The Anglican church started when the pope seeking political power, began to make claims to complete authority over every Christian. Many people were not willing to accept this, or believe in his decisions. People then broke completely with the pope and the church of Rome, and several Protestant churches were formed.
 

This all started in 1530, when Henry the 7^th requested, from the pope a divorce from Queen Catherine, for not producing a male heir. Although such things were frequently given, the pope was under strong political pressure in Europe, and he refused Henry's request. After sometime Henry declared again the independence of the Anglican church, and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England.
 

The bishop is the direct personal link with the church through the ages and every other diocese in the world. He's a symbol of the church's authority. He ordains the deacons and priests, who share some responsibility with him, and they exercise the authority that he passes on to him. The bishop arranges the meetings with a council of all the clergy and lay delegates elected by each parish. It is the meetings that elects a priest to become the bishop of the diocese. It organizes the life of the diocese through it's committees, and arranges the participation of the diocese in the work of the church through out the world. All of the bishops are members, and each diocese elects clergy and lay representatives. The parishes, which constitute the diocese. In Newfoundland a large city parish may have one congregation of several hundred families with two or more clergy on it's staff. An outport may have ten or twelve small communities scattered along a coast, each with it's church building and sharing one priest with all the others. The congregation's responsibility is to see itself as a living part of the world Church through it's worship, it's program for education, it's stewardship, and it's outreach in striving for social justice. 
 

For many centuries the Anglican Church has stressed the importance of learning and understanding the Christian religion, and of interpreting it afresh in each generation. It has tried, in most parts of the world, to maintain high standards in the training of it's clergy, and in the education of the laity through it's schools, Sunday schools, and other programs. The Bible is the main source and testing ground of all doctrines.
 

After the reformation, Anglicanism began to spread to beyond England. In 1578, on his third trip to Canada, Frobisher had an Anglican chaplain on board. By the end of the seventeenth century there were enough clergy for real growth to begin. The parish in St.John's, Newfoundland, was stared in 1699.