Anglican Tradition and Contemporary Issues in Tension
The Anglican tradition, as articulated in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, acknowledges that "Traditions and Ceremonies" are not required to be uniform across all places and times [1]. This flexibility allows for adaptation based on "diversities of countries, times, and men's manners," provided that nothing is "ordained against God's Word" [1]. This principle suggests a capacity for the church to navigate contemporary issues by adjusting its practices without compromising core doctrine.
However, this adaptability is balanced by an expectation of adherence to established church authority. The Articles state that anyone who "willingly and purposely, doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly" [1]. This indicates a tension between the allowance for diversity in practice and the need for communal order and submission to ecclesiastical governance. The monarch is also identified as the "Supreme Governor of the Church of England," with the clergy in Convocation responsible for ordering and settling matters of "external Policy," including "Injunctions, Canons, and other Constitutions," with royal approval, ensuring they are not "contrary to the Laws and Customs of the Land" [5].
Historically, the Anglican tradition has faced internal differences, yet the Thirty-Nine Articles express comfort that clergy have "always most willingly subscribed to the Articles established," suggesting a foundational agreement on their "true, usual, literal meaning" [3]. This implies that while external practices may vary, there is an underlying doctrinal unity expected. The Articles themselves were intended to foster agreement, even in "curious points" where differences might arise [3].
The concept of tradition itself has been a point of theological discussion across Christian traditions. Charles Hodge, in his Systematic Theology, discusses the Roman Catholic view of tradition, noting that hundreds of volumes have been written on the subject [2]. He highlights the Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the "incompleteness and obscurity of the written word, and the consequent necessity of an infallible, visible interpreter" [2]. This contrasts with the Anglican emphasis on the Word of God as the ultimate standard against which traditions and ceremonies are to be judged [1].
The early church also grappled with diversity of opinion, even concerning fundamental doctrines. Tertullian, for instance, observed significant divisions among various Gnostic schools regarding the "person and character of the Lord Jesus," with different groups holding widely divergent views on His origin and nature [4]. This historical precedent illustrates that theological diversity and tension are not new phenomena within Christianity.
The Anglican approach, therefore, seeks to maintain a balance: allowing for contextual adaptation in non-essential matters while upholding doctrinal consistency and ecclesiastical order. This framework provides a mechanism for addressing contemporary issues, but it also necessitates careful discernment to ensure that changes in practice do not contradict the "Word of God" or undermine the "common authority" of the Church [1].
Sources
- Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Section 286: It is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one, and utterly like; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the diversities of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's Word. Whosoever through his private judgement, willingly and purposely, doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that others may fe”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 36: § 5. Examination of the Romish Doctrine. Hundreds of volumes have been written in the discussion of the various points included in the theory above stated. Only a most cursory view of the controversy can be given in such a work as this. So far as Romanists differ from us on the canon of Scripture, the examination of their views belongs to the department of Biblical literature. What concerns their doctrine of the incompleteness and obscurity of the written word, and the consequent necessity of an infallible, visible interpreter, can better”
- Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Section 123: That for the present, though some differences have been ill raised, yet We take comfort in this, that all Clergymen within Our Realm have always most willingly subscribed to the Articles established; which is an argument to Us, that they all agree in the true, usual, literal meaning of the said Articles; and that even in those curious points, in which the present differences lie, men of all sorts take the Articles of the Church of England to be for them; which is an argument again, that none of them intend any desertion of the Art”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. XXXIX.--THEIR DIVERSITY OF SENTIMENT AFFECTS THE VERY CENTRAL DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIANITY, EVEN THE PERSON AND CHARACTER OF THE LORD JESUS. THIS DIVERSITY VITIATES EVERY GNOSTIC SCHOOL.: Now, concerning even the Lord Jesus, into how great a diversity of opinion are they divided! One party form Him of the blossoms of all the AEons.(9) Another party will have it that He is made up only of those ten whom the Word and the Life(10) produced;(11)` from which circumstance the titles of the Word and the Life were suitably transferred to Him. @Others, again, that He rather sp”
- Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Section 121: That We are Supreme Governor of the Church of England: And that if any difference arise about the external Policy, concerning the Injunctions, Canons, and other Constitutions whatsoever thereto belonging, the Clergy in their Convocation is to order and settle them, having first obtained leave under Our Broad Seal so to do: and We approving their said Ordinances and Constitutions; providing that none be made contrary to the Laws and Customs of the Land.”