Thirty-nine Articles

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The Thirty-Nine Articles are the defining statements of Anglican doctrine. The articles were established by a Convocation of the Church in 1563, under the direction of Archbishop Matthew Parker, using as a basis the Forty-Two Articles written under the direction of Thomas Cranmer in 1553. Adherance to them was made a legal requirement by parliament in 1571. They are printed in the Book of Common Prayer and other Anglican prayer books. The Test Act of 1673 made adherence to the Thirty-Nine Articles a requirement for holding civil office in England (an act which has since been repealed). Clergy of the Church of England are still required to take an oath that the doctrine in the Articles is "agreeable to the Word of God," but the laity are not, and other Churches of the Anglican Communion do not make such a requirement.

The Articles highlight some of the major differences between Anglican and Roman Catholic doctrine, as well as more conventional declarations of a Trinitarian Christianity. They are divided (according to command of Queen Elizabeth I) into four sections: Articles 1-8, "The Catholic Faith"; Articles 9-18, "Personal Religion"; Articles 19-31, "Corporate Religion"; and Articles 32-39, "Miscellaneous." In the order given in the Book of Common Prayer, they are:

I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity
II. Of the Word or Son of God, which was made very Man
III. Of the going down of Christ into Hell
IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ
V. Of the Holy Ghost
VI. Of the Sufficiency of the holy Scripture for Salvation
* including a recommendation of the Apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) books 'for example of life and instruction in manners ... [but not] to establish any doctrine'
VII. Of the Old Testament
VIII. Of the Three Creeds (Nicene, Athanasian, and Apostles' Creed
Of Original or Birth-sin
Of Free Will
Of the Justification of Man
Of Good Works
Of Works before Justification
Of Works of Supererogation
Of Christ Alone without Sin
Of Sin after Baptism
Of Predestination and Election
Of Obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ
Of the Church
Of the Authority of the Church
Of the Authority of General Councils
Of Purgatory
Of Ministering in the Congregation
Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth
Of the Sacraments
* identifies two dominical sacraments of the Gospel, Baptism and the Eucharist, and desribes the others as lesser rites.
Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the effect of the Sacrament
Of Baptism
Of the Lord's Supper
Of the Wicked which eat not the Body of Christ in the use of the Lord's Prayer
* See manducatio impiorum
Of both kinds
* i.e. Communion in both kinds
Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross
Of the Marriage of Priests
Of Excommunicate Persons, how they are to be avoided
Of the Traditions of the Church
Of the Homilies
* Includes a list of Thomas Cranmer's and other key bishops' homilies, to be read in Churches
Of Consecration of Archbishops, Bishops and Other Ministers
* In the American Prayer Book, this is: "Of the Consecration of Bishops and Other Ministers."
Of the Civil Magistrates
Of Christian Men's Goods, which are not common
Of a Christian Man's Oath

The Articles were not intended as a complete statement of the Christian faith, but as a statement of the position of the Church of England over against the Roman Catholic Church and some continental Reformers. The Articles also argue against some Anabaptist positions such as the holding of goods in common, and the necessity of believer's baptism.

John Henry Newman, in his [Tract 90], written before his conversion to Roman Catholicism, attempted to show that the Articles could be interpreted in a way less hostile to Roman Catholic doctrine.

Outside the Church of England, Anglican views of the Thirty-Nine Articles vary. The Episcopal Church in the United States of America regards them as an historical document and does not require members to adhere to them.

Anglican priest John Wesley adapted the Thirty-Nine Articles for utilization by American Methodists in the 18th century. The adapted Articles of Religion remain official United Methodist doctrine.

External links

http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/articles/articles.html
http://www.churchofengland.freeserve.co.uk/x39arts.htm
http://anglicansonline.org/basics/thirty-nine_articles.html The revised 1801 version adopted by the US Episcopal Church

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Thirty-nine Articles

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