Anglican
A global communion of churches rooted in the Church of England, holding catholic and reformed theology together.
Updated July 23, 2026
What Anglican believe
Anglicans are Christians belonging to the churches of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which traces its roots to the Church of England. Anglican theology is both catholic and reformed, affirming the ancient creeds, the sacraments, and the historic episcopate while also embracing Protestant convictions about Scripture and justification by faith. The Anglican Communion describes itself as the via media, a middle way between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, and it intentionally accommodates a wide range of theological opinion.
Anglican worship is shaped by the Book of Common Prayer, which orders the liturgy, daily offices, and pastoral rites of the Church. The Eucharist is the principal Sunday service, and Anglicans believe that Christ is really present in the sacrament, though the Communion allows several interpretations. Anglicans baptize infants and adults and confirm baptized members through a bishop.
The Anglican Communion includes the Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the United States, and dozens of national and regional churches. It is led by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity, though he holds no jurisdictional authority outside England. Ongoing tensions over sexuality and authority have produced realignment, including the formation of the Anglican Church in North America and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches.
Key beliefs
- Scripture is the primary authority, interpreted through tradition and reason in the Anglican triad.
- The two great sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist are central, with five other sacramental rites.
- The historic episcopate through bishops in apostolic succession is essential to church order.
- The Book of Common Prayer shapes worship, doctrine, and pastoral practice across the Communion.
- The via media holds catholic and reformed convictions in creative tension.
- Baptism incorporates infants and adults into the covenant community.
- The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral defines the essentials for Anglican unity.
History
Anglicanism traces its origin to the Church of England, which separated from papal jurisdiction during the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The break with Rome was catalyzed by King Henry VIII, who sought an annulment of his marriage, but the theological reformation was driven by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, who produced the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles. Under Elizabeth I the Church of England settled into a compromise that retained catholic order while embracing reformed doctrine.
Anglicanism expanded through British colonial and missionary activity, planting churches in North America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The Lambeth Conference of bishops, first held in 1867, became the primary instrument of communion-wide consultation. In recent decades divisions over the ordination of women and LGBTQ+ clergy and over same-sex marriage have strained the Communion. The Anglican Church in North America formed in 2009 as a conservative alternative to the Episcopal Church, and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches has emerged as a parallel structure led by Global South primates.
What makes Anglican distinct
- The Book of Common Prayer is the liturgical and theological center of Anglican identity.
- The via media, or middle way, consciously holds catholic and reformed emphases in tension.
- Apostolic succession through bishops is a non-negotiable feature of church order.
- Comprehensiveness allows Anglo-Catholic, evangelical, and broad church parties within one body.
- The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral defines four pillars of unity: Scripture, creeds, sacraments, and episcopate.
Comparison with other traditions
| Topic | Anglican position |
|---|---|
| Authority | Scripture, tradition, and reason together; Book of Common Prayer |
| Sacraments | Two gospel sacraments plus five sacramental rites; real presence in Eucharist |
| Salvation | By grace through faith, with sacramental and corporate dimensions |
| Scripture | Bible primary, read through tradition and reason |
| Church government | Episcopal with bishops, synods, and lay participation |
| Worship style | Liturgical, prayer book based, Eucharist each Sunday |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between Anglican and Catholic?
- Anglicans reject papal supremacy, the invocation of saints as taught by Rome, purgatory, and the sacrifice of the Mass, while retaining bishops, the sacraments, and a liturgical worship. Catholics hold the Pope as supreme shepherd and add Sacred Tradition alongside Scripture. The two bodies share apostolic succession in most lines and a sacramental worldview, but authority and several doctrines divide them.
- Is the Anglican Church Protestant or Catholic?
- Anglicans describe themselves as both, in a via media that holds catholic and reformed convictions together. They retain catholic order through bishops and sacraments while embracing Protestant theology about Scripture and justification. Different Anglican parties, from Anglo-Catholic to evangelical, emphasize one side more than the other, but the official position is a structured tension.
- What is the Book of Common Prayer?
- The Book of Common Prayer is the liturgical book that orders Anglican worship, daily offices, and pastoral rites. Thomas Cranmer produced the first edition in 1549, and subsequent revisions have shaped every province of the Communion. It is so central that the saying goes that the prayer book is the theology of the Church, because doctrine is expressed through common worship.
- Who is the head of the Anglican Communion?
- The Archbishop of Canterbury is the focus of unity for the Anglican Communion, but he holds no jurisdictional authority outside the Church of England. Each national church is self-governing, and the Communion is held together by relationships, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Primates Meeting. This means that Anglican unity is relational and liturgical rather than juridical.
- Do Anglicans believe in the real presence in the Eucharist?
- Yes, but Anglicans do not define precisely how Christ is present, allowing real, spiritual, and receptionist interpretations. This openness is inherited from the via media. The Book of Common Prayer speaks of the sacrament as the body and blood of Christ without binding the Church to a single metaphysical theory, in contrast to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
- What is the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral?
- The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral is a statement of four pillars of Anglican unity: the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of faith, the two sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, and the historic episcopate. It was drafted in 1886 and adopted by the Lambeth Conference in 1888 as the basis for church unity. It functions as the ecumenical charter of the Anglican Communion.
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Lutheran
The oldest Protestant tradition, born from the Reformation of Martin Luther and defined by justification by faith.