The Church of England’s roots go back to the Roman Empire when Christianity entered the Roman province of Britain in the third century AD. The church acknowledged the authority of the Pope until the Reformation in the 16th century. It is often desribed as both catholic and reformed, catholic in that it retains a lot of continuity with the Patristic and Medieval periods, such as its creeds and aspects of its liturgy, reformed in that it has been shaped by Protestant insights and doctrinal principles.
Today the Church of England has 41 dioceses in England, plus our Diocese in Europe, and maintains around 16,000 churches. In 2013, Around 1 million people attended a Church of England church each week.
More about the history of the Church of England and its present-day role can be found on the Church of England website.