Westminster Abbey

Welcome to the Anglican History Blog. This site and blog is all about the history of the Anglican Church, including the Church of England, Episcopal Church in the United States, and other Anglican churches in different parts of the world. It is edited by The Rev. Dr. Robert Polglase, a priest in the Anglican Diocese of the South of the Anglican Church in North America.

There is no shortage of blogs that address the current state of affairs in these churches and the Anglican Communion. Our goal is to offer something different, namely to take a look backward and learn about the rich Anglican tradition as it developed both in England and elsewhere. By doing this we can begin to understand how the Anglican church got to where it is today and why we do what we do.

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer

We can learn a lot from the historic pillars of Anglicanism, people like Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who edited the first English Book of Common Prayer and died a martyr for the faith, as well as Bishop John Jewel, who was one of the first people to define the Church of England after the Elizabethan Settlement.

Anglican church history doesn’t end in Elizabethan England, however. There is much to be learned from later periods, including the colonial church in America and the development of the Episcopal Church in the United States following the Revolutionary War.

We’ll follow a historic timeline for our initial posts, beginning with a few about the English Reformation and how it all started. From there we’ll move on to broader selection of topics, as well as some posts about some historic figures as their names appear on the church calendar.

Please check back often for new content and updates. Join the discussion by leaving comments here, or on our Facebook page. If you’re interested in a certain period or event in Anglican history or have a suggestion for a post, please feel free to email the editor at editor@anglicanhistory.net