Church of England - Doctrine and Practice

Doctrine and Practice

Church of England doctrine can be summarised in its canon law as follows:

"Of the doctrine of the Church of England" (Canon A5): "The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal."

As the Church of England bases its teachings on the Holy Scriptures, the ancient Catholic teachings of the Church Fathers and some of the doctrinal principles of the Protestant Reformation (as expressed in the 39 Articles and other documents such as the Book of Homilies), Anglicanism can therefore be described as "Reformed Catholic" in character rather than Protestant. In practice, however, it is more mixed, with some Anglicans who emphasise the Catholic tradition and others who emphasise the Reformed tradition. These three "parties" in the Church of England are sometimes called high church (or Anglo-Catholic), low church (or Evangelical) and broad church (or Liberal). There is also a long history of more liberal or latitudinarian views and more conservative views in both the Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical branches of the church. In terms of church government, unlike many of the Protestant denominations it has retained episcopal (bishop) leadership.

The teachings of Richard Hooker, the 16th century divine, summarised the Anglican position well, affirming bishops as ancient, allowable and for the good of the church.

In many people's eyes today the Church of England has, as one of its distinguishing marks, a breadth and "open-mindedness". This range of belief and practice includes those of the Anglo-Catholics, who emphasise liturgy and sacraments, to the far more preaching-centred and less ritual-based services of Evangelicals and gatherings of the Charismatics. But this "broad church" faces various contentious doctrinal and social questions.