Supporting the Church of England: particularly in
areas of need and opportunity
The Church Commissioners (click here to see who the
Commissioners and their senior staff are) manage a well-diversified
investment portfolio, to produce money to support the Church of
England's work across the country.
The Commissioners were formed from the union in 1948 of two
earlier bodies - Queen Anne's Bounty and the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners - set up to support the work of the Church. Read more
about the Commissioners' history.
Their work is organised into three main areas:
- Spending. The Commissioners' support for the
church at national and local level includes funding towards the
ministry of bishops
and cathedrals and for mission at parish level. They also
fund a large share of clergy pensions. Click
here for an
outline of their other spending responsibilities.
- Administrative support for the Church. The
Commissioners help dioceses and local churches deal with parish
boundary reorganisation, parsonage and glebe matters and
settle the future of churches that have been closed for
public worship. They also run the national
clergy payroll and manage the publication of the
Crockford's clerical directory.
- Investments. The funds' assets are spread
across a broad range of asset classes including: UK and
overseas equities, property and alternative strategies. Click here to read
more about the Commissioners' investments.
There are 33 Church Commissioners. Click here to
read more about the Commissioners' membership,
governance and senior staff.
The Commissioners' annual report
and other downloadable resources contain
more details of their recent work.