With Britain now a multi-faith country and for many a place without any such credo – fewer than one in fifty of us worshipping in the church regularly - it seems anachronistic that we have an established church. But the state has nominally and actually controlled the Church of England since Henry VIII created it after his break with Rome. Even today the crown must formally nominate bishops after a byzantine appointments procedure.
Once regarded as the natural home for the stupid younger sons of the gentry, we may sometimes wonder if much has changed in the Church of England’s recruitment policy as we look on with disbelief (in more ways than one) at recent spats among its various factions.
Many other aspects of the institution have apparently changed little over the years: it is still where the nation sends its superfluity of front teeth for example. It would be wrong to characterise the Church of England as fossilised, however, given that after only seven decades of pressure it rushed to admit women to the clergy following a synod vote on November 11 1992 . That reform caused some prominent members to defect to the Catholic Church; disinterested observers await the inevitable rerun of such ructions when issues over the appointment of openly homosexual bishops come to a head.
More positively the CofE still enjoys a fabulous architectural inheritance, a major part of our national heritage. More strangely given our loss of Empire, the Church still has a big say in the affairs of churches of many countries in that lost territory, helping to maintain a family albeit a squabbling one of historically linked nations.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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