Six Things About Anglicanism You Did Not Know!

Okay, many people have a lot of misconceptions about Anglicanism. With the help of my Ridley College colleague Rhys Bezzant, I’ve created a “six things” list about the things people misconstrue or simply don’t know about Anglicanism. The links below are mostly to you.tube shorts I’ve mode on thse topics.

First, Anglicanism is a via media between Geneva and Wittenberg, not Geneva and Rome. It is commonly repeated that Anglicanism is some kind of Reformed and Catholic hybrid, a via media (i.e., “middle way”) through the medieval Catholic church and the Protestant Reformation. But that is not quite true. Anglicanism is a Protestant denomination. It is not trying to desperately hang on to papal paraphernalia while touting a loosely held Protestantism. Rather, Anglicanism is an attempt to negotiate different aspects of the Reformation represented by Lutherans and the Continental Reformers. Yes, Anglicanism does value catholicity, tradition, liturgy, and history. These are not “Roman Catholic” traits, but were also valued by the Reformers. Anglicanism is the attempt to express the catholic faith through a Reformed recovery of the apostolic gospel. That is why I (Mike) would call Anglicanism Reformational Catholicism.

Second, the 39 Articles say enough but not too much. Anglicanism is a confessional denomination. It has a Protestant Confession in the 39 Articles. Anglicanism is not, despite huffing and puffing by liberal Anglicans, about common worship rather than common doctrine. Anglicanism is not ideationally vacuous. The 39 Articles do not say everything about everything, but they declare the basics on what Anglicans wish to affirm. You could argue that some items in the 39 articles are contestable (e.g., the extent of the atonement and predestination), but other aspects are not (e.g., the Trinity). In any case, the 39 Articles lay out the core beliefs of Anglicanism that align with Protestant confessions but without focusing needlessly on individual personal doctrines of salvation (i.e., the Westminster Confession).

Third, Anglicanism has many prayer books that are united in a concern to cultivate habits of piety and to worship God in good order. The first Anglican prayer book came out in 1549, it was heavily revised in 1552, had further revisions in 1559 and 1604, and came to a somewhat definitive edition in 1662. I still have my 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and I treasure it greatly! Around the world, many Anglican bodies have developed and revised the BCP to fit their own context. You have to check out the Kenyan Anglican church’s liturgy for celebrating the Lord’s Supper, it is beautiful! The BCP provides a template for prayer, worship, and administration of the sacraments. We are wise to use them, but not slavishly bound by them. In other words, the BCP is our servant not our master.

Fourth, episcopal structures of the church provide for creative and flexible ministries: both rooted and responsive. Bishops can be a blessing or a bane depending on how they exercise their oversight and authority. Even with episcopal oversight, churches can explore creative church ventures ranging from “messy church,” to “pub church,” to “multi-site churches.” The important thing is that no church, however, big and successful, is a law unto itself. It is part of a “deanery” and accountable to a bishop.

Fifth, the monarch of England is the supreme head of the Church of England, but not of every Anglican church in the world! In England, the crown appoints various bishops in the Church of England, on advice from the prime minister, and the prime minister acts on advice from various church committees. But that arrangement obviously does not exist in other jurisdictions outside of England. That is not the case even in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Sixth, everyday spirituality, not big occasion spirituality marks Anglican maturity. Anglican piety is very much concerned with the daily rhythms of life: morning prayer, evening prayer, baptism, Easter, Christmas, Trinity Sunday, ordination, funerals, and the entire liturgical year. It is about cultivating the life of faith, prayer, continuous repentance, and glorifying God in all seasons of life.

So that’s some things about Anglicanism I hope you now know!