When and where did the Anglican Church start?

The word Anglican came from Anglicanus, which came from Anglicus "of the English people, of England” (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Anglican, 08/31/08

So The Anglican church is the Church of England and those connected to that heritage in the United States of America it is called The Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal church means that it adherent to the Episcopal form of church government. This also can be called the rule of Bishops. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/episcopalian , 08/31/08)

The assumption of most is to believe that the Anglican Church started in the Reformation in the 1530’s because King Henry VIII wanted a divorce but this is a common misconception.

For those who believe in the above you need to look at this

Nobody knows when Christianity first reached England. According to a medieval legend, Joseph of Arimathea, who was given custody of Christ's body, built a church at Glastonbury in Somerset. Another legend tells of a British king called Lucius, who is said to have written to the Pope in the year 156 to obtain a conversion to Christianity.

Although there is little or no evidence to support these stories, it is quite possible that Christianity reached England not long after Christ's execution. At that time Britain and Judaea were both part of the Roman Empire. And the Empire's road and sea communications enabled new ideas to travel a long way fast.

By the middle of the third century Christianity had established a foothold here. This was noted by the African church father Tertullian and the Middle Eastern theologian Origen. According to the seventh century historian Bede, the Britons preserved the Christian faith until the Great Persecution instigated by the Emperor Diocletian in 303.

Ten years later the Edict of Milan gave full freedom of worship to Christians throughout the Roman Empire. This enabled three British bishops to attend a church council at Arles in France. Forty-five years later British bishops attended another council at Rimini in Italy.( http://www.hadland.me.uk/tvp/tvp1.htm, 08/31/08)

“There is no doubt that true Christian faith was well established by 3I4 A.D. British bishops were present at the Council of Nicea [325 A.D.], out of three hundred British bishops were present at the Council of Nicea, out of three hundred and eighteen bishops at this Council only ten were from the Latin-speaking church.”

(http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?ArtKey=pilgrims)

Here is some quote stating that Christianity was in Britain by the late 2^nd century

Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity… After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustratious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and having come to the extreme limits of the west. [Britain was the westernmost province of the Roman Empire] Clement or Rome 96A.D.(Bercot, 79)

By this time…[the name Christ has reached] the various confines of the moors, all the limits of Spain, the diverse nations of the Gaul’s, and the hunts of the Britons, inaccessible to the Romans, but subjected to Christ. Tertullian 197 A.D. (Bercot,80)

Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in the early 300s, records that "the apostles passed beyond the ocean to the Isles called the British Isles" (Demonstratio Evangelica, Bk. 3, chap. 5).

So we see that with this evidence that the Anglican Church that is to say the Church of England has been around since sometime at least by the 100’s

I would also like to point out the 3 earliest British martyrs St. Alban(?-209), Sts. Julius and Aaron(?-304)

So Christianity had to be established to have martyrs.

Next we move on to see how Rome kept trying to take power over the English church

“It seems not unlikely that Pelagianism had taken root among the Christian communities of Ireland, and it was found necessary to send a bishop to combat the heresy. Pope Celestine's choice fell on the deacon Palladius, who had taken a prominent part in stamping out the doctrine in Britain. The mission of Palladius (431-432), whom Zimmer has endeavoured to identify with Patrick, is obscure. Tradition associates his name with the mountains of Wicklow, and we are told that he retired to the land of the Picts in North Britain, where he died. Patrick probably felt great disappointment when Palladius was sent as the chosen envoy of Rome, but now Germanus seems to have decided that Patrick was the man for the task, and he was consecrated in 432.” (http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Saint_Patrick)

We see that Rome was trying to make their ways and their lines of succession creep into Ireland but Briton wouldn’t have it so Patrick was sent. We also see by history that Palladius failed and was sent back home.

Then in 597 A.D. Augustine of Canterbury came to Briton and established a new Archbishopric in Canterbury. He was ordained and sent by the bishop of Rome. This was because when Briton was over run by Saxons after St Patrick’s death in the 430’s till Augustine’s arrival. The Saxons were unconverted Pagans so much of the Christian church was pushed underground but when Augustine came he reestablished it in the south first near Kent then he settled in Canterbury and the Gospel again move upward.

From this point on the English church was under the power of The Roman Bishop but the church of England always had a disobedient strek in them to not listen nor happily accept Roman rule over them.

Now one can not deny how the Church of England reclaimed its right to govern itself which was in part politically driven but because of a Churches way of breaking doesn’t make it bad or good. Allow me to point out how the English church spread the Gospel all over the world like no other Christian groups and now there is 70million plus Anglicans in the world and they are the 3^rd largest Christian group on the plant. So we see they were faithful to Christ in preaching the Gospel.

This writing is not about if the Anglican Church is good or bad but to show that it did not start in the 1530’s but some time in the 100’s.

Written by:

Allen Bailey: aspirant of the Anglican province of America

-in hoc signo vinces-

Works cited:

Bercot David , Dictionary of early Christian beliefs, 2006, Hendrickson publishing

*This has been edited since the original post*