The Church of England existed in Ceylon from 1796 to 1816 as part of the Diocese of London.  In May 1816  the British territories in the East Indies,  were constituted into the 'See of Calcutta' by an Act of the British Parliament and the Archdeaconry of Colombo was added to the new  Diocese of Calcutta in 1818.  The church in Ceylon was subsequently attached to the Diocese of Madras in 1835. and in 1845 the Diocese of Colombo was established.

In 1930 with its disestablishment from the State, the Diocese of Colombo  became the Church of Ceylon and a full member of the Province of India, Burma and Ceylon with its own Constitution, Canons and Rules (CCR).

The Diocese of Kurunagala was established in 1950 and was recognized legally in 1972. Through the  enactment of the Church of Ceylon (Incorporation) Act No. 43 of 1998  the Dioceses of Colombo and Kurunagala were recognised as one body, the Church of Ceylon.

The new Constitution of the Church of Ceylon was drafted and adopted by the Constituent Assembly of the Church of Ceylon in 2007.