Church of England

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Hereford_Cathedral_Nave,_Herefordshire,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg|thumb|[[Hereford Cathedral]] is one of the church's 43 cathedrals; many have histories stretching back centuries]]
{{Further|Religion in Medieval England|Anglo-Saxon Christianity}}

There is evidence for [[Christianity in Roman Britain]] as early as the 3rd century. After the fall of the [[Roman Empire]], England was conquered by the [[Anglo-Saxons]], who were [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|pagans]], and the [[Celtic church|Celtic Church]] was confined to Cornwall and Wales.{{Sfn|Moorman|1973|pp=3–4, 9}} In 597, [[Pope Gregory&nbsp;I]] sent missionaries to England to [[Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England|Christianise the Anglo-Saxons]]. This mission was led by [[Augustine of Canterbury|Augustine]], who became the first [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. The Church of England considers 597 the start of its formal history.<ref name="DetailedHistory">{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/news-and-media/media-centre/history-church-england |title=History of the Church of England |publisher=Church of England |access-date=25 April 2022 |archive-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416023707/https://www.churchofengland.org/news-and-media/media-centre/history-church-england |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Study of Anglicanism|publisher=Fortress Books|year=1998|isbn=0-281-05175-5|location=London|page=477|editor-first=John E. |editor-last=Booty|editor-first2=Stephen |editor-last2=Sykes|editor-first3=Jonathan |editor-last3=Knight}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Delaney, John P.|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsain00dela/page/67|title=Dictionary of Saints|publisher=Doubleday|year=1980|isbn=978-0-385-13594-8|edition=Second|location=Garden City, NY|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsain00dela/page/67 67–68]|url-access=registration}}</ref>

In [[Northumbria]], Celtic missionaries competed with their Roman counterparts. The Celtic and Roman churches disagreed over the [[Easter controversy|date of Easter]], baptismal customs, and the style of [[tonsure]] worn by monks.{{Sfn|Moorman|1973|p=19}} King [[Oswiu of Northumbria]] summoned the [[Synod of Whitby]] in 664. The king decided Northumbria would follow the Roman tradition because [[Saint Peter]] and his successors, the [[bishop]]s of Rome, hold the [[keys of the kingdom]] of heaven.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Synod-of-Whitby|title=Synod of Whitby &#124; English Church history|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>

By the [[late Middle Ages]], [[Catholicism]] was an essential part of English life and culture. The 9,000 [[parish]]es covering all of England were overseen by a hierarchy of [[Deanery|deaneries]], [[archdeaconries]], [[diocese]]s led by bishops, and ultimately the pope who presided over the Catholic Church from Rome.{{Sfn|Marshall|2017a|p=11}} Catholicism taught that the [[contrite]] person could cooperate with [[God in Christianity|God]] towards their [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] by performing [[Merit (Christianity)|good works]] (see [[synergism]]).{{sfn|MacCulloch|1996|p=210}} God's [[Grace in Christianity|grace]] was given through the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|seven sacraments]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2017a|p=7}} In the [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]], a [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priest]] consecrated bread and wine to become the [[Body of Christ|body]] and [[blood of Christ]] through [[transubstantiation]]. The Church taught that, in the name of the congregation, the priest offered to God the same [[Crucifixion of Jesus|sacrifice of Christ on the cross]] that provided [[Atonement in Christianity|atonement]] for the [[Christian views on sin|sins]] of humanity.{{Sfn|Marshall|2017a|pp=8–9}}{{sfn|Hefling|2021|pp=97–98}} The Mass was also an offering of prayer by which the living could help [[soul]]s in [[purgatory]].<ref>{{cite book | last = MacCulloch | first = Diarmaid | title = The Later Reformation in England, 1547–1603 | publisher = Palgrave | series = British History in Perspective | edition = 2nd | year = 2001 | isbn = 9780333921395 | url = https://archive.org/details/laterreformation00macc | pages = 1–2}}</ref> While [[Sacrament of Penance|penance]] removed the guilt attached to sin, Catholicism taught that a penalty still remained. It was believed that most people would end their lives with these penalties unsatisfied and would have to spend time in purgatory. Time in purgatory could be lessened through [[indulgence]]s and [[prayers for the dead]], which were made possible by the [[communion of saints]].{{Sfn|Marshall|2017a|pp=16–17}}