Notes on Anglican history

The Archbishops of Canterbury: Anglicans differ in the extent to which they emphasize the continuity of their communion with the pre-reformation Church of England, but all include Augustine and his medieval successors on the list of their archbishops.
Anglicanism and Calvinism: In the 16th and early 17th centuries there was a strong Calvinist strain in Anglicanism. The Calvinists were considered the "best reformed" Churches of Europe, while Lutherans were somewhat suspect for having retained too much from medieval Catholicism! Return to note index
Richard Hooker: The most important Anglican theologian during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. He gave Anglican theology a distinctive approach, and asserted the unique identity of Anglicanism in contrast to both Roman Catholicism and Puritanism. Return to note index
Apostolicae Curae: At the end of the 19th century Pope Leo XIII in the Bull Apostolicae Curae declared that Anglican ordinations were "absolutely null and utterly void", i.e. that Anglican priests and bishops were not "real" priests and bishops. It is important to realize that the Roman Catholic Church has always considered the ordinations of some other churches, notably the Eastern Orthodox, to be valid.