Anglicanism

Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the largest branches of Christianity, with around 110 million adherents within the Anglican Communion, and approximately 2.4 million outside of the Anglican Communion, worldwide as of 2025. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans; they are also called Episcopalians in some countries. Most are members of national or regional ecclesiastical provinces of the international Anglican Communion, one of the largest Christian bodies in the world, and the world's third-largest Christian communion. The provinces within the Anglican Communion have historically been in full communion with the See of Canterbury and thus with the archbishop of Canterbury, whom the communion refers to as its primus inter pares (Latin, 'first among equals'). The archbishop calls the decennial Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, and is the president of the Anglican Consultative Council. Some churches that are not part of the Anglican Communion or recognised by it also call themselves Anglican, including those that are within the Continuing Anglican movement and Anglican realignment. Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic church, apostolic succession ("historic episcopate"), and the writings of the Church Fathers, as well as, historically, the Thirty-nine Articles and The Books of Homilies. Anglicanism forms a branch of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See through the Act of Supremacy in 1534, a separation later consolidated by the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century correspond closely to those of historical Protestantism. In the first half of the 17th century, the Church of England and the associated...