What is Anglicanism?

I sometimes think that there are as many different answers to this question as there are Anglicans, but at the end of the day one has to come back to this simple definition - it is the Church that came out of the English Reformation - 1534-1571. As such it has certain characteristics - it is Biblical, Creedal, Protestant, Episcopal, and Liturgical.

Biblical Anglicans believe in the inspiration, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture.

"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of faith." (Article 6)

Creedal Anglicans accept the three ancient Creeds of the Church, the Apostles Creed (4th Century), the Nicene (381), and the Athanasian (5th century) as summaries of what the Bible teaches about God. As it says in our confessional statement, the Articles of Religion, the Creeds ought "to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture." (Article 8)

In addition, Anglicans accept the teachings of the first four Ecumenical Councils of the Church which took place between 325 and 451AD.

Protestant

This is a word that gets a bit of a bad rap these days, but we use it in its original sense - that we protest against the non-biblical teachings of the unreformed Church. If you don't like the word Protestant think of us as being 'reformed catholic.' Anglicans affirm not only the Bible and the Creeds, but the doctrines of original sin, justification by grace through faith, and election, we also maintain the two Gospel sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion (The Lord's Supper). Anglicans affirm a 'unionistic' form of Protestantism which emphasizes the doctrine which are held in common by Lutheran and Reformed (Calvinist) Christians whilst downplaying controverted teachings. Episcopal This simply means that the churches in with a specific area are under the oversight of a bishop. The word 'bishop' derives from the Greek word for an overseer or superintendent, and we believe that our historic succession of bishops stretches all the way back to the Apostles who ordained (set apart) the first bishops in the mid-first century. This system of church government was all but universal until the 1500s. The bishop does not rule alone, but is assisted by a council called a Synod, Convention, or Convocation, which is the governing body of each regional church which is called a diocese.

Liturgical

To enable the people to take part in worship, rather than be spectators, Anglican congregations use set forms of service which are contained in the Book of Common Prayer. These include Morning and Evening Prayer, Holy Communion, the reading for Holy Communion, the Pastoral Offices including those for baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial, the Psalms, and Family Prayer. Much of the Prayer Book is based on Scripture, and our services follow the ancient forms developed by the Church in its earliest centuries. We tend to favor traditional hymns over modern worship music because of their theological insight and firm Biblical basis.

If you are seeking a church which is both ancient and modern, and catholic and reformed, then the Anglican Church is worth trying.