Anglican Hermeneutics: Interpretation in Relation to the Church
1. Anglican Understanding of Scripture
[1]Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.[2]
2. Apostolic Authority
[3] [4] [5] [6]Receive the Holy Scriptures. Feed the flock of Christ committed to your charge, guard and defend them in his truth, and be a faithful steward of his holy Word and Sacraments.[7]
3. The Conciliar Reforming Nature of the Anglican Episcopate
[8] [9] [10]4. Summary
[1] The Episcopal Church, "An Outline of the Faith," in The Book of Common Prayer (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979; reprint, 1990), 853-854.
[2] The Episcopal Church, "Thirty Nine Articles," in The Book of Common Prayer (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979; reprint, 1990), 868. Emphasis added. See also William Goode, The Divine Rule of Faith and Practice, ed. A. Metcalfe (London: 1842; reprint, 1903), 367.
[3] Powel Mills Dawley, Chapters in Church History (Greenwich, Conn.: Seabury Press, 1955), 98.
[4] Ibid., 94.
[5] Ibid., 100-101.
[6] The Episcopal Church, "The Ordination of a Bishop," in The Book of Common Prayer (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979; reprint, 1990), 518.
[7] Ibid., 521.
[8] G. R. Evans and J. Robert Wright, eds., The Anglican Tradition : A Handbook of Sources (London: SPCK, 1991), 209.
[9] The Episcopal Church, "Thirty Nine Articles," XX, 871.
[10] The Episcopal Church, "An Outline of the Faith," 854.
