This chapter begins by charting the origins of the Church of England in the anti-Romanism that grew from the Reformation and became a key aspect of English identity. After describing the limited relations between Anglicans and Catholics in the years leading up to Vatican II, it goes on to discuss the visit of Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher in 1960, which set a new direction for ecumenism. Charting the impact of the Anglican observers during the council, it notes the importance of the explicit recognition of Anglicanism as a distinct form of church for Anglican self-definition. This led to close relationships between Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Paul VI, symbolized by the pope’s gift of an episcopal ring during Ramsey’s visit to Rome in 1966, and to the inauguration of the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) process, one of the most productive of the ecumenical dialogues emerging from the council.
