Rise of the Anglican Communion

Common Anglican Belief
in the 19^th Century

Anglican Parties in the 19^th Century:
Evangelical (“Low Church”)

Anglican Parties in the 19^th Century:
Anglo-catholic (“High Church”)

Anglican Parties in the 19^th Century:
Broad Church

Rise of the Anglican Communion

The First Lambeth Conference

Subsequent Lambeth Conferences

But furthermore, we do hereby affirm that the Christian unity...can be restored only by the return of all Christian communions to the principles of unity exemplified by the undivided Catholic Church during the first ages of its existence; which principles we believe to be the substantial deposit of Christian Faith and Order committed by Christ and his Apostles to the Church unto the end of the world, and therefore incapable of compromise or surrender by those who have been ordained to be its stewards and trustees for the common and equal benefit of all men.

—Preamble of the Chicago Quadrilateral (1886)

That, in the opinion of this Conference, the following Articles supply a basis on which approach may be by God's blessing made towards Home Reunion:

(a) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as “containing all things necessary to salvation,” and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.

(b) The Apostles' Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol; and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

(c) The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself‑‑Baptism and the Supper of the Lord‑‑ministered with unfailing use of Christ's words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him.

(d) The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church.

—Resolution 11, Lambeth Conference (1888)

Authority as inherited by the Anglican Communion from the undivided Church of the early centuries of the Christian era, is single in that it is derived from a single divine source, and reflects within itself the richness and historicity of the divine Revelation, the authority of the eternal Father, the incarnate Son, and the life-giving Spirit.

It is distributed among Scripture, Tradition, Creeds, the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments, the witness of the saints and the consensus fidelium, which is the continuing experience of the Holy Spirit through his faithful people in the Church. It is thus a dispersed rather than a centralized authority having many elements which combine, interact and check with each other.

—Lambeth Conference Report of 1948

Discussion Question:

How can the consultative process of the Anglican Communion serve to preserve both the faith and the unity of the Church?