The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 10: Anglicanism and the 39 Articles of Religion

In our study of the progress of doctrine, we now turn towards the coming Reformation and the recovery of gospel truth, there are two key English figures to consider who lived and ministered in England prior to the Reformation period.

John Wycliff (c.1320-1384) disagreed with the Catholic Church¹ in the mid-1370s. He argued against things like the sale of offices and the sale of indulgences. In 1382 he and his followers translated the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate, though this was not authorized by the Church.

Wycliff died of natural causes in 1384 and is known as “The Morningstar of the Reformation.” In 1415 the Council of Constance ordered Wycliff’s bones be exhumed and burned as a sign of contempt for his “heresy.”

William Tyndale (1494-1536) was born prior to the Reformation but died as the Reformation was taking shape. In 1408 Parliament passed the “Constitutions of Oxford” which forbade the translation of the Bible into English without permission from the Catholic Church.

Tyndale sought permission to translate the Scriptures into English but was denied by Bishop Tunstall. So, he decided to go to Europe, where he commenced his translation efforts. He translated the New Testament from Greek into English and smuggled it into England in 1525.

Because of their scorn for his translation work, those from Britain hunted for him. In 1534 Tyndale was betrayed by one of his friends near Brussels and arrested.

On October 6, 1536, Tyndale was condemned as a heretic for believing the gospel and for his translation work. He was then strangled and burned at the stake. His final words in the fire were apparently, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”

Three years later, that prayer was answered. In 1539 King Henry VIII required every English parish to make a copy of the English Bible to all its parishioners.

It was, in fact, Henry VIII who brought an end of the relationship between the English Church and the Catholic Church, beginning what is called the Church of England.

Henry VIII was the King of England from 1509-1547. He is known for his relationships with women, as he had six wives and many mistresses.

Because of his first wife’s inability to produce a male heir, Henry sought permission from the Pope to have the marriage annulled. However, the Pope refused that request. So, in 1533 Henry named Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury. Both men had their own desires: Thomas was sympathetic to the Reformation and wanted to bring it about in England; Henry wanted his marriage annulled. In working together, they both got what they wanted.

In 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which declared Henry VIII the “Supreme Head of the Church of England” and essentially began the Anglican Church, though not in earnest. Thomas was able to bring some of the Reformation ideas into England as well.

Elizabeth I became Queen of England in 1558 and reigned for 45 years. The daughter of Henry VIII and Ann Bolyn, she was very sympathetic to Protestantism and desired to bring unity to England. In 1559 the Act of Supremacy took full effect making Elizabeth the Leader of the Church of England and officially breaking ties with the Catholic Church.

In 1562 the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established at a convocation of the church, as the foundational doctrinal statement of the Church of England. It was revised a couple times before the final version was completed in 1571.²

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion affirms the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Definition, while also embracing the Apocryphal books as canonical (which the Catholic Church does as well). It consists of three main sections: 1) Things that are believed by all Christians (Articles 1-8). This section deals with the doctrine of God, of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, etc.; 2) Things that are Distinctly Protestant in nature, but not Roman Catholic (Articles 9-34); and 3) Things that make Anglicanism distinct from other Protestants (Articles 35-39).

Conclusion

First, the Anglican Church is somewhat in a middle position between what is now called Roman Catholicism and the Protestant Reformers. It adopted some of the teaching of the Reformers regarding things like scripture translation, justification by faith alone apart from works, and being against the sale of indulgences. Yet it also retained some of the practices of Catholicism such as the wearing of vestments, having the altar central on the platform, and having a very formal liturgical form of worship with an emphasis on ritual and display.

Second, in Anglicanism, there are what are called “high church” and “low church” traditions. High Church Anglicans were those who were opposed the Puritanical wing of the church and more closely resemble Catholicism. Low Church Anglicans were more evangelical, with more emphasis on preaching, personal piety, and the authority of Scripture. Those terms aren’t used much today, but they help describe some basic differences even amongst the Anglicans.

In addition, some godly and helpful preachers/teachers have come from the Anglican Church. Men like hymn-writer and pastor John Newton (1725-1807), pastor and author J.C. Ryle (1816-1910), author and philosopher C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), and theologian and author J.I. Packer (1926-2020).

Finally, with the Thirty-Nine Articles and the stabilizing of the Anglican Church under Elizabeth, the Reformation spread permanently to England. England would become the greenhouse for Christianity in the New World.

Previously in this series:

• Introducing the Four “C’s” of Doctrinal History
• The Origins, Division, and Authority of the Four C’s of Doctrinal History
• The Four C’s Part 3 – The Apostles’ Creed
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History: Part 4 – The Nicene Creed
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History: Part 5 – The Chalcedonian Definition
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History Part 6 – The Athanasian Creed
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 7: Luther and His Catechism
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 8: The Lutheran Augsburg Confession
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 9: Early Protestant National Confessions

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Taigen Joos is the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Dover, NH.

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Picture from Store norske leksikon and is used under a PDM 1.0 license.

1. Note: The Catholic Church wasn’t called the Roman Catholic Church until after the Reformation. For a Roman Catholic perspective, see this article. [↩]
2. The Thirty-Nine Articles replaced the more Protestant but short-lived Forty-Two Articles of Elizabeth’s brother, King Edward VI. [↩]