Editing Anglican Communion (section)

==Ecclesiology, polity and ethos==
{{Main|Anglican doctrine}}
{{more citations needed|section|date=March 2020}}
The Anglican Communion has no official legal existence nor any governing structure that might exercise authority over the member churches. There is an Anglican Communion Office in London, under the aegis of the [[archbishop of Canterbury]], but it serves only in a supporting and organisational role. The communion is held together by a shared history, expressed in its [[ecclesiology]], [[polity]] and [[ethos]], and also by participation in international consultative bodies.

Three elements have been important in holding the communion together: first, the shared ecclesial structure of the component churches, manifested in an [[episcopal polity]] maintained through the [[apostolic succession]] of bishops and [[synod]]ical government; second, the principle of belief expressed in worship, investing importance in approved prayer books and their rubrics; and third, the historical documents and the writings of early Anglican [[divinity (academic discipline)|divines]] that have influenced the ethos of the communion.

Originally, the Church of England was self-contained and relied for its unity and identity on its own history, its traditional legal and episcopal structure, and its status as an [[established church]] of the state. As such, Anglicanism was from the outset a movement with an explicitly episcopal polity, a characteristic that has been vital in maintaining the unity of the communion by conveying the episcopate's role in manifesting visible catholicity and ecumenism.

Early in its development following the [[English Reformation]], Anglicanism developed a vernacular prayer book, called the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]''. Unlike other traditions, Anglicanism has never been governed by a [[magisterium]] nor by appeal to one founding theologian, nor by an extra-credal summary of doctrine (such as the [[Westminster Confession]] of the [[Presbyterian]] churches). Instead, Anglicans have typically appealed to the ''Book of Common Prayer'' (1662) and its offshoots as a guide to Anglican theology and practise. This has had the effect of inculcating in Anglican identity and confession the principle of {{Lang|la|[[lex orandi, lex credendi]]}} ("the law of praying [is] the law of believing").

Protracted conflict through the 17th century, with radical Protestants on the one hand and Roman Catholics who recognised the primacy of the Pope on the other, resulted in an association of churches that was both deliberately vague about doctrinal principles, yet bold in developing parameters of acceptable deviation. These parameters were most clearly articulated in the various rubrics of the successive prayer books, as well as the [[Thirty-nine Articles]] of Religion (1563). These articles have historically shaped and continue to direct the ethos of the communion, an ethos reinforced by its interpretation and expansion by such influential early theologians such as [[Richard Hooker (theologian)|Richard Hooker]], [[Lancelot Andrewes]] and [[John Cosin]].

With the expansion of the [[British Empire]] and the growth of Anglicanism outside Great Britain and Ireland, the communion sought to establish new vehicles of unity. The first major expressions of this were the [[Lambeth Conference]]s of the communion's bishops, first convened in 1867 by [[Charles Longley]], the archbishop of Canterbury. From the beginning, these were not intended to displace the autonomy of the emerging provinces of the communion, but to "discuss matters of practical interest, and pronounce what we deem expedient in resolutions which may serve as safe guides to future action".<ref>Davidson, R. T. (ed.) (1889). ''The Lambeth Conferences of 1867, 1878, and 1888: With the Official Reports and Resolutions Together with the Sermons Preached at the Conferences''. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.</ref>

=== Chicago Lambeth Quadrilateral ===
One of the enduringly influential early resolutions of the conference was the so-called [[Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral]] of 1888. Its intent was to provide the basis for discussions of reunion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, but it had the ancillary effect of establishing parameters of Anglican identity. It establishes four principles with these words:<ref>''The Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church'', Seabury Press, 1979, p. 877</ref>
{{blockquote|text=
That, in the opinion of this Conference, the following Articles supply a basis on which approach may be by God's blessing made towards Home Reunion:

(a) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as "containing all things necessary to salvation," and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.

(b) The [[Apostles' Creed]], as the Baptismal Symbol; and the [[Nicene Creed]], as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

(c) The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself – Baptism and the [[Eucharist|Supper of the Lord]] – ministered with unfailing use of Christ's [[Words of Institution]], and of the elements ordained by Him.

(d) The [[Historic Episcopate]], locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church.
}}

=== Instruments of communion ===
As mentioned above, the Anglican Communion has no international juridical organisation. The archbishop of Canterbury's role is strictly symbolic and unifying and the communion's three international bodies are consultative and collaborative, their resolutions having no legal effect on the autonomous provinces of the communion. Taken together, however, the four do function as "instruments of communion", since all churches of the communion participate in them. In order of antiquity, they are:

[[File:Canterburycathedralthrone.jpg|thumb|The [[Chair of St Augustine]] (the episcopal throne in [[Canterbury Cathedral]], Kent), seat of the archbishop of Canterbury in his role as head of the Anglican Communion{{NoteTag|The [[Chair of St Augustine]] is the seat of the archbishop of Canterbury in his role as head of the Anglican Communion. Archbishops of Canterbury are enthroned twice: firstly as diocesan ordinary (and metropolitan and primate of the [[Church of England]]) in the archbishop's throne, by the [[archdeacon of Canterbury]]; and secondly as leader of the worldwide church in the Chair of St Augustine by the senior (by length of service) archbishop of the Anglican Communion. The stone chair is therefore of symbolic significance throughout Anglicanism.}}]]

# The [[archbishop of Canterbury]] functions as the spiritual head of the communion.<ref>{{cite web |title = Anglican Communion |url = http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/pages/anglican-communion.html |website = www.archbishopofcanterbury.org |access-date = 4 October 2015 }}</ref> The archbishop is the focus of unity, since no church claims membership in the communion without being in communion with him. The office is currently vacant.
# The [[Lambeth Conference]]<ref name="Bodies">{{cite web |title = Anglican international bodies|url = http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/pages/instruments-of-communion.html |website = www.archbishopofcanterbury.org |access-date = 4 October 2015 }}</ref> (first held in 1867) is the oldest international consultation. It is a forum for bishops of the communion to reinforce unity and collegiality through manifesting the [[historical episcopate|episcopate]], to discuss matters of mutual concern, and to pass resolutions intended to act as guideposts. It is held roughly every ten years and invitation is by the archbishop of Canterbury.
# The [[Anglican Consultative Council]]<ref name="Bodies" /> (first met in 1971) was created by a 1968 Lambeth Conference resolution, and meets usually at three-yearly intervals. The council consists of representative bishops, other clergy and laity chosen by the 38 provinces. The body has a permanent secretariat, the Anglican Communion Office, of which the archbishop of Canterbury is president.
# The [[Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting|Primates' Meeting]]<ref name="Bodies" /> (first met in 1979) is the most recent manifestation of international consultation and deliberation, having been first convened by Archbishop [[Donald Coggan]] as a forum for "leisurely thought, prayer and deep consultation".<ref>Jeremy Morris, ''The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume IV: Global Western Anglicanism, c. 1910–Present'' (Oxford University Press, 2017), 320–22. {{ISBN|9780192518262}}</ref>

Since there is no binding authority in the Anglican Communion, these international bodies are a vehicle for consultation and persuasion. In recent times, persuasion has tipped over into debates over conformity in certain areas of doctrine, discipline, worship and ethics. The most notable example has been the objection of many provinces of the communion (particularly in Africa and Asia) to the changing acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in the North American churches (e.g., by [[same-sex unions|blessing same-sex unions]] and ordaining and consecrating same-sex relationships) and to the process by which changes were undertaken. (See [[Anglican realignment]])

Those who objected condemned these actions as unscriptural, unilateral, and without the agreement of the communion prior to these steps being taken. In response, the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|American Episcopal Church]] and the [[Anglican Church of Canada]] answered that the actions had been undertaken after lengthy scriptural and theological reflection, legally in accordance with their own [[canon law|canons and constitutions]] and after extensive consultation with the provinces of the communion.

The Primates' Meeting voted to request the two churches to withdraw their delegates from the 2005 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. Canada and the United States decided to attend the meeting but without exercising their right to vote. They have not been expelled or suspended, since there is no mechanism in this voluntary association to suspend or expel an independent province of the communion. Since membership is based on a province's communion with Canterbury, expulsion would require the archbishop of Canterbury's refusal to be in communion with the affected jurisdictions. In line with the suggestion of the [[Windsor Report]], [[Rowan Williams]] (the then archbishop of Canterbury) established a working group to examine the feasibility of an Anglican covenant which would articulate the conditions for communion in some fashion.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714012659/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/41/50/acns4164.cfm|archive-date=14 July 2006|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/41/50/acns4164.cfm |title=Archbishop of Canterbury: address to General Synod on the Anglican Communion|publisher=ACNS|date=7 July 2006}}</ref>