From Reformation to Realignment
From Reformation to Realignment: A Brief History of Anglicanism up to the Formation of the ACNA
The history of Anglicanism is a story of reform, expansion, fracture, and renewal. It is a tradition that has consistently wrestled with questions of authority, catholicity, continuity, and mission. To understand the emergence of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in 2009, one must first trace the long and complex history that shaped the Church of England, the Episcopal Church, and the growing worldwide Anglican family.
I. The English Reformation and the Rise of Anglicanism
The roots of Anglicanism are inseparable from the upheavals that shook Europe during the 16th century. The early stages of the English Reformation were not solely the result of King Henry VIII’s marital crisis, but were deeply entangled with the broader evangelical renewal sweeping the Continent. Martin Luther’s theological movement stirred intense debate across England’s universities, clergy, and laity.
By the 1530s, pressure was mounting. Henry VIII’s dispute with the papacy over the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon ignited long-brewing tensions between the Crown and Rome. In 1534, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, a decisive break that declared:
“The King’s Majesty shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England…”
and further:
“…the Bishop of Rome… hath no greater jurisdiction conferred upon him by God in Holy Scripture in this realm of England than any other foreign bishop.”
With this act, England’s ecclesiastical independence was established.
At the center of this religious transformation stood Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose theological vision and liturgical genius helped form the emerging Anglican identity.
Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth
After Henry’s death, the Reformation accelerated during the reign of his son Edward VI, when Cranmer completed the first Book of Common Prayer in English. This monumental work restored worship to a historic, apostolic order while maintaining episcopal continuity and sacramental life.
Mary I (“Bloody Mary”) briefly reversed these reforms, restoring allegiance to Rome and persecuting Protestant leaders. But with the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, the Church of England stabilized into the distinctive via media—the middle way—that would define Anglicanism for centuries.
II. The Church of England in the American Colonies
Elizabethan expansion carried Anglicanism abroad. One remarkable early milestone occurred in 1579, when Sir Francis Drake’s chaplain celebrated Holy Communion on the shores of present-day San Francisco—the first English-language and first Prayer Book service in North America.
After the founding of Jamestown in 1607, the Rev. Robert Hunt celebrated Anglican worship on Virginian soil. From there the Church spread throughout the colonies:
King’s Chapel, Boston (1687)
Christ Church, Philadelphia (1695)
Trinity Church, New York (1697)
By the American Revolution, Anglican parishes were present in all thirteen colonies, forming a deeply influential social and religious network. Many Founding Fathers—including George Washington, who served as a vestryman—were active participants in the Anglican tradition.
III. Revolution and Realignment: The Birth of an American Anglican Church
The American Revolution created a profound crisis for colonial Anglicans. Priests were required to swear oaths to the British monarch—yet the King had refused to send bishops to the colonies, leaving American Anglicans under the distant oversight of the Bishop of London, who never once visited.
During the war, clergy such as Dr. William White served as chaplains to the Continental Army and Congress. After independence, however, Anglican churches could no longer remain under British authority.
Seabury and the Need for Bishops
In 1783, Connecticut clergy elected Samuel Seabury as bishop. But English bishops were legally unable to consecrate him without an oath of allegiance to the Crown. Seabury therefore turned to the Scottish non-juring bishops, who consecrated him in Aberdeen in 1784, granting American Anglicans their first bishop and establishing a distinctly Scottish imprint on American liturgy.
This crisis prompted Parliament to change English law, allowing bishops to consecrate clergy for foreign churches without requiring political oaths. In 1787, English bishops consecrated:
Samuel Provoost (New York)
William White (Pennsylvania)
Thus, American Anglicanism received apostolic succession from both the Scottish and English lines.
IV. The Founding of the Protestant Episcopal Church
In 1789, the first General Convention met in Philadelphia. There the newly organized Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America adopted its own Constitution and revised Book of Common Prayer, blending traditional Anglican liturgy with Scottish Eucharistic customs.
Growth was initially slow—especially westward—but the Episcopal Church gradually expanded into a national denomination.
V. Mission, Expansion, and the Civil War
The 19th century saw a flourishing of missionary and educational work.
Seminaries and Missionary Bishops
General Theological Seminary (1819, New York)
Virginia Theological Seminary (1823, Alexandria)
Missionary leaders such as Bishop Philander Chase and Bishop Jackson Kemper pushed westward, founding parishes, schools, and eventually Nashotah House. Bishop William Ingraham Kip carried the Episcopal mission to California in 1853, making American Anglicanism truly continental.
The Civil War
During the Civil War, southern dioceses formed the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America. Leaders like Bishop Stephen Elliott and Bishop Leonidas Polk embodied the conflict’s entanglement of faith and politics. Yet after the war, southern dioceses rejoined the Episcopal Church without censure—an extraordinary act of reconciliation.
VI. Modern Challenges and Ecumenical Aspirations
Following the war, the Episcopal Church faced new questions—not of national allegiance, but of theological identity.
Old Catholics and Ecumenical Possibilities
The First Vatican Council (1870) led to the rise of independent Old Catholic churches, stirring Anglican hopes for wider Christian unity.
In 1856, William Augustus Muhlenberg submitted his famous Memorial to General Convention, urging the Episcopal Church to become a unifying episcopal body for all evangelical Protestants—a vision ahead of its time.
Internal Tensions and the Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement in the late 19th century revived Catholic elements of Anglican tradition but also provoked deep controversy. Some objected so strongly that in 1873 they formed the Reformed Episcopal Church.
20th-Century Shifts
The Episcopal Church’s theological trajectory continued leftward through the 20th century:
1976 – ordination of women
1979 – major Prayer Book revision
2012 – authorization of same-sex marriage rites
These changes, combined with broader cultural and theological shifts, sparked increasing tension within the Anglican Communion.
VII. From Continuing Anglicanism to the ACNA
Beginning in the 1970s, those seeking to preserve traditional Anglican teaching began to separate:
1977 – The Congress of St. Louis, forming the first major Continuing Anglican bodies (e.g., the Anglican Catholic Church, Anglican Province in America).
2008 – The Common Cause Partnership, a coalition of conservative Anglican groups in North America responding to theological departures in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
This movement culminated in the formation of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in 2009, committed to orthodox Anglican doctrine, mission, and global communion with the majority of Anglicans worldwide.
Thus, the ACNA represents not a departure from Anglican tradition, but a continuation of historic Anglican faith and practice grounded in the Reformation, enriched by centuries of mission, and aligned with the global South’s vibrant Anglican witness.
Conclusion
The story of Anglicanism in North America is one of continuity and reform—of holding fast to the apostolic faith while navigating cultural, political, and theological challenges. From the English Reformation to the formation of the Episcopal Church, from frontier missions to modern realignment, this tradition has continually sought to be faithful to the Gospel while remaining a church both catholic and reformed.
The formation of the ACNA stands as the latest chapter in this long story—a renewal movement rooted in historic Anglican identity, global fellowship, and the unchanging truth of Scripture.