A
study of the teaching of the Articles is also relevant for another reason. In many parts of the world members of the Anglican
Communion are joining in discussions on Church Unity and are seeking
to overcome theological barriers to reunion.
In some cases, however, legal barriers may prove to be more formidable
than theological differences. For
instance, it has been pointed out that in the case of the Church of
Ireland the tenets and principles of the Church as set out in the Preamble
and Declaration adopted by the General Convention in 1870 ‘are
essential to its identity and all church property, and all funds held
for any church purpose, are held upon trusts of which the several provisions
of the Preamble constitute an integral part’.[1]
The
Preamble states that the Church of Ireland will maintain communion with
other churches ‘agreeing in the principles of this Declaration’. It is difficult to see how she could enter
into full communion with any church which felt unable to accept those
principles, for if she were to compromise on any of those principles
for the sake of reunion, she might risk the forfeiture, by sequestration,
of all her property and endowments.
The same risk would doubtless face some other parts of the Anglican
Communion contemplating reunion. As
in the case of the Church of Ireland, one of the Fundamental Provisions
of the Uganda Constitution declares:
‘1. The Church of Uganda doth hold and maintain
the doctrines and sacraments of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded in
His Holy Word and as the Church of England hath received and explained
the same in the Book of Common Prayer, and in the form and manner of
making, ordaining, and consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons,
and in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, and further it disclaims
for itself the right of altering any of the aforesaid standards of faith
and doctrine.’
If
theological discussions on reunion are to achieve practical results
cognizance must be taken of such Declarations and cf their legal force
and implications. A fresh study of the Reformation formularies
(such as the Thirty-nine Articles) against the background of the teaching
of Scripture and early Church practice may be useful, before we attempt
to draft any doctrinal statements as a basis for reunion. As Dr. Broomfield so rightly says, ‘The
faith of the One Holy Catholic Church, when it is again united, will
not be limited to what is common to all the various groups into which
Christians are now divided. That
would be a sad impoverishment. On
the contrary, it must include everything which is true in the faith
of each and all of them. Similarly
the Order and practice of the united Church must be such as to preserve
everything of real and permanent value .
. . If
this is so, unity is to be sought not by a readiness to minimize-much
less to abandon-the things which distinguish us from our brethren,
but rather by an eagerness to discover whatever is true and valuable
in the things which distinguish them from us’.[2] As, in the past, those who sought the reformation
of the Church were obliged to think out and express the principles for
which they stood, so those who today seek the reunion of the Church
must re-examine their principles. How
far, for instance, are the Thirty-nine Articles in accord with the teaching
and practices of the Primitive Church? We hope that a study of the following
pages may indicate an answer to that important question.
We
should like to express our gratitude to the Bishop of Cashel, Rt. Rev.
W. C. de Pawley, and to the Rev. T. N. D. C. Salmon, who read the typescript
and made many helpful suggestions.
We are also deeply indebted to Mr. A. G. Gray for the keen personal
interest he has taken in the production of the book.
W. G. WILSON
J. H. TEMPLETON
Feast
of the Epiphany,1962