The 39 articles of religion

As a potential candidate for ordination in the World Wide Anglican Communion, I must adhere to the 39 articles of religion.

The articles have four major sections.

The Articles highlight the Anglican positions with regards to the corruption of Catholic doctrine in the Middle Ages, to orthodox Roman Catholic teachings, to Calvinism, and to Anabaptist thought.
[1] They are divided, per the command of Queen Elizabeth I, into four sections:

Articles 1-8, "The Catholic Faith"
Articles 9-18, "Personal Religion"
Articles 19-31, "Corporate Religion"
Articles 32-39, "Miscellaneous."

The articles were issued both in English and in Latin, and both are of equal authority.

Articles I—VIII: The Catholic faith: The first five articles articulate the Catholic creedal statements concerning the nature of God, manifest in the Holy Trinity. Articles VI and VII deal with scripture, while Article VIII discusses the essential creeds.
Articles IX—XVIII: Personal religion: These articles dwell on the topics of sin, justification, and the eternal disposition of the soul. Of particular focus is the major Reformation topic of justification by faith. The Articles in this section and in the section on the Church plant Anglicanism in the via media of the debate, portraying an Economy of Salvation where good works are an outgrowth of faith, and there is a role for the Church and for the sacraments.

Articles XIX—XXXI: Corporate religion: This section focuses on the expression of faith in the public venue – the institutional church, the councils of the church, worship, ministry, and sacramental theology.

Articles XXXII—XXXIX: Miscellaneous: These articles concern clerical celibacy, excommunication, traditions of the Church, and other issues not covered elsewhere.


The articles give us a political snapshot of an era.
While they must not be taken as "scripture," they are for many evangelical Anglicans, Calvinists, and others, articles that clearly substantiate the doctrines of the faith. As a future minister within the Anglican communion, I must read through them and assess their doctrine.

Thirty-Nine ArticlesFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established in 1563, and are the historic defining statements of Anglican doctrine in relation to the controversies of the English Reformation; especially in the relation of Calvinist doctrine and Roman Catholic practices to the nascent Anglican doctrine of the evolving English Church.[1] The name is commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-Nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles.

The Church of England was searching out its doctrinal position in relation to the Roman Catholic Church and the continental Protestants. A series of defining documents were written and replaced over a period of 30 years as the doctrinal and political situation changed from the excommunication of Henry VIII in 1533, to the excommunication of Elizabeth I in 1570.

Prior to King Henry's death in 1547, several statements of position were issued. The first attempt was the Ten Articles in 1536 which showed some slightly Protestant leanings; the result of an English desire for a political alliance with the German Lutheran princes.[2] The next revision was the Six Articles in 1539 which swung away from all reformed positions,[2] and the King's Book in 1543 which re-established almost in full the familiar Catholic doctrines. Then, during the reign of Edward VI in 1552, the Forty-Two Articles were written under the direction of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. It was in this document that Calvinist thought reached its zenith of its influence in the English Church. These articles were never put in to action, due to the king's death and the reunion of the English Church with Rome under Queen Mary I. Finally, upon the coronation of Elizabeth I and the re-establishment of the separate Church of England the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established by a Convocation of the Church in 1563, under the direction of Matthew Parker, then the archbishop of Canterbury, which pulled back from Calvinist thinking and created the peculiar English reformed doctrine.[1] The articles, finalized in 1571, were to have a lasting effect on religion in the United Kingdom and elsewhere through their incorporation into and propagation through the Book of Common Prayer.[3]

The full script of the articles can be found at the following link
http://www.episcopalian.org/efac/39articles/39art.htm