the evolution of the christianity in england

8/3/2019 The Evolution of the Christianity in England

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Colegiul Naional Avram Iancu Cmpeni

Lucrare de atestat profesional

The Evolution of the Christianity in England

Prof. Coordonator: ufan Felicia

Elev: Todera Larisa Ioana

Cls. a XII-a F.B.E.


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1. Introduction

Religion represents sacred engagement with that which is believed to be a spiritual reality.

Religion is a worldwide phenomenon that has played a part in all human culture and so is a much

broader, more complex category than the set of beliefs or practices found in any single religious

tradition. An adequate understanding of religion must take into account its distinctive qualities and

patterns as a form of human experience, as well as the similarities and differences in religions across

human cultures.

Most religions are practiced in fairly specific world regions. The spread of religions occurred

mainly due to human migration and the development of telecommunications. This chart shows the

number of believers of each of the world religions in thousands. Over one-third of the worlds

population adheres to a form of Christianity. Latin America has the largest number of Christians,

most of whom are Roman Catholics. Islam is practiced by nearly one-fifth of the worlds population,

most of whom live in parts of Asia, particularly the Middle East. Judaism, though a major world

religion, has fewer followers than Hinduism, Buddhism, and various other religions practiced

primarily in Asia. Atheists and those who consider themselves nonreligious make up more than one-

fifth of the worlds population.


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In all cultures, human beings make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual

powers. These powers may be in the form of gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality with

which humans believe themselves to be connected. Sometimes a spiritual power is understood broadly

as an all-embracing reality, and sometimes it is approached through its manifestation in special

symbols. It may be regarded as external to the self, internal, or both. People interact with such a

presence in a sacred mannerthat is, with reverence and care. Religion is the term most commonly

used to designate this complex and diverse realm of human experience.

The word religion is derived from the Latin noun religio, which denotes both earnest

observance of ritual obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. In modern usage, religion covers a

wide spectrum of meanings that reflect the enormous variety of ways the term can be interpreted. At

one extreme, many committed believers recognize only their own tradition as a religion, understanding

expressions such as worship andprayerto refer exclusively to the practices of their tradition. Although

many believers stop short of claiming an exclusive status for their tradition, they may nevertheless use

vague or idealizing terms in defining religionfor example, true love of God, or the path of

enlightenment. At the other extreme, religion may be equated with ignorance, fanaticism, or wishful

thinking.

By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is

possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making claims about what it really

is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or even a zone with clear

boundaries. It is an aspect of human experience that may intersect, incorporate, or transcend otheraspects of life and society. Such a definition avoids the drawbacks of limiting the investigation of

religion to Western or biblical categories such as monotheism (belief in one god only) or to church

structure, which are not universal. For example, in tribal societies, religionunlike the Christian

churchusually is not a separate institution but pervades the whole of public and private life. In

Buddhism, gods are not as central as the idea of a Buddha (fully enlightened human being). In many

traditional cultures the idea of a sacred cosmic order is the most prominent religious belief. Because of

this variety, some scholars prefer to use a general term such as the sacred to designate the common

foundation of religious life.

Religion in this understanding includes a complex of activities that cannot be reduced to any

single aspect of human experience. It is a part of individual life but also of group dynamics. Religion

includes patterns of behavior but also patterns of language and thought. It is sometimes a highly

organized institution that sets itself apart from a culture, and it is sometimes an integral part of a

culture. Religious experience may be expressed in visual symbols, dance and performance, elaborate


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philosophical systems, legendary and imaginative stories, formal ceremonies, meditative techniques,

and detailed rules of ethical conduct and law. Each of these elements assumes innumerable cultural

forms. In some ways there are as many forms of religious expression as there are human cultural

environments.

England guarantees its citizens religious freedom without interference from the state or the

community, and most of the world's religions have followers in Britain. As in many European

countries today, the majority of the population in Britain does not regularly attend religious

services, yet nearly all faiths have devoted congregations of active members. An increasing

percentage of the population professes no religious faith and some organizations represent

secular outlooks.

In conclusion, religion is an important force in attempt to unite all nations, tying together all

humans, for a better life and coexistence.

2. Christianity in Britain during the days of the Roman Empire

As Christianity spread through the Western world, it rarely followed a linear path: differentpockets of faith and doctrine were developed by a variety of peoples in an even greater variety of

locales. Nowhere is this more evident than in Roman Britain and the era of Anglo-Saxon

migrations. In five centuries, English religious culture transformed from one of pagan worship to

that of leadership in the Christian world. Controversies included more than merely pagan-

Christian dynamics; the Christians were greatly divided, and Christian efforts went through

many ebbs before becoming firmly established. One must evaluate the development of both

Rome and England to gain an adequate understanding of early English Christianity.

y The Druidic religious cultureThe history of England begins with the Anglo-Saxons, who invaded Great Britain about AD 449.

They displaced the previous occupants from the southeastern part of the island and called it Angle-land,


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or England. Previously, the island, like Europe, was home for a succession of peoples dating from the

beginnings of the Old Stone Age.

(Note: The terms "England", "Scotland", and "Wales" are used purely to indicate geographic location

relative to modern boundaries - at this time period, these individual countries did not exist).

The Ice Age, during which in the 1st millennium BC the Celts overran the British Isles, as they did

virtually all of western Europe. With iron plows they cultivated the heavy soil of the river valleys; with

iron weapons and two-wheeled, horse-drawn chariots, they subdued and absorbed the indigenous

inhabitants of the islands. Their priests, the Druids, dominated their society.

Although it had long been known to the Mediterranean peoples as a source of tin, Britain did not

enter the Roman world until Julius Caesar's arrival in 55 BCa sort of afterthought to his conquest of

Gaul. Caesar's contact, however, was temporary; permanent occupation had to wait until Rome had

solved more pressing problems at home.

Fifty-five years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Julius Caesar encountered the Druidic religious

culture in his invasion of Britain. Although only recently established in Caesar's day, the Druids exerted

tremendous influence over British society; they were the priests of the primitive government, and

possessed considerable authority as such. In addition to their spiritual duties, Druid priests were

responsible for educating the youth, remained immune from military duty and taxes, and presided over

civil and criminal legal matters (to the point of deciding controversies among states). They were the

expression of both a local government and a community spirituality that were bound to a larger whole.

They ruled with an iron fist - decisions by Druid priests were final and irrefutable. Their penalties were

swift and severe, with many individual Celts and Britons banished from contact with civilization. Many

aspects of Druidic culture surfaced in the formation of Celtic Christianity. Druidism was a polytheistic

cult with a naturist bent: gods and goddesses were believed to inhabit local springs, caves, forests, and

mountains, and became the personification of natural objects and events. The entire social structure,

both as local community and as loose nation-state, was a caste system, with the Druid priests presiding

above all. Caesar viewed them with contempt; he found their brutality and centrality immediately

threatening, and wrote of the Druids: All the Gauls are as a nation much given to superstition, and,

therefore, persons afflicted by severe illness or involved in wars and danger either make human

sacrifices or vow to do so, and use the Druids as their ministers in these ceremonies. The Germans

differ much from the Gauls in these customs. For they have no Druids to preside over their religion.

y Romanization of the Britain


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Druidic paganism was destined to be replaced with the advent of further Roman expeditions into

the islands, and finally the full annexation of Britain by Rome. Caesar did little more than establish a

foothold on the island; Britain officially became a frontier province of the Empire with the invasion of

the Emperor Claudius' troops in 43 AD.

The Roman Empire was approaching the height of her power as Britain became her furthest

frontier. The Roman army evolved into an institution of social mobility as Britain was romanized

in the first and second centuries. Roman legions embarked on a campaign of terror against the

Druids, as the latter refused polytheistic Roman religious beliefs, and thus rejected Roman

governmental prerogative. Roman religion, much like Druidism, was inherently intertwined with

politics. For Britain to be subjugated under the authority of Rome, the rebellious Druids had to

be exterminated. The army paved the way for a flourishing Roman culture in southern England

by the early second century.

Social conditions in Rome and dissatisfaction with the corrupt Roman government left many peasants

in search of a spiritual fulfillment that was lacking in Roman religious institutions. Jews received a high

level of tolerance from the state in their religious practices, as long as they maintained loyalty to the

empire. The advent of Christianity in the mid-first century, however, developed into a leviathan that

eventually strained Roman tolerance. Early Christians were exceedingly zealous in their faith, and as non-

Italians gained more important official posts and social status, many of the new breed of landed

aristocrats were either tolerant of or converted to Christianity.

y The advent of ChristianityChristianity gained a foothold in Britain by the mid-second century, but had yet to gain anything

approaching religious supremacy on the island. Early Christian churches were local communal affairs -

the communitys inhabitants elected each board of elders democratically. Early Christians refused to bow

before Roman authority as the Jews had previously done, and many were persecuted as enemies of the

state (quite similar to the Druidic situation in Britain). Rome would tolerate native religious rites, but

would brook no treason. The universality of the empire, however, paved the way for the universality of

Christianity, as Christian missionaries traveled easily along Roman roads on evangelistic expeditions.


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As Christianity spread throughout the empire, the Roman government found Christian refusals to

worship Roman gods and participate in Roman festivals increasingly distressing; Christians endured

persecution in the first and second centuries, but on an individualized, local scale.

The third century proved disastrous to the empire: an outbreak of the plague, increasingbarbaric invasions from the north, and fifty years of relentless civil war tarnished the image and

reputation of Rome. Manpower shortages due to plague sharply decreased trade and commerce.

Persians penetrated eastern territories and northern Germanic tribes overran the Balkans, Greece,

and Asia Minor simultaneously with Frankish incursions in Gaul and Spain. The strong

monarchy and "good emperors" of the second century devolved into anarchy under the military

regimes of the third century; Roman government was disrupted as any military leader who had

enough strength and persuasion could (and did) become emperor. Between 235 and 284 AD,

twenty-two individuals, only two of whom who did not die violently, sat upon the Roman throne.

y Systematic persecutions of the ChristiansWhile the Empire deteriorated, the structure of Christianity gained strength in the third century, as it

moved away from the looseness and democratic administration of the first and second centuries.

Christianity now appealed to the entire spectrum of society, as the educated and landed aristocracy as well

as the peasant and merchant classes, sought a more personal relationship with a deity than was offered by

the Roman gods. The role of bishop was crucial to Christian administrative reform: bishops were still

chosen by the community in the second century, but assumed more authority as they served as leaders,

with presbyters as priests subject to the bishop's control. By the third century, bishops were simply

approved by the congregation after being nominated by the clergy, and consecrated in office. The Church

had created a hierarchy, a government within a government, which captured the attention of Roman

officials. These effects rippled into Britain, but made a lesser impact on the island isolated from events

occurring throughout the continental empire.

As Christianity became more organized and gained momentum throughout Roman society, some

emperors replied with systematic persecutions. Decius, in 249, was the first to blame the Christians'

refusal to sacrifice to Roman gods for the ills befalling the empire. The persecutions were only slightly

successful. Emperors in the third century attempted like solutions and were frustrated by lack of

enforcement by local officials. Persecutions lasted until the closing years of the reign of Diocletian (284-


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305), but even he was forced to admit that Christianity had grown in influence to the point that it must, at

least, be tolerated.

y Official tolerance of Christianity-Edict of Milan (313)Roman civilization continued to unravel in the fourth and fifth centuries; Christianity grew ever

stronger, poised to supplant the authority of the disintegrating empire. The emperor Constantine (306-

337), in the Edict of Milan in 313, granted official tolerance to Christianity and was honored as the first

Christian emperor, although he was not baptized until the end of his life. With the exception of the three

year reign of Julian (360-363), all subsequent emperors claimed Christianity as their religion. In the reign

of Theodosius "the Great" (378-395), Christianity was made the official state religion. Christians in

official posts quickly used their new found influence to outlaw pagan practices, such as ritual sacrifice;

pagan temples, idols, and altars were destroyed as well. Some degree of Eastern mysticism and

aristocratic philosophy remained for several decades, but Christianity had, in fact, triumphed.

The Roman Empire was split in half once again (as it was under Diocletian's reforms) in 364 by

brother-emperors Valentinian I and Valens in order to better defend the empire from increasing

encroachments. The western portion, under the control of Valentinian I and his successors lasted barely

one century, while the eastern sector survived for seven hundred years. Constant pressure from northern

barbarians crippled the western empire; the Huns invaded Italy and Germanic tribes sacked Rome twice

by the mid-fifth century. In 476, the western empire was extinguished - Emperor Romulus Augustus was

deposed by Odavacar, a Germanic chieftain. The eastern empire continued in the new capitol city of

Constantinople (ancient Byzantium), but was gradually transformed from Roman to Byzantine in nature.

3. Basics of the Church of England

y Church administration-bishops, dioceses and parishesChurch structure underwent further expansion as Christianity grew in the fourth and fifth centuries;

bishops became crucial to Church administration. The position of bishop evolved from the president or

chief priest of each Christian community, as these high-level priests assumed administrative functions


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within the growing communities. At first, bishops' duties included administering the sacraments of

baptism and communion, but as the bishops' administrative areas increased, these duties fell on priests.

The primary concern for priests was the parish. Each major city of the empire came to have its own

bishop and became known as a bishopric, approximately equal in size to a Roman city-state. Bishops

came to exert great power by the end of the fourth century, revealing the alterations that had occurred in

Church-state relations throughout the empire. Ambrose of Milan went so far as to refuse communion to

Emperor Theodosius on two occasions, setting an important precedent with major implications for the

future: the Church was now able to exercise authority over the state in matters of faith and morality. Some

time in the third century (a precise date is unknown), Apostolic Succession was employed for determining

the legitimacy of bishops. A bishop's rank was dependent on whether or not he had received consecration

through a succession of bishops traceable back to an Apostle. Such high ranking bishops were believed to

have inherited their power in a direct line from an Apostle, and the successive passing of office in this

manner led to the establishment ofsees (from the Latinsedes , seat; a see was the territory of higher order

bishops).

The clustering of bishoprics together along imperial provincial lines, with archbishops at the head of

each province, imitated Diocletian's political reforms. The patriarchs (bishops of the widest influence)

were the highest level, representing the greatest cities in Christendom - one each in Rome, Antioch, and

Alexandria. The founding of Constantinople as the seat of the Eastern Empire, however, required the

creation of a fourth patriarch, and with the official addition of Jerusalem as a holy see (seat of Christian

administration) in 451, the number of patriarchs grew to five. Patriarchal rivalry would come to causegreat consternation within Christendom.

y Conflicts and heresiesChristianity spread to the furthest reaches of the empire in the fourth century, but controversy

surfaced during the expansion. Varying interpretations of scripture and differences in doctrine

created conflicting pockets of Christianity. Donatus, a priest in North Africa, challenged the

validity of sacraments (the earthly manifestation of receiving God's grace) offered by immoralpriests, or priests who denied the faith under persecution. Arius, a priest from the Egyptian city

of Alexandria, challenged the divine nature of Jesus Christ. His followers, called Arians,

maintained that Jesus Christ must have been created by God, and were thus inferior to God.

Arianism was directly refuted by Athanasius' argument that Jesus was both human and divine.

Christ's human/divine nature proved immensely important to early Christians, and was


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Constantine's impetus for convening the Council of Nicea in 325. The council condemned

Arianism, agreeing with Athanasius' assertion that Christ was "of the same substance" as God.

Donatism was similarly dispatched by the church in 411, when it was decreed that the moral

condition of a priest had no bearing on the validity of the sacraments, as long as the priest had

been properly ordained. These and other heresies served to consolidate Christian doctrine.

Several other important developments of enduring influence on Christendom occurred in this period.

Rivalries between patriarchs, especially those of Rome and Constantinople, erupted as clergy exerted

more control over temporal affairs. Through the machinations of several Roman bishops, the Roman

patriarch rose to the prominent position of Pope (taken from the Latin papa, or father). The argument for

papal supremacy centered on Peter being the chief Apostle (a questionable interpretation of a passage in

the Gospel of Matthew), and his position as first bishop of Rome: all subsequent Roman bishops were

deemed Peter's successors. By no means was this universally accepted. Since the Church, however, was

organized on an imperial pattern with Rome as a familiar administrative center, it was simple to transfer

secular power to its spiritual leadership.

Many early Christians (particularly in the west) sought knowledge from the Bible alone,

casting off the classical heritage of traditional Greco-Roman thought and philosophy. Equating

classical thought with the pagan practices of the dying empire, they strove to avoid contact with

such humanism. With the spread of Christianity into the eastern regions of the empire in the third

and fourth centuries, eastern converts tried to reconcile Christianity and classical education in

order to clarify doctrinal issues. Greek became the language of eastern Christians, the New

Testament was written in Greek - and Christians turned to Greek thought to express the

complications of Christian theology.

The union of classical thought, classical education, and Christian theology found its most profound

expression in Augustine, bishop of Hippo (354-430). He produced volumes dedicated to every aspect of

Christian life; most influential were the Confessions , an account of his worldliness before being

converted, and City of God , an expression of Christian principles as applied to government. Augustine

agreed that philosophy could reveal some truth, but divine revelation was necessary for an understanding

of complete truth. The slavic Jerome (345-420) was the greatest scholar of the early Church fathers: his

extensive knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, allowed him to translate both the Old and New

Testaments into Latin, creating the Latin Vulgate , the standard biblical text of the medieval Catholic


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church. Augustine and Jerome utilized classical tradition and pagan culture to further Christian theology,

leaving their imprint on Christianity for the next millennium.

y The institution of monasticism-the bastion of classical learning andculture

One final development, which was to have major influence on the development of British

Christianity, was the institution of monasticism. Monasticism, from the Greekmonachos (alone), surfaced

as ecclesiastics sought refuge from mass conversions of the third century- many of which occurred as

means to avoid the persecution of pagans or to gain the practical economic and cultural advantages of

Christianity in the later Empire, and the increasing corruption of the now wealthy clergy. Monks

abandoned society and devoted themselves entirely to their own salvation through fasting, frequent

prayer, and isolation in the wilderness. These monks believed self-denial was the true expression of piety

and the path that led to God. Such asceticism went to extremes in the east, as monks' increasingly erratic

behavior brought about the opposite of their original intention - they actually drew crowds. As

monasticism filtered westward, it was refined: Western monks were more concerned with living lives free

from earthly corruption, but refrained from the outrageous actions of their eastern brothers. By the early

fifth century, many monasteries (communities of monks) had been established.

Monasticism became the bastion of classical learning and culture throughout Europe. Candidates

studied hard to be ordained, and many monks poured over Latin and Greek manuscripts in their studiesand work. The chief monk was the abbot, who had full authority over the activities and members of the

monastery. For the first time on an official scale, women were included: nuns and monks lived and

worked under the guidance of a common rule and a common leader in the so-called double monastery. In

many double monasteries, men were subordinated to a female leader (an abbess) and used to lead worship

(under Catholic doctrine only males could be priests) and as a labor force. Many abbesses, especially

those in Anglo-Saxon England, were from royal houses and controlled vast territories and thousands of

people. Abbots and abbesses ruled the community, and became instrumental in the development of towns

in the Middle Ages. Structurally, politically, spiritually, and historically, monasticism served as a linkbetween Greco-Roman civilization and the Renaissance.

In the late fourth and early fifth centuries, Roman legions were evacuated from Britain to the

continent to resist increasing barbarian invasion. Up to that point, Britain was still a province of Rome,

with Christianity the official religion of Roman citizens. Although still a minority in the whole of the


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island, Christianity had made an impact in the southern, more romanized regions of Britain. In fact, early

British Christians also endured some degree of persecution. Albanus of Verulamium was killed in a

campaign that resulted in the destruction of many churches, and later canonized as a martyr by English

Catholics. The accepted, but disputed, date for Albanus' martyrdom is 209 AD. Aaron and Julius of

Caerlon were likewise murdered in Christian persecutions. The British Church was sufficiently organized

by 314 to warrant representation at the Council of Arles, although there is no indication that British

Christianity had any official capacity within Roman Christendom. No British representatives attended the

Council of Nicea in 325 or the Council of Sardica in 343, but the British Church accepted and enforced

the resulting condemnation of Arianism. At least three British bishops attended the Council of Ariminum

in 360, but were too poor to pay their own expenses. These disconnected pieces of evidence imply, but do

not prove, a strong Christian presence in Britain before the province was released from imperial

attachments in the fifth century.

The first indication of the independent nature of British Christianity occurred in the first years of the

fifth century. Pelagius, a British priest residing in Italy, expressed the belief that man was responsible

directly to God for his actions, grace was attained through the effort to abide by the law of God, without

direct intervention by governmental or ecclesiastic authority. This was contrary to the views of Augustine

in the City of God, where a Christian government directed the activities if its citizens. The debate raged

long after the death of both men, and had serious implications in the Christianizing of the British Isles.

The Venerable Bede, an eighth century British monk and scholar, revealed that Irish monks still clung to

Pelagian theory well into the seventh century. (Bede'sEcclesiastic History of the English People remainsthe primary source of both the spiritual and cultural history of the Anglo-Saxon era).

y Missionary work on Britains landsIn Roman Britain, Christianity took root in the poorer ranks of society living outside the highly

Romanized towns. Such areas in the south were still within the sphere of Roman influence, but in spite of

three centuries of Imperial rule, the majority of Christians in Britain were of Celtic background. When

Rome abandoned Britain, both spiritually and politically, the majority of British Christians fled to the

west amid the onslaught of Angle, Saxon, and Jute invasions. Isolated from Roman Christianity until St.

Augustine's mission in 597 AD, the period was a turning point in the further development of Christianity

in England.

Fifth century monasticism proved to be the leading factor in the Christianization of the British Isles.

Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from pagan northern Germany invaded and easily conquered the central and


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southern regions of England after Roman troops withdrew. Roman Christians fled to Wales, incorporating

native pagan rituals and holidays into their faith to synthesize a unique brand of Welsh Christianity.

Welsh Christians, in turn, felt little desire to attempt the conversion of the Germanic tribes. After driving

the Britons into Wales, the invading barbarians turned their attention to the Scots and Picts, driving them

into the Scottish highlands. Native culture, whether Celtic or Roman, was virtually abandoned in the

English territory. At the same time, the monastic movement of Roman Christianity became increasingly

evangelistic, sending missionaries into remote locations untouched by the empire. In this period,

monasteries and convents became involved in local affairs, converting native peoples while establishing a

link to classical culture and education. With Roman culture all but vanished and the Picts and Scots exiled

to the northernmost regions, Christian monasticism arrived in Ireland in the form of Saint Patrick.

Patrick (c.390-461) was born of Christian Briton parents, but was kidnapped at age sixteen as a

laborer by Irish slave traders. He endured six years of isolation as a shepherd, spending the time in prayerand reaching out to the Holy Spirit. Prompted by a vision, he escaped to the continent on an Irish ship, but

finally made his way home to Britain. His parents welcomed him, but another vision compelled him to

travel to Gaul and enroll in a monastery (probably the monastery in Lerins) in preparation for missionary

work in Ireland. After successful completion of his studies, he was ordained as a priest and bishop.

Patrick's experiences as a carefree Romano-British teenager, an isolated slave and holy man in Ireland

and classically trained monk set the stage for a unique twist in Christianity, especially within the British

Isles.

Upon his return from the continent in 432, Patrick proceeded at once to Ireland. He accepted the Irish

people just as they were, both men and women, and genuinely loved his adopted people. Patrick

established many monasteries and bishoprics throughout all but southern Ireland. He succeeded in his

mission to Ireland on many different levels: he converted thousands of individuals, established church

structure, and persuaded the Irish people - especially Irish kings - that faithfulness, courage, and

generosity could replace the sword as the primary instrument of organizing a society. Patrick spoke of the

evils of slavery, which was abolished in Ireland shortly after his death. He had considerably less success

with his British brothers. Petty Anglo-Saxon warlords established kingdoms throughout Britain upon the

evacuation of the remaining Roman legion. Coroticus, a west coast king, invaded the coast of northern

Ireland and destroyed entire communities, carting away Patrick's converts by the thousands. The Roman

Christians in Wales were no help to Patrick as they viewed the emerging Celtic Christianity with

contempt and were snobbish to the Irish monk. Irish monasticism continued to thrive despite these early

setbacks. Celtic Christianity developed differently than Roman Christianity. Ireland was never part of the

Roman Empire and remained somewhat isolated from the continent, even after Patrick's mass


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conversions. Catholic structure had been based on a model of Roman government that was unknown in

Ireland. Monasteries, rather than bishoprics, became the fundamental unit of Celtic Christianity, with

abbots exerting far more influence than bishops. By the sixth century, Irish monasticism exhibited

outward signs of these differences. Celtic monks were ascetics, practicing strenuous fasts and meditation

under severe privation. Confession of sin became common, so much that Irish monks wrote manuals

dedicated to dispatching appropriate penitentials for various sins. Remaining isolated from the continent

prevented the corruption of the Latin language that occurred in European monasteries. The Irish fervor for

learning encouraged writing, and Celtic monks provided beautiful manuscripts illustrated with geometric

patterns, Celtic images, and Oriental elements passed down from the original monasteries in the east. The

most profound difference between Celtic and Roman monasticism, however, was found in the very nature

of each community. Continental monasteries were refuges from the world, and by the mid-fifth century,

under rules established by Saint Benedict of Nursia; such Benedictine monasteries favored moderation

over asceticism, the absolute authority of the abbot, and communal living and worship among brethren.

Celtic Christianity, like Welsh Christianity, was shaped much more by local concerns and

compromise with the natives. Ireland had few walls and divided pastures, war was the sport of

kings, Celtic women fought like Amazons, and marriage, as an institution, was largely ignored.

Irish monasticism employed select Druidic elements: monastic communities petitioned clans for

land grants in return for educating the clan's youth in the priestly arts. Authority became

hereditary, as bishops and priests were allowed to administer sacraments, but were recruited and

directed by powerful abbots and abbesses. Celtic monks shaved their heads in the Druidic

tradition, and the Roman date for Easter was slightly altered to coincide with local fertility

festivals. Irish monasticism, however, possessed one feature which was lacking, up to the sixth

century, in both Welsh and Roman Christianity: Celtic Christianity encouraged missionary work

throughout the world.

The first new wave of Christianity since the conversions of Roman British citizens in the fourth

century began with the founding of a new Celtic monastery on the island of Iona, just off the western

coast of Scotland. Established in 563 by Saint Columba, a Celtic monk, Iona proved to be pivotal in

christianizing Scotland and northern England. Columba himself was almost single-handedly responsible

for the conversion of the Picts, with nine successive abbots of his clan converting virtually all of Scotland

and nearly two-thirds of England. Continental missionary work also sprang from Columba's monastery in

Iona: Saint Columbanus, a young monk, took twelve disciple monks to northern Italy and founded a


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monastery in Bobbio. As the Irish monks converted the north, a second wave of missionary work was

Roman in nature, commenced in the south in 597.

y St. Augustines Mission (597) and establishment of Christianity inBritain

Gregory the Great, the highly influential pope of 590-604, dispatched Augustine (later to gain

sainthood) to England with the express purpose of converting the Saxon kings of south England.

Augustine landed in Thanet, immediately targeting the Kentish king, Ethel Bert, whose wife was a

Frankish Christian. Ethel Berts baptism inspired the conversion of a sizable majority of subjects: the

trend of subjects following a king's conversion became a common thread of the spread of Christianity insouthern England (the same trend resurfaced during the English reformation, under the reigns of Tudor

monarchs). Augustine established a monastery in Canterbury, from which the southern conversions

flourished, and which was to become the most powerful seat of Christianity in Britain. Paulinus, of

Augustine's original party, became a member of King Edwin's Northumberland court, through

connection's with Edwin's Christian wife. Edwin and his subjects converted, but pressures from Mercia

provided the impetus for still another trend in the Christianization of England.

The kingdom of Mercia, ruled by Penda, practiced Norse pagan religions, but sought an alliance with

Welsh Christians in its struggle for supremacy over Northumbria. Mercia triumphed, with two

Northumbrian kings, Edwin and Oswald, losing their lives in the struggle. Mercian paganism became the

official religion of the kingdom. This trend continued throughout the seventh century, as pagan and

Christian kingdoms fought for dominance, several kingdoms vacillated between paganism and

Christianity as power shifted among the Saxon kingdoms. Of special note, however, is the leniency which

the pagan kings showed to Christians: Christians were allowed to worship as they pleased, a courtesy

which was not extended to pagans when Christian kingdoms triumphed.

The first half of the seventh century is one of the most important periods in British ecclesiastic

history. Gregory and his disciples acknowledged the wisdom of incorporating native fertility and harvest

rituals into the list of Christian holidays; Roman Christianity established a firm hold on southern England.

With Canterbury as its base, Roman Christianity quickly spread northward to confront Celtic Christianity.

Aidan of Iona founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in 635, and two of his monks, Benedict

Biscop and Wilfrid, were instrumental in winning Northumbria to Celtic Christianity. Lindisfarne, even


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more than Iona, became a center for training and education: the most famous illuminated manuscript of

Celtic monasticism, theLindisfarne Gospels, was completed in 700. Paganism was in the final stages of

its vitality as religious controversy moved from the basis of paganism versus Christianity to Roman

versus Celtic Christianity.

y From basics of paganism versus Christianity to Roman versus CelticChristianity

Arguments over the proper calendar dates for feasts and differences in discipline raged throughout

England during the mid-seventh century. Welsh and Roman Christians addressed the issues without

resolution on the banks of the Severn in the 640's, but Roman and Celtic Christians lacked the motivationand flexibility to resolve the conflict until the Synod of Whitby in 664. Held in Northumbria at the behest

of King Oswy, the meeting carried political, as well as religious, overtones.

Wilfrid traveled to Italy after the establishment of the monastery at Lindisfarne and became a firm

proponent of uniting Rome and England. At Whitby, Wilfrid spoke on behalf of Roman Christianity,

maintained that all of Christendom, with the exception of the two small islands, agreed on doctrine as

espoused by Rome. Oswy, under the influence of a new generation of fervent Roman Christian princes,

ruled in favor of Roman Christianity. His decision, in large part, must be attributed to an effort to solidify

alliances with the kingdoms of Wessex, Essex, and Kent, against Mercia. A gradual fusion of Celtic and

Roman Christianity ensued: the Archbishop of Canterbury was made the highest ranking ecclesiastic in

Britain, with the various bishops and monasteries subordinated to his authority, and Roman dates were

employed to delineate holidays. The missionary and intellectual work of Celtic monasticism, however,

was allowed to thrive.

The Whitby decision was irrevocable, but not irrefutable. The Welsh church, for example, failed to

come to terms until 738, and pockets of resistance lasted until the ninth century. England under a united

Christianity, however, was a powerful component of the medieval church. Theodore of Tarsus was

appointed to carry out the successful parish reorganization of England. English monasticism was saved as

an important training institution for further missionary work and remained the main depository of

intellectual activities throughout the Middle Ages. Three monks from monasteries established by

Benedict Biscop became highly influential members of Christendom: the previously mentioned Bede;

Saint Boniface, whose work included conversion of the Frisians and Swabians in Germany; and Alcuin of


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York, who carried Christianity and intellectualism into the illiterate court of the Frankish king,

Charlemagne. England was to remain an essential part of Roman Catholicism until the marital antics of

Henry VIII in the sixteenth century.

y England-an essential part of Roman CatholicismSeveral comparisons can be made between the development of Christianity in both the

Roman Empire and England. In most instances, Christianity took root in the peasant classes (as

was the case in Roman Britain), filtering up into higher social orders as it became more

acceptable. After the mass conversions of the second and third centuries, the aristocracy saw

Christianity as fashionable, and such superficial conversions had an influence on the

development of monasticism. Prior to the flowering of Christianity in the Empire, social changes

were initiated by the upper echelons of society and traveled downward through the lower castes,

the majority of the Anglo-Saxon conversions occurred as subjects followed the lead of their

kings. Cultural clashes developed different interpretations of scripture in both civilizations, and

the subsequent disparity of doctrine, as well as compromise with native peoples in the course of

the conversion process, created conflicts and controversies. The largest difference between

Roman and English Christianity occurred in the development of monasticism, and this contrast

remained throughout the entire medieval period: British monasticism remained dedicated to

classical thought while continental monasticism was corrupted through increasing contact with

native civilizations and migrant Germanic tribes. England proved to be a microcosm of

Christendom as a whole.

4. The Reformation

y Conflicts over theology, church order and freedom of conscience


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Reformation was great 16th-century religious revolution in the Christian church, which ended the

ecclesiastical supremacy of the pope in Western Christendom and resulted in the establishment of the

Protestant churches. With the Renaissance that proceeded and the French Revolution that followed, the

Reformation completely altered the medieval way of life in Western Europe and initiated the era of

modern history. Although the movement dates from the early 16th century, when Martin Luther first

defied the authority of the church, the conditions that led to his revolutionary stand had existed for

hundreds of years and had complex doctrinal, political, economic, and cultural elements.

From the Revival of the Holy Roman Empire by Otto I in 962, popes and emperors had been

engaged in a continuous contest for supremacy. This conflict had generally resulted in victory for the

papal side, but created bitter antagonism between Rome and the German Empire; this antagonism was

augmented in the 14th and 15th centuries by the further development of German nationalist sentiment.

Resentment against papal taxation and against submission to ecclesiastical officials of the distant and

foreign papacy was manifested in other countries of Europe. In England the beginning of the movement

toward ultimate independence from papal jurisdiction was the enactment of the statutes of Mortmain in

1279, Provisors in 1351, and Praemunire in 1393, which greatly reduced the power of the church to

withdraw land from the control of the civil government, to make appointments to ecclesiastical offices,

and to exercise judicial authority.

The 14th-century English reformer John Wycliffe boldly attacked the papacy itself, striking at

the sale of indulgences, pilgrimages, the excessive veneration of saints, and the moral and intellectualstandards of ordained priests. To reach the common people, he translated the Bible into English and

delivered sermons in English, rather than Latin. His teachings spread to Bohemia, where they found a

powerful advocate in the religious reformer John Huss (Jan Hus). The execution of Huss as a heretic in

1415 led directly to the Hussite Wars, a violent expression of Bohemian nationalism, suppressed with

difficulty by the combined forces of the Holy Roman emperor and the pope. The wars were a precursor

of religious civil war in Germany in Luther's time. In France in 1516 a concordat between the king and

the pope placed the French church substantially under royal authority. Earlier concordats with other

national monarchies also prepared the way for the rise of autonomous national churches.

y The effects of Reformation on English religion


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The English revolt from Rome differed from the revolts in Germany, Switzerland, and

France in two respects. First, England was a compact nation with a strong central government;

therefore, instead of splitting the country into regional factions or parties and ending in civil

war, the revolt was nationalthe king and Parliament acted together in transferring to the king

the ecclesiastical jurisdiction previously exercised by the pope. Second, in the continental

countries agitation for religious reform among the people preceded and caused the political

break with the papacy; in England, on the other hand, the political break came first, as a result

of a decision by King Henry VIII to divorce his first wife, and the change in religious doctrine

came afterward in the reigns of King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I. Henry VIII wished to

divorce his Roman Catholic wife, Catherine of Aragn, because the marriage had not produced

a male heir and he feared disruption of his dynasty. His marriage to Catherine, which normally

would have been illegal under ecclesiastical law because she was the widow of his brother, had

been allowed only by special dispensation from the pope. Henry claimed that the papal

dispensation contravened ecclesiastical law and that the marriage was therefore invalid. The

pope upheld the validity of the dispensation and refused to annul the marriage. Henry then

requested the opinion of noted reformers and the faculties of the great European universities.

` Eight university faculties supported his claim. Zwingli and the German-Swiss

theologian Johannes Oecolampadius also considered his marriage null, but Luther and

Melanchthon thought it binding. The king followed a course of expediency; he married Anne

Boleyn in 1533, and two months later he had the archbishop of Canterbury pronounce his

divorce from Catherine. Henry was then excommunicated by the pope, but retaliated in 1534

by having Parliament pass an act appointing the king and his successors supreme head of the

Church of England, thus establishing an independent national Anglican church. Further

legislation cut off the pope's English revenues and ended his political and religious authority in

England. Between 1536 and 1539 the monasteries were suppressed and their property seized

by the king. Henry had no interest in going beyond these changes, which were motivated

principally by political rather than doctrinal considerations. Indeed, to prevent the spread of

Lutheranism, he secured from Parliament in 1539 the severe body of edicts called the Act of

Six Articles, which made it heretical to deny the main theological tenets of medieval Roman

Catholicism. Obedience to the papacy remained a criminal offense. Consequently, many


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Lutherans were burned as heretics, and Roman Catholics who refused to recognize the

ecclesiastical supremacy of the king were executed.

y Henry VIII-the founder of the Church of England and the initiator ofthe Protestant Reformation in England

Henry VIII (1491-1547), king of England (1509-1547), the image of the Renaissance king as

immortalized by German artist Hans Holbein, who painted him hands on hips, legs astride, exuding

confidence and power. Henry VIII had six wives, fought numerous wars in Europe, and even aspired to

become Holy Roman Emperor in order to extend his control to Europe. He ruthlessly increased the

power of royal government, using Parliament to sanction his actions. Henry ruled through powerful

ministers who, like his six wives, were never safe in their positions. His greatest achievement was to

initiate the Protestant Reformation in England. He rejected the authority of the pope and the Roman

Catholic Church, confiscated church lands, and promoted religious reformers to power.

Under King Edward VI, the Protestant doctrines and practices abhorred by Henry VIII were

introduced into the Anglican Church. The Act of Six Articles was repealed in 1547, and continental

reformers, such as the German Martin Bucer, were invited to preach in England. In 1549 a complete

vernacular Book of Common Prayer was issued to provide uniformity of service in the AnglicanChurch, and its use was enforced by law. A second Prayer Book was published in 1552, and a new

creed in 42 articles was adopted. Mary I attempted, however, to restore Roman Catholicism as the state

religion, and during her reign many Protestants were burned at the stake. Others fled to continental

countries, where their religious opinions often became more radical by contact with Calvinism. A final

settlement was reached under Queen Elizabeth I in 1563. Protestantism was restored, and Roman

Catholics were often persecuted. The 42 articles of the Anglican creed adopted under Edward VI were

reduced to the present Thirty-nine Articles. This creed is Protestant and closer to Lutheranism than to

Calvinism, but the episcopal organization and ritual of the Anglican Church is substantially the same asthat of the Roman Catholic Church. Large numbers of people in Elizabeth's time did not consider the

Church of England sufficiently reformed and non-Roman. They were known as dissenters or

nonconformists and eventually formed or became members of numerous Calvinist sects such as the

Brownists, Presbyterians, Puritans, Separatists, and Quakers.


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The Anglican Church became the established church in England when Henry VIII assumed (1534)

the ecclesiastical authority over the English church that had previously been exercised by the pope.

Henry's motive was to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragn rather than to reform church doctrine,

and he imposed severe laws upholding the major tenets of medieval Catholicism. Under King Edward

VI and Queen Elizabeth, however, the Anglican Church developed a distinctly Protestant creed that was

set forth in the Thirty-nine Articles. Anglican ritual and church organization nevertheless retained many

of the forms of Roman Catholicism, which were protested by Calvinist-influenced dissenters known as

Puritans.

5. Free Churches-a series of secessions from the Church of

England

The Roman Catholic Church has an extensive formal structure in Britain made up of provinces,

dioceses, and local parishes. The Catholic Church has many ordersgroups of ordained men and

women who follow special religious rulesand maintains an extensive school system out of public

funds. One out of ten British citizens claims to be Roman Catholic.

A number of Protestant denominations are called Free Churches; in the past they were called

Nonconformist or Dissenting churches. The Methodist Church is the largest of these and has about 1.2

million members (see Methodism). The Baptist Union of Great Britain has more than 152,000

members, and there are also Baptist Unions in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Free Presbyterian churches

exist in England, Wales, and Scotland. The United Reformed Church, the third largest Free Church in

the United Kingdom, was formed in 1972 when the Presbyterian Church of England merged with the

Congregational Church in England and Wales. The Baptists and the Salvation Army are also grouped

under Free Churches.

y The Evangelical Revival-a deeper understanding of C

hristian

responsibility

Since the 17th century, successive movements have considerably broadened the Anglican church

both spiritually and ecclesiastically. In the 18th century, the Evangelical Revival infused a new sense of

piety and of personal consecration into the popular religion of the established church, arousing people


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to a deeper understanding of Christian responsibility toward missions, religious education, and the

social and moral evils of the times.

Foremost in this movement was the work of John Wesley and his followers, many of whom left the

Church of England to become Methodists. During the 19th century, a movement was launched by a

group of clerics at the University of Oxford for the purpose of recalling the Church of England to the

Catholic elements in its spiritual heritage that had been preserved through the years of the Reformation.

Low Church members, finding their piety and church practice akin to those generally characteristic of

Protestantism, feared an excessive tendency toward the beliefs and practices of Roman Catholicism in

this revival by High Church members (those preferring a closer adherence to sacraments and to

Catholic liturgy). Despite this fear, the High Church Oxford movement prospered, transforming the face

of the English church. It gave a new emphasis to the dignity and beauty of religious observances and to

the central place of worship.

Furthermore, the movement enlarged the theological concern of the church for the ancient Catholic

and apostolic character of the ministry and for the sacraments, for its pastoral ideals, and for the

meaning of its fundamental creeds. That both the Low Church Evangelical Revival and the High

Church Oxford movement could develop within the Church of England illustrates the breadth and

flexibility of the Anglican tradition of faith and practice, as does the very coexistence through the years

of the Low Church and High Church tendencies. The Broad Church movement was also in existence for

some time in the late 19th century, formed by those Anglicans who fell between the Low Church and

High Church parties. It included the British educator Thomas Arnold, among other prominent churchmembers. This envelopment of divergent tendencies often has caused controversy and tension within

the English church, but many Anglicans believe that the comprehensive spirit with which the church

holds together diverse points of view constitutes its genius.

y The British Methodism-a worldwide Protestant movementMethodism, worldwide Protestant movement dating from 1729, when a group of students

at the University of Oxford, England, began to assemble for worship, study, and Christian

service. Their fellow students named them the Holy Club and methodists, a derisive allusion

to the methodical manner in which they performed the various practices that their sense of

Christian duty and church ritual required.


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Among the Oxford Group was John Wesley, considered the founder of Methodism, and his

brother Charles, the sons of an Anglican rector. John preached, and Charles wrote hymns. Together

they brought about a spiritual revolution, which some historians believe diverted England from political

revolution in the late 18th century. The theology of the Wesleys leaned heavily on Arminianism and

rejected the Calvinist emphasis on predestination; (see Calvinism). Preaching the doctrines of Christian

perfection and personal salvation through faith, John Wesley quickly won an enthusiastic following

among the English working classes, for whom the formalism of the established Church of England had

little appeal.

Opposition by the English clergy, however, prevented the Wesleys from speaking in parish

churches; consequently, Methodist meetings were often conducted in open fields. Such meetings led to

a revival of religious fervor throughout England, especially among the poor (see Revivals, Religious).

John Wesley's message as well as his personal activities among the poor encouraged a social

consciousness that was retained by his followers and has become a hallmark of the Methodist tradition.

Methodist societies sprang up, and in 1744 the first conference of Methodist workers was held. Wesley

never renounced his ties with the Church of England, but he provided for the incorporation and legal

continuation of the new movement.

Soon after John Wesley's death in 1791, his followers began to divide into separate church

bodies. During the 19th century many such separate Methodist denominations were formed in Britain

and the United States, each maintaining its own version of the Wesleyan tradition. In 1881 an

Ecumenical Methodist Conference was held to coordinate Methodist groups throughout the world.Conferences have been held at regular intervals since then. They are currently known as the World

Methodist Conference, which meets every five years. The centennial gathering was convened in

Honolulu in July 1981.

Early in the 20th century in Britain, the separate Methodist bodies began to coalesce. The Bible

Christians, the Methodist New Connexion, and the United Methodist Free Churches united in 1907 to

form the United Methodist Church, which in 1932 joined with the Primitive Methodist and Wesleyan

Methodist churches to bring the long chapter of Methodist disunity in Britain to an end. Today the

Methodist Church in the United Kingdom has the distinction of being the mother church of world

Methodism.

The governing body of the British Methodist Church is the Conference. All church courts and

committees derive their authority from the Conference and are responsible to it for the exercise of their

appropriate functions. Below the Conference administratively is a church court for each district, circuit,

and society. Geographic districts number 34. Each district is divided into circuits, generally 30 to 40 in


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number. Each circuit is subdivided into local societies, the number varying considerably.

Administration of the church is not only delegated to the lower courts but also to 13 connexional

departments. The work of each department is carried on at the district, circuit, and society level by

responsible committees. By this means the Conference maintains control over the work of the various

levels of the church. Communication is thus maintained between the Conference and all the members.

The Conference also maintains missions around the world.

6. Religion in nowadays England

y The Church of Englands DoctrineChurch of England or Anglican Church is the Christian church in England, dating from the

introduction of Christianity into that country. More specifically, it is the branch of the Christian church

that, since the Reformation, has been the established Church of England. The earliest unquestioned

historical evidence of an organized Christian church in England is found in the writings of such early

Christian fathers as Tertullian and Origen in the first years of the 3rd century, although the first

Christian communities probably were established some decades earlier. Three English bishops are

known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in

347 and that of Ariminum in 360, and a number of references to the church in Roman Britain are found

in the writings of 4th-century Christian fathers.

The doctrine of the Church of England is found primarily in the Book of Common Prayer,

containing the ancient creeds of undivided Christendom, and secondarily in the Thirty-nine Articles,

which are interpreted in accordance with the prayer book. Appeal is made to the first four General

Councils of the Christian Church, as well as generally to Holy Scriptures as interpreted by the Catholic

Fathers and ancient bishops. The Church of England differs from the Roman Catholic Church chiefly

in denying the claims of the papacy both to jurisdiction over the church and to infallibility as

promulgator of Christian doctrinal and moral truth, and in rejecting the distinctively Roman doctrines

and discipline. Also, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England allows women to

become priests. In 1975 the General Synod of the Anglican Church found the ordination of women to

be theologically unobjectionable, although it was almost 20 years before the first women were ordained

in 1994. The Church of England differs from the Eastern Orthodox Church to a lesser degree. On the

other hand, the Anglican church and its sister churches in the Anglican Communion differ from most

Protestant churches in requiring episcopal ordination for all their clergy; in the structure and tone of


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their liturgical services, which are translations and revised versions of the pre-Reformation services of

the church; and in a spiritual orientation in which a Catholic sacramental heritage is combined with the

biblical and evangelical emphases that came through the Reformation.

The Church of England has a baptized membership of about 27.5 million, roughly two-thirds of the

population of England.

y Christian denominationsEngland guarantees its citizens religious freedom without interference from the state or the

community, and most of the world's religions have followers in Britain. As in many European countries

today, the majority of the population in Britain does not regularly attend religious services, yet nearly

all faiths have devoted congregations of active members. An increasing percentage of the population

professes no religious faith and some organizations represent secular outlooks. Estimating membership

is difficult because congregations count their members differently, and government figures rely upon

the numbers provided by the different groups.

In the past religion was often deeply entwined with politics. The only place this is still true in

the United Kingdom is in Northern Ireland, where two communities use religious designations to

express different, and hostile, political agendas. Protestants, largely descendants of Scottish and English

settlers, are interested in maintaining their union with Britain, while Roman Catholics, a minority of

around 40 percent, and campaign strongly for union with Ireland.

The United Kingdom has two established churches: the Church of England and the Church of

Scotland. An established church is the legally recognized official church of the state. The Church of

England, also called the Anglican Church, is a Protestant Episcopal church. It is the parent body of

churches belonging to the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church of the United

States. The Church in Wales and the Church of Ireland, once members of the Church of England,

belong to the Anglican Communion but are not the official churches of their states.

The Church of England claims to be an apostolic church, meaning it traces a direct line of

bishops back to the 12 apostles of Jesus. Anglicans also speak of themselves as a catholic, or universal,

church, with a lowercase c, meaning that their beliefs are intended for humankind as a whole. Since its


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inception in the 16th century, the Church of England has debated how close its practices should be to

those of the Roman Catholic Church. The history of the Church of England is marked by the division

between High Church, with practices that favor Roman Catholicism, and Low Church, with practices

that are more Protestant. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the Anglican Church was involved in a

serious controversy over the ordination of women, which it finally allowed in 1992, and in 1994 the

first women were ordained as priests in the Anglican Church. This action caused many Anglican clerics

and lay people to convert to Roman Catholicism.

The British monarch, who must be a member of the Anglican Church, holds the titles of

Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith. The monarch appoints

archbishops and bishops upon the advice of the prime minister, who consults a commission that

includes both lay people and clergy. Two archbishops and 24 senior bishops sit in the House of Lords.

The archbishop of Canterbury holds the title of Primate of All England; another archbishop presides at

York. Changes in church ritual can only be made with the consent of Parliament.

The Church of England, a Protestant Episcopal denomination, is the state church and the nominal

church of nearly three-fifths of the population. The denomination next in importance is the Roman

Catholic Church, which has about 6 million members in England. Among the numerous Protestant

denominations are the Methodist, Baptist, Congregationalist, Unitarian, and Society of Friends.

England also has thousands of Muslims and Jews. Large communities of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs

have immigrated to England since the 1950s.

About 20 percent of the estimated 8.4 million active churchgoers in Britain are Anglicans. A third

of the marriages in Britain are performed in the Anglican Church. Many members are merely baptized,

married, and buried in the church, but do not otherwise attend services. More than a million people

attend the Church of England on an average Sunday.

Other Religious Groups

The Roman Catholic Church has an extensive formal structure in Britain made up of provinces,

dioceses, and local parishes. The Catholic Church has many ordersgroups of ordained men and

women who follow special religious rulesand maintains an extensive school system out of public

funds. One out of ten British citizens claims to be Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church has an

extensive formal structure in Britain made up of provinces, dioceses, and local parishes. The Catholic


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Church has many ordersgroups of ordained men and women who follow special religious rulesand

maintains an extensive school system out of public funds. One out of ten British citizens claims to be

Roman Catholic.

Among the numerous Protestant denominations are the Methodist, Baptist, Congregationalist,Unitarian, and Society of Friends. England also has thousands of Muslims and Jews. Large

communities of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs have immigrated to England since the 1950s.

A number of Protestant denominations are called Free Churches; in the past they were called

Nonconformist or Dissenting churches.The Methodist Church is the largest of these and has about 1.2

million members. The Baptist Union of Great Britain has more than 152,000 members, and there are

also Baptist Unions in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Free Presbyterian churches exist in England,

Wales, and Scotland. The United Reformed Church, the third largest Free Church in the United

Kingdom, was formed in 1972 when the Presbyterian Church of England merged with the

Congregational Church in England and Wales. The Baptists and the Salvation Army are also grouped

under Free Churches. Other Christian religious groups include Unitarians, Pentecostals, Quakers,

Christian Brethren, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists,

Christian Scientists, and Mormons

The fast-growing Muslim community numbers from 1.5 million to 2 million, or about 3 percent

of the total population. Britain has the second largest Jewish community in Western Europe, with some

285,000 people. There are also about 320,000 Hindus, 400,000 to 500,000 Sikhs, and thousands of

Jains and Buddhists. Newer religious movements and sects have also flourished in Britain, including

the Church of Scientology and the Unification Church.

y From English Parish Churches to British CathedralsThere are few sights that evoke "Englishness" more than that of a slumbering parish church.

Cathedrals in England span only about 400 years of English history and cultural influence (with the

exception of a very few modern cathedra).

Parish churches, on the other hand, tell the tale of some 1300 years of English history and social

change. The humble parish church is an integral part of English social life and culture.


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The oldest surviving parish churches in England date to about 670 AD (Brixworth and Escombe).

At that time 3 distinct classes of churches were built; "cathedral" churches, "collegiate" churches, and

local churches/private chapels built by individual Anglo-Saxon thegns (lords).

Cathedral churches were not cathedrals in the modern sense, but "mother churches" from which

the first missionary priests went out to preach Christianity to the pagan inhabitants in a particular region.

Collegiate churches, also known as "old minsters" were daughter houses of the cathedral churches, a sort

of second level regional missionary church. Churches, or chapels (only later called "parish churches"),

were generally private foundations, established by thegns, bishops, lay societies, or even an association of

parishioners.

Churches were often located on pre-Christian sites of spiritual significance, taking advantage of

people's existing devotion to a particular place. Worship was carried on in the same place, just with a

Christian orientation. Speaking of orientation, churches are nearly always oriented so that the main altar is

at the east end of the church, facing Jerusalem, and, not coincidentally, the rising sun. Even if the altar

end of the church is not literally in the east, it is called the "east end". In theory at least, the east end of an

English parish church could face west!

The origin of the English parish is murky. The term originally meant an administrative district.

When the term "parish" was first applied to the church, it meant the territory of a bishop, what we would

today call a diocese.

It is speculated by historians that parish boundaries were originally those of Saxon manors. The

extent to which the church parish and the local lord's authority overlapped is apparent when you consider

that before the Norman invasion one of the accepted ways of becoming a thegn was to build a church,

especially one with a tower (the tower was a defensive measure against the threat of Danish invaders).

The thegn could install a priest of his own choosing, change the priest at will, even dismantle the

church if he saw fit! The chancel of the church was the domain of the priest, and the nave "belonged" to

the parishioners. Each was responsible for the upkeep of their domain. This helps explain the curious

architecture of some early parish churches, particularly in Norfolk and Suffolk, where the chancel is built

of carefully squared stone, and the nave of much cheaper flint.

The basic architectural characteristics of the Saxon parish churches are: rectangular east end,

side entrance (usually on the south side), and a west tower.


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One point to remember is that there was no seating in churches at that time. People attending a

service stood in the nave. Luckily, it was not until much later that long sermons became popular (see

below), so the parishioners did not have to suffer long!

The floor plan of southern Anglo-Saxon churches was based on the traditional Roman basilica,

with an eastern apse, no transepts, western entrance, and aisles. Good examples survive at Brixworth

(Northants), Wing (Bucks), and Worth (Sussex).

Curiously, despite the triumph of the Roman church over the Celtic one, it was the Celtic model

that became the norm for parish churches in England. The Normans rebuilt many of the earlier Saxon

churches, in the process destroying much of the regional differences in favor of a more unified Norman

"look".

Early Norman churches were aisles, with a central tower, and built to a cruciform plan (i.e., they

were shaped like a cross, or like a small t).

Medieval parish churches were usually plastered inside and out. Vivid picture were painted on the

interior plaster to illustrate Biblical scenes for the illiterate popluation. Statuary was also richly painted.

Sadly, very little of the original plastering or painting remains today, so it requires a strong imagination to

picture how the churches would have looked 1,000 years ago.

The most notable parish churches of the late medieval period are the so called "wool churches"

common to the Cotswolds and East Anglia. These are churches endowed by the newly rich class of local

merchants thriving on England's wool trade.

Many of these magnificent buildings, such as Thirsk (Yorkshire), Northleach (Gloucestershire),

and Lavenham (Suffolk), are like mini-cathedrals, complete with fanciful carvings, elaborate

ornamentation and funereal monuments inside the church.

The Tudor era saw one important change; it was under the influence of Elizabeth I that preaching

long sermons became popular. And by long- 2 to 4 hours was not uncommon. This meant that the church

attendees, needed to sit to listen, so pews became standard in the naves. The preacher needed a lectern,

and more often, a pulpit. So the pulpit was added to the nave also. Most of the pulpits you see in parish

churches today date from the Tudor period, or later.

The Tudor period saw the end of the great church-building era. Far fewer churches were built

from this point to the present day, the most prominent (architecturally speaking) being the Classical motif

of the Stuart and Georgian period, and the Gothick Revival of mid-Victorian times.


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Most new parish churches were built in the ever-growing cities, where the expanding urban population

necessitated new parishes. Most notable here is London, where the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed most of

the medieval churches (and gave a young architect named Christopher Wren quite an opportunity to

evolve a new classical style of church).

In the modern era there is more religious freedom, and with the subsequent splintering of

Christian sects, and the introduction of more non-Christian religions into England there are few new

parish churches built. And those that are may be interesting to their parishioners but to few others. Some

of the old churches that once served prosperous villages have fallen into disuse and been abandoned as

population shifted. Many of these churches are now being looked after by the Redundant Churches Fund.

Most parish churches are open to visitors. Just walk in (and dress warmly if you plan to do this a

lot - they can be chilly even on the warmest days). Many churches have placards or handouts giving

details of the building history and pointing out its architectural features. These small gems of living

history give a much better sense of England and its culture than do the grandest cathedrals, and they're

usually free. Just drop some small change in the donation box by the door.

When Christianity in England was young there were no parish or village churches. Instead,

carved crosses were erected at convenient sites for itinerant monks or priests to preach to the inhabitants.

These crosses may have been put up at sites which were already regarded as sacred in pagan worship.

Later on, churches were built at the same spots, preserving a continuity of worship. Some of the finest

crosses still to be seen are at Ilkley (West Yorkshire), Gosforth and Irton (both in Cumbria), and Bakewell

(Derbyshire).

England is not blessed with an abundance of surviving Anglo-Saxon buildings. There is good

reason for this scarcity; the Anglo-Saxon period was one beset by frequent warfare and violent invasions,

particularly by the Vikings in the period 800-950. These invaders, quite naturally, burned and destroyed

most of the settlements they came across, in their search for plunder and martial glory. For this reason

most surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon architecture date from either 600-725 or 900-1050.

There are two regions where the earliest Saxon work is concentrated; in the southeast around the

county of Kent and in Northumbria. In Kent the best surviving churches are those of St. Peter and St.

Paul, Canterbury(c. 600), and St. Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell (c. 660). These churches are heavily

influenced by the Roman basilcan tradition, with a rounded chancel in the east and plain walls.

In Northumbria the Celtic churches at Escomb, County Durham (c. 690) and the monastic

buildings at Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, Tyne and Wear (c. 675). These buildings betray their Celtic


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origins, with tall, aisless naves and a rectangular chancel. After the Synod of Whitby (664) swung the

pendulum of power towards Roman Christian observance, the northern churches took up the basilican

plan, as in the crypt at Hexham, Northumbria (674).

One other early Saxon building of note is the church at Brixworth, Northamptonshire (c.676).

Interestingly, it was built re-using old Roman bricks. It is also unusual for its length; at nearly 100 feet

long Brixworth is large compared to other early Saxon churches.

St Martin-in-the-Fields

The first church built on this site in the 13th century stood 'in the fields' between the City and

Westminster.

Designed by James Gibbs, and built in 1721 - 26, the present church predates Trafalgar Square by a

hundred years. Before the square was laid out in the 1820s the church was hidden away in St Martin's

Lane, north of the road that leads from the Strand to Whitehall.

St Martin's prominent west front has a Corinthian portico, surmounted by a soaring steeple. The

six columns of the portico are raised on a flight of steps above St Martin's Lane. In architectural terms St

Martin's is one of the most influential churches ever built. The combination of steeple and portico was

copied in England and in the United States, where it became the model for the 'Colonial' style of church-

building.

Like many Georgian churches St Martin's is galleried, with two tiers of windows. Because the

galleries are set well back the nave is wide and spacious. The interior is embellished with Venetian glass

and Italian plasterwork. The ceiling is divided into gilded and painted plasterwork panels by Artari and

Bagutti.

Set above the chancel arch are the royal arms and to the left of the altar is the royal pew, showing

that St Martin's is the official parish church of Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, George I was St

Martin's churchwarden. Facing the royal pew is an Admiralty pew. The pews in the body of the church,

dating from 1799, were later cut down.

Since Dick Sheppard's time St Martin's has also gained a national and international role through

its broadcasting, publications and music. The church is home to the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields

and the famous choir of the same name. These and visiting orchestras, including the Penguin Caf

Orchestra, the Henry Wood Chamber Orchestra and the St Martin-in-the-Fields Sinfonia, provide evening

concerts.


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ueen's Chapel

This beautiful church was built by Inigo Jones in the 1620s for Queen Henrietta Maria,

the Catholic wife of Charles I. The Queen's Chapel was the first classical church in England. Its

magnificent interior has exquisite 17th century fittings and a superb Caracci altarpiece.

At first the chapel was intended to be part of St James's Palace but it now stands in the

grounds of Marlborough House, separated from the palace by Marlborough Gate.

In 1761 George III married his queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (who was to bear him 15

children) in the Queen's Chapel.

Temple Church of St Mary

The Temple Church of St Mary is a gem set amidst the lanes and courtyards of the Inner and

Middle Temple. The name Temple derives from the Knights Templar, a chivalrous order founded here in

1118 to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.

The church, a rare surviving example of a Norman round church, is the only circular church in

London and one of only four round Norman naves still in use in England. The church was modelled on

the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The eastern arm of the church was replaced in the 13th century by a longer aisled chancel.

Consecrated in 1240, this Early English chancel is an exceptional survivor in central London. The round

nave has a number of Purbeck marble effigies of lay supporters of the Knights Templar, lying on the

floor.

Another highlight of the church is its 13th century penitent's cell. At the east end of the church is

a stained glass in the east window created by Carl Edwards in 1957 - 58.

Today the Temple Church serves the lawyers of the Middle and Inner Temple.


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Conclusions

Religious life reflects an individuals attempt to live in accordance with the precepts of a

religious tradition. For example, Buddhists imitate the Buddha; Christians strive to be Christ-like; and

followers of the mystical Dao (or Tao, the Chinese term for the ultimate way of the universe) practice

noninterference with the natural course of things. Religious experience also reflects the variety of

cultural expressions in general: it can be formal or spontaneous, solemn or festive, hierarchical or

egalitarian; it can emphasize submission or liberation; it can be devotional or contemplative; it can

involve fear or joy; it can be comforting or disruptive; it can encourage reliance on powers outside

oneself or on personal responsibility.

The idea that sacredness is an individual experience and the idea that it is influenced byenvironmental factors are not necessarily in conflict. Religious life is given distinctive form

both by the power of a communitys social bonds and its traditional objects of veneration, and

by an individuals personal interaction with those objects. In addition, mythic language and

ritual serve as a focus for religious experience. The attempt to isolate the distinctive qualities of

religion can be seen in the work of a number of influential thinkers. Considered together, these

approaches offer a representative picture of the ways in which modern investigators have

understood the place of the sacred in human life.

When religion is observed across many cultures, certain common themes and patterns of

activity appear. Significant differences within those patterns are also evident.

Religion in Life

Religious cultures generally ascribe spiritual significance to all parts of their worlds. This is

especially obvious in rites of passage. Through ritual, each major change in life is incorporated into the

domain of the sacred. For example, birth rites might involve bestowing the blessings of the god on the

child or giving the child a special religious name. Rites of entry into adulthood also connect the

individual to the sacred tradition of the culture. For example, Christian youths participate in First

Communion, in which they take part in the Eucharist (a ceremony involving blessed bread and wine,

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the evolution of the christianity in england

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