Christianity in Britain was already established and ancient by the time of the Council of Arles (314 A.D.), to which the Church in Britain sent bishops. The early Christian theologian, Tertullian (185 A.D.) writes that the cross had conquered in areas of Britain where the eagle (the Roman Empire) had not. And St Augustine of Canterbury writes to Pope Gregory, after landing on British soil (597 A.D.), that the British Church already had its own ancient order, government and liturgy. Evidently,Christianity came to Britain very early - most likely during the first century or by the end of the second. This is the beginning of our history.  

This English branch of Christ's Catholic Church gradually came under the government of the Roman see during the Middle Ages but then regained the responsibility of regulating her own affairs during the necessary corrections which occurred in her life at the time of the English Reformation in the 16th century. As the English, through trade and settlement, moved throughout the world from the 16th century on, the English Church went with them. Thus the Anglican Communion is that branch of Christ's Catholic Church which was established early on in England and now spans the globe, numbering over 80 million souls. Among the primates (head bishops) of the Communion's provinces, the Archbishop of Canterbury (England) exercises a primacy of honor and oversight. The present Archbishop of Canterbury is the Most Rev'd Justin Welby.