or roles beyond those of a typical parish church, and making a considerable civic, cultural, and economic contribution to their community. All churches recognised as Major Churches by the CBC are eligible to join the Major Churches Network. Several of these buildings are former monastic properties that were converted to parish church use after the English Reformation; others are large parish churches built at a time of great wealth. What they have in common are the requirements to offer facilities to many visitors, host special services, offer community access and fund the specialist maintenance and repair of these large buildings, most of which are Grade I listed. References External links Church of England societies and organisations