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passed by the Conference, or to interpret and apply such resolutions strictly to the context of their social and cultural environment.
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judgment of Scripture, Tradition and Reason and exercised in dialogue with the whole Church. (p. 109). The concept of "infallible authority" has no provision in Anglicanism and in fact, Article 21 of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion affirms that Church Councils and the human beings that constitute them can err and sometimes have erred in things pertaining both to God and in worldly matters.
Being a loose federation of national Churches, the Anglican Communion naturally cannot forge a formidable central authority with legislative powers. As Bays (2001) puts it, "The Anglican Communion is held together by bonds of affection, the goodwill of its members rather than by legislation" (p. 29).
The report of the Lambeth Conference 1948 describes authority in Anglicanism as follows:
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. (p. 85).
The report goes on to say that authority is found through Six Sources: Scripture, Tradition, the Creeds, the Ministry, the Word and Sacraments, the witness of the Saints, and the consensus fidelium (a recognition of truth by the body of the faithful people in the Church). Holy Scripture is the basic authority for Christians because
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it is the record of God's revelation to human beings. The Tradition of the Church and the historic creeds also have authority because they represent the Church's faithful working out of the meaning of God's salvation down through the centuries.
Authority is exercised through leaders called by God through church ministry for the proclamation and teaching of the word, administration of the sacraments and other pastoral services to the people. (p. 86).
In the Anglican Church, teaching and administrative authority is exercised through the three-fold ministry of bishops, priests and deacons, formally chosen, trained and lawfully ordained, and through synodical government in which lay people share with the clergy in the decision-making process. Commenting on the sharing of authority in the Anglican Communion, Sykes (1978) notes that the distribution of God's gift to the whole Church means that there are voices of authority, not one unequivocal voice of authority. He further asserts:
Authority comes as a call of God and a gift of the Holy Spirit. The Church as a community, participates in the power of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. This power is shared in the Church by clergy and laity... All authority stems from the spirit of Christ who fills the Church and leads it into truth. And Christian authority is found in individuals and institutions when the Spirit of Christ is discerned in them. (p. 169).
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4.3.1 Liturgy and Authority in Anglicanism
Anglican belief is drawn from the Holy Bible and encapsulated in the Articles of Religion. Anglican liturgical tradition is embodied in the Book of Common Prayer the first of which was produced by Thomas Cranmer in 1549, and the most significant revision being the 1552 edition. Ibeto (2012) affirms that the 1662 English Book of Common Prayer forms the historical basis for most Anglican liturgy around the world. (p. 17). The Book of Common Prayer also contains the catechisms of the Anglican Church through which the systematic teaching of the Church's doctrines are effected down to the grass root level.
According to Ezeakunne (2016) Anglicans take the principle of lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief) seriously, regarding the content, form and rubrics of liturgy as an important element of doctrinal understanding, development and interpretation. Also, Anglicans cite the work of foundational theologians of Anglicanism as instructive. Such include Cranmer, Richard Hooker, Lancelot Andrews and John Jewel. (p.50). However, due to the decentralized authority structure of Anglicanism, Evans and Wright (1991) refer to Resolution 8 of Lambeth Conference 1867. This resolution is in the spirit of Article 34 of the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion which grants Churches the freedom to make appropriate provision for local needs in decreeing rites and ceremonies. The resolution reads in part:
That, in order to the binding of the Churches of our colonial Empire and Missionary Churches beyond them in the closest union with the Mother
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Church, it is necessary that they receive and maintain without alteration the standards of Faith and Doctrine as now in use in that Church. That nevertheless, each Province should have the right to make such adaptations to the services of the church as its peculiar circumstances may require.
Provided, that no change or addition be made inconsistent with the spirit and principles of the Book of Common Prayer and by any Synod of the Anglican Communion in which the said Province shall be represented. (p. 334-335).
4.3.2 The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established in 1536 and they constitute the historic statements of Anglican doctrine in relation to the controversies of the English Reformation. The articles also evolved as a reaction to the theological challenges posed by the Roman Catholic and Calvinist doctrines to the nascent doctrine of the evolving English Church.
Chapman (cited by Ezeakunne, 2016) states that as the Church of England was charting out its doctrinal identity, a series of defining documents were written and replaced over a period of thirty years. The very first attempt was the Ten Articles in 1536, the next revision was the Six Articles in 1539 and then followed by the Forty Two Articles in 1552. Finally upon the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I, the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established by a convocation of the Church in 1563, under the direction of Matthew Parker the then Archbishop of Canterbury. The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion which were finalized to their present form in 1571
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were to have a lasting effect in England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion as a major source of theological authority. (pp. 43-44). The Thirty-Nine Articles can be broadly divided into four sections- the fundamentals of the Anglican faith;
the interpretation of the Scripture; the Scripture and the authority of the Church;
and the relationship between the Church and the society.
4.3.3 The Books of Homilies
Another major source of Anglican teaching authority is The Books of Homilies.
These are two books containing thirty-three sermons developing the reformed doctrines of the Church of England in greater depth and details than the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. Many of the sermons are straightforward exhortations to read the Scripture daily. The other works are lengthy scholarly treatises intended to inform church leaders in theology, church history and against heresies. Each homily is heavily annotated with references to the Holy Scriptures, the Church Fathers and other primary sources. The First Book of Homilies published in 1547 was written mainly by Thomas Cranmer with twelve sermons, while the Second Book of Homilies with twenty-one sermons was written by John Jewel and published in 1571.
4.3.4 The Lambeth Quadrilateral
The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral frequently referred to as the Lambeth Quadrilateral is a four-point articulation of Anglican identity often cited as encapsulating the fundamentals of modern Anglicanism. According to Wolf (1982)
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the Lambeth Conference of 1888 produced an important document for the future of Anglicanism especially in its relation with other Churches. The four points of the conference include:
1. The Holy Scriptures as containing all things necessary to salvation.
2. The Creeds (specifically the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds) as sufficient statement of Christian faith.
3. The Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion as ordained by Christ himself.
4. The historic episcopate locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the people of God. (pp. 167-168). The Quadrilateral as a source of Anglican authority has had a significant impact in the Anglican Communion since its passing. It provided a basis for shared character as colonial Churches influenced by British culture and values evolved into national ones influenced by their local customs.
The Anglican Communion does not possess a one-volume confession of faith like the Westminster Confession of the Presbyterians, nor does it claim a founding theologian like a John Calvin or a Martin Luther. In the same vein, it has no central authority such as the Roman Catholic Magisterium to set generally accepted parameters of belief and practice. The universally accepted foundations of Anglican doctrine that guides her faith and order are the Holy Scriptures, the great Creeds of the early ecumenical councils, the Book of Common Prayer, the
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Nine Articles of Religion and the four principles enshrined in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.
A wide range of customs and practices and its historic tolerance for diversity and ambiguity are among the most notable characteristics of Anglicanism. However, in the modern day Anglican Communion, there is a notable breakdown in mutual tolerance occasioned by the wider polarization of opinion between the theologically conservative and the liberals.