How is the Anglican Communion structured?

[Macrina]

Hello my Anglican friends,

A discussion in another forum got me thinking about this: What is the connection between churches in the Anglican Communion? This came up in the context of the relationship between the King/Queen of England and the Church of England, which of course only applies to that particular church. Well, that got me thinking, how does the Church of England relate to other Anglican churches? Of what does the formal relationship consist?

Being Presbyterian, we have a historic connection with the Church of Scotland... our theology and polity is similar to them and other presbyterian churches around the world. And although we have "communion" with each other in the sense that we recognize each other and sometimes form partnerships, I don't think we have the degree of connectedness that you all have... could you tell me more about what it means to be a part of a worldwide communion, but not part of a centralized church (with, say, a papacy). I'm trying to get a handle on how things work for you. Thanks, and I hope my question is clear. :D

[PaladinValer]

The Anglican Communion is structured largely the same way as the Eastern Orthodox Church is. We are an autocephalousy of various national/international provinces that are united through a first-among-equals.

The Church of England is the "mother province" as nearly all (if not all) provinces owe her their birth (less so perhaps with the ECUSA due to the fact our first bishops were first ordained through Scottish bishops, though the church was there first through England). The Archbishop of Canterbury is not only the primate of the province of the Church of England, but is the aforementioned first-among-equals within the Anglican Communion.

Each province has a chief bishop, collectively called a "primate" but in various provinces, he or she is referred to as "archbishop" or "presiding bishop," often depending on how the provinces themselves are run. Each province is self-governing with its own canons and constitutions, though there are some central elements that must be upheld by all provinces, such as the autocephalous nature of the Communion (a province cannot interfere in the affairs of another province without that province's primate's expressed consent), use of the Book of Common Prayer, the use of the three-fold ordained ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, role of Holy Tradition, etc.

The next level down with be the diocese, each of which is run by a diocean bishop who can appoint assistant bishops if he or she so chooses. Depending on the province, a diocese has a level of flexibility with its own canons; some are stricter and some are "looser," though none can change what is declared "minimum" at the provincial level. In the ECUSA, there is a much "looser" system, as our government, while still honoring the strict three-fold ordained ministry, is autocephalous itself: each diocese is practically self-governing. Other provinces are more strict, though dioceses will always have different canons than others within the same province.

[gtsecc]

I think it simply means that both the ++ABC and the parish agree to be in communion with each other.

[Macrina]

Oh, ok, thanks. I realized that I had only a very general idea of your polity, and I thought it would be good for me to understand it a little better, since Episcopaleans are often our partners in ecumenical endeavors. It helps not to be totally ignorant. ;)