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Religious Literacy Academy
Anglicanism
The word Anglican originates from the Medieval Latin phrase ecclesia anglicana which means English Church. Deriving from the ancient Celtic and Saxon churches on the British Isles, Anglicanism found its distinctive identity in the 16th- and 17th-century Reformation, when the separate Church of England, Church of Ireland and Scottish Episcopal Church developed. It was during the reign of King Henry VIII that the Church of England separated from the Bishop of Rome. Later, Anglicanism spread outside England in two stages: The first stage was in the beginning in the 17th century, when it spread alongside colonies in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India, the West Indies and Guyana. The second stage was in the beginning in the 18th century, when missionaries established Anglican churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America. At the time of the American Revolution, an independent Episcopal church was founded in the United States. In the US, Scotland and elsewhere, Anglicans are also known as Episcopalians.
Anglicanism includes features of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Anglicans uphold the Catholic and Apostolic faith. Following the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Churches are committed to the proclamation of the Gospel. In practice, this is based on the revelation contained in the Bible and the Catholic creeds, and is interpreted in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and experience. The four essential elements of the Anglican Christian faith are: The holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, the two sacraments ordained by Jesus Christ himself - baptism and the supper of the Lord -, and the historic episcopate.
Worship is a central element of Anglicanism. Until the late twentieth century, the great uniting text was The Book of Common Prayer, in its various revisions throughout the Communion, and the modern language liturgies, such as Common Worship, which now exist alongside it still bear a resemblance. The first Book of Common Prayer was compiled in 1549 by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. Central to Anglican worship is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, also called the Holy Communion. Other important rites, commonly called sacraments, include confirmation, holy orders, reconciliation, marriage and anointing of the sick.
Anglicanism is loosely organized in the Anglican Communion, a worldwide family of religious bodies that represents the offspring of the Church of England. The Anglican Communion is one of the world’s largest Christian communities being represented in more than 165 countries around the globe and comprising tens of millions Christians who are members of 46 different Churches. These make up 40 member churches (also called provinces) and six other national or local churches known as Extra Provincials. Some provinces are national, others are regional. All are in communion – or a reciprocal relationship – with the See of Canterbury and recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as the Communion’s spiritual head. But there is no central authority in the Anglican Communion. All of the provinces are autonomous and free to make their own decisions in their own ways – guided by recommendations from the four Instruments of the Communion: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council.
One of the most famous Anglicans is Nobel peace prize laureate Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town who chaired the post-Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.
Featured Actor
The Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria
In 1995, the Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC) was established by Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye in Kaduna, Nigeria. Once enemies in a deadly conflict during the 1990s, the two faith leaders decided to overcome their differences and join hands in the protection of their communities. The Interfaith Mediation Centre is a non-governmental, community-based organization whose mandate is to promote peace and good governance using a faith-based approach to conflict resolution, mediation and capacity building.
IMC’s vision is an inclusive society, free of violent conflicts between ethnic or religious groups in Nigeria and beyond the country’s borders. They work towards their vision through the promotion of interreligious dialogue, strategic engagement and community-based solutions. Their faith-based approach has provided open-democratic spaces for aggrieved parties to share their grievances openly and honestly to find local solutions to conflict issues—without having solutions imposed on them by outsiders.
IMC pursues a variety of activities and specializes in Muslim-Christian mediation. The Center offers consultation, facilitation, mediation and training tools for community leaders. After the violent conflict following the elections in Kenya in 2007, IMC engaged in the conflict resolution and reconciliation process. The endeavor has been captured in the documentary An African Answer. Furthermore, IMC provides integrated conflict management systems for public entities and is actively engaged in advancing the concept of interreligious harmony and reconciliation through radio and film material about the Kaduna crisis in Nigeria.
Major achievements were the facilitation of the Kaduna Peace Declaration of Religious Leaders in August 2002, which was signed by 22 Christian and Muslim faith leaders and the co-organization of the 4th International Conference for Forum for Cities in Transition in Kaduna in November 2013. To the present, IMC has engaged in over 50 communities throughout Nigeria and beyond, reaching more than 4 million people with their programs.
For more information, read an interview with the founders or follow them on Facebook.
