Anyone who is on the electoral roll of this chaplaincy is automatically a member of the Church of England, whatever their previous church background. In fact, by being added to the roll you are agreeing to be regarded as a member. What, then, does it mean to belong to the Church of England? The first thing to say is that it doesn't make you English (and I write as one born in Ireland and having spent nearly nine years in Scotland before coming to Switzerland).
Unlike Protestant churches, the Church of England does not have a confession of faith. The Church of England (and the rest of the Anglican Communion) does not have its own doctrine but simply accepts and professes the faith of the universal Church.
Anglican churches contain and respect both Catholic and Protestant features and all recognise the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Although Anglicans are reluctant to define too closely what their church stands for, the essentials were set out in a document of 1888, known as the Lambeth Quadrilateral. It is so called because it was drawn up at Lambeth, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and because it states that the Church should be founded on four basic principles:
These constitute the "bottom line" for deciding what makes an Anglican.
Over and above that there is the heritage of prayer, spirituality, music and worship, a concern for order and dignity, a sense of historical continuity and a steady, but often understated, faith.
All in all, a rich treasury to share with any who wish to join us.
Peter