Like all Anglicans, the churches and missions of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) trace our roots in English Christianity which dates far back into history. Legends and reliable histories tell us that the Church was established among the Britons in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Some of history’s most notable figures in the cause of the Gospel, such as Alban, Augustine of Canterbury, Patrick, Hulda, Aidan, Columba, Anselm, Thomas Becket, Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, George Whitfield, John Wesley, J. I Packer and John Stott.
Anglicanism is not so much a distinct “brand” of the Faith but a way of living the Faith that we treasure in our worship and mission. The Faith we have received is rooted in Scripture, the Tradition of the undivided Church, the English reformation, and in rise global Christian missionary movements. And it is expressed in our worship, which is biblical, sacramental, and Spirit-filled. It is beauty, truth, and goodness. Anglicans are known for their missionary efforts, which have resulted in the world's third largest communion of churches.
“Members of the Anglican Church in North America are in the mainstream, both globally and historically, of Christianity – the biblically-faithful way of following Jesus and being part of the “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church”. As Anglicans, this orthodoxy is defined by and centered on our church’s classic formularies – the Book of Common Prayer, including the Ordinal, and the Thirty-nine Articles – which all point back to the authority of the Holy Bible and articulate foundational principles of the Anglican tradition throughout the world.