Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
We Believe
In the words of C.S. Lewis, one of the most famous Anglicans of the twentieth century, Anglicanism is simply mere Christianity.
It is a way of Christian discipleship that is biblical, liturgical, catholic, evangelical, and global.
Along with Lewis, some notable Anglicans include theologians N.T. Wright and J.I. Packer, social reformers William Wilberforce and Desmond Tutu, novelists Jane Austen and Madeleine L’Engle, poets John Donne and T.S. Eliot, and multiple U.S. Presidents, such as George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush.
We affirm the historic teachings of Christian orthodoxy as expressed in the Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. We believe that the 66 books of the Bible are the insipired word of God and contain all things necessary for salvation. We believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
It is a way of Christian discipleship that is biblical, liturgical, catholic, evangelical, and global.
Along with Lewis, some notable Anglicans include theologians N.T. Wright and J.I. Packer, social reformers William Wilberforce and Desmond Tutu, novelists Jane Austen and Madeleine L’Engle, poets John Donne and T.S. Eliot, and multiple U.S. Presidents, such as George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush.
We affirm the historic teachings of Christian orthodoxy as expressed in the Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. We believe that the 66 books of the Bible are the insipired word of God and contain all things necessary for salvation. We believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Hallmarks of the Anglican Traddition
The Bible
Anglican Christians are first and foremost biblical Christians. We believe the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the “Word of God written” and we therefore defer to Holy Scripture as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. But the Bible is not just a source of authority for Anglicans. It is also the daily bread upon which we live. We believe that Scripture contains “all things necessary to salvation” and that it is a principle means of God’s ongoing, active work of grace among us. For this reason, we strive not only to submit ourselves to Scripture, but also to allow it to saturate our lives as we “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” its words and teachings in our worship and daily prayer.
"Little C" Catholic
When we say, "little c," we differentiate ourselves from the Roman Catholic Church but include ourselves in the historic and united church. In this manner, "catholic," means universal and undivided. Anglicanism is not a modern denominational innovation, but a true historic expression of the Church. Anglicanism is traced back to the Apostles through the 16th century reforms in the Church of England, and we embrace the historic Creeds of the Church (Nicene, Apostles', and Athanasian). Today, the Anglican Church is the third largest expression of Christianity with around 80 million participants worldwide.
Evangelical
The word “evangelical” carries a wide variety of connotations for people today, but its most basic meaning is simply “gospel-centered.” And that is precisely what Anglicans strive to be: a people whose lives are centered on the good news of the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was this gospel which Thomas Cranmer and other English Reformers sought to communicate as they developed early Anglican liturgies and homilies. It was this gospel which defined the message of great evangelical Anglican preachers such as George Whitfield, Charles Simeon, Festo Kivengere, and John Stott. And it is this same gospel which lies at the heart of our worship, our preaching, our prayer, and our witness and service in the world today.
Spirit-Filled
We believe that the Holy Spirit is still active today. We believe that the Spirit dwells within each Christian giving life saving faith, uniting them to Christ, and equipping them for the work of ministry.
United in Common Prayer
Anglicans are frequently identified by the way we worship, and that is understandable because worship is central to the Anglican way of discipleship and fellowship. Worship is not a performance or a passive experience. All present are participants in the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. We worship according to the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, a way of worship that includes many elements: prayer, praise, the preaching and reading of Scripture, and the celebration of Holy Communion. Our worship follows a liturgical order that is at once both ancient and new, both corporate and personal, and both reverent and heartfelt.
The Anglicanism Around the World
The Anglican Church is a historic and global fellowship of Christians all over the world. Its origins trace to the Apostles through Augustine of Canterbury who was sent to southern England as a missionary in 597 AD. By this time, Celtic Christianity was already flourishing on the English Isles. By the time of the reformers about a thousand years later, the English Reformation was a movement to reform the Church from the problematic doctrines espoused by the Roman Catholic Church.
Today, the Anglican Communion is the third largest expression of Christianity with around 80 million participants worldwide.
Today, the Anglican Communion is the third largest expression of Christianity with around 80 million participants worldwide.
To view the Jerusalem Declaration along with explanation, visit this page: The Jerusalem Declaration.
For more information about Anglicanism and its beliefs, visit the beliefs page of the Anglican Church in North America.
To learn more about the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), visit gafcon.org.