A further 260 Anglican churches have been demolished since 1948 ''.

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches ( and a few other episcopal churches ) in full communion with the Church of England ( which is regarded as the mother church of the worldwide communion ) and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Some of these churches are known as Anglican, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, due to their historical link to England ( Ecclesia Anglicana means " English Church ").

The Anglican Communion has no official legal existence nor any governing structure which might exercise authority over the member churches.

The Primates ' Meeting voted to request the two churches to withdraw their delegates from the 2005 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council.

Also shown are the churches in full communion with the Anglican Communion: the Nordic Lutheran churches of the Porvoo Communion ( Green ) and the Old Catholic Church | Old Catholic churches of the Utrecht Union ( Red ).

In addition to other member churches, the churches of the Anglican Communion are in full communion with the Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht and the Scandinavian Lutheran churches of the Porvoo Communion in Europe, the India-based Mar Thoma and Malabar Independent Syrian churches and the Philippine Independent Church, also known as the Aglipayan Church.

Thus the only member churches of the present Anglican Communion existing by the mid-18th century were the Church of England, its closely linked sister church, the Church of Ireland ( which also separated from Roman Catholicism under Henry VIII ) and the Scottish Episcopal Church which for parts of the 17th and 18th centuries was partially underground ( it was suspected of Jacobite sympathies ).

The churches of the Anglican Communion have traditionally held that ordination in the historic episcopate is a core element in the validity of clerical ordinations.

Some Eastern Orthodox Churches have issued statements to the effect that Anglican orders could be accepted, yet have still reordained former Anglican clergy ; other Orthodox churches have rejected Anglican orders altogether.

Some churches founded outside the Anglican Communion in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, largely in opposition to the ordination of openly homosexual bishops and other clergy are usually referred to as belonging to the Anglican realignment movement, or else as " orthodox " Anglicans.

Simultaneous with debates about social theology and ethics, the Anglican Communion has debated prayer book revision and the acceptable grounds for achieving full communion with non-Anglican churches.

In line with the suggestion of the Windsor Report, Williams has recently established a working group to examine the feasibility of an Anglican covenant which would articulate the conditions for communion in some fashion.

In some ways they represent a stronger opposition because they have the backing of many member provinces of the Anglican Communion and, in some cases, are or have been missionary jurisdictions of such provinces of the Communion as the Churches of Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and the Southern Cone of America.

In Western Christianity, this day is observed principally in the Catholic Church, although some churches of Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Churches also celebrate it.

Churches that claim some form of episcopal apostolic succession, dating back to the apostles or to leaders from the apostolic era, include the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Church of the East, the Anglican Communion, and some Lutheran Churches ( see below ).

In some Christian denominations, for example, the Anglican Communion, parish churches may maintain a chair for the use of the bishop when he visits ; this is to signify the parish's union with the bishop.

Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and some Lutheran bishops ( for example, Sweden ) claim to be part of the continuous sequence of ordained bishops since the days of the apostles referred to as apostolic succession.

The largest number of Benedictines are Roman Catholics, but there are also some within the Anglican Communion and occasionally within other Christian denominations as well, for example, within the Lutheran Church.

There are an estimated 2, 400 celibate Anglican Religious ( 1080 men and 1320 women ) in the Anglican Communion as a whole, some of whom have adopted the Rule of St. Benedict.

The United Church of Christ celebrates gay marriage, and some parts of the Anglican and Lutheran churches allow for the blessing of gay unions.

The Crucifix, a cross with the corpus ( Body of Christ ), is an ancient symbol used within the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, in contrast with some Protestant groups, which use only a simple cross.

Anglican, Nontrinitarian and Protestant Christians have no permanent presence in the church – and some regard the alternative Garden Tomb, elsewhere in Jerusalem, as the true place of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection.

Episcopi vagantes may also include some conservative " Continuing Anglicans " who have broken with the Anglican Communion over various issues such as Prayer Book revision, the ordination of women and the ordination of unmarried, non-celibate individuals ( including homosexuals ).

Churches that are members of the Anglican Communion are episcopal churches in polity, and some are named " Episcopal.

" However, some churches that self-identify as Anglican do not belong to the Anglican Communion, and not all episcopally-governed churches are Anglican.

Like the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Assyrian Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy and some other churches, Orthodox bishops trace their lineage back to the apostles through the process of apostolic succession.

Today, in addition to the Orthodox Church, a number of other Christian churches lay claim to this title ( including the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church ); however, the Orthodox Church considers these other churches to be schismatic and, in some cases, heretical.

The public role adopted by Sir John Kerr was curtailed considerably after the constitutional crisis of 1975 ; Sir William Deane's public statements on political issues produced some hostility towards him ; and some charities disassociated themselves from Peter Hollingworth after the issue of his management of sex abuse cases during his time as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane became a matter of controversy.

In the traditional Holy Week services of the Roman Catholic Church and some Anglican churches, a candelabrum with 15 candles on it is used for the service of Tenebrae.

In the Roman Catholic ( Latin: sacri ordines ), Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ( ιερωσύνη, ιεράτευμα, Священство ), Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, Independent Catholic churches and some Lutheran churches Holy Orders comprise the three orders of bishop, priest and deacon, or the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders.

The Porvoo Common Statement ( 1996 ), agreed to by the Anglican churches of the British Isles and most of the Lutheran churches of Scandinavia and the Baltic, also stated that " the continuity signified in the consecration of a bishop to episcopal ministry cannot be divorced from the continuity of life and witness of the diocese to which he is called.

The Anglican Communion ( see below ) and those Lutheran Churches which claim apostolic succession do not specifically teach this but exclusively practice episcopal ordination.

Widely accepted among Western Christians, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church and most liturgical Protestant denominations, the Athanasian Creed has been used in public worship less and less frequently.

Bishops form the leadership in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church, the Independent Catholic Churches, the Independent Anglican Churches, and certain other, smaller, denominations.

The word can also refer to a collection of Christian orders of prayers and readings, such as contained in Anglican or Lutheran resources.

This book ( which owes much to Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and other sources ) has widely supplanted the 1959 book, though the latter remains authorized.

Costa Rica ( Roman Catholic ), Denmark ( Evangelical Lutheran ), El Salvador ( Roman Catholic ), England ( Anglican ), Finland ( Evangelical Lutheran & Orthodox ), Georgia ( Georgian Orthodox ), Greece ( Greek Orthodox ), Iceland ( Evangelical Lutheran ), Liechtenstein ( Roman Catholic ), Malta ( Roman Catholic ), Monaco ( Roman Catholic ), and Vatican City ( Roman Catholic ).

Steps towards reconciliation on a global level were taken in 1965 by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches mutually revoking the excommunications that marked their Great Schism in 1054 ; the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission ( ARCIC ) working towards full communion between those churches since 1970 ; and the Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches signing The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999 to address conflicts at the root of the Protestant Reformation.

Protestant celibate communities have emerged, especially from Anglican and Lutheran backgrounds.

It is especially important in the Catholic Church, but is also used in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic, as well as Anglican, and Lutheran churches, ( though less often in other Protestant churches ), and it emphasizes Jesus ' sacrifice — his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind.

While an official movement exists in Lutheran congregations celebrate Eucharist weekly, using formal rites very similar to the Roman Catholic and " high " Anglican services, it was historically common for congregations to celebrate monthly or even quarterly.

As mentioned, the Lutheran Church in Sweden and Finland are exceptions, claiming apostolic succession in a pattern somewhat like the Anglican churches.

** Martha of Bethany ( Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Church )