CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY

(CMS) society founded in London in 1799 as the Society for Missions in Africa and the East, by Evangelical clergy of the Church of England (those who stressed biblical faith, personal conversion, and piety). In 1812 it was renamed the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East. During its first 10 years it sent only five missionaries to work among non-Christians, but it gradually gained support, and its work expanded. Various CMS areas, including Canada, became independent provinces of the Anglican Communion. CMS's in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are associated but fully autonomous.