What is Church of England?
The '''Church of England''' is the leading [[Christian]] [[church]] in [[England]]. It is the [[State religion|church established]] by law: its formal head is the [[British monarch|English]] [[monarch]] ([[Charles III]]). It is the mother church of the [[Anglican Communion]]. Its [[headquarters]] are at Church House, [[Westminster]], in [[London]]. The Church of England understands itself to be both [[Catholic]] and [[English Reformation|Reformed]]: *'''Catholic''' because it views itself as a part of the universal church of [[Jesus Christ]] in unbroken continuity with the early apostolic church. This is expressed in its emphasis on the teachings of the early [[Church Father]]<nowiki/>s, as in the [[Apostles' Creed]], [[Nicene Creed]] and [[Athanasian Creed]]. *'''Reformed''' because it has been shaped by the doctrinal ideas of the 16th-century [[Protestant Reformation]], in particular by the [[Thirty-Nine Articles]] and the [[Book of Common Prayer]]. There are other Protestant churches in England which are not part of the Anglican Communion. == History == The Church of England became independent under King [[Henry VIII]] in 1534. Henry VIII was married to [[Catherine of Aragon]], but asked the Pope to [[Annulment|annul]] the marriage (say that it was a mistake and that Henry and Catherine were never really married). He wanted to annul the marriage because he wanted a male [[heir]] to his throne and Catherine could not produce one. When the annulment was refused, Henry VIII used his position as King to break the Church away from the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. This established the independence of the Church of England, sometimes called the Anglican (English) Church. [[Methodism]] broke away from the church in the [[18th century]]. The [[Oxford Movement]] brought some [[Catholic]] beliefs and practices back into the church in the [[19th century]]. Under his son, [[King Edward VI]], more [[Protestant]] forms of worship were adopted. The Archbishop of Canterbury, [[Thomas Cranmer]] started more changes. A new p