The Major Churches Network, founded in 1991 as the Greater Churches Network, is a group of

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 Brit ...

parish churches defined as having exceptional significance, being physically very large (over 1000m² footprint), listed as Grade I, II* (or exceptionally II), open to visitors daily, having a role or roles beyond those of a typical parish church, and making a considerable civic, cultural, and economic contribution to their community. These buildings are often former monastic properties which became parish churches after the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

, or civic parish churches built at a time of great wealth. the Church of England designates 312 churches as Major Parish Churches, which are thus eligible to join the Major Churches Network.

Greater Churches Network

The Greater Churches Network was founded in 1991 as a self-help organisation within the

. It aimed to provide help and mutual support to its member churches in dealing with the special problems of running a "

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

-like" church with the organisation and financial structure of a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. The group met every two years in conference to share ideas. These Greater Churches were defined as "non-cathedral churches which, by virtue of their great age, size, historical, architectural, or ecclesiastical importance, display many of the characteristics of a cathedral", and those which " fulfil a role which is additional to that of a normal parish church". At its disbanding in 2019 there were 55 churches within the Greater Churches Network.

Refounding

In May 2019, a meeting of the Greater Churches Network took a decision to rename the group as the Major Churches Network, and to adopt a new constitution. The Greater Churches Network was therefore formally closed, and the new Major Churches Network was formed, and its inaugural general meeting took place. The change was made in response to a study commissioned into Major Parish Churches under the auspices of the

Church Buildings Council The Central Council for the Care of Churches of the Church of England was formed in 1917, developing from the Central Committee for the Protection of English Churches under the Archbishops' Council. It became the Church Buildings Council in 2007, ...

, the official body with overall responsibility for the Church of England parish churches and chapels, together with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

and the

National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. This resulted in the appointment of a Cathedrals and Major Churches Officer within the CBC, and the identification of around 300 churches in England which met certain agreed criteria. These define a Major Parish Church as having exceptional significance, being physically very large (over 1000m2 footprint),

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

as Grade I, II* (or exceptionally II), open to visitors daily, having a role or roles beyond those of a typical parish church, and making a considerable civic, cultural, and economic contribution to their community. All churches recognised as Major Churches by the CBC are eligible to join the Major Churches Network. Several of these buildings are former monastic properties that were converted to parish church use after the

; others are large parish churches built at a time of great wealth. What they have in common are the requirements to offer facilities to many visitors, host special services, offer community access and fund the specialist maintenance and repair of these large buildings, most of which are

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

References

External links

* {{Greater Churches Church of England societies and organisations