Conclusions. There have been Christians in Britain since AD200 and probably earlier. Through war, peace, famine and prosperity, the Church was critical in the development of society, law, buildings and the quiet piety of the people.
English civil power and the Church developed in an increasingly uneasy parallel. Two points of contention were the Churchs wealth and its ties with Rome. These differences came to a head in the 1530s, when King Henry VIII wished to obtain a divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon. And Act of Supremacy was issued. This Act reaffirmed the King s sovereignty over the English Church and State and gave Henry power over all moral, organizational, heretical, and ecclesiastical reform which until this point had been left to the Church.
The new church was christened Ecclesia Anglicana. But in 1550s, however, under Edward VI, the English Church became Protestant in doctrine and ritual, and even then it remained traditional in organization. Under the Roman Catholic Mary I a politico-religious reaction resulted in the burning at the stake of some prominent Protestants and the exile of many others, which led in turn to a popular association of Catholicism with persecution and Spanish domination.
When Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne in 1558, however, she restored a moderate Protestantism, codifying the Anglican faith in the Act of Uniformity, the Act of Supremacy, and the Thirty-Nine Articles. Under reign of Charles II. Puritan laws and censorship are repealed the theaters re-open. The conflict with Puritanism leaves distrust for religious individualism and emotionalism enthusiasm among Anglicans. This will continue through the Great Awakening. During Great Awakening Christian revival took place in England and America.
The trend during Victorian Era rediscovered of liturgy and church history and spreading Christianity. In the mid-nineteenth century, then, the Church of England was disorganized. Though its adherents were largely conservative, a considerable portion of its leadership was, ideologically speaking, perilously close to Catholicism, and the religious census of 1851 showed that it was reaching only about fourteen percent of the population of England.
When the British Empire expanded in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the Church. And today the Anglican Communion has more than 70 million adherents in 38 Provinces spreading across 161 countries. Te Churches are committed to the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel to the whole creation. In practice this is based on the revelation contained in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds, and is interpreted in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and experience. The Anglican Church is open for people who are united in their creed and their love of Christ Jesus, the Son of God and what He means for them and for the world around them.