Anglican Chaplaincy
of Midi Pyrénées & Aude
The Anglican Church
Our Chaplaincy is part of the Church of England, being in the Diocese in Europe. The diocese is the largest of the 42 dioceses in the Church of England, and has over 250 congregations in 140 chaplaincies across 30 countries - we are "the Church of England outside England" see here for more about the Diocese in Europe.
To find out more about the history of the Church of England, here is a link.
The Church of England is part of The Anglican Communion; a worldwide network of Anglican churches in over 165 countries and has 10s of millions of members in . All of the provinces (member churches) are guided by recommendations from the four Instruments: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council.
But what is the Anglican Church?
"Anglicans trace their Christian roots back to the early Church, and their specifically Anglican identity to the post-Reformation expansion of the Church of England and other Episcopal or Anglican Churches. Historically, there were two main stages in the development and spread of the Communion. Beginning with the seventeenth century, Anglicanism was established alongside colonisation in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. The second stage began in the eighteenth century when missionaries worked to establish Anglican churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
As a worldwide family of churches, the Anglican Communion has tens of millions of members in 40 Member Churches (also called Provinces) spreading across over 165 countries. Located on every continent, Anglicans speak many languages and come from different races and cultures. Although the churches are autonomous, they are also uniquely unified through their history, their theology, their worship and their relationship to the ancient See of Canterbury.
Anglicans uphold the Catholic and Apostolic faith. Following the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Churches are committed to the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel to the whole creation. In practice this is based on the revelation contained in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds, and is interpreted in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and experience.
By baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a person is made one with Christ and received into the fellowship of the Church. This sacrament of initiation is open to children as well as to adults."
Information taken from: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/building-relationships/anglican-communion
