The Anglican Communion

A worldwide family of self-governing churches that grew from the Church of England, joined by the Prayer Book, the bishops and the see of Canterbury, and now divided over the authority of Scripture and the meaning of marriage.

Church of England, Articles of Religion (the Thirty-Nine Articles)

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), Public Baptism of Infants

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), Holy Communion

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), A Catechism

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), The Order for the Burial of the Dead

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), The Order of Confirmation

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), The Preface

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), the Ordinal, Preface

Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1662), the Ordering of Priests

Church of England, History of the Church of England

Church of England, Statistics for Mission 2024 (published October 2025; amended June 2026)

Church of England, "Prayers of Love and Faith to be made available for use from Sunday" (press release, 12 December 2023)

Church of England, news release on the General Synod motion concluding Living in Love and Faith (13 February 2026)

Episcopal Church, Book of Common Prayer (1979), Catechism (BCP Online)

Episcopal Church, Book of Common Prayer (1979), Concerning Holy Baptism (BCP Online)

Episcopal Church, What We Believe

Episcopal Church, Who We Are

Episcopal Church, Leadership and Governance

Episcopal Church, How We Worship

Episcopal Church, Constitution and Canons (2018 revision), Episcopal Archives

ACNA, Constitution and Canons (ratified June 2009; amended June 2026)

ACNA, About

ACNA, ACNA Mission Index 2026

ACNA, College of Bishops, Statement on the Ordination of Women

ACNA, Court for the Trial of a Bishop: updates and timeline (page updated 14 September 2026)

GAFCON, The Jerusalem Statement and The Jerusalem Declaration (29 June 2008)

GAFCON site, 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10, Human Sexuality (text of the resolution)

GAFCON Primates' Council, "The Future Has Arrived" (16 October 2025)

GAFCON, "The Abuja Affirmation" (6 March 2026)

GAFCON, "Gahima Elected Archbishop of Rwanda" (letter of the Chairman of the Global Anglican Council, 11 September 2026)

The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral 1886, 1888 (text of Lambeth Resolution 11, Anglicans Online)

Anglican Communion Office, The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral

The Archbishop of Canterbury's site (Justin Welby, archived), The Anglican Communion

Aleteia, "Where the Anglican Communion is present today" (2 May 2026)

NPR, "For the first time in more than 1,400 years, Church of England gets a woman leader" (25 March 2026)

Gary Brady, "How Many were Ejected in 1662?", Banner of Truth (18 December 2012), drawing on A. G. Matthews, Calamy Revised

Anglican Communion (Wikipedia)

Act of Supremacy 1534 (Wikipedia)

Thomas Cranmer (Wikipedia)

Elizabethan Religious Settlement (Wikipedia)

Episcopal Church (United States) (Wikipedia)

Lambeth Conference (Wikipedia)

Ordination of women in the Anglican Communion (Wikipedia)

Libby Lane (Wikipedia)

Church of Nigeria (Wikipedia)

The Church of England dates its mission to Augustine's landing in Kent in 597, and in the 1530s it broke with papal authority. Under Thomas Cranmer it gained an English Prayer Book, and under Elizabeth I a settlement that fixed its doctrine in the Thirty-Nine Articles. The Prayer Book of 1662 became its lasting standard. English colonies carried the church overseas, and after American independence the Episcopal Church became the first Anglican body outside the Crown's rule. From 1867 the bishops met at Lambeth to keep a worldwide family together. Since the 1970s the family has strained over the ordination of women, and since 2003 over sexuality. In 2025 and 2026 the conservative provinces of GAFCON declared that they had reordered the Communion without Canterbury.

The Crown replaces the pope as head of the church in England

On 3 November 1534 Parliament passed the first Act of Supremacy, which declared King Henry VIII and his successors the supreme head of the Church of England, in place of the pope. For years Henry had tried to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled, and Pope Clement VII had refused. Doctrine changed little at first.

Cranmer's Prayer Book, in English

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, "turning to the language of the people." Use of the 1549 book was made compulsory on 9 June 1549, and in the West Country it set off the Prayer Book Rebellion.

Elizabeth's settlement and the Thirty-Nine Articles

Mary I briefly reunited England with Rome. After her death Elizabeth I's first Parliament passed a new Act of Supremacy and an Act of Uniformity, which brought back the Prayer Book. Elizabeth took the title Supreme Governor, not Supreme Head, and clergy had to swear an oath of supremacy. The Articles were drawn up by the Convocation of 1563 and completed in 1571, when the Subscription Act required every new minister to affirm them.

The Prayer Book of 1662 and the Great Ejection

After the Restoration the Act of Uniformity required every minister to use the revised Book of Common Prayer by St. Bartholomew's Day, 24 August 1662. Nearly two thousand ministers and others who would not conform were ejected or silenced, by the count that follows A. G. Matthews. The 1662 book remains the Church of England's standard of worship, and GAFCON and the Anglican Church in North America name it as a standard.

The Episcopal Church begins

After American independence the clergy of Connecticut chose Samuel Seabury as their bishop. The oath of supremacy kept him from being consecrated in England, so the Scottish bishops consecrated him at Aberdeen on 14 November 1784. In 1789 the General Convention adopted a constitution and canons.

The first Lambeth Conference

Seventy-six bishops met at Lambeth Palace on 24 September 1867 at the call of the Archbishop of Canterbury and sat for four days. The conference has met about every ten years since and is one of the four Instruments of Communion. Its resolutions guide the provinces. They do not rule them.

Women ordained as priests

In the United States, eleven women were ordained priests irregularly in 1974, and the Episcopal Church's General Convention authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood in 1976. In 1989 Barbara Harris became the first woman bishop in the Communion. In England the General Synod voted for women priests in 1992, and the first thirty-two women were ordained in 1994. Some provinces still do not ordain women as priests or bishops.

Lambeth Resolution I.10 on sexuality

The Lambeth Conference of 1998 upheld "faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union," called on all its people to minister pastorally to everyone whatever their sexual orientation, and said it could not advise the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of those in them. GAFCON and the Anglican Church in North America treat it as the Communion's standard.

Robinson consecrated; the Episcopal Church changes its marriage rites

The Episcopal Church elected Gene Robinson, an openly gay man living with a partner, as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Primates of the Communion had warned that it would "tear the fabric of the communion at its deepest level." In 2007 and 2008 the conventions of four dioceses voted to leave. In 2015 the General Convention allowed the blessing of same-sex marriages and approved two liturgies for such unions.

GAFCON and the Anglican Church in North America

GAFCON met in Jerusalem from 22 to 29 June 2008 and issued the Jerusalem Declaration, which it called "a contemporary rule" for the movement. It also called for a new province in North America. The Anglican Church in North America adopted its constitution at Saint Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford, Texas, on 22 June 2009. Its preamble says it was formed by Anglicans "grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican Communion."

The Church of England's prayers for same-sex couples

After a General Synod vote in 2023, the church introduced Prayers of Love and Faith, "public prayers of dedication, thanksgiving and asking for God's blessing for same-sex couples," for use in its regular services. In February 2026 the General Synod agreed to close the Living in Love and Faith process by July. Separate services for same-sex couples would need full authorization under canon law, and a new working group took up the question. The prayers remain in use.

GAFCON declares the Communion "reordered"

On 16 October 2025 the GAFCON primates declared that "the Anglican Communion will be reordered," rejected the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates' Meeting as Instruments of Communion, and said their provinces would not take part in meetings Canterbury calls. Provinces that had not yet done so were "encouraged" to remove from their constitutions any reference to communion with the See of Canterbury.

Thomas Cranmer

Wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer. Under Mary I he was burned at the stake on 21 March 1556, and on that day he publicly withdrew his recantations.

Sarah Mullally

The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office. She was appointed in October 2025 and installed at Canterbury Cathedral. As Archbishop she is the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, though the GAFCON provinces reject her office as an Instrument of Communion.

Sean Rowe

Elected the 28th presiding bishop and primate in June 2024 for a nine-year term. He is the church's chief executive officer and shares authority with the president of the House of Deputies.

Stephen Wood

On 16 November 2025, after the College of Bishops received a presentment, the Dean of the Province, Bishop Julian Dobbs, inhibited Archbishop Wood from ordained ministry, and the Dean extended the inhibition in January 2026. The Dean exercises the Archbishop's canonical duties meanwhile. A church court heard the case and closed the trial on 11 September 2026, with its opinion due no later than 21 December 2026. As of 27 October 2026 the court's page showed no opinion.

Laurent Mbanda

Chairman of the Global Anglican Council, the body that leads what GAFCON now calls the Global Anglican Communion. In September 2026, as Archbishop of Rwanda, he announced that Manasseh Gahima had been elected to succeed him there, with installation set for 25 October 2026, and that he would remain chairman until GAFCON's next assembly, in Athens in April 2028.

Not begun for one reason only. A popular account says the Church of England began only so that Henry VIII could divorce. The church itself calls the annulment the "catalyst," together with "a Tudor nationalist belief that authority over the English Church properly belonged to the English monarchy." Henry kept the mass and clerical celibacy. The church that followed was shaped by Cranmer under Edward VI and by Elizabeth's settlement, which the church describes as both "catholic and reformed." It counts its history from Augustine's mission of 597, and it describes three traditions living within it: "the Evangelical, the Catholic, and the Liberal."

The Episcopal Church after 1979. The 1979 General Convention passed the Dennis Canon, which holds the property of every parish "in trust for this Church and the Diocese."

The Global South. In 2023 ten archbishops of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches said they would no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as "first among equals," though they would not leave the Communion (Wikipedia, Anglican Communion). After the 2025 GAFCON declaration, bishops in Kenya and Congo said their provinces would stay in the existing structures.

Abuja, 2026. In March 2026, at Abuja, GAFCON replaced its Primates' Council with a Global Anglican Council and elected Laurent Mbanda its chair. It calls its fellowship the Global Anglican Communion, "not a new Communion, but the historic Anglican Communion reordered from within," and those who hold office in it "must not attend" the Primates' Meetings or the Lambeth Conference. In August 2026 the council chose Abuja for its headquarters.

How large? The Archbishop of Canterbury's office gives 85 million, and Aleteia notes that "there's no official count." The figures differ by what is counted: the Church of England has about a million regular worshippers, and the Church of Nigeria claims 18 million members while outside studies count fewer than 8 million.

Scripture holds all things necessary to salvation and comes first; the Church of England adds the creeds, Articles and Prayer Book, the Episcopal Church reads the Bible through reason and tradition, and ACNA and GAFCON bind the Articles, the 1662 book and the Jerusalem Declaration.

All Anglicans name Scripture first. The Church of England's Articles say that Holy Scripture "containeth all things necessary to salvation," and that nothing not read in it or proved by it may be required as an article of the faith. They give the church "authority in Controversies of Faith," but forbid it to ordain anything "contrary to God's Word written."

The bodies differ on how the Bible is read and how far other standards bind. The Episcopal Church says of the Scriptures, "we interpret" them "through reason and tradition," and its General Convention is "the final earthly authority." The Anglican Church in North America receives the Bible as "the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life," and with it the Thirty-Nine Articles, the 1662 Prayer Book and the Jerusalem Declaration. GAFCON reads the Bible "in its plain and canonical sense," and in October 2025 declared that its reordered Communion would have "only one foundation of communion, namely the Holy Bible." Each province is autonomous, so none can bind another.

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.

The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written

The Scriptures—which we interpret through reason and tradition—provide our foundation.

The Episcopal Church's catechism. "We recognize truths to be taught by the Holy Spirit when they are in accord with the Scriptures."

ACNA. It receives "the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1571, taken in their literal and grammatical sense," and the 1662 Prayer Book and Ordinal "as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline."

The Communion. The Anglican Communion Office states the Quadrilateral's first element as the Holy Scriptures "as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith."

People are accounted righteous by faith in Christ; baptism is the new birth and entry into the church, given to infants on their sponsors' promises, with confirmation by a bishop later; the 1662 book directs dipping, and the Episcopal Church allows immersion or pouring.

The Church of England's Articles teach that "we are justified by Faith only," for the merit of Christ and not for our own works. Baptism "is not only a sign of profession" but "a sign of Regeneration or new Birth," and infant baptism is "in any wise to be retained." In the 1662 service the minister gives thanks that the child "is regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's Church." Sponsors promise repentance and faith for the child, a bishop later confirms him, and the rubric directs the priest to dip the child, or to pour water if the child is weak.

The Episcopal Church's 1979 book calls baptism "full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church," and the church says it may be given "through immersion or the pouring of water." ACNA keeps the 1662 pattern and makes it "normative" that the baptized be presented to the bishop for confirmation.

that we are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort

Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this Child is regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's Church, let us give thanks unto Almighty God for these benefits

The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God's family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit.

What the 1662 book requires. The Catechism asks, "What is required of persons to be baptized?" and answers, "Repentance, whereby they forsake sin: and faith, whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God, made to them in that Sacrament." Infants are baptized "Because they promise them both by their sureties." The service says that "it is certain by God's Word, that children which are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly saved." The rubric: "he shall dip it in the Water discreetly and warily," and "if they certify that the Child is weak, it shall suffice to pour Water upon it."

After baptism. Article XVI: "after we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God we may arise again."

A sacrament of Christ's death, in which the faithful receive his body and blood "after an heavenly and spiritual manner" by faith; bread and wine remain, the cup is given to all, a priest or bishop presides, and the Episcopal Church calls it its principal act of worship each Sunday.

The Church of England's Articles call the Supper "a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's death." The body of Christ is received "only after an heavenly and spiritual manner," and the means of receiving it is faith. The Articles reject transubstantiation, say the sacrament was not "by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped," and give the cup to all. The bread and wine "remain still in their very natural substances." A parishioner is to communicate "at the least three times in the year, of which Easter to be one," and the 1662 Confirmation rubric admits no one until he is confirmed "or be ready and desirous to be confirmed."

The Episcopal Church celebrates the Eucharist on Sundays as its principal act of worship, and its catechism calls it the way "by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present." ACNA reserves presiding to bishops and presbyters, calls the confirmed to receive "regularly," and welcomes baptized members of other churches.

The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith.

The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper.

the Eucharist, the Church's sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present, and in which he unites us to his one offering of himself.

The Prayer Book declaration. A rubric of 1662: "no Adoration is intended, or ought to be done, either unto the Sacramental Bread or Wine there bodily received, or unto any Corporal Presence of Christ's natural Flesh and Blood."

The words at the table. "Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving." The 1979 catechism also calls the Eucharist "the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering."

Who may come. ACNA's canon: "the admission of baptized young children to the Holy Communion is permitted in this Province."

Bishops, priests and deacons, ordained by bishops in a line traced to the apostles; in England the monarch is Supreme Governor, in the Episcopal Church the General Convention holds final authority, and the Archbishop of Canterbury is a focus of unity, not a ruler.

Every Anglican church has three orders of ministry: bishops, priests and deacons. The Ordinal of the Church of England says that "from the Apostles' time there have been these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church," and admits no one to them who has not been ordained by its form "or hath had formerly Episcopal Consecration or Ordination." The Articles let the clergy marry and require a minister to be "lawfully called and sent."

The bodies are governed differently. In England the monarch is Supreme Governor. The Episcopal Church is governed by a General Convention of bishops and elected deputies, "the final earthly authority," and a presiding bishop elected for nine years. ACNA is governed by dioceses under a College of Bishops, which elects the Archbishop. The Church of Nigeria, a province since 1979, now has 176 dioceses. The Communion has been defined as churches "in communion with the See of Canterbury," but the GAFCON provinces now reject that tie.

The ministry of a bishop is to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as apostle, chief priest, and pastor of a diocese; to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the whole Church; to proclaim the Word of God; to act in Christ's name for the reconciliation of the world and the building up of the Church; and to ordain others to continue Christ's ministry.

Sitting atop the church's three-tier hierarchy is the General Convention, the church's chief governing body and final earthly authority.

those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men who have publick authority given unto them in the Congregation, to call and send Ministers into the Lord's vineyard.

ACNA. "The Archbishop will be elected by the College of Bishops." Each diocese keeps "all authority they do not yield to the Province by their own consent."

Married clergy. Article XXXII: "it is lawful for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion."

Common prayer from a book, in the people's language and full of Scripture: the 1662 book in England and as GAFCON's standard, the 1979 book in the Episcopal Church, and ACNA's own 2019 book, with each national church free to change its rites.

Anglican worship is "common prayer": set forms from the Book of Common Prayer that the whole congregation shares. The Articles call it "plainly repugnant to the Word of God" to pray publicly "in a tongue not understanded of the people," and give every national church authority to "ordain, change, and abolish" rites made by man, "so that all things be done to edifying."

The Episcopal Church uses the 1979 book, about 70 percent of which, it says, comes directly from the Bible. ACNA receives the 1662 book as a standard, has adopted its own Prayer Book (2019), and permits the books of the churches it came from. GAFCON upholds "the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer." In both ACNA and the Episcopal Church the clergy have the final say over music.

Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish, ceremonies or rites of the Church ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying.

we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.

Episcopal worship services vary widely in style but follow the same elements, or rituals, in a specific order as worship proceeds. This is what we call “common” prayer, meaning it is done by all.

Music. ACNA's canon: "It shall be the duty of every member of the Clergy in charge of a congregation to appoint for use psalms, hymns and spiritual songs which are appropriate for worship." The Episcopal canon: "the Member of the Clergy shall have final authority in the administration of matters pertaining to music."

Saints and images. Article XXII calls "invocation of Saints" "a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture."

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, given in baptism and prayed for at confirmation and ordination by the bishop's hand; the formal standards say nothing about tongues, healing or prophecy, and practice runs from charismatic parishes to none.

The Articles say that "the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God." The Episcopal catechism calls him the "Lord who leads us into all truth and enables us to grow in the likeness of Christ."

The Spirit is joined to the church's rites. The child is baptized "with Water and the Holy Ghost." At confirmation the bishop prays, "strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace," and at the ordering of a priest he says, "Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a Priest." None of the formal standards teaches that tongues, prophecy or healing have ceased, or that they must be sought. The Church of England places a charismatic movement beside its Evangelical, Catholic and Liberal traditions, and ACNA calls the Anglican way "Spirit-filled."

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, God at work in the world and in the Church even now.

It also needs to be noted that since the 1960s a fourth influence, the Charismatic movement, has become increasingly important.

we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.

Confirmation. The 1662 prayer recalls that God "hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy servants by Water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness of all their sins."

ACNA. To be Anglican is to be "at the same time evangelical, apostolic, catholic, reformed, and Spirit-filled."

Christ will come in glory and judge the living and the dead; the body will rise and the righteous will have everlasting life; the Articles reject purgatory, though the Episcopal catechism teaches prayer for the dead.

The creeds confess that Christ "shall come to judge the quick and the dead" and look for "the Resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." At a burial the minister commits the body "in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ," and thanks God that the souls of the faithful "are in joy and felicity."

The Articles reject purgatory as "grounded upon no warranty of Scripture." The Episcopal catechism says that "Christ will come in glory and judge the living and the dead," and it teaches prayer for the dead, trusting that they "will grow in his love, until they see him as he is." GAFCON's members "rejoice at the prospect of Jesus' coming again in glory."

in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ

By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God.

We pray for them, because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is.

The Church of England. The collects of the 1662 burial service look to the resurrection, and none asks for the dead to grow or to be purified.

The Episcopal Church. "We mean that God will raise us from death in the fullness of our being, that we may live with Christ in the communion of the saints."

The Book of Common Prayer

Worship follows a book of common prayer in the people's own language: the 1662 book in England and as the standard for GAFCON and ACNA, the 1979 book in the Episcopal Church.

The Book of Common Prayer is the center of Anglican life. Cranmer's first English book appeared in 1549, and the Church of England's book dates from 1662. The Episcopal Church calls the Prayer Book, now in its 1979 revision, its "central guide for individual and communal worship." ACNA receives the 1662 book and its Ordinal "as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline," and GAFCON upholds it as "a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer." The book holds the daily prayers, the services of baptism, Communion, marriage, ordination and burial, the Catechism and the readings for the church year.

It hath been the wisdom of the Church of England, ever since the first compiling of her Publick Liturgy, to keep the mean between the two extremes, of too much stiffness in refusing, and of too much easiness in admitting any variation from it.

First published in England in 1549, the Book of Common Prayer serves as our central guide for individual and communal worship.

The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, are received as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books which preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.

Else if thou bless with the spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of the unlearned say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest?

What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.

The Prayer Book deserves credit. It put worship into English when the people could not follow Latin, so that the unlearned could "say the Amen" (1 Corinthians 14:16), and much of it is Scripture. A set prayer is not a sin, and the apostles' churches prayed and sang words they shared. But when Christians met in Corinth, "each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching" (1 Corinthians 14:26), and no book fixed what the assembly said. The Church of England bound its book by Act of Parliament, and ACNA receives a human book as "a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline." A book bound beside Scripture as a rule of doctrine goes "beyond the things which are written" (1 Corinthians 4:6).

Bishops in historic succession

The church has three orders, bishops, priests and deacons, in a line from the apostles; the Quadrilateral names the historic episcopate a basis for reunion, and ACNA confesses it as part of the apostolic faith.

The 1662 Ordinal says that three orders, bishops, priests and deacons, have existed "from the Apostles' time." The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 names "the Historic Episcopate, locally adapted" among four grounds on which Anglicans would unite with others, and ACNA's constitution confesses it as integral to the church. The Church of England's Articles do not put the bishop in the definition of a church. They define the visible church as "a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered."

It is evident unto all men diligently reading holy Scripture and ancient Authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church; Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.

We confess the godly historic Episcopate as an inherent part of the apostolic faith and practice, and therefore as integral to the fullness and unity of the Body of Christ.

The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church.

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church.

Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly. For the bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;

The Ordinal says three orders are "evident" in Scripture, but the text names elders, who are also bishops, in the plural in each place. Paul called "the elders of the church" at Ephesus (Acts 20:17) and told them the Spirit "hath made you bishops" (Acts 20:28). He told Titus to "appoint elders in every city," and in the next breath called such a man "the bishop" (Titus 1:5-7), and Peter, "a fellow-elder," charged the elders to tend the flock (1 Peter 5:1-2). A single bishop over many congregations, in a line of succession, is a later arrangement. The Articles at least do not make it the mark of a church; ACNA, by confessing it as "part of the apostolic faith," adds to the faith.

The monarch as Supreme Governor

In England the monarch is Supreme Governor of the Church; the Articles give the Crown "the chief Government" over all estates, church and civil, while denying it the ministry of the Word and the sacraments.

The Church of England is the established church of England, and the monarch is its Supreme Governor. Elizabeth I took the title in 1559, in place of the Supreme Head her father had held. Article XXXVII gives the Crown the chief government of all estates, church and civil, but not the ministry of the Word or the sacraments. The other Anglican churches have no such arrangement.

unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain

we give not to our Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the Sacraments

Being by God's Ordinance, according to Our just Title, Defender of the Faith, and Supreme Governor of the Church

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of God.

The Articles deny the sovereign any part in preaching or the sacraments, and Paul does command obedience to rulers: "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1). But Romans 13 speaks of civil power. In the church Christ "is the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:18), and he told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). Of the rulers of the nations Jesus said, "Not so shall it be among you" (Matthew 20:26), yet the Articles give a ruler the chief government of the church "in all causes." The Crown replaced the pope; it did not return the church to its Head.

Priests and absolution

Ordained ministers are called priests, and a priest pronounces absolution in the name of God; the Articles deny that penance and orders are sacraments of the Gospel, and private confession is not required.

The Church of England ordains priests with the words of John 20, "Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven." In the Communion service the priest, or the bishop if present, pronounces the absolution over those who have confessed together. The Prayer Book invites a troubled person to come "to some other discreet and learned Minister of God's Word, and open his grief," but it does not require private confession, and the Articles say that Penance and Orders are not "Sacraments of the Gospel."

Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a Priest in the Church of God, now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained.

Then shall the Priest (or the Bishop, being present,) stand up, and turning himself to the people, pronounce this Absolution

to bless and declare pardon in the name of God

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.

Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working.

Here the Anglicans stand nearer the text than Rome: no one must confess to a priest, Penance and Orders are not called sacraments of the Gospel, and priests may marry. But the New Testament never calls a church leader a priest; it calls every believer part of "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), with one "great high priest" through whom all "draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:14-16). The Ordinal hands each new priest the words of John 20:22-23, spoken by the risen Lord with his own breath, as though a bishop's hands could pass on what Christ alone gave. Believers are told, "Confess therefore your sins one to another" (James 5:16), and the pardon of the gospel is declared by every Christian who preaches it, not by an order.

Women as priests and bishops

The Church of England and the Episcopal Church ordain women as priests and bishops; ACNA leaves women priests to each diocese and consecrates no women bishops; the Church of Nigeria ordains women neither as priests nor as bishops; GAFCON's member churches differ.

The Anglican bodies divide here. The Episcopal Church authorized women priests in 1976 and consecrated its first woman bishop, Barbara Harris, in 1989. The Church of England ordained its first women priests in 1994 and consecrated its first woman bishop, Libby Lane, on 26 January 2015. ACNA holds two views in one body: each diocese decides whether to ordain women as deacons and priests, and the College of Bishops has agreed that women will not be consecrated as bishops. The Church of Nigeria does not recognize the ordination of women as priests or bishops, though it allowed some women deacons for a time. GAFCON takes no single position, and its churches differ: the Anglican Church of Kenya has women bishops.

it was agreed that each Diocese and Jurisdiction has the freedom, responsibility, and authority to study Holy Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition of the Church, and to seek the mind of Christ in determining its own convictions and practices concerning the ordination of women to the diaconate and the priesthood. It was also unanimously agreed that women will not be consecrated as bishops in the Anglican Church in North America.

We agree that there is insufficient scriptural warrant to accept women's ordination to the priesthood as standard practice throughout the Province.

Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. For Adam was first formed, then Eve;

Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly.

I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church that is at Cenchreae:

Women served in the first churches, and the text honors them: Paul commends "Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church that is at Cenchreae" (Romans 16:1). But Paul writes, "I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man," and grounds it not in his culture but in creation: "For Adam was first formed, then Eve" (1 Timothy 2:12-13). The overseer is to be "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6). The Church of England and the Episcopal Church depart from this by ordaining women as priests and bishops. ACNA's bishops find "insufficient scriptural warrant" for women priests "as standard practice throughout the Province," yet leave each diocese free to ordain them, and a rule grounded in creation does not change at a diocesan border; the Church of Nigeria keeps nearest the text among the bodies named here.

Marriage and same-sex blessings

Lambeth 1998, ACNA, GAFCON and the Church of Nigeria hold marriage to be one man and one woman and will not bless same-sex unions; the Episcopal Church authorizes marriage rites for same-sex couples; the Church of England keeps marriage as one man and one woman but commends prayers of blessing for same-sex couples.

This is the question that most divides the Communion. The Lambeth Conference of 1998 upheld "faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union" and could not advise the blessing of same-sex unions. ACNA's canons repeat it, GAFCON's Jerusalem Declaration calls marriage between one man and one woman "the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage," and the Church of Nigeria declared itself in impaired communion with the Episcopal Church in 2003. In 2015 the Episcopal Church approved liturgies for same-sex marriages, and its marriage canon now speaks of "the couple" and "both parties." The Church of England says its teaching on marriage is unchanged, but since December 2023 it has commended prayers asking God's blessing on same-sex couples, for use in regular services.

this Church upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage, and cannot legitimize or bless same sex unions or ordain persons who engage in homosexual behavior.

The Church's understanding of marriage – or Holy Matrimony – remains as a lifelong, faithful and exclusive covenant between one man and one woman.

Members of the Clergy may solemnize a marriage using any of the liturgical forms authorized by this Church.

And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh? So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due.

Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.

Jesus answered the question of marriage from creation: "he who made them from the beginning made them male and female," and "the two shall become one flesh" (Matthew 19:4-6). Paul calls "men with men working unseemliness" a turning from "the natural use" (Romans 1:27), and names "abusers of themselves with men" among those who "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9). Lambeth 1998, ACNA, GAFCON and the Church of Nigeria stand with the text on what marriage is. The Episcopal Church departs from it by authorizing rites for same-sex marriages, and the Church of England departs from it by asking God's blessing on unions he has not blessed, while it keeps the definition in words. The same passage offers the gospel to every sinner, "And such were some of you: but ye were washed" (1 Corinthians 6:11), and that is the mercy the church owes, not a blessing on the sin.

The plumb line is the New Testament: what the apostles commanded, and what the churches practiced with their approval. Each position above is set against it, and the wall below shows how far each one stands from it. Choose a course to read the Scripture and the reason. The Anglican bodies are not of one mind, so each verdict names the body that holds the teaching, and says where one stands nearer the text than another.

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.

Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.

Article VI stands nearer the New Testament than Rome: Scripture "containeth all things necessary to salvation," and nothing outside it may be required "as an article of the Faith." That is close to Paul's rule, "not to go beyond the things which are written" (1 Corinthians 4:6). But the same Articles give the church "authority in Controversies of Faith," ACNA and GAFCON bind the Articles, the 1662 book and a modern declaration beside the Bible, and the Episcopal Church reads it "through reason and tradition" under a convention that calls itself the "final earthly authority." A rule that puts Scripture first and then binds other standards and other judges beside it has not stopped where the apostles stopped, so this course stands near the middle.

The Communion's quarrel shows the weakness. Each province governs itself, so no Instrument of Communion could hold the Episcopal Church to Lambeth 1998, and the 2015 marriage canon was changed by a vote. The Bereans were praised for "examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11): the test was the text, not a council or a synod. Jude writes of "the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3), complete, so that an Article, a canon or a convention can add nothing to it.

for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory.

And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

The Articles teach what Paul wrote, "by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves" (Ephesians 2:8), and here they stand nearer the pattern than Rome. But in Acts those who believed were baptized, "both men and women" (Acts 8:12), and Peter's command, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you" (Acts 2:38), asks what a baby can neither hear nor give. The 1662 book declares the baptized infant "regenerate" on the promises of sponsors, and the Episcopal catechism gives the infant "forgiveness of sins" in the rite. The 1662 rubric does direct dipping, which answers to the burial of Romans 6:3-4, but both books let pouring stand in its place, and a burial given to one who cannot believe is not the baptism the apostles gave. This course stands near the far end, short of it because of justification by faith.

The Articles say Confirmation is not a sacrament of the Gospel, having "grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles," yet the 1662 book sends the baptized child to the bishop to be confirmed before Communion, and ACNA makes it "normative." In Acts the Spirit was promised at baptism, "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38), without a second rite. The text asks of the one who comes to the water what an infant cannot give: faith, repentance, and the confession that Jesus is Lord.

And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.

For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.

But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body.

but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Here the Anglican formularies stand nearest the pattern: they reject transubstantiation, refuse to have the sacrament "reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped," give the cup to all, and keep a remembrance of a finished sacrifice, "this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24). But the disciples came together "upon the first day of the week" to break bread (Acts 20:7), and the 1662 book asks of a parishioner only "at the least three times in the year"; the Episcopal Church's weekly Eucharist keeps the day as custom, not as the apostles' pattern. Its catechism calls the Eucharist the way "the sacrifice of Christ is made present," when Christ "offered one sacrifice for sins for ever" and "sat down" (Hebrews 10:12). The Lord's table belongs to the first day of every week, and the text gives no church leave to set it by a minimum.

The Articles allow "none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone," which condemns the sacrifice of the mass; the Episcopal catechism, which also calls the Eucharist "the Mass" and "the Great Offering," uses language nearer to Rome's. Only a bishop or priest may preside, which the text never requires. ACNA admits young children, though Paul says, "let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread" (1 Corinthians 11:28).

And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Paul and Barnabas "appointed for them elders in every church" (Acts 14:23), the same man is called elder and "the bishop" (Titus 1:5-7), and the elders tended "the flock of God which is among you" (1 Peter 5:2). Anglican churches set a bishop as a separate order over many congregations, bind the parish to its diocese, and set over the whole a Supreme Governor in England or a General Convention, the "final earthly authority," in the Episcopal Church. The course stands one short of the far end, because no Anglican church has a universal head over its bishops, Canterbury holds no jurisdiction outside England, the clergy may marry, and laypeople sit in the synods, the same ground on which the Orthodox stand short of Rome. Still, a congregation with no elders of its own under Christ, "the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:18), is not the church the apostles ordered.

The Church of England's arrangement under a Crown, the Episcopal Church's under a Convention, and ACNA's under a College of Bishops are each a government the apostles did not set up. A congregation of the New Testament was shepherded by its own elders.

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Anglican worship is in the people's language, as Paul would "rather speak five words with my understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:19). It is full of Scripture and built on the reading, the prayers and the table, as the first church "continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42), and the Articles call the invocation of saints "a fond thing vainly invented." Where it falls short is the form. A book prescribes the words and the ceremonies, where in Corinth "each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching" (1 Corinthians 14:26), and instruments and choirs often carry the music the text gives to the whole church, "singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). This course stands near the middle, nearer the line than Rome or the Orthodox.

In both ACNA and the Episcopal Church the clergy hold "final authority" over music. Whatever the style, the pattern in the text asks the congregation itself to sing, pray and give thanks together. The Prayer Book is a good book, but it is not the New Testament, and a church that binds it by law or canon binds what the apostles did not.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,

Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.

The Anglican standards teach that the Spirit is given at baptism, as Peter promised, "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38), and they claim no miracles for relics or saints. But the rites tie a further gift of the Spirit to the bishop's hand at confirmation and ordination, while in Acts the Spirit was given "through the laying on of the apostles’ hands" (Acts 8:18), and the text names no successors to that gift. The standards say nothing of tongues or healing, so each parish teaches what it will, though the text says the signs confirmed the first preaching, "God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders" (Hebrews 2:4), and that not all had them, "do all speak with tongues?" (1 Corinthians 12:30). The course stands near the middle, because the standards bind little here and claim no miracles for office.

A parish that seeks the signs as proof of the Spirit, and a rite that confers the Spirit by a bishop's hand, have each moved the evidence of the Spirit's work away from the written word, which the signs were given to confirm.

And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us.

For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.

The Anglican creeds teach what the text teaches: Christ will judge the living and the dead, the body will rise, and "it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). The Articles reject purgatory, and the 1662 burial service asks no relief for the dead, which is nearer the text than Rome or the Orthodox. The Episcopal catechism departs from it by praying that the dead "will grow in his love," when "between us and you there is a great gulf fixed" (Luke 16:26), and by defining hell only as "eternal death in our rejection of God," when the Lord said the wicked "shall go away into eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:46). The course stands near the line, with the Episcopal catechism pulling it away.

The 1662 collect at burial looks to "our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul." The 1979 prayer for those who "grow in his love" supposes a change after death that Scripture does not teach: "we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Much that the Anglican bodies confess, Scripture also teaches, and it should be said plainly. They confess one God in three persons, and Christ truly God and truly man, crucified, risen and coming again to judge the living and the dead. The Articles put Scripture first, forbid the church to ordain anything against it, and refuse the pope's rule. They teach that a person is accounted righteous before God by faith in Christ and not by works, and they reject transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass, communion in one kind, forced celibacy, purgatory and prayer to the saints. They worship in the language of the people, and the 1662 book directs that the baptized be dipped. ACNA, the Church of Nigeria and the other GAFCON churches hold marriage as God made it, and in North America some gave up their church buildings rather than give up what they believe the Bible teaches.

Measured by the New Testament alone, the Anglican bodies stand in the middle: nearer the pattern than Rome on the sufficiency of Scripture, justification by faith, the Lord's Supper and worship in the people's language, and short of Rome on government only because they have no pope. Their baptism, though the 1662 book directs dipping, is given to infants who cannot believe. Their Supper is kept by a minimum or by custom, not as the first-day pattern of the apostles, and under a priest. Their government sets bishops, a Crown or a Convention above the congregation, where the apostles left elders in every church. On women in ministry and on marriage the Episcopal Church and the Church of England have departed from the text, while Lambeth 1998, ACNA, GAFCON and the Church of Nigeria have kept nearer to it.

The Communion's own history shows why a rule on paper is not enough. A body that names Scripture first, and also binds a prayer book, a line of bishops and a governing assembly above the congregation, has no way to hold its members to the text when they will not submit to it. The Articles state the principle: it "is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written." The text is closed: "the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3).

None of this is contempt. Anglicans gave the English-speaking world the King James Bible and the Prayer Book's prayers, and Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer died for the faith as they understood it. The answer to them is to bring their faith to Scripture alone, and do what the converts in Acts did: believe, repent, confess Jesus as Lord, and be buried with him in baptism for the remission of sins. Then worship as the churches of the New Testament did, under their own elders, at the Lord's table on the first day of every week.

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