1.Anglican Church

Anglican Church

The Anglican Church is one of the many protestant sects which began in England after Henry Ⅷ（1497-1547）declared that the King，not the Pope，was the supreme head of the English Church.The Church prepared its own prayer book and statement of doctrine（the 39Articles¹）.It is an‘established’Church，which means that it represents the official state religion，having certain duties towards the states，and receiving certain privileges from it，though no financial support.Its secular head is the sovereign，and its religious head，the Archbishop of Canterbury.Its senior clergy，archbishops，bishops and deans，are appointed by the sovereign on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.The two Archbishops of Canterbury and York，and 42senior bishops have seats in the House of Lords.

A Typical Anglican Church

Anglicanism agrees with Roman Catholicism on most issues，but like other Protestant groups，Anglicans reject the authority of the Pope.They believe that the Bible represents the final statement of life and religion，but it is not always to be interpre ted literally，and leaves many questions to individual consciences.Certain Roman doctrines are rejected by the Anglicans，the central one concerns the celebration of Holy Communion，in which there is a symbolic eating of bread and drinking of wine.Roman Catholics believe that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ，whereas most Anglicans think they are simply representations.But there may be wide differences of opinion within the Anglican Church on such matters as the Virgin Birth，the Miracles，the Resurrection and the Ascension；and some even more difficult questions like everlasting torment in Hell as the punishment of sin，and the imminent coming down to earth of the Kingdom of Heaven，tend to be avoided altogether.

Anglican clergymen are ordained，first as deacons，and then，after a year，as priest，by bishops，who follow the advice of the Central Advisory Council for the Training of the Ministry with regard to qualification.An intending clergyman must normally attend a theological college for at least two years，and many have university degrees，not necessarily in theology.Not long ago most clergymen were of middle to upper class origin，but there is now a rather wider spread，and quite a large number of men become clergymen late in life.

England is divided into forty-two dioceses，each with a bishop.Bishops are appointed in a very strange way.When a bishop dies or resigns his successor is‘elected’by the dean and chapter of the diocese，but the Queen tells them whom to elect.She in her turn is told by the Prime Minister what to do，but he has many other things to occupy him，and takes advice from an official who probably himself consults the Archbishop of Canterbury.Diocesan bishops now have suffragan or assistant bishops to help them with some of the spiritual duties that only bishops can perform，for example the confirming of young people and others into full membership of the Church.Every diocese has a cathedral as its central church.Each of the great old cathedrals has a dean and five or six residentiary canons who are together responsible for the cathedral and its services.The 42dioceses total some 13，500parishes with usually a single rector or vicar in charge of each parish.Each parish has a patron who has the right to appoint the vicar，subject to the bishop’s approval，but may not remove him.The patron may be a private person or a bishop or a college or a society.The vicar works with his churchwardens and parochial council，and his church is the centre of many activities，in which he and his wife are the key figures，much engaged in many aspects of the life of their local community.