The Anglican Communion

In today's world, The Anglican Church is taken to mean those tens of millions of people who worship in churches that are part of the Anglican Communion.

Some churches within the Anglican Communion are called Episcopalian. These churches (such as the USA) come from the Scottish Episcopal Church. The Scottish Church is as old as the English Church and has a very different history. The Anglican Communion, therefore, has two roots: the English Church and The Scottish Church.

When the British people settled the British Empire they took their religion with them and thus Anglicanism spread overseas. Eventually these overseas parishes became autonomous provinces of the Communion. These churches, while autonomous in their governance, are bound together by tradition, Scripture, the Prayer Book, Canon Law and the inheritance they have received from the the British Churches. They together make up the Anglican Communion, a body headed spiritually by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If an Anglican church is a member of the Anglican Communion, it is said to be "in communion", or "in communion with the See of Canterbury".

There are three International bodies that make up the leadership of the Anglican Communion: The Lambeth Conference; the Anglican Consultative Council; and the Primates Meeting.

For more information visit: http://www.anglicancommunion.org