The

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

does not have a centralised

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

of its own, unlike the

canon law of the Catholic Church The canon law of the Catholic Church () is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of religious laws and canon law, ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, hierarchical ...

. Each of the autonomous member churches of the communion, however, does have a canonical system, and "the Anglican Communion is much more than a mere ''ad hoc'' collection of churches." Some, such as the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, has an ancient, highly developed

while others, such as the Episcopal Church in the United States have more recently developed canonical systems originally based on the English canon law. There has been an emerging consensus that there is, in fact, certain commonalities between and amongst the canon laws of the various branches of the Anglican Communion.

Background

In the

, the

ecclesiastical court In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...

s that formerly decided many matters such as disputes relating to marriage, divorce, wills, and defamation, still have jurisdiction of certain church-related matters (''e.g.'' discipline of clergy, alteration of church property, and issues related to churchyards). Their separate status dates back to 1072, when the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, under King William I, split them off from the mixed secular/religious county and local courts used by the Saxons. By the time of "

King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

, — a distinction was established between Courts Temporal and Courts Ecclesiastical." The first comprehensive set of canon laws that form the basis of Anglican canon law come from the Canons of Edgar, a set of early eleventh-century ecclesiastical regulations produced in

Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or early medieval England covers the period from the end of Roman Empire, Roman imperial rule in Roman Britain, Britain in the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. Compared to modern England, the territory of the ...

by Wulfstan,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. They were in fact ''not'' written by King Edgar; but his good governance was inspiration for Wulfstan. The ''Canons of Edgar'' have been called "a synthesis of church doctrine on pastoral care and clerical behaviour for use by parish priests." Wulfstan's sources included the writings of Aelfric, Theodulf of Orleans, Amalarius of Metz, and

Pope Leo IV Pope Leo IV (died 17 July 855) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death in 855. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the Arab raid against Rome, and for building the ...

, as well as the ''Canons of Chalcedon''. In contrast to the other courts of England, the law used in ecclesiastical matters is at least partially a civil law system, not

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

, although heavily governed by parliamentary statutes. Since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, ecclesiastical courts in England have been royal, or "Crown courts." The teaching of canon law at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge was abrogated by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

; thereafter practitioners in the

ecclesiastical courts In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...

were trained in civil law, receiving a

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

(D.C.L.) degree from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, or a Doctor of Laws (

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

) degree from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Such lawyers (called "doctors" and "civilians") were centered at " Doctors Commons", a few streets south of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in London. Canon law and lawyers dealt with

probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

, matrimonial, and admiralty cases until their jurisdiction was removed to the

courts in the mid-19th century. Other churches in the

around the world (e.g., the Episcopal Church in the United States and the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

) still function under their own private systems of canon law. In 2002 a Legal Advisors Consultation meeting at Canterbury concluded:

(1) There are principles of canon law common to the churches within the Anglican Communion; (2) Their existence can be factually established; (3) Each province or church contributes through its own legal system to the principles of canon law common within the Communion; (4) these principles have strong persuasive authority and are fundamental to the self-understanding of each of the member churches; (5) These principles have a living force, and contain within themselves the possibility for further development; and (6) The existence of the principles both demonstrates and promotes unity in the Communion.Doe, Norman, "The Contribution of Common Principles of Canon to Ecclesial Communion in Anglicanism"
''The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion''
London: The Anglican Communion Office, 2008, p. 97.

Examples by jurisdiction

Canon law of the Church of England The Church of England, like the other autonomous member churches of the Anglican Communion, has its own system of canon law. The principal body of canon law enacted since the Reformation is the ''Book of Canons'' approved by the Convocations of C ...

Canon law of the Episcopal Church in the United States The Anglican Communion does not have a centralised canon law of its own, unlike the canon law of the Catholic Church. Each of the autonomous member churches of the communion, however, does have a canonical system. Some, such as the Church of Engl ...

References

Sources

* *

Background

Examples by jurisdiction

See also

References

Sources

Further reading