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The worldwide Anglican Church does not
exist, at least not in the form that one might think. There are millions
of Anglicans, many thousands of parishes, and hundreds of dioceses.
There are nearly 40 independent Anglican churches, none of which has
authority over any other. But there is no central administration:
no Pope, no Patriarch, no overall director. There is no Parliament
or Congress. There is certainly a Church
of England. But there is also The Church of Wales, and The Church
of Ireland, and The Scottish Episcopal Church, none of which is governed
by The Church of England.
The Anglican church was originally spread to other countries through
English colonization. As the colonies became independent from England,
so did their churches. After the end of the colonial era, the Anglican
church continued to spread via missionary work. There was never a
postcolonial attempt to regenerate a central administration with actual
authority over the churches outside England. During the Colonial era
the overseas churches were held to be under the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of London, but when they got their own bishops, they could
be independent.
There is a structure for doctrinal centralization, but in the absence
of central authority the doctrine is followed by consensus and not
by mandate.
The doctrinal centralization is based on a concept and organization
called The Anglican Communion,
of which a church either is a member, or is not. There is a set of
beliefs, and if a church holds those beliefs and meets certain other
requirements, it is welcome to be in the Anglican Communion. The administration
associated with the Anglican Communion is in the Anglican
Communion Office in London. It is closely affiliated with the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and manages the paperwork, the press releases,
and the meetings every ten years of Bishops from around the world.
The Anglican Communion Office maintains the "Instruments of Unity":
The Lambeth Conference, The Primates Meeting, The Anglican Consultative
Council, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is more the media spokesman
for the church than its leader. The official
description of the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury explains
that he is primus inter pares--first among equals--of the various
Primates of the Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is selected by the government of Great
Britain rather than by any unified church process. |
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