Biblical
Anglican Christians are first and foremost biblical Christians. We believe the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the “Word of God written” and we therefore defer to Holy Scripture as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. But the Bible is not just a source of authority for Anglicans. It is also the daily bread upon which we live. We believe that Scripture contains “all things necessary to salvation” and that it is a principle means of God’s ongoing, active work of grace among us. For this reason, we strive not only to submit ourselves to Scripture, but also to allow it to saturate our lives as we “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” its words and teachings in our worship and daily prayer.
Liturgical
Anglicans are frequently identified by the way we worship, and that is understandable because worship is central to the Anglican way of discipleship and fellowship. We worship according to the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, a way of worship that includes many elements: prayer, praise, the preaching and reading of Scripture, the celebration of Holy Communion—and many actions—sitting, standing, kneeling, singing. Our worship follows a liturgical order that is at once both ancient and new, both corporate and personal, and both reverent and heartfelt. It is a key to our formation as Christ-followers.
Gospel-Centered
We strive to be a people whose lives are centered on the good news of the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was this gospel which Thomas Cranmer and other English Reformers sought to communicate as they developed early Anglican liturgies and homilies. It is this same gospel which has crossed cultural, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds so that there are presently 85 million Anglicans world-wide. And it is this same gospel which lies at the heart of our worship, our preaching, our prayer, and our witness and service in the world today.
