Who is the head of the Anglican Church?

Question

Is it the current king/queen or is it the Archbishop of Canterbury? Does the king/queen have power or a say in what the Church does?

Answer 1

Queen Elizabeth II since Henry VIII  ( the wife killer) appointed himself Head of the Anglican Church.

The next one will be the well known adulterer Prince Charles.

Doesn't thr hypocrisy make you sick?

Answer 2

The head of the Anglican Church, better known as The Church of England, is the reigning monarch with the archbishops of Canterbury and York being next in line.  The Queen, Elizabeth II, is technically at the head of ecclesiastical structure.   All appointments are made by the crown and all changes in the liturgy must be approved by Parliament.

Until the reign of Henry VIII, with England being primarily Catholic, the Pope was considered the head of the church.  All that changed with the Reformation in England subjectively directed by Henry, who had wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled in order to marry Ann Boleyn. The Pope refused time and time again to grant dispensation and it came to pass the church was split off from its Roman brothers and became Protestant.  The move was political and not religious but with the Act of Succession, Henry not only had Ann Boleyn's children made heirs to the throne but became the supreme head of the church as well.

Answer 3

At the moment The Queen of all England.

Answer 4

The Queen of England is the head of the Church of England. I am not sure what exactly is the 'Anglican Church'. However, the head of the Anglian Church is none other than good old Rory Emerald.

Answer 5

The Archbishop of Canterbury. The Queen has nothing to do with the church's administrative capacities or policies. (But she'd better bloody well turn up every Sunday)!

Answer 6

The nominal head is currently HM Queen Elizabeth II. However, the person who leads it is the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Dr Rowan Williams.

Answer 7

It is the reigning king or queen, but currently he/she has no say over church matters any more than, as head of state, over the affairs of state.

Answer 8

I believe that the Monarch's role is that of Defender, not leader, of the faith.  That would be the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Answer 9

Whoever is currently the monarch of Great Britain is also the head of the Anglican Church.

Certain changes in procedures or in senior appointments within the Anglican Church can only be made by Parliament, followed of course by Royal Assent. Of course the Royal Assent is never refused, although in principle it could be delayed to convey the monarch's displeasure.

It is tacitly understood that when it is necessary to appoint a new Archbishop of Canterbury, it is determined by the monarch's preference from a short list of two candidates, but nobody would ever officially confirm that. For all other Anglican purposes, Parliamentary power is supreme.

Answer 10

I am pretty sure that the head of the Anglican church is the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Queen Elizabeth may be head of the Church of England but not the Anglican Church itself.  I am an Episcopalian (an American Anglican) and we recognize the Archbishop as the head of our church.  Basically, the Anglican Church is worldwide (kind of like the Catholic Church) and the Church of England is part of that greater community as is the Episcopal Church.