Church of England - Establishment (2024)

The Church of England claims to be that portion of the Universal Church of Christ located in England, a "true and apostolical Church teaching the doctrine of the Apostles." It acknowledges that to the Crown "the chief government of all estates of this realm, whether they be ecclesiastical or civil in all cases doth appertain." It is established, i.e. it is part of the constitution of the country. It is Protestant in so far as denying that the Bishop of Rome has jurisdiction in England and condemning the errors of the Roman Church; Catholic as claiming to be a portion of the Universal Church of Christ. It grounds itself on Scripture and the three creeds. Its ministers are bishops, priests, and deacons. It claims to be continuous with the primitive church.

The constitution of the Church was influenced by two main characteristics. One was a desire to do away with what we believe to be mediaeval corruptions ; the other to preserve the primitive organization of the Church. Naturally also there was a tendency to preserve all the distinctly national institutions which were inherited from the past. The orders of the Church of England are : bishops, priests, and deacons, and it is definitely laid down that the possession of episcopal ordination is necessary for holding office in the Church. The clergy of the Church meet in their own assemblies in Convocation which were originally the meetings of the clergy for taxing themselves at the time when they were immune from general taxation.

External changes in either form or constitution of the Church have hardly been made since the Act of Uniformity of the year 1662. By the common law of the country the parson or parish priest has a freehold in his cure, and he can only be removed by very complicated processes. The result of this has been to make the English clergy very independent of any authority. The influence of the bishops as men may be very powerful and effective but if they wish to support their opinions or administration by any appeal to authority they are hampered at every turn by a complicated system which makes it exceedingly difficult for them, even in spite of recent changes, to interfere with acrimonious or refractory clerks.

The position of the Church of England is that it is established by law and it is part of the constitution of the country. What exactly this implies has never been clearly defined and there are different sections of opinion on the subject in the country. The High Church party claim that the position of the Church is continuous with that before the Reformation and that the Church is by constitutional right free to determine its own teaching. A party which would be called by their opponents Erastian would claim that the Church was entirely subject to the Sovereign and to the Houses of Parliament.

The relation of the Church of England to the English nation was modified very considerably in the early part of the 19th century by a series of enactments. Almost all its exclusive privileges have been gradually taken away. It has no longer a paramount position in the universities, and membership of the Church of England is no longer necessary for any civil position in the state.The monarch appoints Church of England officials on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Crown Appointments Commission, which includes lay and clergy representatives. The General Convention of the Church of Scotland appoints its own office bearers, and its affairs are not subject to any civil authority. The Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Church of Ireland are members of the Anglican Communion.

The Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701 forbid any Catholic, or person married to a Catholic, from becoming monarch. The monarch is the "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and must always be a member of and promise to uphold the Church. The monarch's connection with the Church of England was the subject of public debate, and in 2009 a Member of Parliament (MP) tried to introduce legislation to remove the ban on Roman Catholics becoming the monarch. The Government has agreed that the ban on Catholics becoming monarch needs to be considered, although some Christians worry that this would diminish the role of the Church in the country. There is disagreement within the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom as to the importance of the issue. The head of the Catholic Church in Scotland has described the ban as "state-sponsored sectarian discrimination," while the new head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has stated that it is low on his list of priorities.

On January 21, 2009, a bill was introduced in Parliament that would end the ban on the monarch marrying a Catholic, as well as end the practice of male primogeniture in royal succession. The bill would not remove the requirement that the monarch be part of the Church of England. A 2001 Home Office study suggested that the establishment status of the Church of England causes "religious disadvantage" to other religious communities. Twenty-six senior bishops of the Anglican Church are given places in the House of Lords as representatives of the official church.