What's Anglican?

Anglican is a denomination of Christianity.  It is often called Via Media, the middle way between Catholicism and Protestantism.  The head of the Anglican Church worldwide is the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Rowan Williams.  The Archbishop of Canterbury doesn't have in any way the same power or authority as the Pope does for Catholics.  He is more symbolic. Although many think King Henry VIII invented the Anglican Church, in reality, the Anglican Church or the Church of England as it is still known in the UK had in fact links in the UK going back to around the 3rd Century AD.  Although many churches are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and practice a similar worship style they really are a loose gathering on a Diocesan level.  There may be differences in opinions on issues such as homosexuality, homosexuals in the ordained ministry and women priests from one diocese to the next.  The Anglican Church is a very Liturgical church.  It also differs with some churches being very "High-church" Anglo-Catholic who like vestments, bells, candles, incense etc, while others are very "low church" Evangelicals who may not even wear a robe.