Culture of England Catholic Church does not accept) and has been a distinct Anglican church since the settlement under Elizabeth I of England (with some disruption during the 17th-century Commonwealth of England period). The British Monarch is formally Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Its spiritual leader is the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is regarded by convention as the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In practice the Church of England is governed by the General Synod of the Church of England, under the authority of Parliament. The Church of England's mission to spread the Gospel has seen the establishment of many
General Synod of the Church of England by Tynwald. The General Synod also elects some members of the Archbishops' Council. General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s. Before 1919, any change to the Church's worship or governance had to be by Act of Parliament, which resulted in little being done. In 1919, the Convocations of the Provinces of Canterbury and York adopted