The Anglican Communion

One family united around Jesus Christ

The Anglican Communion is a global family of 85 million brothers and sisters - many living in poverty and conflict - united around the love of Jesus Christ.

From Canterbury to Calcutta, and Manhattan to Nairobi, the Anglican Communion is one of the world’s largest and most diverse Christian communities.

Eighty-five million people in over 165 countries call themselves Anglicans. Between them Anglicans speak more than 2,000 languages. It’s a global family with over 500 cultures and ways of looking at the world. It's spread across 42 autonomous churches, who are all in communion with the See of Canterbury. 

The vast majority of Anglicans live in poverty, and in places of conflict or post-conflict. As Archbishop Justin puts it, “Despite appearances [in England], we are a poor church for the poor.”

primates 2016 group shot

This global family is united by and around the love of Jesus Christ. It’s held together by a shared heritage, by ways of worshipping and by the relationships – the “bonds of affection” – between its members worldwide.

As Archbishop Justin has said: “The Anglican Communion is one of the greatest miracles of the Church. It’s a bewildering, extraordinary, miraculous, diverse, remarkable range of cultures, languages, attitudes and people. Some live in wealth, others in immense poverty.

"Some live in security, others in immense suffering. All around the world they have been brought together by God the Father, to proclaim the love of Jesus Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit.”

For Anglicans around the world, the Archbishop of Canterbury is a focus of unity and one of the four Instruments of the Communion. 


Source URL: https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/about/anglican-communion