Anglicanism The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. Anglicans trace these traditions back to the first followers of Jesus, but acknowledge that schisms occurred first with the Orthodox then with the Roman Catholic churches. Like Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches (and unlike many Protestant churches), Anglicans maintain authority within the church through apostolic succession. The official position of the Church of England (reflected, for example in its website) is explicitly that the Church upholds the Catholic faith. The Church of England is in full communion with the Old Catholic Churches. Churches Anglicanism is most commonly identified with the established Church of England, but Anglican churches exist in most parts of the world. In some countries (e.g., the United States, Scotland) the Anglican church is known as Episcopal, from the Latin episcopus, "bishop", which comes from a Greek word literally meaning an "overseer." Each national church or province is headed by a Primate called a Primus in Scotland, an Archbishop in most countries, and a Presiding Bishop in the ECUSA. These churches are divided into a number of dioceses, usually corresponding to state or metropolitan divisions. There are three orders of the ordained ministry: deacon, priest and bishop. No requirement is made for Clerical celibacy, and women may be ordained as deacons in almost all provinces, as priests in many, and as bishops in a few provinces. Religious orders of monks, brothers, sisters and nuns were suppressed in England during the Reformation but made a reappearance in more recent times. Those Anglican churches "in communion" with the See of Canterbury constitute the Anglican Communion, a formal organisation made up of churches at the national level. However, there are a small number of churches which call themselves Anglican that are known as the "continuing church" movement and do not acknowledge the Anglican Communion. They consider the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, as well as some other member churches of the Anglican Communion, to have departed from the historic faith by ordaining women, altering the theological emphases of the historic Book of Common Prayer, and loosening the Church's traditional regulations concerning sexual and marital matters. Doctrine Anglicans look for authority (in the formula of Richard Hooker) in Scripture, Tradition (the practices and writings of the historical church) and Reason. The Church of England regards the Bible, the three Creeds (Nicene Creed, Apostles' Creed, and Athanasian Creed), the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer as the principal statements of Anglican doctrine, as do most other churches in the Anglican Communion worldwide. The Thirty-Nine Articles, no longer binding in most churches, are considered somewhat Calvinist in their Protestant positions. Churchmanship Anglicanism has always been characterised by diversity in theology and liturgy. Different individuals, groups, parishes, dioceses, and national churches may identify more with Catholic traditions and theology or, alternatively, with the principles of the Reformation. Some Anglicans follow such Roman Catholic devotional practices as solemn benediction of the reserved sacrament, use of the rosary, and the invocation of the saints (although all are prohibited practices according to the Thirty-nine Articles). Some give greater weight to the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. (See Biblical canon.) Officially, Anglican teaching is that these books are to be read in church for their instruction in morals, but not used to establish any doctrine. For their part, those Anglicans who emphasize the Protestant nature of the Church stress the Reformation themes of salvation by grace through faith, the two sacraments of the Gospel, and Scripture as containing all that is necessary to salvation. The range of Anglican belief and practice became particularly divisive during the 19th century, as the so-called Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical movements emphasized the more Catholic or the more Reformed sides of Anglican Christianity. These groups or "parties" are still often equated with the terms 'High Church' and 'Low Church,' but those terms properly only speak of the level of ceremony that is favored, not doctrine. The spectrum of Anglican beliefs and practice is too large to be fit into these labels. Most Anglicans are probably somewhere in the middle and, in fact, stress that Anglicanism, rightly understood, is Christianity's "Via Media" (middle way) between Catholicism and Protestantism. See also Church of England Anglican Communion Continuing Anglican Movement Anglican Use Sydney Anglicans Anglican prayer beads Methodist External links Anglican Communion - The official site of the Anglican Communion. Anglicans Online - An unofficial site of the Anglican Communion. One of the biggest resources of Anglicanism in the world. What it means to be an Anglican: Official CofE site Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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