A Brief History of Anglicanism, Part 1
The following is an adapted excerpt from Simply Anglican: An Ancient Faith for Today’s World by Winfield Bevins, published by Anglican Compass.
The Anglican tradition traces its roots back to the time of the Roman Empire when a Christian church first came to exist in the British Isles. Anglican actually means “English” and refers to the church’s place of origin. According to legend, Christianity first came to England through Joseph of Arimathea, although this cannot be known for certain.
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Church fathers Tertullian and Origen both spoke of a church in England around AD 200; Saint Alban’s execution in AD 209 represents the first Christian martyrdom in the British Isles; and in AD 314, Britain sent three bishops to the Council of Arles. Not only have Christians inhabited the British Isles since the third century, but they have also actively contributed to the history of Christianity since that time.
The Celtic Mission
Of course, the British Isles include more than just England. When most of us think of Ireland, we think about green rolling hills and grass-covered countryside. However, few people know that more than fifteen hundred years ago, this island birthed one of the most influential movements in the history of the Christian church. In fact, some scholars argue that the Celtic Christians, who called Ireland their home, contributed to the preservation of Western civilization. Christianity spread throughout the British Isles under the leadership of Celtic missionaries like Patrick (387–493), who baptized thousands of people, ordained hundreds of ministers, and helped plant hundreds of churches throughout the British Isles.
Christianity continued to spread throughout the British Isles like wildfire under the gifted leadership of monks such as Columba (521–597) in Iona and Aidan in Lindisfarne (651 AD). Contrary to common stereotypes, these monasteries did not house monastic recluses. Rather, they became spiritual centers and discipleship-training hubs that commissioned missionaries throughout Western Europe. The churches and monasteries of this movement became some of the most influential missionary centers in all of Europe.[1] Missionaries went out from Ireland to spread the gospel throughout the world. These Irish monasteries helped preserve the Christian faith during the dark ages.
Augustine and the Middle Ages
An important step in the history of the English church happened in 596 when Pope Gregory the Great sent one of his assistants, a Benedictine monk named Augustine, to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons. Due to his influence, many consider Augustine the “Apostle to the English.” He eventually arrived in Kent (the southeast corner of England) in 597 with a team of monks. There, King Aethelbert, whose wife already practiced Christianity, allowed Augustine and his team to settle and preach among the people. Augustine eventually succeeded in converting the king and many others to the Christian faith. Often, when a king converted, his subjects would follow, and this case was no different. This unique connection between the king and the church continued throughout the ages and remains a crucial historical tenet to understanding the complex relationship between the church and state in the Church of England.
Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and established a center for Christianity in Britain. From that time onward, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been honored and respected as the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. In a letter, Pope Gregory wisely counseled Augustine to allow room for the English church to retain its own distinctiveness:
“For things are not to be loved for the sake of places but places for the sake of good things. Select, therefore, from every church the things that are devout, religious and upright, and when you have, as it were, combined them into one body, let the minds of the English be trained therein.”[2]
Augustine lived during the beginning of the medieval time period, which lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. This time period was a tumultuous time that marked the beginning of the collapse of the Roman Empire and preceded the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. During this period, the Catholic Church represented the single most powerful institution and became the main stabilizing force in all of Western Europe, including England. In addition to being a major religious influence, the Church also provided significant secular leadership as well by playing a key role in learning and the general welfare of the people. For the common person, the Church’s rituals marked important moments in an individual’s life, including baptism, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and the last rites before burial.
It was also during this time that division between the Orthodox Christian Church in the East and the Roman Catholic Church in the West began. At the heart of this split was the Roman Catholic Church’s insistence on the Pope as the head of the Church, as well as the emergence of differing views on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, the two branches of Christianity reached an impasse and permanently split in 1054.
Medieval Achievements and Abuses
In spite of what many people have claimed, the Middle Ages were not completely “dark ages.” In fact, the medieval time period offered many contributions to the faith that would eventually bear the name Anglicanism. For instance, a number of the great cathedrals in England and the rest of Europe, including Canterbury and Westminster, were constructed during this time period.
Another development from the Medieval time period that was closely associated with the cathedrals was the emergence of the great English choral tradition. This beautiful musical tradition owes its existence to the roots of the monastic past when monks, sometimes joined by other singers, would chant the daily offices. Today, cathedral choirs are made up of both adult singers and children who are professionally trained and sing several times a week in services worldwide. Sitting in one of these beautiful choral services is like stepping back into the Medieval past and offers contemporary Christians a living connection to the history of the church.
Because of the Catholic Church’s power, the Middle Ages also represented a time of many abuses, such as the selling of indulgences, through which people could purchase the remission of the temporal punishment in purgatory. The church abused these indulgences through unrestricted sales so that they could help pay off the Roman Catholic Church’s debts and also fund building projects like St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was the sale and abuses of indulgences and other excesses of the Catholic Church that helped spark the fires of the Reformation.
Continued in part 2.
Simply Anglican: An Ancient Faith for Today’s World is available in print and for Kindle, exclusively at Amazon.
[1] See Edward L. Smither, Missionary Monks: An Introduction to the History and Theology of Missionary Monasticism (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2016), 64–81.
[2] Bede, A History of the English Church and People (London, England: Penguin Books, 1968), 73.
Photo of a Celtic Cross at a Medieval Church in Ireland by littleny from Getty Images, courtesy of Canva.
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