Anglican churches

Where it came from

Formed after England's break with Rome in the 16th century; the Book of Common Prayer (1549) shaped its worship. It spread with the British Empire and is now a worldwide communion of self-governing provinces, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as a symbolic — not papal — centre.

What it holds

• Authority: Scripture first, alongside tradition and reason — often called the three-legged stool
• Salvation: by faith
• Baptism: infants are baptised, usually by pouring
• Eucharist: Christ is truly present, without prescribing how
• Governance: bishops, with each national province self-governing
• A wide spectrum: high-church parishes are richly liturgical, low-church parishes resemble evangelical congregations

What a service is like

Follows the prayer book and the church calendar, with the congregation responding at set points. Many parishes have a choir and organ, and clergy wear vestments. Dignified and predictable — the fixed order actually makes a first visit easier, not harder.

How it relates to others

Closest to Catholicism in worship, Protestant in doctrine. The Episcopal Church is the same tradition in the United States. Provinces differ sharply on some contemporary questions.

Common questions