The church in England is state-owned. She is under the protection and guardianship of the royal power, and bishops are appointed by her. The Anglican Church arose under the influence of the activities of King Henry VIII, who was profitable to get out of the custody of the Pope. Initially, the church was Catholic, then gradually Protestant trends began to pour in. The Church of England can be called catholic, because it expresses the commitment of the early apostolic church, and reformed, in connection with the influence on its foundations of Protestant principles.
The Anglican Church is closely connected with state power. Many bishops are members of the House of Lords, and all important decisions of the church require approval in parliament. The state bears the lion's share of the cost of maintaining the church, and its top is directly connected with the financial oligarchy. The Church of England, located in the middle between the Catholic and Protestant faith, comes into contact with both of them. The Anglican Church contains three directions - the low gravitates to Protestantism, while the high is close to Catholicism. A broad direction brings together all, including various Christian movements.
The Anglican Church in its faith is guided by the Holy Scriptures, the three symbols of faith, the provisions that were adopted at the first four ecumenical councils, “39 articles” and “Book of public worship”. “39 articles” are named according to the number of doctrinal statements and show the position of the church between Catholics and Protestants. Kranmer, the archbishop who died a martyrdom, worked on them. The Book of General Prayers also owes most of the work to the same Kranmer and contains the traditional prayers of the Anglicans.
Initially, the Anglicans set themselves the goal of uniting all Christian churches, Kranmer developed a plan that did not work due to the fact that it did not cause interest among many representatives of the churches. But Anglican priests continued to negotiate, as a result of which the church entered into full Eucharistic communion with the Polish and Old Catholic churches. The Anglican Church, originally formed in England and Ireland, gradually spread throughout the world, thanks to missionary work and the firm habits and preferences of the colonists. Thus, Anglicans appeared in Russia.
In Voznesensky Lane, almost in the center of Moscow, the only Anglican church has survived to this day. Moscow gave refuge to its adherents back in the distant 19th century. Then, in 1884, an English cathedral was erected on the site of the chapel. By this time, the number of British colonists had increased so much that they could no longer fit the walls of a small chapel. The iron gates are decorated with symbols of Ireland, England, and Scotland, and the cross clearly shows a non-Orthodox appearance on the roof. The cathedral transforms the street, evoking a sense of presence in England during Victorian times.
This is the Anglican Church of St. Andrew, built under the leadership of Freeman, an English architect. Later, under the leadership of Freidenberg, a Moscow architect, a two-story house for clergy was built. The cathedral became not only a place of worship, but also a cultural center with a library and a repository, where the entire British colony gathered. During the revolution, the Bolsheviks seized the church building and looted the safe vaults. At first they made a warehouse out of the building, then a hostel, and after that the recording studio “Melody” settled there.
In the 90s, the Anglicans received their church back and divine services resumed. At first, a priest came from Helsinki once a month, and then, in 1993, the cathedral acquired its own chaplain and services began to go on as usual. To date, only part of the building is in use by the Anglicans, the second half belongs to the orphanage.