St Luke's Bible Study - Anglican Communion's 39 Articles of Religion

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St Luke's Bible Study - 39 Articles of Religion

Time: Feb 19, 2025 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

        Every week on Wed, until Apr 2, 2025, 7 occurrence(s)

 

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​Click here to download a PDF of the slides used in the study 

 

Lesson One

Why Were the Articles Needed, Timeline

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1491 - The future English King, Henry VIII, is born

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1509 - Henry VII I is crowned King of England

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1509 - Henry VIII is married to Catherine of Aragon, a Catholic Spanish princess

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1517- Early in the 16th Century Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, posted his 95 theses at Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. His original intention seemed to be to open a Theological debate within the Church concerning the practice of the sale of indulgences, paying the Church for the forgiveness of sins.  He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Because of the new power of the Gutenburg printing press combined with the power of his ideas a full­ blown Reformation Movement was born.

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1521 - King Henry VIII, together with Thomas More, contributed a book which was significant in defending the Roman Church in the face of the attacks of the above-mentioned Reformation. The book was titled 'Assertio Septem Sacrementorum' which defended the Supremacy of the Pope and the Sacramental nature of marriage. For this work, Henry VIII was given the title 'Fidei Defensor' (Defender of the Faith) which title English Kings and Queens have retained to this day.

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1521 -1533- Over this span of years Henry VIII gradually became more and more estranged from the Roman Church. Some of the reasons were:

. A desire to be the supreme head of the Church in England, which among other things, would bring some wealth into the King's hands. Henry was excellent at spending wealth.

. Rid the Realm of superstition and open the Word to the people in the vernacular.​

. There was some Reform influence building in the Court and in the Church, particularly among Henry's top advisors such as Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cramner.

. A male heir was needed to solidify and steady the Tudor line of royalty.

His wife, Catharine of Aragon, had produced a son who lived but for two months, and a daughter (Mary, a future Queen) but was unlikely to produce any further children.

The only way out that Henry and his advisors saw was to annul the marriage to Catharine of Aragon and marry someone else. Negotiations went on for years with the Pope and the negotiations were going nowhere. In fact, in 1531 the Pope sent Henry a letter forbidding him to remarry under penalty of excommunication.

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In 1533 Cromwell laid the groundwork for annulling the Catharine of Aragon marriage by referring to historical texts which contended that England had always been an Empire which was independent of external allegiances. He also raised an interesting (but dubious) issue that Catharine's prior marriage to Arthur (Henry's older brother) had been consummated which he reasoned made her marriage to Henry annulled. In any case Cranmer annulled the Catherine of Aragon marriage and married Henry and Ann Boelyn very quickly.

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1533 - Cromwell guided new legislation ('An Act in Restraint of Appeals') through the legislature. This Act forbid English subjects from appealing to foreign authority in ecclesiastical matters.

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1534 - Cromwell again with legislation ('Act of Supremacy') which held that the King is and always was the head of the Church in England.

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1535-6 - Using these two pieces of legislation the total control of the Church in England is completed.

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1538 - Henry VIII is finally excommunicated by the Pope.

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1538 - Now that what we have is essentially a new Church body, we need some kind of Confession, Statement of Belief, or Articles of Religion

 

1538 - Cranmer authors a 13 Articles statement which is influenced by the Lutheran Augsburg Confession.

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1553 - The next revision comes in the form of a 42 Articles statement by Cranmer which was 'for the purpose of avoiding controversy in opinions'.

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1553 -1558 - The articles have no use as England reverts to Roman Catholicism under Queen Mary, daughter of Henry and Catherine of Arogon upon the death of Edward VI, son of Henry and Jane Seymour.

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1558 - Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry and Anne Boelyn) become Queen and exercises a return to more Protestant perspective, trying for balance.

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1563 - The Canterbury Convention revises the 42 Articles which were found to have too much of a Reform perspective

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1571 - The Canterbury Convention makes final revisions to wind up with the 39 Articles, a more balanced mix of statements

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Lesson Two

Articles 1-5 Universal Beliefs

 

Article 1 - Of Faith in the Holy Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Ghost. An unusual construction of an entity or relationship (in accordance with our inadequate and earth-bound understandings), but a miracle and universally taught and believed among Christians.

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Article 2 - Of the Word, or Son of God, who was made Very Man - The Son, the Word of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, two whole and perfect natures, God and Man joined on One Person, was crucified, dead and buried to reconcile his Father to us and to be a sacrifice for original and the actual sins of men.

Another miracle, related closely to the Holy Trinity. Again, universally taught and believed among Christians.

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Article 3 - Of the going down of Christ into Hell- Christ died for us, was buried, and went down into Hell. A miracle again, universally taught and believed among Christians.

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Article 4 - Of the Resurrection of Christ- Christ rose from the dead, re-took his body, then returned to Heaven where He sits and will return to judge all men at the last day. Fleshing out the miracle from Article 1, universally taught and believed among Christians.

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Article 5 - of the Holy Ghost- The final member of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the Son; proceeding from the Father and the Son, being one substance with the Father and the Son. Fleshing out the Holy Trinity. Universally taught and received among Christians.

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Lesson Three

Articles 6-8 Sufficiency of Scripture and Creeds

 

Article 6 and 7 - Sufficiency the Holy Scriptures for Salvation - Here we come to the first Article which would not be universally accepted by all Christians. It is the Sola Scriptura article. Sola Scriptura means reliance only upon Scripture itself for all things necessary for salvation. This was a position that was a prominent Reformation position ('a simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest Pope without it') is a famous Martin Luther quotation.

Sola Scripture flies in the face of a Roman Catholic position here -which would be a "Scripture and Sacred Tradition" position. It would also collide with a well-known Anglican position which favored "Scripture, reason and tradition" approach. One might ask why the Article 6 view would not be universally the Anglican view. And the answer to that is likely that the Articles were born at a time which often the commanding Anglican perspective was the most solidly Reform perspective. And this could happen even when one objective of the Articles was to view a middle way between Roman and Reform positions. Via Media could be a hard route to find sometimes. In any case the next section of Articles 6 and 7 list New and Old Testament books and assert that the Bible is a seamless garment. And there is very little in those two items which would not be recognized by all Christians.

 

Article 8 - Of the Creeds - This article is a validation of the import and Scriptural truthfulness of the Nicene, Athanasius, and Apostles Creeds. In the United States the Athanasian Creed was omitted from this Article in 1801 and has stayed omitted since then. The reasons were not recorded but a> there is some controversy as to the authorship of that Creed, and b>there was some negative attention based upon the repetitiveness of the verbiage as well as the

 

tone (which is harsher than the other two creeds). In any event this omission resulted in decreased use of the Athanasian Creed among Anglicans to the current day. Again there would be little dispute as to the import and truthfulness of these creeds from serious Christians.

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Lesson Four

Articles 9-11 Our Original Sin, Free Will and Justification

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Article 9-Original Sin -Original Sin occurs not in the following of Adam, but in the very nature of man (which is why we need early Baptism). The error of the Palagians that Original Sin comes from being a heir of Adam is know as Palagianism and is a 5th century heresy which took a millennium or so to beat down. This article asserts the following: 

     .Original sin is the fault and corruption of our nature 
     . It is not acquired by imitation but rather inherited by birth 
     . Its extent is such that by it man is very far gone from original righteousness

     . It deserves God's wrath and condemnation

     . Its infection is not entirely removed by Baptism, but that infection remains even though there is no         condemnation to them that believe and are baptized - yet still lust and concupiscence have the                 nature of sin.

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     . Genesis 8-21, Job 14-4, Ecclesiasticus 7:20 

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Article 10-Of Free Will -Since the fall, man has no power by his natural 
strength to turn himself to faith and goodness or to do good works acceptable to God. But the grace of God is absolutely necessary to enable him to do this.

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     . John VI, 44 and John VI, 65

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Article 11 - Of the Justification of Man -This article, which leads very nicely into the next three articles, makes a very powerful but simple (Reform) point that man cannot do enough good or behave well enough to deserve being counted as righteous before God. There is a predicate required which is more

​important than anything else. That predicate is faith, unswerving, unyielding absolute faith in the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

 

I am reminded of a story told to me by Bp. William Millsaps. Bp. WilUam was once the University Chaplain at SMU. Among the things he did as a part of that job was to have a weekly hour-long television program on PBS in Dallas. One week in the mid 1960's his guest was the ArchBishop of Canterbury, who at the time was Michael Ramsey. Ramsay was an Archbishop of Canterbury from Central Casting. He was a large imposing man with a deep voice, slow talking and with the requisite English accent. After 55 delightful minutes Bp. (then Father) Millsaps asked the ArchBishop had anything he would like to say to wrap things up. "Well" the Arch Bishop slowly rambled "there is ...The .... Father" ....... and .......... 'The Son" .... and ...... then ..... of course ..... "The Holy Ghost ...... There you have it .... '!!!!   And that closed this show, and it is a good close for Article XI.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gv2BYSOAOQ is the way to see an interview with Bp. Wm and Archbishop Michael on youtube or just search for 'youtube Archbishop Michael Ramsey and William Millsaps' Unfortunately I cannot find the episode described above 

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Lesson Five

Articles 12-14, Of Good Works, Of Works Before Justification,

Of Works of Supererogatian 

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Article 12 - Of Good Works - Good works was an exceptionally serious subject of the age where the Reformation was new and brickbats were being thrown every which way on almost any subject. The vast majority of Luther's 95 theses had to do with the church's selling of indulgences, which to use the current vernacular were 'get out of jail free' cards. Because the proceeds from the indulgences could be used by the church for Holy purposes they could be designated as 'Good Works' since the Church put the money to good use.

 

Therefore on the one side (the Roman side) there was the proposition that the indulgences were good works and therefore aided in justification. On the other side there was the proposition that there

was -0- justification without honest faith first and so not only were the good works prior to justification without effect, but they didn't make any difference after justification anyway.

 

So cue up the 'Anglican Via Media' machinery. First we have the initial assertion that good works are the fruits of Faith, follow Justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgement. This is followed immediately by good works are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ and do spring out a true and lively faith. By then a lively faith may be as evidently shown as a tree discerned by the fruit. Faith is a predicate necessity for Justification and works really don't change that in any way but when they come after faith then that is all right. And this will answer all your questions about Faith and Justification that you came up with while studying the book of James. 

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Article 13 - Of Works Before Justification - This article simply put an exclamation point on the previous article. Works before Justification are not only without effect, but they are also not pleasant to God, they do not spring from faith in Jesus Christ, they do not make men meet to receive or deserve grace. These things are not done as God has willed and commanded them there is no doubt that they have the nature of sin. This makes sure there is no doubt that Anglicans agree that indulgences are not only wrong but are way wrong. 

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Article 14 - Of Works of Supererogation - Works of Supererogation were an item in the Medieval Church and are not so much of a problem in today's Church. What this Article is generally saying is that obsessive behavior is counterproductive in worship just as it is in many other parts of life. Not only is it counterproductive, but it is likely to be taught with arrogance and impiety as it is an attempt to be better than other people who don't practice works of this type. Yes, faith must be absolute, but we are human beings living surrounded by other human beings and having to live a human life as well as practice living faithfully as absolutely as we can. We cannot shut out the needed human side of our life. We should pay attention to Jesus (Luke 17:10) when he said 'When ye have done al that are commanded of you, say, we are unprofitable servants, we have only done our duty'. 

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Lesson Six

Articles 15-18, Of Christ alone without sin, Of Sin after Baptism, of 
Predestination and Election,

Of obtaining eternal Salvation only in the name of Christ

 

Article 15 - Of Christ alone without sin - In a way this Article can be looked at as an affirmation of Article 2 (Of the Word, or the Son of God, which was made very man). What is repeated from Article 2 is that Christ came that He might be sacrificed to wash away all of our sins. What is added is the specific 
notation that Christ, although fully man, had not any sin in His Soul or His Body. Added also is that we humans, even when baptized and born again in Christ offend in many ways and that 'If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (John 1 :8). Th point here was evidently to emphasize the incorrectness of the Palagian heresy that humans, firm in their faith, could lead sinless lives. See also Article 16.

 

Article 16 - Of Sin After Baptism - Since mankind is not capable of living a 
sinless life (even after Baptism, Confirmation and (if applicable) Ordination) by the Grace of God we have been given a way to escape from sins we have 
actually committed. That is Confession and Repentance. 

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Article 17 - Of Predestination and election - This is a tough one. When was the last time you heard a sermon on predestination? If you read enough in the Bible you can probably make a case for either two scenarios. One scenario would be the pure Calvin scenario that has God having already predestined 
the final fate of all humans who ever have or ever will exist on this earth. The other scenario is one that while God has predestined everything events as they occur can allow for God to elect to make changes in the picture as we go along.

Romans 8:28-30  ('And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. To those who are called according to His 
purpose. For whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom he called these He also justified, and whom He justified, these He also glorified'.) 
This appears to be the road that Article 17 takes in its second paragraph. But not only is the bright side looked at there but also the dark side, which is that those who believe in the strict predestination model-but don't feel themselves to be predestined to the good side, may be thrust into desperation or worthlessness by the Devil. So the Anglican emphasis on this matter has decreased steadily since the 161h century.

 

Article 18 - Of obtaining eternal Salvation only in the name of Christ - This has been a unanimous undenied staple of Christian faith from the days of the early church Fathers to today. Jesus was not only part of the Father (in human form) but He was the only firsthand experience anyone ever has had with the Father. And Jesus told us directly what was up.

John 14:6  'Jesus said "I am way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."'

So there you have it, as C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Jesus either was who he said he was, or else he is on the level of a man who considers himself to be a poached egg."

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Lesson Seven 

Articles 19-21, Of the Church, Of the Authority of the Church,

Of the Authority of General Councils 

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Article 19 - Of the  Church -A congregation ..... This likely refers not to what we think of as a single congregation, but rather a regional, nationwide or even worldwide body. Faithful.. ... All who profess and call themselves Christians - a fellowship of those who share the same fundamental beliefs.

Word .....consistent expositional preaching in order to nourish a congregation of God's is Biblical and avoids errors. Erred ..... Here a specific reference as to the cause of the Reformation.

 

Article 20 - Of the Authority of the Church - This article, a> gives an appropriate weight to tradition and to the freedom of the Church, b> affirms the Supreme Authority of Scripture, c> understands the 'Unity of Scripture' in that the Church cannot interpret one part of Scripture to contradict other parts of Scripture, d> indicates that the Church does not have authority over Scripture but is to bear witness over Scripture's authority and to keep the Biblical canon whole and entire and pass it down the generations.

 

Article 21 - Of the Authority of the General Councils - This article was rejected by the American Church as inapplicable of its situation and unnecessarily repetitious of statements in other Articles. (Hat tip to Massey Shepard in his 1950 book 'The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary'.) However one might wonder if the Americans would have been better of to have retained Article 21 given its final sentence which affirms strongly the subsidiarity of General Council activity and proclamations to Scripture. 

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Lesson Eight

Articles 22-24, Of Purgatory, Of Ministering to the Congregation,

Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue

as the People Understandeth

 

https:/ /confessi nganglica ns.com/i ntrod uci ng-the-39-articles-a rticle-22/

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Article 22 - Of Purgatory - The 'Romish Doctrine' of afterlife' was/is quite complex with a number of moving parts. The first is Purgatory, where the saved-but-not-yet-purified went upon their death to be 'purged' of their guilt or stain of sin, a painfulprocess which could last thousands of years. The second was 'Pardons' which were indulgences that living people could buy tor those in Purgatory and the third Worshipping and Adoration which are supererogations. We have dealt with all these is Articles 11 through 14. The error in all this is that it is anti-Biblical in that the Scripture never says we need anything except faith in Christ to join God permanently. Check out the following: Isaiah 53:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Philippians 1 :21-23, Revelation 6:9-11, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

 

Article 23 - Of MinisteringJn the Congregation - This article ties in with Article 36.This article is about setting up of culture where the Congregation (the wider Church) is given the task of quality assurance -Quality assurance of both Biblical instruction and commitment to Faith in Jesus Christ and the Scriptures. And Article 36 moves on to the details of Ordination and the predicates which lead up to it.

 

Article 24 - Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the People Understandith - The article itself appeals to the practice of the Early Church. Within the first couple of centuries after Christ, Christians worshipped in Syriac, Greek, Aramaic, Latin, Coptic, Sahidric, Ethiopic, Arbic and Gothic. As the Romans gained influence over the known world their Latin became the language of the Church. As Roman influence then decreased and German, English, Spanish and French came in, it would have been logical to move the Scriptures and the Liturgies in many directions. However Rome remained the center of the church and there was some holiness perceived about the Latin Mass as it was the longest lived version. The Church found this useful until the Reformation (and the Latin church found it useful until the mid-twentieth Century. 1 Corinthians 2 may be useful here 'For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him ... He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself'. 

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Lesson Nine

Articles 25-31, Of the Sacraments, Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the effect if the Sacraments, Of Baptism, Of the Lord's Supper, Of the Wicked which eat not the Body of Christ in the use of the Lord's Supper, Of both Kinds, Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross.

 

Article 25 - Of the Sacraments - 'An outward and physical sign of an inward and spiritual grace'. That is the classic English definition of a Sacrament. The question is how many Sacraments are there (and are there supposed to be) in the Christian church. This was one of the giant elephants in the room uncovered by the Reformation. The consistent Reformed view is that there can be no proper teaching that does not conform to Scriptural specificity and no Biblical teaching which casts doubt on other biblical teachings.

 

There are very clear Biblical references to and teachings about two Sacraments 
(Baptism and the Lord's Supper). But the Scriptures are void of references to and teachings about the five other matters that are sometimes also referred to as Sacraments (Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony and Extreme Unction). The Roman side of the argument is that these last five items are Sacraments due to Church history, teachings traditions. The Reform side of the argument is that the five items in question have no Scriptural reference or existence, had no place in Church history or teaching for the first 1,200 years or so of Christianity, and the whole point of Reform is to get rid of the Church teaching and history which does not originate in the Scriptures.

 

Now, none of that is to say that the five items in question are not special and do not do any good; they are special, and they do good. But it is to say they don't rise to the level of Sacraments.

 

Article 26 - On the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the effect of the Sacraments - This is very straight forward. Since we are all sinners, that makes it likely that there are sinners among the Clergy. And they are the people administering the Sacraments, which are supposed to bring spiritual goodness and enlightenment to the congregants receiving them. Since we congregants are relying on the Sacrament itself for spiritual assistance, it makes sense than any hidden imperfection in the clergy administering the Sacrament should not get rid of the good that the Sacrament is there to do.

 

Article 27 - Of Baptism - It is NOT ONLY a sign of PROFESSION but also a sign of RE-GENERATION or NEW BIRTH. It replaces Circumcision as a way of setting the youngster apart. What is necessary for them to be rightly grafted into the Church? 'Repentance, whereby they forsake sin, and Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of God. '(from the 1662 BCP Catechism). But what about baptizing babies who cannot understand the commitments they are undertaking? 'Because they promise them both by their sureties (sponsors and Godparents): which promise, that when they come to age, themselves promise to perform.' (Again from the 1662 BCP Catechism).

 

Article 28 - of the Lord's Supper - There are four main opinions concerning the nature of elements received and the mode in which they are received at the altar rail in a communion service. They follow:

 

1.    Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic view. This is the thought that in the Eucharist, after the words of consecration the substance of the bread actually becomes the physical substance of Body of Christ, and the substance of the wine actually becomes the substance of the Blood of Christ. Nothing about the elements (shape, taste, smell, consistency) changes. But the substance of the elements, which is interior to and not necessarily dependent on above description, become the substance of the Body and blood of Christ. It is a real and immaculate conversion of the substance of the Bread and Wine to the sacred Body and Blood of Christ.

 

2.    Consubstantiation was the view of Luther and is today the view of most Lutherans. This doctrine teaches that the bread remains bread, and the wine remains wine; but that with the means of the consecrated elements, the true, natural Body and Blood of Christ are communicated to the recipients.​

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3.    The Doctrine of a real spiritual presence is the doctrine of the English Church, was the doctrine of Calvin and many foreign Reformers. It teaches that Christ is really received by faithful communicants in the Lord's Supper; but there is no gross or carnal, but only a spiritual and heavenly presence there; not the less real for being spiritual. It teaches therefore that the bread and wine are received naturally; but the Body and blood are received spiritually.

 

4.    The 4th opinion is that is that of the Zwingli us (followers of Swiss theologian Huldrych Zwingli, a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland). He taught that the Eucharist is a bare commemoration of the Death of Christ, and that the bread and wine are mere symbols and tokens to remind us of His Body and Blood.

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The intensity of the Reformation is evidenced by the 28th Article. 

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Article 29 - Of the Wicked which eat not the Body of Christ in the use of the Lord's Supper - This is the final nail in the coffin for any doubt that the Church of England came down squarely on the side of the consecrated elements of Holy Communion being transferred spiritually as opposed to the Roman Catholic view of being transferred physically after the elements have been transformed into the Real Body and Blood of Jesus. This also separates the Church of English from the view of Luther and Lutherans on the matter.

 

In the Church of England Doctrine, the elements only become changed 
spiritually when received by an active believer. From Article 28 'The Body of Christ is given, taken and eaten, in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith.'

 

Article 30 - Of both Kinds - In the Early Church it was fairly routine for elements of both kinds to be distributed. This was consistent with Matthew 26:26-30, Luke 22:19-22 and 1 Corinthians 11 :23-27. Then somehow by the time of the Medieval Church the practice had changed to offering the laypeople only the bread, not the wine. It isn't totally clear how that came to be, perhaps it had to do with hygiene or perhaps the elements were to be so revered that they must be kept from human contamination. Or perhaps the priest had become so separate and special that he became a mediator between God and the people. Interestingly the at the Council of Trent (Session 21, Chapter 2, 1562) addressed the  situation.  Approved the custom of communicating under one species induced by 'weighty and just reasons'. But they never specified the reasons. This Roman practice implied that there was another mediator between God and humanity, alongside Christ. This practice was one not accepted by the Reform movement and the English Church stood with the Reformers on this one. 

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Article 31 - Of the One Oblation of Christ, finished upon the Cross - The 
issue here revolves around Article 33 and transubstantiation. The Roman Church held as doctrine that the elements consecrated at the Eucharist became the actual body and blood of Christ at that time. At that event the sacrifice that Jesus made was offered again to God and its benefits are received by those present. Because this event relies on the physical presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist the Reformers did not accept it and asserted the doctrine that Christ's death at Calvery His Sacrifice was offered once as the propitiation for all of Mankind's sins. Article 31 offers very strong language in this matter. That is likely due to the enormity of the issues raised by the 
Reformation. 

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Lesson Ten

Articles 32-36 Of the Marriage of Priests, OtExCommunicate Persons, how they are to be avoided, Of the Traditions of the Church, Of the Homilies,

Of the Consecration of Bishops and Ministers 

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Article 32 - of the Marriage of Priests - At this point we are switching from theology to the (more or less) simplicity of the discipline of the Church. And the first thing we run into is that the Clergy may marry, or the Clergy may not marry. Neither way is frowned upon. This is one more item that is contra the Roman church. The Apostle Paul (Titus :1-6) was quite clear in telling Titus that any elders he ordained should be the husband of one wife. And for the first Millenium after Jesus's crucifixion marriage was widely allowed and done among the clergy.

 

Noe why did the Roman Church decree in 1073 that priests must be celibate? There probably were some cases of nepotism and simony in clergy families. There were the celibate examples of Jesus and Paul. And is the difficulty of clergy being married to two people simultaneously (a wife and a church). This was a matter that the English Church sided with the Reformers, probably thinking that the Bible creates marriage and carries no obvious case against marriage of any man and woman.

 

Article 33 - Of excommunicate Persons, and how they are to be avoided­  - This article simply affirms the (ultimate) disciplinary weapon that the Church has to protect itself from excessive dissent, whether that be religious dissent or other dissent. Generally, the Parish priest is the 'Judge that hath authority thereunto' referred to in the last sentence of the Article. And average congregants are advised to maintain their distance while the matter is being settled by the Priest and involved lay person(s).

 

Article 34 - Of the Traditions of the Church - The rule here is something like 'Don't sweat the small stuff, but don't foul up the big stuff. Read this from the Preface of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (USA version). This Preface dates to 1789.

 

" .... The Church of England, to which the Protestant Episcopal

Church in these states is indebted, under God, for her first foundation and a long continuance of nursing care and protection, hath, in the preface of her book of Divine Worship, laid it down as a rule that "the particular Forms of Divine Worship, and the Rites and Ceremonies to be used therein, being things in their own nature indifferent, and alterable, and so acknowledged; it is reasonable upon weighty and important considerations, according to the various exigency times and considerations, such changes and alterations should be made therein, as to those who are in place of Authority should, from time to time, seem either necessary or expedient .... "".

 

This can also be seen as a Reform Position as the Roman church had introduced the discipline of a single set of Forms of Service and Rites and ceremonies and language to be used in every church in every nation. 

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Article 35 - Of the Homilies - There are four specific works which comprise the formularies for the Anglican Communion. These are (in no particular order) The Book of Common Prayer, The Articles of Religion, The Ordinal, and the 2 Books of Homilies. Of the four, the least well known would be the Books of Homilies. It consists of essays (many times, sermons) which address different aspects of the Faith. As it is the least know I know little about it. All I can say is that I have put it on my reading list. The other three works are all included in the Book of Common Prayer. These Homilies do contain "Godly and Wholesome Doctrine".

 

Article 36 - Of the Consecration of Bishops and Ministers - Article 23 asserts the need for those who assume the office of ministering or public preaching to be 'lawfully called and sent to execute the same'. This means chosen and called to work by men who have public authority given unto them by those in the Congregation (the larger Church). 

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     . This involves discerning those with the qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13)

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     . Also a form of authorization by those who constitute 'A body of Elders'(1 Timothy 4:4;5-22)

 

     . And last, the laying on of hands with prayer is central to this authorization for spiritual leadership          (Acts 6:6, 14:23) 

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Article 36 simply asserts the validity and sufficiency of the Ordination services in the Book of Common Prayer for the formal calling and sending of those qualified for office in the Church. Article 36 has been attacked by both Roman and Puritanical interests, indicating that it is true to the 'Via Media' approach.

 

Lesson Eleven

Articles 37-39 -Of the Power of Civil Magistrates, Of Christian Men's 
Goods, which are not Common, Of a Christian Man's Oath

 

Article 37 - Of the Power of Civil Magistrates - We serve a God of order, who established the family (Gen 2:18-24), the civil government Gen (9:1-7), and the church( Acts 2) to control our lives. In each of these institutions there are authorities to whom we must submit to let God's will to go forward. What is 
required of us can seem onerous when we consider the imperfections of the all family members and civil government. What we must do is render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's remembering that Caesar is only in charge of temporal matters. Then we must be kind inside our family and pray as to what we, in our own unique situations, need to do or not do for everlasting life.

 

Article 38 - Of Christian men's goods, which are not common - What not common here means is that individual people hold title to their own 
possessions, and possessions are not required to be owned in common with other believers. There are indications that in the very Early Church there was some communal owning of assets and sharing back and forth of assets, but as time has gone by, those situations have become fairly rare, and those 
practicing them have generally become known as fanatics of one sort or another. Notice that this does not mean that we should not be charitable to the extent that we are able. The specific amount of charity that we are called to do is that which is in accordance with our means.

 

Article 39 - Of a Christian Man's Oath - This article is simply to assert that, though a Christian is prohibited from swearing and foul language, he is not 
prohibited from swearing an oath in court to as to his observations of certain circumstances which would be helpful in a court determining a true verdict in a legal case.  

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