Anglican Doctrine

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Anglican Doctrine

Anglican doctrine refers to the teaching of the Church grounded in the Holy Scriptures and expressed in the historic formularies of the English Reformation and its orthodox heirs. Within North America, the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) both understand themselves as authentically Anglican, receiving the classic formularies of the Church of England while also adopting their own constitutional statements, prayer books, and catechisms.

This article summarizes Anglican doctrine as it is ordinarily defined by the shared Anglican formularies, and then highlights how the REC and ACNA each receive and state that doctrine in their own constitutions and standards.

1. The Idea of “Formularies”

In Anglican usage, a formulary is an officially authorized doctrinal or liturgical standard which expresses the teaching of the Church. While local constitutions and canons vary, historic Anglicanism has consistently pointed to:

Both the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America locate their doctrine within this classic Anglican framework.

2. Common Anglican Foundations

2.1 Holy Scripture

Anglicans confess the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, containing all things necessary to salvation and therefore the ultimate authority in matters of faith and morals. Other authorities (creeds, councils, articles, prayer books, bishops) are subordinate to and normed by Scripture.

Key Anglican themes include:

  • The sufficiency of Scripture for salvation (cf. Article VI).
  • The clarity of Scripture in things necessary to be believed for salvation.
  • The authority of Scripture over the Church, not merely alongside it.

Both REC and ACNA explicitly affirm Holy Scripture as the supreme standard of doctrine.

2.2 The Catholic Creeds

The universal creeds summarize the Trinitarian and Christological faith of the undivided Church:

  • The Apostles’ Creed – used chiefly in baptism and daily offices.
  • The Nicene Creed – recited at the Holy Communion as the Church’s principal confession of faith.
  • The Athanasian Creed – historically appointed for certain feasts and doctrinally significant as a precise statement of the doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation.

These creeds are received in both REC and ACNA as binding summaries of the catholic faith.

2.3 The Ecumenical Councils

Classical Anglicanism gives special honor to the first four Ecumenical Councils (Nicaea I, Constantinople I, Ephesus, Chalcedon), and often to the first seven, as authoritative in their doctrinal decisions, especially regarding the Trinity and the Person of Christ. While language and details of reception vary, both REC and ACNA stand within this conciliar, patristic inheritance.

2.4 The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571) are the principal doctrinal confession of historic Anglicanism. They articulate:

  • The authority and sufficiency of Scripture.
  • The doctrine of the Trinity and Christ’s two natures.
  • The fallenness of man, justification by faith, and the necessity of grace.
  • The nature of the Church, ministry, and sacraments.
  • A Reformed understanding of the Lord’s Supper and rejection of medieval abuses and superstitions.

Both REC and ACNA formally affirm the Thirty-Nine Articles as doctrinally normative, though they do so in slightly different constitutional language (see below).

2.5 The Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal

The Book of Common Prayer is more than a liturgical manual; it is a doctrinal standard in the form of prayer. Historic Anglicanism has looked especially to:

  • The classic English Prayer Books (1549, 1552, 1559, 1662).
  • The Ordinal (forms for ordaining deacons, priests, and bishops) as a statement of Anglican teaching on holy orders and the ministry of Word and Sacrament.

The REC historically used its own revision of the American Prayer Book, while the ACNA has authorized the 2019 Book of Common Prayer as its principal standard of worship and discipline.

3. Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) Formularies

3.1 Constitutional Position

The Reformed Episcopal Church was founded in 1873, and from its beginning grounded its doctrine in the classic Anglican formularies while also issuing its own Declaration of Principles.

Core doctrinal standards ordinarily include:

  • Holy Scripture as the Word of God written, the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
  • The three catholic Creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, Athanasian).
  • The doctrinal Articles of the Church of England (the Thirty-Nine Articles), understood in their plain, historic sense.
  • The historic Book(s) of Common Prayer and the Ordinal, especially as revised and authorized by the Reformed Episcopal Church.

REC constitutions and canons typically speak of these as the “doctrinal standards” or “formularies” of the Church.

3.2 Declaration of Principles

The Declaration of Principles (1873) is a foundational REC formulary that:

  • Affirms the supremacy of Scripture.
  • Receives the historic creeds of the undivided Church.
  • Confesses the Thirty-Nine Articles as expressing the doctrinal position of the Church in a Protestant and Reformed sense.
  • Emphasizes justification by faith alone and the spiritual nature of Christ’s Kingdom.
  • Retains the historic episcopate and liturgical worship while rejecting sacerdotalism and medieval innovations.

While not replacing the older Anglican standards, the Declaration provides a distinctly Reformed Episcopal statement of Anglican doctrine, especially over against Tractarian and Anglo-Roman tendencies of the 19th century.

3.3 Prayer Book Tradition in the REC

The REC has produced its own editions of the Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal, which preserve the structure and theology of classic Anglican worship while incorporating certain evangelical and Reformed emphases. In practice, REC doctrine is articulated through:

  • Its constitution and canons.
  • The Declaration of Principles.
  • Its authorized Prayer Book(s) and Ordinal.
  • The Thirty-Nine Articles, as received and interpreted in the REC context.

4. Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) Formularies

4.1 Fundamental Declarations

The Anglican Church in North America (constituted in 2009) articulates its doctrinal identity in the Fundamental Declarations of the Province. These declarations:

  • Confess the canonical Scriptures as the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
  • Receive the catholic Creeds as sufficient statements of the Christian faith.
  • Affirm the historic Anglican formularies, especially:
  • Acknowledge the authority of the ancient Councils on matters of faith.
  • Receive the Jerusalem Declaration (2008) as a doctrinally significant contemporary Anglican statement.

The Fundamental Declarations define what it means for a diocese or congregation to be “Anglican” within the ACNA.

4.2 The 2019 Book of Common Prayer

The 2019 Book of Common Prayer is the principal liturgical formulary of the ACNA. It aims to:

  • Root the province’s worship in the classical Prayer Book tradition (especially 1662), while using contemporary English.
  • Express the doctrine of justification, sanctification, and the sacraments in continuity with the historic Anglican formularies.
  • Provide catechetical and pastoral resources that reflect the province’s understanding of Christian doctrine and life.

ACNA documents speak of the 2019 BCP as expressing the Church’s doctrine “lex orandi, lex credendi” (the law of prayer is the law of belief).

4.3 To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism

The ACNA has authorized To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism as a teaching formulary. It:

  • Summarizes the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments.
  • Expounds classic Anglican teaching on the sacraments, the Christian life, and the Church.
  • Is designed for use in catechesis of children, youth, and adults preparing for baptism, confirmation, and ongoing Christian formation.

While not replacing the classic formularies, this catechism is a contemporary expression of Anglican doctrine for the ACNA context.

5. Convergence and Distinctives (REC & ACNA)

The REC and ACNA share a common Anglican doctrinal core while each preserving its own history and emphases.

5.1 Shared Anglican Core

Both bodies:

  • Confess Holy Scripture as the Word of God written and the ultimate standard of doctrine.
  • Receive the Apostles’, Nicene, and (in principle) Athanasian Creeds.
  • Affirm the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion as the primary doctrinal confession of Anglicanism.
  • Own the classic Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal as normative Anglican liturgy and theology in prayer.
  • Stand within the patristic and conciliar tradition of the undivided Church, especially in Trinitarian and Christological doctrine.

5.2 REC Distinctives

The REC:

  • Emerged in the 19th century with a deliberate emphasis on Protestant, evangelical, and Reformed readings of Anglican doctrine.
  • Uses the Declaration of Principles as a key interpretive statement, stressing justification by faith alone and guarding against sacerdotalism.
  • Historically produced its own Prayer Book revisions, while remaining recognizably Anglican in structure and doctrine.

5.3 ACNA Distinctives

The ACNA:

  • Is a 21st-century provincial expression of global Anglican realignment.
  • Formally receives the Jerusalem Declaration alongside the classic formularies as an important contemporary doctrinal statement.
  • Centers its worship and discipline in the 2019 Book of Common Prayer and its authorized catechism, To Be a Christian.
  • Emphasizes communion with the wider orthodox Anglican world, particularly provinces aligned with the Global South and GAFCON.

6. Anglican Doctrine in Practice

In both REC and ACNA contexts, Anglican doctrine is not merely a set of propositions but a living inheritance expressed through:

  • Regular use of Scripture in public worship, preaching, and daily prayer.
  • Liturgical life ordered by the Prayer Book and the Church year.
  • Catechesis for children and adults using creeds, commandments, and catechisms.
  • Episcopal oversight, synodical governance, and the ministry of Word and Sacrament.
  • A commitment to maintain the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as the Anglican tradition has received and reformed them.

7. See also

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