Christianity – Anglican or Church of England Churches

There are many hundreds of Church of England or Anglican churches in England. Many are very old and many have traditional features. These features and the architecture have been devised because of the beliefs of the faith community who worship there.

Churches are often large because at one time the communities who worshipped there were large. Churches were often built at the centre of the community or at a place where a saint might have been associated. Churches are thought to be places where the distance between humans and God is small. Churches are places for prayer and for teaching the Bible. They are also places for the community to share with other Christians the sacraments of baptism, marriage and death. A church is also a building where Christians share Holy Communion or the Eucharist on a Sunday and other days to remember that they are symbolic members of the body of Christ.

The church is traditionally divided into two main areas – the Chancel and the nave. The Chancel is then sub-divided to include the Sanctuary. It was the custom for the Chancel to be the special place for the priest or vicar, whereas the community of the church or the congregation used the nave for worship and other uses. Church seats are called pews, and they face towards the Chancel where the altar is situated. On the altar is a cross, and usually candles. Also to be found in a church are various pieces of important furniture such as the lectern and the pulpit. These two pieces of furniture show how important readings from the Bible and teaching from the Bible are in services. The altar is the traditional place to take Holy Communion and represents a table where Christian sacrifice and love are shared.

All churches have many symbolic features and it is up to you to discover why they are there and what they mean to the community of faith who worship there.

Two further descriptions of a church, one in the south of the country, another in the north, can be found on London Grid for Learning site at www.lgfl.net/lgfl which was written by the RE adviser for Hackney Borough, Mr Karl D’Cruz, and at www.interfaithkirklees.org.uk.

You can also find a local Anglican parish church near you by searching the ACNY site (A Church Near You) on www.acny.org.uk