Discovering Anglicanism – ecclesiology at Lambeth Conferences 1867–1998

Journal article

This article explores how some scholars have defined Anglicanism, before examining the institutions that have unified Anglicanism internationally throughout its history. It explores a number of classical statements of authority in Anglicanism, and explores how rapid cultural, liturgical, and demographic change from the 1950s challenged the unspoken assumptions on which these statements rested. These left Anglicanism facing less coherence, just as Global North Anglicanism was losing confidence due to the religious crisis of the 1960s. The article then explores the factors that led to the crisis of 1998 which weakened those institutions, a situation that continues to the present day. Finally, the article offers some thoughts on the future and the enduring, if unfashionable, importance of patriarchs as leaders in churches today.

Authors: Lynch, G

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Ecclesiastical Law Journal: An international journal for the comparative study of law and religion
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 81-95
• Publication date: 2026-03-04
• DOI: 10.1017/s0956618x25101075
• EISSN: 1751-8539
• ISSN: 0956618X, 0956-618X
• Language: English
• Keywords: legal history; Anglican Comununion; reform; authority; Archbishop of Canterbury