That the church of England, after fighting for its very existence against popery on the one hand, and against Puritanism on the other, should have subsided into inactivity during the dull reigns of the Georges, is less a matter of surprise than of regret. The peaceful enjoyment of her temporalities in a dull, irreligious, not to say infidel age, may easily account for, though it cannot excuse, her idleness. But that in the rise of John Wesley, 1730, she should have failed to see a grand opportunity for herself, is a matter of both surprise and regret; she, however, let it pass; perhaps she can hardly hope that such another will ever again present itself. The utmost that can be hoped is, that she has seen her error. The next important event in the history of the church is the act of union, which came into effect on the 1st of Jan., 1801, and united the churches of England and Ireland in all matters of doctrine, worship, and discipline. The reforma tion had made some progress in Ireland under Edward VI. Five Protestant bishops were appointed in 1550, and-the English:Bible and liturgy were introduced in 1551; but from a variety of causes, the reformed doctrines have never found much acceptance with the native population; and although a Protestant church was established by law, it was and is the church of the minority (see IRELAND). In 1635, the English articles were received; and in 1662, the English book of common prayer was adopted by con vocation. Before the political union of the countries, the two churches were in full communion. By an act of the imperial parliament in 1833, ten of the Irish bishoprics were suppressed, and the funds thus obtained were applied to the augmentation of small livings and the building and repair of churches. There are now twelve Irish bishops. But in 1869, the Irish church was disestablished and disendowed; and this branch of the Anglican community now stands in much the same relation to the church of England as does the Episcopal church in Scotland.
In later times, three great controversies have shaken the English church, which have led to some great reforms, some internal divisions, and the secession of some members to Rome, of a few to the ranks of dissent. These were the Tractarian, the Gorham, and the Essays-and-Reviews controversies. The former was occasioned by some tracts which began to be published at Oxford in 1833, the object of which was to revive something of the spirit of Catholic antiquity, and reform the abuses and slovenly practices which had crept into every part of the church system. See TRACTARIANISM. The Gorham controversy (q.v.) related to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. The Tractarians are accused of Romanizing tendencies; and their views, when carried to extremes, undoubt edly lead in that direction, as is proved by the numerous secessions to that church. With the extreme low church party, episcopacy is rather an expedient than a necessary form of church government. They think but little of the efficacy of sacraments, and deny that regeneration necessarily takes place in infant baptism. Justification by faith,
the atonement of the cross, and the Calvinistic doctrines on election, are their leading topics in preaching. See the lives of SIMEON and of VENN for the views of this party.
The Essays-and-Reviews controversy (so called from a book thus named) concerned what are called BROAD CHURCH views, which are attributed to men of the Arnold school, and the followers of Mr. Maurice (q.v.). Those who hold them can scarcely be called a party, and are, indeed, unwilling to be so considered; but if their position must be defined, they might be described as a party between, and somewhat antagonistic to, both the high and low church parties. The high church party insist on the authority of the church and priesthood, the efficacy of sacraments when rightly received, and the necessity of apostolical succession in the matter of orders, and in their general teaching they take the prayer-book as the exponent of Scripture. They are scrupulous in observ ing the rubrics, and have done much to revive the practice of daily prayer in the churches, and the observance of the festivals. Order, unity, antiquity, and catholicity are what they profess to have in view. See RITUALISM.
There are at present, in round numbers, 13,000 benefices in England and Wales, of which a large number are new districts, which are being continually formed out of the old large and overpopulous parishes. These districts are called perpetual curacies, or incumbencies, and for the most part are but very slenderly endowed. The old benefices are either rectories, where the incumbent receives the great or corn tithes, or vicarages, where he receives the small tithe only. The great tithes had anciently been bestowed upon the neighboring monasteries, who undertook the cure of the souls and appointed vicars for the purpose, who lived on the small tithes and the offerings of the people. At the dissolution of the monasteries, many of the great tithes were given to laymen, and laymen now extensively hold them, and some to endowed colleges. The endowments were all by private beneficence, and there is no tenure so ancient as that by which the parish church holds her property. The aggregate amount was ascertained by the commission appointed in 1830 to be as follows: Bishops, £181,631; deans and chapters, £360,095; parochial clergy, £3,251,159; total annual revenue, £3,792,885. The value of the prop erty of the Irish church was in 1869 estimated by Mr. Gladstone at £16,000,000. The church rates, amounting to £500,000 annually, were no part of the minister's endow ment; they were exclusively devoted to the repairs of the church fabric, and the warm ing, lighting, cleaning, etc., of the church; and were under the exclusive control of the church-wardens. Of these there are two in each parish, one generally nominated by the minister, the other elected by the parishioners. The payment of church rates is no longer compulsory.