Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition which 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 largest branches of Christianity, with around 110 million adherents worldwide as of 2001.
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine of Canterbury, the "Apostle to the English", who was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great and arrived in 597. The position is currently vacant following the resignation of Justin Welby, the 105th archbishop, on 7 January 2025. During the vacancy the official functions of the office have been delegated primarily to the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, with some also undertaken by the bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and the bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin.
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does not mean "a large meal, typically a celebratory one", but instead "an annual religious celebration, a day dedicated to a particular saint".
The Church of England traces its history back to 597. That year, a group of missionaries sent by the pope and led by Augustine of Canterbury began the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine became the first archbishop of Canterbury. Throughout the Middle Ages, the English Church was a part of the Catholic Church led by the pope in Rome. Over the years, the church won many legal privileges and amassed vast wealth and property. This was often a point of contention between Kings of England and the church.
The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church, also translated as Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain, or IERE is the church of the Anglican Communion in Spain. It was founded in 1880 and since 1980 has been an extra-provincial church under the metropolitan authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Its cathedral is the Anglican Cathedral of the Redeemer in Madrid.
The Church of England commemorates many of the same saints as those in the General Roman Calendar, mostly on the same days, but also commemorates various notable Christians who have not been canonised by Rome, with a particular though not exclusive emphasis on those of English origin. There are differences in the calendars of other churches of the Anglican Communion.
The Lutheran Church has, from the time of the Reformation, continued the remembrance of saints. The theological basis for this remembrance is understood as being connected to the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews 12:1. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession states that the remembrance of the saints has three parts: thanksgiving to God, the strengthening our faith, and the imitation of the saints' holy living.
Prior to the revision of the Anglican Church of Canada's (ACC) Book of Common Prayer (BCP) in 1962, the national church followed the liturgical calendar of the 1918 Canadian Book of Common Prayer. Throughout most of the twentieth century, the situation in Canada resembled that which pertained in much of the Anglican Communion: There was uncertainty as to whether post-Reformation figures could or should be commemorated. In the words of the calendar's introduction, "New names have been added from the ancient calendars, and also from the history of the Anglican Communion, without thereby enrolling or commending such persons as saints of the Church." The 1962 revision added twenty-six post-Reformation individuals, as well as commemorations of the first General Synod and of "The Founders, Benefactors, and Missionaries of the Church in Canada." Of the calendar days, twenty-eight were highlighted as "red-letter days" — that is, days of required observation.
The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is organised into the Catholic churches in England and Wales, Scotland, and with Northern Ireland organised as part of the Catholic Church in Ireland. All as part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. While there is no ecclesiastical jurisdiction corresponding to the United Kingdom as a whole, this article refers to the Catholic Church's geographical representation in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ever since the establishment of the Kingdom of Great Britain by the Acts of Union 1707, and later the United Kingdom.
The Calendar of the Church Year is the liturgical calendar found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, with additions made at recent General Conventions.
Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Principal Feasts must be celebrated, it is not obligatory to observe Lesser Festivals. They are always attached to a calendar date, and are not observed if they fall on a Sunday, in Holy Week, or in Easter Week. In Common Worship each Lesser Festival is provided with a collect and an indication of liturgical colour.
Commemorations are a type of religious observance in the many Churches of the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England. They are the least significant type of observance, the others being Principal Feasts, Principal Holy Days, Festivals, and Lesser Festivals. Whereas Principal Feasts must be celebrated, it is not obligatory to observe Commemorations. They are always attached to a calendar date, and are not observed if they fall on a Sunday, in Holy Week, or in Easter Week. In Common Worship Commemorations are not provided with collects or indications of liturgical colour. However, they may be celebrated as Lesser Festivals if local pastoral conditions suggest it.
In the Calendar of the Scottish Episcopal Church, each holy and saint's day listed has been assigned a number which indicates its category. It is intended that feasts in categories 1 - 4 should be kept by the whole church. Days in categories 5 and 6 may be kept according to diocesan or local discretion. Commemorations not included in this calendar may be observed with the approval of the bishop.
The calendar of the Anglican Church of Australia follows Anglican tradition with the addition of significant people and events in the church in Australia.
The Caroline Divines were influential theologians and writers in the Church of England who lived during the reigns of King Charles I and, after the Stuart Restoration, King Charles II. There is no official list of Caroline-era divines; they are defined by the era in which they lived, and Caroline Divines hailed from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. However, of these four nations, it is Caroline England which is most commonly considered to have fostered a golden age of Anglican scholarship and devotional writing, despite the socio-cultural upset of civil war, regicide, and military rule under Oliver Cromwell. Importantly, the term divine is restricted neither to canonised saints nor to Anglican figures, but is used of many writers and thinkers in the wider Christian church.
The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, also known as the Hong Kong Anglican Church (Episcopal), an Anglican Church in Hong Kong and Macau, has its own calendar of saints.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Christianity:
In the Calendar of the Church in Wales, each holy and saint's day listed has been assigned a number which indicates its category. Commemorations not included in this Calendar may be observed with the approval of the bishop.
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