Church of England or Anglican Church, the Christian church in England, dating from the introduction of Christianity into that country. More specifically, it is the branch of the Christian church that, since the Reformation, has been the established Church of England. The earliest unquestioned historical evidence of an organized Christian church in England is found in the writings of such early Christian fathers as Tertullian and Origen in the first years of the 3rd century, although the first Christian communities probably were established some decades earlier. Three English bishops are known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, and a number of references to the church in Roman Britain are found in the writings of 4th-century Christian fathers.…
