Cross Denominational Mission
The
Church of England is the established church in England, and acts
as the "mother church" and originator of the worldwide Anglican
Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo (pronounced 'porvoh') Communion. The
Church of England stands both in a catholic and yet a reformed
tradition.Catholic
in
that it sees itself as a continuation of the early Apostolic and then
later medieval Universal church. Its practices and liturgy has more of
that
tradition than many other reformed churches. Reformed
because many of the principles of the early Protestants (as well as the
subsequent Protestant Reformation) have influenced it. The Church of
England does not accept Papal authority. Before its' reformation it did accept Papal authority.
In belief and
practice, and in forms of churchmanship, the Church of England is
mixed: in some of its congregations worship remains similar to Roman
Catholicism (see high church), but in others it is hard to distinguish
between the Anglican forms in use and other Evangelical
congregations (see low church). Its constitution preserves many
relatively conservative theological beliefs, its worship liturgy
is traditional, and it is organised in the historical episcopal
hierarchy of bishops, priests and deacons.
The Church of England
holds dear its heritage of breadth and "open-mindedness". It often
refers to itself as a 'Broad Church'. Today, its beliefs and practices
range from the Anglo-Catholics, who emphasise liturgy, sacraments and vestments,
to the far more preaching-centred and less ritualistic services of
Evangelicals and the powerful gatherings of the Charismatics. But this
"broad church" faces various contentious doctrinal issues raised by the
development of modern society: conflicts over the ordination of
women as priests (accepted in 1992 and begun in 1994), and the status
of non-celibate homosexual clergy (as yet unresolved). In July 2005
divisions once again surfaced, as the General Synod voted to set
in motion the process of allowing the consecration of women as bishops;
in February 2006 the Synod voted overwhelmingly for further
exploration of a scheme that would also allow parishes that did not
want a woman bishop to opt for a male bishop instead. There are some
churches within the Church of England that do not recognise women as
priests and gain their episcopal oversight from bishops other than the
diocesan bishop.
In
1995 the Church of England along with a number of other Anglican
communions established links with other like-minded European churches
called Porvoo after Porvoo Cathedral in Finland where the agreement was
reached.
Links:
Church of England
Porvoo Communion
Anglicans Online
Anglican Communion