The Church of England (C of E) is a Christian church and also the established church of England. The archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor. The Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the 3rd-century, and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury.