The time has now come to admit and declare the great and sad farewell to authentic Anglicanism -- already achieved by those rogue elements within the church utterly opposed to the constitutional and confessional character of the good ship Ecclesia Anglicana. Mutineers and pirates have jumped aboard and reprehensible bishops and erring theologians have taken hold of the helm. There is an outright revolt against heavenly truth and holy living. Our biblical message and morality, our worthy heritage, have been unjustly jettisoned into the sea of confusion that will utterly overwhelm and destroy us in the billows of divine judgment. Our current admiralty, quartered in Canterbury, is a department of incompetent navigators. The hybrid craft that our church has become, with its many failures, all incompatible with the guidance of Holy Scripture, will soon be a vessel dedicated to heresy.

If there were to be a major resurgence of Reformed and Protestant Anglicanism under the hand of Almighty God in the future, what form could it possibly take to preserve our integrity? At a time (2006), a little less dire than now perhaps, theologian and historian Peter Toon outlined a model for any responsible persons or organized body who aspired to the restoration of Scriptural and historic Anglicanism as our Reformers conceived it, and as each generation was called upon to develop it faithfully and consistently. Dr Toon produced a booklet entitled Anglican Identity, Keeping the Global Family Together. Circumstances will have changed since then but the final chapter expressing the author's comments on a desirable Anglican Identity reveal the shape of a worthy testimony to the nature and purpose of God and the manner by which he should be honored.

IN TOON WITH PETER

Peter Toon humbles us in our quest for a God-glorifying identity for Anglicanism. In an evil world, and with the many aspects of human sinfulness evident within the people of God, the whole church can never attain perfection. "The Anglican Way is only part of the whole Church and is thus, by this very fact itself, imperfect in nature, even though, at certain times and in some places, excelling in maturity and holiness. This imperfection it shares with all Churches and denominations, and it is something we must never overlook when thinking of the identity and vocation of the Church in space and time" [page 55]. Dr Toon avers that to be genuinely Anglican necessitates, "the use of the services in The Book of Common Prayer and the ordinal, with the centrality of reading and hearing the Word of God written", and he emphasizes that these elements, "surely have prime of place!" Thus, in terms of doctrinal authority, and as a minimum, the Prayer Book and Ordinal need to be recovered as living documents to guide the Anglican Way" [page 58]. If necessary, Toon adds, let there be well prepared alternatives to Common Prayer.

Of prime importance are the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. "To deny any of the major dogmas or doctrines set forth in The Articles is to begin to cease to Walk in the Anglican Way" [page 59]. A surprise statement, attributed to Professor G.W.H. Lampe of Cambridge University, quoted by Toon, is also to be found on page 59: "If a person cannot assent to these Articles as being agreeable to the Word of God as was best understood at the time of their compilation . . . [that person] cannot be recognized as standing within the Anglican tradition".

Honest assent to the original formularies of the mother Church of Anglicanism seems to be the criterion of genuine Anglican faith as spelt out in Canon A5 of the Church of England:

"The Doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient fathers and councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal" (Toon page 60). "If This is amended to read: the doctrine of the Anglican Communion of Churches,' then the Anglican Way is at least recognized to possess, or is given, a clear foundation and direction . . . " (Page 60).

ARTICLED CLERKS

The term articled clerk applies in the main to aspirants to the legal profession, nonetheless ". . . it is said to be equally applicable to other trades and professions" (Legal Dictionary). Candidates for Anglican ministry are called to be articled clerks in a most solemn and spiritual fashion. Our Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion amount to being our denominational Confession delineating our doctrinal standards for personal subscription and for our preaching and teaching ministries. It is vital that Anglican Clerks in Holy Orders should stand by the doctrinal norms of the Church in which we serve. It is a matter of right conviction motivating our sacred task in the maintenance of our personal integrity. Heartfelt variations from our tradition suggest to us that another option for ministry ought to be found in the wide array of theological persuasions available to us in the whole extent of Christendom.

Our consciences ought to be clear. "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit" (Collect for Purity). This the only protection we have to deliver us from our hybrid condition and to prevent the dreadful descent to a heretical condition which is currently looming fast. It makes us tremble to recall the bishop's exhortations spoken at the ordination of presbyters: Are you persuaded that the holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? And are you determined out of the said Scriptures to instruct the people committed to your charge, and to teach nothing (as required of necessity to eternal salvation) but that which you shall be persuaded may be concluded and proved by the Scripture? . . . Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's Word (The Ordinal).

Our Reformational Articles supply boundaries within which believers may be reliably and faithfully edified and beyond which it is not safe to venture. We have a biblical parameter that serves us with the truth we are obligated to declare and the warning as to what we should deny. We proclaim the Word in the liberty of the Spirit, and to check our avoidance of eccentricity we make comparison with mind of the Church. Our articles discipline the mind, and the greater our acquaintance with them, so our hearts are stirred to sing as they proclaim the richness of Christ.

THE DESIRED HOPE

Doctor Toon's "charitable orthodoxy" attains its culmination in words expressing solid hope:
The common faiths based primarily upon the authority of Holy Scripture which is, refracted through the Anglican Formularies [The Book of Common Prayer, The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and The Form and Making Deacons, Ordaining Priests, and Consecrating Bishops], which have a secondary and dependent authority. So the Anglican Christian has been known, and can be known again, as the person who brings to public worship, and lives under the authority of, two books, The Bible and The Book of Common Prayer (in which appear also, The Articles and Ordinal). Both books are needed for the biblically-based worship, doctrine, mission, and order of the Anglican Way. Further, the Anglican Christian does not expect his faith to change in substantial and essential beliefs but to mature in understanding, commitment and holiness as he lives fruitfully and trustingly in the world as God's faithful servant.

O LORD, CLEANSE AND DEFEND THY CHURCH

Roger Salter is a regular contributor to Virtueonline. He is an Anglican priest resident in Alabama.