What's an “Anglican”?
Anglicans belong to a worldwide family of national churches who mostly trace their ancestry to the Church of England, headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and through him to the earliest roots of Christianity in the British Isles. Other well-known Anglicans include Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Bono (lead singer of U2 and social activist), C.S. Lewis, Terry Waite, J.K. Rowling (author of “Harry Potter”), and numerous American Presidents. (In the United States and in some other countries, Anglicans are generally known as Episcopalians and the local church is called the Episcopal Church.)
The Anglican churches follow a path between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, sometimes called the “Via Media”, and attempt to be more inclusive and “broad church” as a general rule.
Like the Old Catholics, most Anglican churches permit clergy to marry, have female priests (and in some cases bishops) and so on. Anglicans base their faith on the three pillars of Scripture, Tradition and Reason, while keeping an open mind and welcoming the challenges of the modern age.
You can find out more about what Anglicans are at Anglicans Online.
Further information
- To find out more about our Anglican-rite English services in Hannover, please click here.
- To find out more about the Old Catholics, please click here.
- For more information about our English Communion services, please click here.