The
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
does not have a centralised
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
of its own, unlike the
canon law of the Catholic Church
The canon law of the Catholic Church ("canon law" comes from Latin ') is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Cathol ...
. Each of the autonomous member churches of the communion, however, does have a canonical system. Some, such as the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, has an ancient, highly developed
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
while others, such as the
Episcopal Church in the United States
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...
have more recently developed canonical systems originally based on the English canon law.
See also
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Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has 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 ...
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Canon law of the Church of England
The Church of England, like the other autonomous member churches of the Anglican Communion, has its own system of canon law.
The principal body of canon law enacted since the Reformation is the ''Book of Canons'' approved by the Convocations of C ...
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Canon law of the Episcopal Church in the United States The Anglican Communion does not have a centralised canon law of its own, unlike the canon law of the Catholic Church. Each of the autonomous member churches of the communion, however, does have a canonical system. Some, such as the Church of Engla ...
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Ecclesiastical Law Society
The Ecclesiastical Law Society is an organization based in the United Kingdom that "exists to promote the study of ecclesiastical and canon law particularly in the Church of England and those churches in communion with it." All are welcome to joi ...
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Religious law
Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others ...
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Valid but irregular
Valid but irregular is a term used in Christian churches which have a concept of Holy Orders, such as the Anglican churches, to sacramental actions by someone who is able, due to their already being ordained to the appropriate orders, to carry out ...
Notes
References
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Further reading
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Anglican theology and doctrine
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