(including statues and stained glass) were eradicated and the marriage of
clergy allowed. The imposition of the Prayer Book (which replaced Latin
services with English) led to rebellions in Cornwall and Devon.
“Images" ordered removed from all churches by the council of regents. This
also means no vestments, ashes, palms, holy water, or crucifixes. This
causes so much resentment that an order suppressing all preaching follows.
Mary I
Edward VI dies. People are tired of Protestant looting of churches. Mary
Tudor ("Bloody Mary"), a militant Roman Catholic, becomes queen, she
returned the English church to communion with Rome. She was Popular at
first, but soon marries the hated Philip II of Spain. Persecution of
Protestants begins; Mary appoints new bishops and fires all married
priests. During her reign, about 300 Protestants were burned, including 5
bishops, 100 priests, and 60 women. An attempt by Cardinal Pole (Mary's
archbishop of Canterbury) to restore monasticism fizzles when, among 1500
surviving monks, nuns, and friars, fewer than 100 are willing to return to
celibacy. All this ensures Roman Catholics will remain unpopular in
England.
Elizabeth I
Mary dies. Elizabeth I, (a Protestant), becomes queen. Despite many
problems (including frequent assassination plots from Roman Catholics), she
supports the enterprising middle class and England prospers. With her
accession an independent church was restored and steered along a middle
ground between Roman Catholicism and Calvinism.
Since 1564 the Era of Puritanism had began. The word "Puritan" appears for
the first time. It was biblically based on Calvinistic Protestantism - with
emphasis upon the "purification" of church and society of the remnants of
"corrupt" and "unscriptural" "papist" ritual and dogma. The characteristics
of their movement were the following: a disciplined, godly life, and the
energetic evangelical activities. They want:
. a skilled, educated preaching ministry, based on the Bible
. as few ceremonies in church as Biblically possible (no surplice, no
signing of the cross)
. abolition of the traditional role of bishop, and replacement of the
episcopate by a presbyterian system
. one legal government church, controlled by Puritans.
By the 1660s Puritanism was firmly established amongst the gentry and the
emerging middle classes of southern and eastern England, and during the
Civil Wars the Puritan "Roundheads" fought for the parliamentary cause and
formed the backbone of Cromwell's forces during the Commonwealth period.
After 1646, however, the Puritan emphasis upon individualism and the
individual conscience made it impossible for the movement to form a
national Presbyterian church, and by 1662, when the Anglican church was re-
established, Puritanism had become a loose confederation of various
Dissenting sects. The growing pressure for religious toleration within
Britain itself was to a considerable degree a legacy of Puritanism, and its
emphasis on self-discipline, individualism, responsibility, work, and
asceticism was also an important influence upon the values and attitudes of
the emerging middle classes.
Thirty-Nine Articles (1571) drafted as a doctrinal statement by a
convocation of the Church of England. The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion,
along with the historic Creeds, are the doctrinal standard for Anglicanism.
They are printed in the back of most editions of the Prayer Book and tell
us not only about the main postulates (e.g. Of faith in the Holy Trinity,
Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very man; Of Original or Birth
Sin; Of Free Will etc.), but also about Sin after Baptism, Of the Church,
Of the Authority of the Church, Of the authority of General Councils, Of
speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth
etc.
Charles II
With accession of Charles II in 1660 the Restoration of the monarchy began.
Everyone is tired of Puritan rule. Puritan laws and censorship are
repealed; the theaters re-open. The "Declaration of Breda" results in
tolerance for Puritan views within the Anglican fold. The conflict with
Puritanism leaves distrust for religious individualism and emotionalism
("enthusiasm") among Anglicans. This will continue through the "Great
Awakening" (1738-1784: Christian revival in England and America). This
coincides with the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, during which many
educated people cease to consider themselves Christians.
Act of Toleration (1689), partially restores civil rights to Roman
Catholics and Dissenters. The events since the Reformation have finally
convinced most Anglicans of the virtues of tolerance and mutual
forbearance.
Victorian Era
The trend during this period will be rediscovery of liturgy and church
history - High church - and spreading Christianity – Low сhurch.
The Evangelical branch of the Anglican Church coincided very nearly with
the "Low Church" party. Evangelical, a term literally meaning "of or
pertaining to the Gospel," designated the school of theology adhered to by
those Protestants who believed that the essence of the Gospel lay in the
doctrine of salvation by faith in the death of Christ, which atoned for
man's sins. Evangelicalism stressed the reality of the "inner life,"
insisted on the total depravity of humanity and on the importance of the
individual's personal relationship with God and Savior. They put particular
emphasis on faith, denying that either good works or the sacraments (which
they perceived as being merely symbolic) possessed any salvational
efficacy. Evangelicals, too, denied that ordination imparted any
supernatural gifts, and upheld the sole authority of the Bible in matters
of doctrine
High church was associated with the Tractarian movement began about 1833
and ended in 1845 with John Henry Newman's conversion to Roman Catholicism.
It was also called the Oxford Movement because Newman, a fellow of Oriel
College (part of Oxford University) and vicar of St. Mary's, the University
church, and others were based there when they began the Tracts for the
Times in 1833. There were exactly 90 Tracts, the majority written by
Newman, arguing in general that the truth of the doctrines of the Church of
England rested on the modern church's position as the direct descendant of
the church established by the Apostles. Pretty obviously, such an argument
was a conservative answer to the various contemporary challenges to the
authority of religion in general, Christianity in particular, and
specifically Anglicanism Catholicism, fueled by the same need for
reassurance as was the Evangelical revival. Since the 16th century the
Church of England had prided itself on being the via media, or middle road,
between Roman Catholicism and a more radical Protestantism.
The Church of England has, in its several ways, been the Church to uphold
the dignity of the individual. It gave the lead, for example, not only in
the abolition of slavery but it played a critical role in stopping the
slave trade itself. Today, of course, it is a Church at the forefront of
the practical fight to right injustices, restore the dignity of people
everywhere and put the world on a sustainable economic footing without
ruining the planet upon which God put us.
II. The Church of England today
We are now in what many call the post-modern era and the Church of England
is experiencing a resurgence of interest in matters of faith as well as in
the Church itself. Calls to the ministry are up, giving for the Church's
work is up and the Church is confident that, with and by God's grace, it
can make an increasingly valuable contribution to the life of the nation,
its people, and do so far beyond its borders as well.
Anglicans are numerous on every continent and constitute the principal
Christian community in many areas, notably in Africa.
The Book of Common Prayer exists in 170 languages. There are about 45
million Anglicans worldwide. There are three million Episcopalians in the
US.
At least one survey indicates that, among all denominations in this
country, we have the highest percentage of members who take time for daily
prayer.
There is little doubt that, among all groups of Christians, we Anglicans
are the most diverse and the most tolerant. Anglicans are still facing
persecution in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, Communist China,
the Soviet bloc nations, Central Africa, and Central America.
Throughout the world, over one thousand new Christian churches open their
doors each Sunday. As always, Christianity flourishes wherever it shows
people its highest ideals.
1) The essence of being an Anglican
The Scriptures and the Gospels, the Apostolic Church and the early Church
Fathers, are the foundation of Anglican faith and worship. The basic tenets
of being an Anglican are:
* They view the Old and New Testaments 'as containing all things necessary
for salvation' and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
* They understand the Apostles' creed as the baptismal symbol, and the
Nicene creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
* The two sacraments ordained by Christ himself - Baptism and the Supper of
the Lord - are administered with unfailing use of Christ's words of
institution, and the elements are ordained by him.
* The historic episcopate is locally adapted in the methods of its
administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of
