The Faith of Anglicans
“Whosoever will be saved,
before all things it is necessary
that he hold the Catholic Faith;
Which Faith except every one do keep
whole and undefiled,
without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.”
-- the opening lines of the Athanasian Creed, found in the Prayer Book of the Church of England
It is impossible to speak of “the Anglican Faith,” since we Anglicans have “no faith of our own,” nothing but the original and authentic faith, the Holy Faith of the Universal Church. But since Anglicans are indeed people of faith, we can speak of “The Faith of Anglicans.”
The Faith of Anglicans Is...
Biblical
Anglicans believe that the Bible not only contains the Word of God, but truly is the Word of God. In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, God reveals Himself as Creator, Judge and Redeemer of the world. The Scriptures contain “all things necessary for our salvation.”
Christ-Centered
Anglicans believe that Jesus Christ is God Made Man, God in the flesh. Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, He has “opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.” We believe that He will come again to raise the dead and to welcome us into our eternal home. He is our Lord and Saviour, our prophet priest, and king. We look to Him, and to Him alone, for salvation. There is no other name given unto heaven whereby men must be saved, other than the name of Jesus Christ.
Traditional
Anglicans believe that Christ established His Church to continue down through history “until He come.” He left His Apostles to preach His Gospel “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you even unto the end of the world.” The faith Jesus gave to the Apostles must be handed on without alteration, distortion, or diminution.
Reasonable
Anglicans believe that God gave us minds to inquire and understand His revelation. The Christian faith requires no “sacrifice of the intellect.” On the contrary, authentic Christian faith always seeks to understand. A truly Christian mind always wants to know more.
Sacramental
Anglicans believe that God communicates His love and His power through tangible natural things like water, bread and wine. The sacraments are not just symbols or rituals. They are effective, powerful acts of Jesus Christ, still present in His Church as He promised. Because God created the natural world and pronounced it “very good,” it is only logical that He would use material things to convey His grace. The sacraments found in the New Testament are:
- Holy Baptism
- Confirmation, or the Laying on of Hands
- Penance and Absolution
- THE HOLY EUCHARIST
- Holy Orders
- The Anointing of the Sick
- Holy Matrimony
Holy Baptism is the basic sacrament. Administered only once to any human being, water is poured on us to signify cleansing from sin and the gift of new life. That gift is called regeneration, or the new birth.
The Holy Eucharist (also called the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy, and the Mass) is the “source and summit” of all the other sacraments. In it Christ continually feeds His faithful people with His Body and Blood, as our food of eternal life.
Baptism and Eucharist were explicitly commanded by Jesus Himself. Because they originate in His command, we believe that they are generally necessary for salvation.
Liturgical
Anglicans believe that worship is important. Worship is the main activity of the Church. In fact, it is the goal of all life, since Heaven will be one endless worship service! We believe that worship is the corporate act of the entire congregation. Worship is not just a performance by a clergyman with a congregation as his audience. Because worship is something we all do together, it is only natural for us to pray together from a Prayer Book. We believe that God’s worship should reflect the glory of our Risen and Ascended Lord. We also believe that worship truly anticipates the glory of heaven which we will share with our Saviour. Therefore it is appropriate to worship in a beautiful place, filled with symbols of our Holy Faith. In the manner of the Church of the ages, we freely use vestments, candles, bells, and incense.
Catholic
This word confuses many people, who erroneously imagine that it means Roman Catholic. But Anglicans remember that the Greek word katholicos meant whole or complete. When we speak of the Catholic Church, we means the Church in its integrity, its entirety, its wholeness, “earnestly holding the Faith for all time, in all countries, and for all people.” While certain other churches point to their origin in the 16thh century, or 18th century, or even more recently, we are a branch of the Church founded by Jesus Christ in A.D. 30.
For this reason we greatly value the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils of the ancient Church. We share the faith of Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Gregory, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, and all the Fathers and Doctors of the early Christian centuries.
Apostolic
Anglicans believe that Jesus Himself established the ministry of the Church when He chose and ordained His Twelve Apostles. That ministry, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost (the Spirit of truth, who leads us into all truth), rather quickly developed intro the three holy orders of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon. Bishops are the successors to the Apostles. As long as they are faithful to Christ, the presence of Bishops in the Church is a sign and guarantee of our continuity with the one true Church Jesus founded. Having bishops of apostolic succession among us is a great gift. This gift we share with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, making us, along with them, a true and authentic branch of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. That Church is the Body of Christ, the covenant people of God, outside of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
Evangelical
Anglican Christians are Gospel Christians! We confess that we are sinners. We know that mankind is estranged from our Creator because of our disobedience. This is a desperate predicament which we are powerless to resolve. As the Prayer Book tells us, “we have no power of our selves to help our selves.” But in Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, the Triune God has created for us a “new and living way into the holiest of all.” We can be saved only through His grace, favor and mercy extended to us in the preaching of the Cross, the perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for our sin. We cannot possibly be saved through anything in ourselves, our good works, our resolutions to do better, or our good intentions. God wills for all men to be saved, and invites us to surrender to Him. By His Spirit, He creates new life in us. All who look to Jesus Christ in faith are accepted, pardoned, declared righteous, welcomed into the family of God, and enabled to live a new life of obedience to God. This is the Good News we have been commissioned to preach to all nations.
What is "special" about the faith of Anglicans?
Some have called our faith the “Via Media,” the Middle Way. One 17th century bishop even spoke of Anglicanism as a “golden mediocrity.” What makes our Church special is that it gives us a Faith which is “Both … And.” Both Catholic and Evangelical. Both Traditional and Contemporary. Thoroughly Biblical but open to reasonable inquiry. Rooted in the ancient Church of the Fathers and the Councils, but blessed with the doctrines of grace rediscovered in the 16th century. Emphatically sacramental, but emphasizing solid preaching. We have no distinctive doctrines whatever. (Special doctrines would probably be heresies!) All we have is the Faith of the universal Church. All we have is “mere Christianity.” We are eager to share it with you!