THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND is the English branch of the Anglican Communion and is its mother church. The Church of England is organized into two provinces; each is led by an archbishop (Canterbury for the Southern Province and York for the Northern). These two provinces cover every inch of English soil, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly and even a small part of Wales. There are 44 dioceses which comprise roughly 13,000 parishes.

In addition to this page, you'll find these areas in our England section:

• The Church of England by diocese
• The Church of England by geographic region
• Schools and education
• Miscellaneous related resources

Church of England (The official site)

A small selection of what is available, in alphabetical order:

The Archbishops' Council has the objects to 'co-ordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England'.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is Justin Welby, the Primate of All England. His predecessor Lord Carey of Clifton has a personal website.

The Archbishop of York. John Sentamu is the Primate of England and Archbishop of York.

The Archdeacons' Forum: 'Founded in the early 1990s, we offer support, training and development for archdeacons in the Church of England and the Church in Wales, including the deans of the Channel Islands and the archdeacons of HM Forces. We also keep in touch with Church of Scotland Presbytery Clerks on matters of common concern.'

Canons of the Church of England

Church Commissioners: 'The Church Commissioners exist to support the work and mission of the Church of England today and for future generations, helping it to remain a Christian presence in every community. We manage an £8.3bn investment fund in a responsible and ethical way, using the money we make from our investments to contribute towards the cost of mission projects, dioceses in low-income areas, bishops, cathedrals, and pensions.'

A Church Near You: 'A Church Near You is the Church of England's tool for people to find the nearest church to them with the features that they require.'

The Church of England in Parliament. 'This site is maintained by the Church of England Parliamentary Unit, based in Westminster, London, UK. We support the work of the Church of England in parliament, including the bishops in the House of Lords (the Lords Spiritual) and the Second Church Estates Commissioner in the House of Commons.'

Church Representation Rules

ChurchCare
'We support the people who care for our churches and cathedrals.'

Clergy Discipline Measure: information on the disciplinary process for clergy.

Clergy Resources: 'Practical information and advice for clergy.'

Clergy Transitions Service
'The Clergy Transitions Service(CTS) provides free, confidential, personal support for Clergy who are at a vocational crossroad, or who are looking for a fresh opportunity.'

Council for Christian Unity: supports the Church of England in seeking the unity of the Christian Church.

Crockford's Clerical Directory

Diocesan Registries of the Church of England

Education and Schools: 'Promoting education in schools, colleges and universities that allows children and young people to flourish in the widest sense.'

General Synod: including links to official reports of proceedings, available as PDF files, synod papers, committee membership etc.
The Work of General Synod
General Synod Agendas and Papers
Record of past meetings

Legal Services: 'The Legal Office provides professional legal services to the National Church Institutions ('NCIs') of the Church of England, the General Synod, and some national Church bodies such as the Churches Conservation Trust.'

A map of the 42 dioceses with links to diocesan websites.

Media Centre: 'The Communications Office at Church House, Westminster, provides a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service for journalists.'
Includes press releases.

Ministry Division: 'Our task in Ministry Division is to renew lay and ordained ministry throughout the Church of England. We do this by providing advice and support to dioceses, the CofE’s Bishops, and numerous Theological Education Institutions. We oversee the selection, training and deployment of ordained ministers, ensuring the Church is well equipped to serve God in living out its mission for many generations to come.'

Research and Statistics: 'The Research and Statistics unit collects, analyses, and publishes data relating to a wide range of aspects of the Church of England, including Church attendance, Parish finances, Ministry, Cathedral attendance, and College chapel attendance.
The unit provides an interactive Church of England parish map, with summary deprivation and census statistics mapped onto parish boundaries. The map also shows parish, benefice, deanery, archdeaconry, diocese, and lower super output area (LSOA) boundaries, and school locations.

Safeguarding: contains information on Reporting abuse and finding support, Policy and practice guidance, How we work, Reviews and reports, Training and resources, IICSAM

Senior Appointments: information on the Nomination and appointment process for Diocesan Bishops, Suffragan Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons and Residentiary Canons.

Views: includes policy statements and briefings that have been issued in recent years on a wide range of social and public issues.

Worship texts and resources
includes the full texts of the Church of England's authorized liturgies, both The Book of Common Prayer (1662) and Common Worship (alternatives, mainly in contemporary language, to the BCP)

Other Related Sites

The Faculty Office: 'has its origins in the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533. This Act transferred to the Archbishop of Canterbury the power to grant “all maner licences, dispensacions, faculties, composicions, delegacies, rescriptes, instrumentes or wrytynges have byn accustomed to be had at the see of Rome”. The Act created a new court – the Court of Faculties – and provided for the appointment of a Judge to preside over it. This jurisdiction was to be administered by the Archbishop’s “comissarye” assisted by a “clerke”. The issue of Special Marriage Licences and the appointment of Notaries Public were, before the Reformation, functions carried out by the Pope or the Papal Legates. For this reason, the functions under the Act are sometimes referred to as the “legatine powers”. The powers are more constitutional than ecclesiastical in the modern sense of that word.'

General Synod

Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England
Part of the National Archives website of all UK legislation.