Ten Elements of Historic Anglicanism

It is important to begin with two comments:

1) This paper was inspired by something J.I. Packer wrote in 1995 ‘Speculating in Anglican Futures’. I have added to it, but Dr Packer must not be blamed for my additions, or the final form this brief paper has taken.

2) I need to define ‘Anglicanism’. You will notice that I qualify it as ‘historic’ Anglicanism. What do I mean? I mean the Anglican way – the way of the Church of England as defined by the three historic documents: the Book of Common Prayer (1662); the Ordinal (for Bishops, Priests and Deacons); the 39 Articles of Religion. We find the doctrines, beliefs and ethos of historic Anglicanism in these documents.

Let me now turn to these ten elements. Read More

Paul Barnett posted this article on his blog on the second anniversary of the formation of the Anglican Church in North America, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. His description of historic Anglicanism contrasts sharply with the form of unreformed Catholicism that the ACNA's constitution, canons, catechism, and 2019 Proposed Book of Common Prayer are foisting on unsuspecting North Americans as "Anglicanism."

Paul Barnett is an Australian Anglican bishop, ancient historian and New Testament scholar. He was the Bishop of North Sydney from 1990 to 2001. He is a prominent historical writer on the rise of Christianity and the historical Jesus. He is currently a fellow in ancient history at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia and a teaching fellow at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada.