INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLES

SECTION I. —HISTORY OF THE ARTICLES.

THE CONFESSIONS OF THE 16TH CENTURY.—The Articles of the Church of England form one of the many declarations on faith and discipline, which were put forward in the 16th century by such religious bodies as had thrown off allegiance to Rome, and disowned at the same time many points of the religious and ecclesiastical system of the Mediaeval Church. For this action of what is commonly termed Protestantism is, by the nature of the case, simply negative. It declares what is repudiated, not what is accepted. It may indicate true Reformation or entire Revolution in things religious. Hence—at a time when the unsettlement of the whole mediaeval system gave occasion to much wild speculation and practice, and the repudiation of allegiance to Rome forced on men the necessity of discovering other bonds of Christian unity—it became necessary for the various Reformed bodies to declare positively what they held in faith, and what ecclesiastical constitution they recognized. The result was seen in a series of Confessions, of which the great Augsburg Confession was the chief.

THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION.—This Confession, published in 1530, afterwards enlarged and amended in 1552, and put forth as the Wurtemburg Confession, has special interest to us, as having considerably affected our own Articles. It was drawn up chiefly by Melancthon, and approved by Luther for presentation to the Diet, at a time wham there seemed hope of reconciliation between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran bodies in Germany, and when the extravagances of ultra-Protestantism had so alarmed Luther himself, as to suggest great care and moderation in framing authoritative statements of doctrine. The original Confession contains xxi. Articles of Faith and vii. of Protest against Abuses. Of the former Articles it may be noted:

that (as is the case of all Lutheran documents) they lay great stress on the reality and efficacy of Sacramental grace, while they insist strongly on the need of spiritual reception; and, in relation to the Holy Communion, declare expressly that the Body and Blood of Christ are really present;
that they define the Church much as in our Articles, assert the authority of the Church to ordain rites and Ceremonies, and claim for it the preaching of the Word, the Power of the Keys, and the Administration of the Sacraments;
that, while they set forth with great fullness and emphasis the doctrine of Justification by Faith, and the absolute need of God’s prevenient grace, they abstain from all declarations on Predestination and Election;
that they maintain that nothing in the Lutheran system is alien from Holy Scripture and the primitive Church.

The Abuses protested against are mainly the refusal of the Cup to the Laity, Compulsory Celibacy of the Clergy, Monastic Vows, Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass, Compulsory Confession, and Papal Supremacy. It will be seen at a glance that in general the Confession adopted much the same basis which was afterwards taken up in England; and indicated a desire, frustrated by unfortunate circumstances, to take the same line of Reformation, as distinct from Revolution.

This Confession was one of many. Not only did every Reformed body put out its own Confession, but even those who retained their obedience to Rome were obliged to define their position, as by the promulgation of the decrees of the Council of Trent, and the acceptance of the Creed of Pope Pius IV.

THE POSITION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.—The Church of England perhaps especially felt this necessity. For at the very moment of the repudiation of the Papal Supremacy, it was expressly declared upon her behalf (in 1533) that there was no intention to decline or vary from the congregation of Christ’s Church in things concerning the very Articles of the Catholic faith, or in any other things declared by Holy Scripture and the Word of God necessary to Salvation. It was thought necessary that this declaration—so remarkably exemplified subsequently in the whole composition of the Prayer Book, and the adoption, under limits, of the old Ecclesiastical Law—should be expressed formally from time to time in certain Articles of Religion, not designed to be an exhaustive statement of the Christian Faith, but confined mainly to the points of faith and discipline then brought into controversy. These Articles assert the position thus taken up by the Church of England; and it will be seen that they bear on her relation primarily to the Church of Rome, but secondarily to the movements of the foreign Reformations, and also to the spirit of revolutionary speculation and action, naturally aroused, in England as elsewhere, at a time of great religious change.

THE TEN ARTICLES.—The first series of such Articles, called the Ten Articles, was put forth in 1536, the year of the final rupture with Rome. They were prepared by a Committee of Divines, acting under direction of Henry VIII. and his Vicar-General, Thomas Cromwell; and having subsequently passed both Houses of Convocation, were issued as Articles to stablish Christian quietness and unity. They dealt with the principal Articles of Christian faith; with the Sacraments of Baptism, Penance, and the Altar; with Justification; with the veneration of Images and Saints; with the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, and with Purgatory. Their whole character was transitional, as is strikingly seen in their adoption not of Two or of Seven, but of Three Sacraments; and their general tendency was conservative in doctrine, with reform of abuses in practice. Little influence, if any, of foreign Confessions is to be traced in them. No general subscription to them was required; but they were signed by Cromwell, by the Archbishops and many of the Bishops, and put forth with all the influence of the Royal authority.

THE THIRTEEN ARTICLES.—After this ensued a struggle between two parties in the Church—the party of further innovation, headed by Cromwell and Cranmer, and the party, represented by Gardiner, who would have refused further religious change, though still firm for independence of Rome. The former party was inclined to ally itself with the foreign Reformers of the Lutheran School, who were now, in the face of the Zwinglian and Calvinistic movements, inclining more than ever to conservatism in things religious, and even proposing a federation on the basis of Episcopal Government, in which the Church of England should take the lead. The result of these negotiations is seen in the Thirteen Articles, drawn up about 1539 in conference between Lutheran and Anglican divines at Lambeth, and contained in a document found among Cranmer’s papers. These Articles are written in Latin, evidently following the Augsburg Confession, but with characteristic variations; as, for example (a), defining Justification as including renovation of heart, and necessarily carrying with it regeneration of life; (b) strongly asserting the Independence of National Churches, and enforcing the rights of the Civil Authority; and (c) on Penitence, containing a long Dissertation, dwelling on the need and benefit of Confession and Absolution, but with no mention of any Sacrament of Penance. They dealt with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the twofold nature of Christ; with Original Sin and Justification; with the Church; with the use of the Sacraments; with the doctrine of Baptism and the Eucharist, and with Penitence; with the Ministry and Rites of the Church and the Civil Authority; and with the Resurrection and the Last Judgment. Their tenor is diffuse and explanatory. For they were evidently designed to be rather the basis of a Concordat with the Lutherans, than a body of Articles to be formally adopted. In fact, they never had any legal force at all; and their chief interest lies in this, that they were probably the channel through which the Augsburg Confession subsequently affected our English Articles.

THE SIX ARTICLES.—The reaction, which followed in favour of the other party, is marked in the well-known Six Articles of 1539, brought forward in Parliament by the Duke of Norfolk, carried against the stout resistance of Cranmer and his friends, and accepted by the Convocation of Canterbury. These Articles, to which submission was enforced by the severest penalties, had little to do with definition of abstract doctrine. The first maintained the doctrine of Transubstantiation with its consequences; the others enforced certain important points of the Mediaeval Church system, viz., Communion in One kind, Vows of Chastity, the use of Private Masses, the Celibacy of the Clergy, and the obligation of Auricular Confession. The publication of these Articles, in fact, simply indicated the temporary victory of the party of reaction. It is doubtful how far the cruel penalties provided by Statute against all infringement of them were put in force; but their effect was to stop further progress in doctrinal and ecclesiastical change during the closing years of Henry VIII.

THE FORTY-TWO ARTICLES.—The accession of Edward VI. introduced a complete reversal of this policy, giving to the reforming party all ascendancy, which they used vigorously and even vehemently. The publication of the Prayer Book was the first fruits of this ascendancy. The principles which it embodies are clearly expressed in the original Preface; and, as it had to be accepted and used by all, laity as well as clergy, under the Act of Uniformity, it might have been thought sufficient in itself to define the doctrinal and ecclesiastical position of the Church of England. But in 1551 it was decided to add to the publication of the Revised Prayer Book, and the proposed reconstitution of the Ecclesiastical Law, the promulgation of a more complete and definite body of Articles. The result was the Forty-two Articles, agreed upon by Bishops and other learned men in Synod of London, 1552, for avoiding of controversy and establishment of godly concord on certain matters of religion. From this heading it seems doubtful whether these Articles were submitted to the Convocations properly so-called. Cranmer had the chief hand in framing them, acting under an Order of the Council in 1551; probably he submitted them to the Bishops and other learned men for consideration and revision; afterwards they passed again through his hands, and were forwarded by him to the Council, with a view to the enforcement of subscription to them upon the clergy by royal authority; finally, they were published by the King’s Majesty’s commandment in May 1553, with the order that all beneficed clergy should sign them on pain of deprivation. But the death of Edward in July 1553 put a stop to the whole proceeding; and the Articles remained in abeyance through the whole time of the reaction under Queen Mary.

These Forty-two Articles are, as will be seen hereafter, the basis of our present Articles. Although the heading shows that they were only intended to deal with certain matters of Religion, in view of the controversies of the time, and although the consideration of their substance confirms this statement, yet they were far the fullest and most precise declaration yet put forth by the Church of England. They show very clearly the influence (perhaps through the abortive Thirteen Articles) of the Augsburg Confession; but they contain much independent matter, and, even where they follow the Confession, introduce material changes in its substance. In one point especially they go beyond it. At the time when they were drawn up the influence of Calvinism was just beginning to be felt in England, although it had as yet no great ascendancy; and it is obvious that this had made it necessary to pronounce upon the questions of Predestination and Election, on which the Calvinistic system turns. On the whole they clearly defined the position of the Church as Catholic, in respect of the preservation of the doctrine of the Creeds and the main features of Church organization; and at the same time, as what is usually called Protestant, in accepting the Reformation principle of adhesion to Holy Scripture as the basis of faith, asserting freedom and independence against Rome, claiming right to reject doctrinal corruptions and practical abuses contrary to Scripture and primitive Church practice, and dealing in complete independence with the doctrines of Justification and Election, which formed the leading principles of the Lutheran and Calvinistic Reformations.

THE ELEVEN ARTICLES.—On the accession of Elizabeth, pending the revision of these Articles, a short preliminary series of Eleven Articles was issued in 1559 by Royal and Episcopal authority. These were of a simple and practical type, accepting Holy Scripture as the basis of faith and the Creeds as its interpretation, asserting the authority of the Church and the Royal Supremacy, maintaining the Prayer Book, rejecting Private Masses, the Veneration of Images and Relics, and restoring the Cup to the Laity.

THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES.—Meanwhile the revision of the Forty-two Articles was carried on, mainly under the direction of Archbishop Parker, who, like the Queen herself, was bent on preserving as far as possible the old basis, as against the more revolutionary ideas of the growing Calvinistic party. The Confession of Wurtemburg (1552), a revised and enlarged edition of the Confession of Augsburg, was clearly studied by the revisers. The revised Articles were submitted to Convocation, and passed with alterations reducing them to Thirty-nine in 1563. It was intended that they should be promulgated only by Royal authority. But Parliament claimed a right to discuss them, which was ultimately conceded, and finally subscription to them was enforced by Act of Parliament in 1571. They were put out both in Latin and in English. It is doubtful whether the Latin or English version is to be considered as original; but it appears that the two are substantially of coordinate authority, and may be used with great advantage to elucidate and interpret each other.

Of the alterations made in the Forty-two Articles, which are numerous, the chief are the following:—

(a) Some Articles were added or enlarged, evidently for the sake of completeness. Thus Art. ii., On the Son of God, was enlarged ; Art. v., On the Holy Ghost, was inserted; in Art. vi. were added a list of Canonical Books, and a definition of the position of the Apocrypha; Art. xii., On Good Works, was inserted. Arts. xxix. and xxx., on the Holy Communion, were also added. These alterations all show the desire of a fuller and more definite settlement of doctrine.

(b) On the other hand, some Articles were omitted, either as now obsolete, or from a desire to refrain from pronouncing authoritative opinion on the subjects dealt with. Such were the old Article x. on the limits of the action of Grace; the old Article xvi. on Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; and the last Four Articles (the old xxxix., xl., xli., xlii.) condemning the belief that the Resurrection is past (being only a spiritual Resurrection), and that the souls of the departed die with the body or sleep idly, the fable of Heretics called Millenarii, and the opinion that all men, be they never so ungodly, shall be saved at the last.

In Art. xx. the celebrated clause, The Church hath power to decree rites and ceremonies and authority in controversies of faith, was certainly not in Parker’s original draft, nor was it inserted in Convocation. In all probability it was inserted by the Council at the instance of the Queen, and afterwards accepted by Convocation and Parliament.

Art. xxix., on the other hand, which was in the original, was omitted in the Authorized Latin Edition published in 1563 by Royal Command, but restored in 1571. In this case also probably the change was made at the instance of the Queen; but the change so made was not accepted.

The Articles thus completed were put forth as agreed upon by the Archbishops and Bishops of both Provinces and the whole Clergy, in the Convocation holden in London in the year 1562, for the avoiding of Diversities of opinion and for the establishing consent touching true Religion. The title shews the claim for them of a greater comprehensiveness and completeness than was advanced in 1552; but at the same time declares the object to be, as before, the settlement of controversy and union of all on a general basis of agreement. Subscription to them was required not only from clergy, but from all persons taking degrees at the Universities. Even in 1688 the Toleration Act required from Dissenting Ministers subscription to all, except xxxiv., xxxv., xxxvi., and parts of xx. and xxvii. The first of these obligations alone remains at the present moment.

THE LAMBETH ARTICLES.—The Articles thus drawn up in 1562 have remained unchanged till the present time. The history, however, would be incomplete without a brief reference to the attempt to supplement them in 1595 by the addition of the well-known Lambeth Articles. This attempt marks the temporary dominance of the Calvinistic theology, under the influence of the great Puritan party, in the reign of Elizabeth. It arose, indeed, out of a Sermon at Cambridge, which was denounced as heretical, because it ventured to question some of the primary points of the Calvinistic system. There the Articles were drawn up by the theological Professors, and accepted with some modifications by Archbishop Whitgift, and certain other Bishops and Divines with whom he took counsel. They expressed in the most uncompromising and terrible form the main points of the Calvinistic theology; declaring, for example, that

(a) God from all eternity has predestinated some to life; some He hath reprobated to death.

(b) The moving cause of Predestination to life is not prevision of faith, or perseverance, or good works, or of anything which may be in the persons predestinated, but only the will of the good pleasure of God.

(c) A true justifying faith and the Spirit of God sanctifying is not extinguished, doth not fall away, doth, not vanish, in the elect, either finally or totally.

(d) Saving grace is not given to all men, by which they may be saved if they will.

Happily, however, these Articles were strongly reprobated by the Queen and her advisers, and therefore failed to become in any sense authoritative; and a subsequent petition by the Puritan party at the Hampton Court Conference for their adoption was formally refused. But both the attempt to introduce them and its failure are significant. The attempt shews a conviction on the part of the Calvinistic party that the distinctive tenets of Calvinism are not embodied in the Articles; and that this conviction is well founded will be seen by contrasting the Lambeth Articles with Arts. xv., xvi., of our Thirty-nine Articles. The failure shews that, when formally submitted, these tenets were refused deliberately, and that they therefore form no part of the theology of the Church of England.

SECTION II.—THE SUBSTANCE OF THE ARTICLES.

THE DECLARATION.—The Declaration prefixed to the Articles was drawn up by Laud in 1628, in view of the vehement denunciations of Arminianism which had been uttered in Parliament and elsewhere, with constant appeals to the true sense of the Articles. It is put forth simply by Royal Authority, with the advice of so many of the Bishops as might conveniently be called together. Accordingly it lays great stress on the Prerogative of the King as Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church, and his consequent duty to maintain Unity and Peace; ratifies and confirms the Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church of England, agreeable to God’s Word; promises that for all questions of Ecclesiastical Regulation, the Convocation shall have license to deliberate, and, with the Royal Assent, to act; dwells with satisfaction on the general acceptance of the Articles by all Schools of opinion; forbids going beyond them for curious and unhappy differences or putting upon them any other than their literal and grammatical sense, and threatens penalty in case of disobedience to this prohibition. The advice is wise and sensible enough; but it must have been somewhat marred by the imperious tone in which it is conveyed.

The Articles themselves may be divided into the following groups:—

(A) THE ARTICLES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH.

In these Articles (i.—v.) the Church of England simply accepts, with some exposition, the great Articles of Christian faith, as held in all ages by the Catholic Church, and embodied in the Ancient Creeds.

Thus, Art. i., Of Faith in the Holy Trinity, in its former clause asserts the Unity of the Godhead; in its latter clause the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Arts. ii , iii., iv., Of the Word or Son of God, declare the doctrine of the Son of God, His Eternal Godhead, His Incarnation, His two whole and perfect Natures, the Godhead and the Manhood, His Atonement), Descent into Hades, Resurrection, Ascension, and future Coming to Judgment. Here the Articles simply traverse the ground covered by the second paragraph of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, and that portion of the Athanasian Creed which treats of the union of the two Natures in Our Lord Jesus Christ; except that Art. ii. dwells more fully on the doctrine of the Atonement (as a reconciliation of the Father to us, and a Sacrifice for sin), which is but slightly touched upon in the Ancient Creeds.

Art. v., Of the Holy Ghost, similarly declares the doctrine of the Holy Ghost in language like that of the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds.

These Articles, except in form of expression, belong not to the Church of England, but to the whole Church of Christ. They express the resolution already quoted, not to decline or vary from the congregation of Christ’s Church in things concerning the very Articles of the Catholic faith.

(B) THE ARTICLES OF THE RULES OF FAITH

In these (Arts. vi.—viii.) the Church of England adopts the great principle which characterized the Reformation in all its forms, and which stands in direct antagonism to the decree of the Council of Trent on this subject.

This principle is enunciated in Art. vi., Of the Sufficiency of Holy Scripture. It declares that Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation—as either read therein or proved thereby—and so repudiates the co-ordination of Scripture and Ecclesiastical Tradition laid down in the Tridentine Decree of 1546. The remainder of Art. vi. adopts the true Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament, as against the corrupted Canon of the Roman Church, and fixes the right position of the Apocryphal or Ecclesiastical books.

Art. vii„ Of the Old Testament, is subsidiary to Art. vi., simply declaring the unity of the Old Testament and the New—as both having the promise of everlasting life through the Mediation of Christ—and the permanent obligation of the Moral Law.

Art. viii., Of the Three Creeds, accepts the three Creeds as true interpretations of Scripture (in which the Church Catholic has exercised the authority in controversies of faith maintained in Art. xx.).

In these Articles the Church enunciates the great principle of the English Reformation, claiming the right to reject all accretions of un-Scriptural doctrine, as also all traditions contrary to Scripture. At the same time it is clear (from Art. viii.) that she appeals to the Bible as God actually gave it—that is, with interpretation from both the faith and the practice of the Christian Church.

(C) ARTICLES OF PERSONAL RELIGION.

In this long group (Arts. ix.— xviii.) the Church of England goes on to deal with the application of the objective or absolute Articles of the Faith, as enunciated in Holy Scripture, to subjective religion, that is, to the salvation of the individual soul. This class of subjects had naturally come into striking prominence in the controversies of the Reformation, which in all its phases brought out the personal freedom and responsibility of every Christian, in respect of acceptance of the truth of the Gospel and the authority of the Church. In the Continental Reformations perhaps this had been the case even more strikingly than in England, and accordingly in dealing with these matters the Church indirectly defines her own position in relation, first, to the Lutheran, and next to the Calvinistic, system.

This group has two sub-divisions:—

(a) Arts. ix.—xiv. have to do with the great question of JUSTIFICATION, which had been the inspiring principle of the whole Lutheran movement.

Then Art. ix., On Original Sin (or rather inborn sinfulness), declares the existence of corruption in the nature of man, through which he is very far gone from original righteousness and inclined to sin—a corruption not wholly extirpated, even in the regenerate; although there is no condemnation to them that believe and are baptized; and Art. x., On Free Will, is a statement of the limitation of freedom in humanity thus corrupted, and the incapacity of man to turn to God and do good works, without the grace of God in Christ preventing us and working with us. These both lead up to Art. xi., On the Justification of Man. This enunciates that which is commonly called Justification by Faith, but which is more correctly laid down as Justification for the merit of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through faith, and not for our own works or deservings; and so, while allowing the co-operation of man, places the first source of salvation in the free Mercy of God through the mediation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

From this, Arts. xii., xiii., xiv. go on to deal with the true position of work—that is, conscious exercise of will—in the Christian Life. Art. xii., On Good Works, describes this positively by declaring good works to be the necessary fruits of a living faith, and, as such, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ. Arts. xii., xiv., On Works before Justification and Works of Supererogation, describe it negatively by repudiating the independent value and merit of works done before the grace of Christ and the Inspiration of His Spirit, and the strange figment of Works of Supererogation, over and above duty to God, which cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety, and which, indeed, could only have arisen out of a dry narrow legalism of idea.

In this group of Articles the Church, while taking a line of independence towards the Lutheran theology, yet (as a comparison with the Lutheran Confessions shews) expresses a distinct sympathy with it, as it had finally come forth, tempered by the lessons of experience, and guarded from fatalistic and Antinomian extravagance. The whole treatment strikes the keynote of true personal Christianity, by ascribing the source of all salvation to the Love of God in Christ, and yet, by the very requirement of faith, implying the co-operation of man, and making this still clearer by recognising the true function of works.

(b) Arts. xv.—xviii. deal with the chief subjects which had been forced on Christian thought by the resolute logical dogmatism of Calvin.

Art. xv., Of Christ alone without Sin, and Art. xvi., Of Sin after Baptism, reject in the clearest terms the idea, derived from a consideration of the Omnipotence of God’s grace, of indefectibility of grace or of faith; which leads to the two opposite conclusions—a belief in the attainment by the elect of a state from which they cannot fall, and a despairing hopelessness in those who, after they are baptized and born again in Christ, fall from grace, as sinning against the Holy Ghost, and, therefore, incapable of pardon.

These lead on to Art. xvii., On Predestination and Election, which grapples directly with the primary question. To this there is nothing to correspond either in the Augsburg or Wurtemburg Confession. What were the tenets of the Calvinistic School thereon may be seen in the Lambeth Articles. Now on this subject it is to be noted that, in the description of the doctrine, the Article, avoiding the technical language of the Schools, follows accurately the words of Holy Scripture, and therefore speaks of Predestination to life, and not to death, and closely connects this with God’s call consciously received and through grace obeyed, with free Justification and renewal in the image of Christ, and with the walking religiously in good works—thus implying the co-operation of man, without attempting to solve the insoluble mystery of the reconcilement of God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom. Next it disclaims the doctrine as the keystone of teaching, and system, declaring it fit only for the meditation of those who feel in themselves the grace of God, and who find in it the confirmation of faith, and the kindling of love, but a most dangerous downfall to curious and carnal persons, apt to lead either to desperation or to wretchlessness (recklessness) of unclean living. Lastly, it asserts the generality of God’s promises, and declines to speculate on any Will of God except that which is revealed to us.

Art. xviii., Of obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ, may be considered a corollary to this; refusing to hold the sufficiency of Natural Religion (to those to whom the Gospel has come), and declaring that salvation is assured to us only in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It will be clear to all who know what the positions of Calvinism on these mysterious subjects really are, that in these Articles the Church of England declines adhesion to them, so far as they go beyond the express declarations of Holy Scripture, in their desire of an impossible logical consistency, and refuses to make them the basis of Church doctrine and life. That this declaration was unsatisfactory to the Calvinistic party (as might indeed have been reasonably expected) the history of the Lambeth Articles shews unmistakeably.

It may be remarked of the whole of this group that it bears more plainly than any other the impress of the theology of the age. It has now ceased to be of the same theological and polemical importance. But in relation to spiritual self-knowledge and dealing with individual souls, the truths referred to must be as important as ever.

(D) ARTICLES ON THE CHURCH AND THE SACRAMENTS.

These Articles (Arts. xix.— xxxvi.) go on to dwell, not on personal, but on what may be called Corporate Christianity—setting forth the nature, authority, and discipline of the Church, and the true doctrine of the Sacraments, which are ministered by the Church to the individual. The Reformation in England turned in great measure on Sacramental doctrine, especially as exemplified in the Second Great Sacrament; and, moreover, since almost all acts done in it were done collectively, it naturally drew special attention to the true corporate constitution of the Church, and of the various Branches of it. This group of Articles, therefore, though having evident reference to Foreign Confessions, bears a strong Anglican impress, and is illustrated at every point both by the language of the Prayer Book and by the history of the time. In it also, from the nature of the case, are found the strongest protests against the usurpations of Rome.

(a) In this group we have, first, Articles dealing with the fundamental nature, authority. and Ministry of the Church. Thus, Art. xix., Of the Church, defines the Church by its tokens—profession of faith in Christ, preaching of God’s Word, and right ministry of the Sacraments; Art. xx., Of the Authority of the Church, lays down the reality of that authority, both to decree Rites and Ceremonies, and to intervene in controversies of faith; and at the same time its limitation, by the supreme authority of God’s Word written, of which the Church is the keeper and witness; and Art. xxi., Of General Councils, applies these principles to the General Councils freely chosen, to which the Church of England always appended, not, indeed, as infallible, but as the highest and fullest expression of Church authority.

Each of these positive statements carries with it a negative protest against the Church of Rome; in Art. xix., against her claim of Infallibility, in Art. xx., against her requirement of faith in things not laid down in Scripture, as necessary to salvation, and in Art. xxi. against the Pope’s claim to summon and preside over General Councils, and to confirm their decrees by superior authority.

From these we pass naturally to Art. xxiii., Of Ministering in the Congregation, asserting the need of a regular Order of Ministers in the Church, ordained by authority; and to Art. xxiv., Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the People understandeth, claiming for all members of the Church the right of Worship in their own tongue. Art. xxii., Of Purgatory, &c., which is one of simple protest against the dogma of Purgatory, the abuse of Indulgences, the Veneration of Images and Relics, and the Invocation of Saints, seems to break the natural order, and is probably inserted here only because, in fact, the errors denounced were used as means of usurping absolute authority and of enforcing practices forbidden by the Word of God.

In all these Articles, in distinct accordance with the actual course of the Reformation in England, the Church, taking up its position on Scripture as interpreted by Church History and Tradition, eschews the easy path of sweeping generalities, and attempts the more difficult task of harmonizing unity with individuality and authority with freedom.

(b) The next section of this group contains the doctrine of the Sacraments; first as generally considered, and next in separate relation to Baptism and Holy Communion. In accordance with the critical importance in the history of the Reformation of the controversies on the latter of the two great Sacraments, it devotes but one Article to Baptism, and no less than four to the Holy Communion; and it is moreover evident that, even in the general treatment, there is more particular reference to the latter.

Thus Art. xxv., Of the Sacraments, first defines Sacraments ordained of Christ in language suggested by the Augsburg Confession, but so modified as to express even more strongly their reality as not mere badges of Christian profession, but sure pledges and effectual signs of grace, through which God invisibly works in us, and both quickens and confirms faith; next, limits the application of this name to Baptism and the Supper of the Lord, refusing to class with them the five commonly called Sacraments—not having a visible sign ordained of God—of which the Church treats each on its own merits; and lastly (in evident reference to the Second Sacrament), declares that they were ordained not to be gazed upon or carried about, but duly used, with wholesome effect only on those who worthily receive them. To this is added Art. xxvi., On the Unworthiness of Ministers, which denies that this can interfere with the blessing to be derived from Christ’s own ordinance ministered by His commission and authority; while it lays stress on the need of discipline to remove the unworthy from so sacred a Ministry.

Next, Art. xxvii., Of Baptism, applies the principles of the preceding Article, strongly emphasizes the regenerating grace of Baptism—as grafting into the Church, and sealing adoption to the son-ship of God—and defends Infant Baptism as agreeable with the institution of Christ, that is, as arising naturally out of the very idea of Baptism.

Lastly, four Articles are devoted to the Holy Communion. Art. xxviii., Of the Lord’s Supper, emphatically disclaims the two opposite errors, which had diverged from the primitive truth—Zwinglianism and Transubstantiation—and sets forth the true doctrine of the Holy Communion in the language of Holy Scripture itself; and then, asserting that in the Sacrament the Body of Christ can only be received spiritually through faith, repeats the former protest against its being reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. From this Art. xxix., Of the wicked which eat not the Body of Christ, is a corollary, asserting in a strong negative form the necessity of faith for being in it partakers of Christ. Art. xxx., Of both kinds, maintains the right of the Laity to the Cup of the Lord; and Art. xxxi., Of the One Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross, dwelling emphatically (as in the Holy Communion Service) on the offering of Christ once made as the one perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, protests against the sacrifices of Masses (as ordinarily understood) as blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits—in terms the vehemence of which can only be explained by reference to the crucial importance of this point in the whole of the religious movement of the age.

These Articles on the Sacraments, perhaps more than any other, illustrate the true nature of the Via Media of the Church of England; showing that it is determined, not by balance between opposite extremes, but by refusing technical theories, and going back to the simple truth as declared in Holy Scripture, from which historically extreme errors have diverged on either hand. They also preserve very distinctly the true harmony between the objective and subjective elements of Salvation—the absolute reality of the grace of Christ in the Sacraments, and the impossibility of receiving it without spiritual preparation of faith.

(c) To this succeeds a miscellaneous series of Articles on various points of the constitution and discipline of the Church.

Art. xxxii., Of the Marriage of Priests, repudiates the compulsory Celibacy, which is known not to have existed in the Primitive Church, but to have been imposed in after ages. Art. xxxiii., Of Excommunicate Persons, asserts strongly the right of the Church to exercise Discipline, even to Excommunication, and the duty of all her members in this respect to support her authority. Art. xxxiv., Of the Traditions of the Church, has a twofold purpose. As against Roman despotism, it asserts the freedom of National Churches to enact and abolish traditions and ceremonies—provided that nothing be ordained against God’s Word. As against the excessive individualism of the Puritan party, it maintains the duty of individual obedience to such exercise of authority. Art. xxxv., Of the Homilies, directs the reading of the two books of Homilies, the one drawn up in 1552, the latter in 1559, with a view to avoidance of controversy and supply of sound vernacular and popular instruction. Art. xxxvi., Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers, defends the Ordinal from attack on the Roman side as insufficient, on the Ultra-Protestant side as superstitious and ungodly; and decrees that all ordained according to it are rightly ordained.

The whole of this group is of great historic interest, illustrating at every point the actual course of the English Reformation; and, as many of the religious questions of our own time bear largely on the Constitution and Authority of the Church, these Articles have considerable importance at the present moment.

(E) ARTICLES ON THE CIVIL POWER.

These Articles deal with the relation, first of the Church, and then of the individual Christian, to the Civil Power.

Art. xxxvii., Of the Civil Magistrate, is one peculiarly Anglican and of great importance. First, it asserts and limits the Royal Supremacy over the Church, which was at that time regarded as co-extensive with the Nation—all Englishmen, as they were born into the latter, being baptized into the former. It asserts the Supremacy as over all Estates of the Realm, Ecclesiastical as well as Civil, in all causes—the Sovereign being the representative of the whole Church, and, acting, of course, under Ecclesiastical Law. It limits the Supremacy by denying it all power to assume or confer the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments, which derives its authority from Christ Himself. Next, it still further explains the true idea of the Royal Supremacy by repudiating all Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over the Church of England.

The latter part of Art. xxxvii. and the succeeding Articles deal with certain points of individual duty and privilege in the State, which had been called in question on religious grounds. Thus Art. xxxvii. asserts the right of the State over life, both to inflict capital punishment, and to command its subjects to serve in war. Art. xxxviii., Of Christian men’s Goods, maintains the right of property, while at the same time it dwells on the moral duty of charity which attaches to it. Art. xxxix., Of a Christian man’s Oath, distinguishes between the vain swearing which is forbidden in the Gospel, and the solemn use of an Oath before God.

These last Articles are evidently subsidiary, and of inferior importance to the rest.

CONCLUSION.—The study of the Articles will go far to shew how it is, that, although drawn up only for the immediate needs of the 16th century, and probably under the expectation of future Revision, they have, as a matter of fact, remained unchanged as a standard of doctrine down to the present time. Even as looked at in themselves, and still more as viewed in relation to the theology of the time, they are extraordinarily fit to serve the purpose for which they have so long been used.

They are comprehensive, because (in the true sense of the word) they are moderate—that is, they refrain from pronouncing on points, on which it is impossible or unnecessary to pronounce. They are thus moderate, because they almost invariably eschew technical theological systems, and go back to the simple language of holy Scripture. It would be unreasonable to suppose that they could not be amended, in the light of the experience and advance of knowledge gained in the last three hundred years. But substantially they embody the true fundamental principles of Christian faith and Ecclesiastical constitution, which still meet our needs.

They are imposed by authority on the Clergy alone, not as an absolutely perfect and exhaustive statement of doctrine, but as containing substantial Scriptural truth, and as a standard which they agree not to contradict in their public teaching. For the laity they have no coercive force, nor do they constitute conditions of Lay Communion. But they have necessarily a didactic value, as expository of Anglican doctrine on many important points. It is unfortunately obvious, from the loose and depreciatory language often used about them, that they are very imperfectly known and understood; and it is certain that they deserve far more attentive and respectful study.

[Note that the Prayer Book Society has for sale a CD on which are 12 full length expositions of The Articles – go to www.anglicanmarketplace.com and another which has six commentaries on the Book of Common Prayer]

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion – a Formulary of the Anglican Way