research".

In the 19th century, English law required the burial of people who had died by suicide to occur only between the hours of 9 p.m. and midnight and without religious rites. The Church of England permitted the use of alternative burial services for people who had died by suicide. In 2017, the Church of England changed its rules to permit the full, standard Christian burial service regardless of whether a person had died by suicide.

Social work

Church Urban Fund

The Church of England set up the Church Urban Fund in the 1980s to tackle poverty and deprivation. It sees poverty as trapping individuals and communities with some people in urgent need, leading to dependency, homelessness, hunger, isolation, low income, mental health problems, social exclusion and violence. The organisation believes that poverty reduces confidence and life expectancy and that people born in poor conditions have difficulty escaping their disadvantaged circumstances.

In parts of Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle two-thirds of babies are born to poverty and have poorer life chances, also a life expectancy 15 years lower than babies born in the more affluent communities.

The deep-rooted unfairness in our society is highlighted by these stark statistics. Children being born in this country, just a few miles apart, couldn't witness a more wildly differing start to life. In child poverty terms, we live in one of the most unequal countries in the western world. We want people to understand where their own community sits alongside neighbouring communities. The disparity is often shocking but it's crucial that, through greater awareness, people from all backgrounds come together to think about what could be done to support those born into poverty. [Paul Hackwood, the Chair of Trustees at Church Urban Fund]

Action on hunger

Many prominent people in the Church of England have spoken out against poverty and welfare cuts in the United Kingdom. Twenty-seven bishops are among 43 Christian leaders who signed a letter which urged David Cameron to make sure people have enough to eat.

We often hear talk of hard choices. Surely few can be harder than that faced by the tens of thousands of older people who must 'heat or eat' each winter, harder than those faced by families whose wages have stayed flat while food prices have gone up 30% in just five years. Yet beyond even this we must, as a society, face up to the fact that over half of people using food banks have been put in that situation by cutbacks to and failures in the benefit system, whether it be payment delays or punitive sanctions.

Thousands of UK citizens use food banks. The church's campaign to end hunger considers this "truly shocking" and called for a national day of fasting on 4 April 2014.

Membership

Between 1890 and 2001, churchgoing in the United Kingdom declined steadily. In the years 1968 to 1999, Anglican Sunday church attendances almost halved, from 3.5 per cent of the population to 1.9 per cent. By 2014, Sunday church attendances had declined further to 1.4 per cent of the population. In 2008, 13.4 million Britons identified themselves as members of the Church of England.

In 2026, the Encyclopedia Britannica claimed there are approximately 22 million baptised members of the Church of England. In 2015, research, published in the Journal of Anglican Studies, by Daniel Muñoz stated that the church claimed 26 million baptised members with approximately 1.7 million of these members being active members. In 2016, research by St. Mary's University, London, found that 19.8% of the population of England and Wales identified themselves as Anglican; and that half of those who had been raised Anglican reported 'no religion' in the survey. In 2017, Growth and Decline in the Anglican Communion: 1980 to the Present, collected research concluding that there were 25 million baptised members of the Church of England, 1 to 4 million monthly individual attenders, and 1.1 million adults on the electoral rolls.

In 2018, the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) found that 14% of Britons, or about 10 million people, identified themselves as members of the Church of England; this was called an "unrelenting decline" by a spokesperson for the survey. 2018 research conducted by YouGov found that 56% of Christians in England and Wales described themselves as members of the Church of England or the Church in Wales.

In 2023, 53% of Christians in the UK, or about 16.7 million people, identified themselves as Anglican, most in the Church of England. The Church of England Yearbook, in 2024, reported 26 million members. A 2025 YouGov survey claimed 21.5% of British respondents identified themselves as Anglican and that 25% of Britons had a favourable view of the Church of England. However, a 2024 BSA survey found that only 11% of respondents, or approximately 7.6 million people, actively self-identified as Anglicans.

Due to the Church of England's status as the established church, in general, anyone may be married, have their children baptised or their funeral held in their local parish church, regardless of whether they are baptised or regular churchgoers. In 2017, research found that 20% of children continue to be baptised in the Church of England.

Personnel

In 2020, there were almost 20,000 active clergy serving in the Church of England, including 7,200 retired clergy who continued to serve. In that year, 580 were ordained (330 in stipendiary posts and 250 in self-supporting parochial posts) and a further 580 ordinands began their training. In that year, 33% of those in ordained ministry were female, an increase from the 26% reported in 2016.

In statistics, released in June 2025, there were 17,885 active clergy serving. This was made up of 6,695 stipendiary (paid) ministry staff, as well as 2,511 SSM (self-supporting ministers), and 8,679 others (including retired but who could still officiate, and chaplains).

Structure

Article XIX ('Of the Church') of the Thirty-nine Articles defines the church as follows:

The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.

The British monarch has the constitutional title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The canon law of the Church of England states, "We acknowledge that the King's most excellent Majesty, acting according to the laws of the realm, is the highest power under God in this kingdom, and has supreme authority over all persons in all causes, as well ecclesiastical as civil." In practice this power is often exercised through Parliament and on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Church of Ireland and the Church in Wales separated from the Church of England in 1869 and 1920 respectively and are autonomous churches in the Anglican Communion; Scotland's national church, the Church of Scotland, is Presbyterian, but the Scottish Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion.

In addition to England, the jurisdiction of the Church of England extends to the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and a few parishes in Flintshire, Monmouthshire and Powys in Wales which voted to remain with the Church of England rather than joining the Church in Wales. Expatriate congregations on the continent of Europe have become the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe.

The church is structured as follows (from the lowest level upwards):

Parish is the most local level, often consisting of one church building (a parish church) and community, although many parishes are joining forces in a variety of ways for financial reasons. The parish is looked after by a parish priest who for historical or legal reasons may be called by one of the following offices: vicar, rector, priest in charge, team rector, team vicar. The first, second, fourth and fifth of these may also be known as the 'incumbent'. The running of the parish is the joint responsibility of the incumbent and the parochial church council (PCC), which consists of the parish clergy and elected representatives from the congregation. The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe is not formally divided into parishes.

Primates

The most senior bishop of the Church of England is the archbishop of Canterbury, who is the metropolitan of the southern province of England, the Province of Canterbury. She has the status of Primate of All England, and is the focus of unity for the worldwide Anglican Communion of independent national or regional churches. Dame Sarah Mullally currently serves as Archbishop, succeeding Justin Welby, who resigned effective 6 January 2025. Mullally is the first woman to hold this office.

The second most senior bishop is the archbishop of York, who is the metropolitan of the northern province of England, the Province of York. For historical reasons (relating to the time of York's control by the Danes) he is referred to as the primate of England. Stephen Cottrell became Archbishop of York in 2020. The bishop of London, the bishop of Durham and the bishop of Winchester are ranked in the next three positions, insofar as the holders of those sees automatically become members of the House of Lords.

Diocesan bishops

The process of appointing diocesan bishops is complex, due to historical reasons balancing hierarchy against democracy, and is handled by the Crown Nominations Committee which submits names to the prime minister (acting on behalf of the Crown) for consideration.

Representative bodies

The Church of England has a legislative body, General Synod. This can create two types of legislation, measures and canons. Measures have to be approved but cannot be amended by the British Parliament before receiving royal assent and becoming part of the law of England. Although it is the established church in England only, its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament including the non-English members. Canons require royal licence and royal assent, but form the law of the church, rather than the law of the land.

Another assembly is the Convocation of the English Clergy, which is older than the General Synod and its predecessor the Church Assembly. By the Synodical Government Measure 1969 almost all of the convocations' functions were transferred to the General Synod. Additionally, there are Diocesan Synods and deanery synods, which are the governing bodies of the divisions of the Church.

House of Lords

Of the 42 diocesan archbishops and bishops in the Church of England, 26 are permitted to sit in the House of Lords. The archbishops of Canterbury and York automatically have seats, as do the bishops of London, Durham and Winchester. The remaining 21 seats are filled in order of seniority by date of consecration. It may take a diocesan bishop a number of years to reach the House of Lords, at which point he or she becomes a lord spiritual. The bishop of Sodor and Man and the bishop of Gibraltar in Europe are not eligible to sit in the House of Lords as their dioceses lie outside the United Kingdom.

Crown Dependencies

Although they are not part of England or the United Kingdom, the Church of England is also the established church in the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The Isle of Man has its own diocese of Sodor and Man, and the bishop of Sodor and Man is an ex officio member of the legislative council of the Tynwald on the island. Historically the Channel Islands have been under the authority of the bishop of Winchester, but this authority has temporarily been delegated to the bishop of Dover since 2015. In Jersey the dean of Jersey is a non-voting member of the States of Jersey. In Guernsey the Church of England is the established church, although the dean of Guernsey is not a member of the States of Guernsey.

Sexual abuse

The 2020 report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found several cases of sexual abuse within the Church of England, and concluded that the Church did not protect children from sexual abuse, and allowed abusers to hide. The Church spent more effort defending alleged abusers than supporting victims or protecting children and young people. Allegations were not taken seriously, and in some cases clergymen were ordained even with a history of child sex abuse. Bishop Peter Ball was convicted in October 2015 on several charges of indecent assault against young adult men.

In June 2023, the Archbishops' Council dismissed the three board members of the Independent Safeguarding Board, which was set up in 2021 "to hold the Church to account, publicly if needs be, for any failings which are preventing good safeguarding from happening". A statement issued by the archbishops of Canterbury and York referred to there being "no prospect of resolving the disagreement and that it is getting in the way of the vital work of serving victims and survivors". Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves, the two independent members of the board, had complained about interference with their work by the Church. The bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, speaking to BBC Radio 4 in connection with the dismissals, said: "I think culturally we are resistant as a church to accountability, to criticism. And therefore I don't entirely trust the church, even though I'm a key part of it and a leader within it, because I see the way the wind blows is always in a particular direction."

On 20 July 2023, it was announced that the archbishops of Canterbury and York had appointed Alexis Jay to provide proposals for an independent system of safeguarding for the Church of England.

In February 2025, the General Synod voted not to make safeguarding the responsibiity of an independent body, to the dismay of many.

In February 2025, the Church of England announced it would take forward the clergy disciplinary measure process against 10 clergy, following the Makin Review of the serial abuser John Smyth.

Funding and finances

Although an established church, the Church of England does not receive any direct government support for its operations. However, it does receive significant governement funding for building work, amounting to £23.6 million per year. Donations comprise its largest source of income, and it also relies heavily on the income from its various historic endowments. In 2005, the Church of England had estimated total outgoings of around £900 million.

The Church of England manages an investment portfolio which is worth more than £8 billion.

Online church directories

The Church of England runs A Church Near You, an online directory of churches. A user-edited resource, it currently lists more than 16,000 churches and has 20,000 editors in 42 dioceses. The directory enables parishes to maintain accurate location, contact and event information, which is shared with other websites and mobile apps. The site allows the public to find their local worshipping community, and offers churches free resources, such as hymns, videos and social media graphics.

The Church Heritage Record includes information on over 16,000 church buildings, including architectural history, archaeology, art history, and the surrounding natural environment. It can be searched by elements including church name, diocese, date of construction, footprint size, listing grade, and church type. The types of church identified include:

Major Parish Church: "some of the most special, significant and well-loved places of worship in England", having "most of all" of the characteristics of being large (over 1,000msq), listed (generally grade I or II*), having "exceptional significance and/or issues necessitating a conservation management plan" and having a local role beyond that of an average parish church. As of December 2021 there are 312 such churches in the database. These churches are eligible to join the Major Churches Network.

Festival Church: a church not used for weekly services but used for occasional services and other events. These churches are eligible to join the Association of Festival Churches. As of December 2021 there are 19 such churches in the database.

CCT Church: a church under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. As of December 2021 there are 345 such churches in the database.

Friendless Church: as of December 2021 there are 24 such churches in the database; the Friends of Friendless Churches cares for 60 churches across England and Wales.