What is ‘Anglican’?

|

This article was originally written as a discussion paper for the Anglican Church League. It is reproduced here with the permission of the author, Vic Cole*.

* Vic Cole is the Rector of St David’s Anglican Church, Forestville.

There is a habit developing in which we describe some members of the Anglican Church as very ‘unAnglican’. I suppose others could be described as ‘very Anglican. How do we judge this? Is it by dress, practices and forms, or attitudes? Is Anglicanism cassocks and surplices?1 Or is it 8am Communion,2 sung canticles, responses at Morning Prayer and the 1662 Prayer Book? Or is it, perhaps, a form of parish ministry like door to door visiting? Is it a conservative attitude to change?

These have been suitable outworkings of Anglican Christianity at particular times in the past, and they may still be appropriate for particular situations in our time. In other situations these are not necessarily helpful expressions of Anglican life and worship.

Throughout the Anglican Churches of the modern world, there is a vast variety of attitudes to churchmanship, conservatism and exuberance, practices in dress, forms of prayer and pastoral patterns. Before we too quickly brand some as ‘Anglican’ and others as ‘unAnglican’, I hope we might debate more thoroughly the characteristics and qualities that are essential to the description ‘Anglican’.

There are characteristics which are central to Anglicanism as expressed in the Prayer Book and Articles–particularly the Prefaces to the 1662 and 1549 Prayer Books and the Ordinal.3 According to the constitution of our organisation, these documents form the basis of what is distinctively ‘Anglican’ and they have much to tell us in the current ecclesiastical climate.

I suggest the following characteristics to provide thought for debate:

  1. Believing and teaching sound doctrine based on the Word of God rightly explained.
  2. Sharing the Gospel of Salvation by Grace and Faith, to seek the lost by witness and by caring ministry.
  3. Reading the whole Bible in a systematic ordered way.
  4. Using patterns of Prayer and the hearing of God’s Word in language understood by the people including the following elements:
    • Humble confession and assurance of God’s promises and forgiveness.
    • Readings from both Old and New Testaments with portions from Psalms and Canticles shared by the people.
    • The explanation of God’s Word relevantly applied to our life.
    • Confessing our faith to encourage each other.
    • Prayers for leaders, ministers, people in need, missionary and evangelistic work, and all people, that are well prepared and cover a wide range of local, national and international needs and experiences, such as An Australian Prayer Book provides.4
    • Thanksgiving and Praise in word and song that expresses the attitudes and emotional responses of modern Christians.
    • The sharing of the Lord’s Supper in ways that call people to remember and reflect on Christ’s death for us and that help people to encourage each other to deep thankfulness and commitment.5
  5. A programme of Baptism and Confirmation for which candidates are prepared and which is part of the normal life of the congregation.
  6. Developing a pattern of pastoral ministry which involves visitation and hospitality by ministers and members of the congregation, and which develops small groups for the experience of learning and application of Bible truth and sharing in prayer and praise. This in turn develops the larger congregation and a wider ministry by people in the parish.
  7. Developing means of leadership and decision-making that safeguard and encourage the ministry of God’s Word and that give God’s people opportunity to lead and serve each other under the supervision of the Minister.

I guess I would like our denomination to develop ways of thinking more about ‘Anglicanism’ that are true to the Prayer Book and Articles and Scripture and yet are flexible enough to allow for wide-ranging ministry and fellowship appropriate to modern people.

  1. The surplice as a lay garment was introduced to reduce the priestliness of the clergy and to simplify dress.↩
  2. 8 am Communion is a recent innovation since Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic movements last century.↩
  3. Prayer Book revision is required by the Prefaces to the 1549 and 1662 Prayer Books. See “The Preface”, “Concerning the Services” and “Of Ceremonies”.↩
  4. The way the modern church usually uses the services of the 1662 Prayer Book reduces the range of prayer. An Australian Prayer Book has gone some way in widening our prayer choices.↩
  5. Some modern practices at the Lord’s Supper may work against a shared experience of reflection on Christ’s death for us; addressing the front wall of the church in Psalms, Hymns and Creed, or queueing for Communion at the rail.↩

Comments are closed.