In the book, Reformational Anglicanism: A Vision for Today’s Global Communion, authors Ashley Null and John W. Yates III give seven marks that identify the essence of the Reformational Anglican tradition.

Reformational Anglicanism is Apostolic

“In an age of uncertainty,” writes Null and Yates, “when the search for truth has been replaced with the never-ending search for one’s ’true self,’ Reformation Anglicanism is founded on the solid rock of the teaching of the apostles.” The English Reformers of the 1500s sought to recover the true gospel as delivered by the Apostles and as true to Holy Scripture. This was not an attempt to create a new church or to divide the church. Instead, by removing corruptions invented and introduced by the medieval church, the English Reformers were on a mission to return the bride of Christ to its true form, under the authority of Scripture and holding to the message given from Christ to the apostles.

Reformational Anglicanism is Catholic

The Reformation Anglican tradition is not interested in the newest fad, trend, or idea. And while Anglicans in the Reformational tradition look to the future with great hope in the coming of Christ and the fullness of His Kingdom as it engages in gospel ministry today, our tradition is one that is always looking back to established doctrine and identity. We hold to the catholic, meaning universal, Creeds - the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian. These Creeds, held by all true Christians throughout the history of the church and in all places, are thoroughly biblical and therefore help our community stay rooted in the true doctrine of the church while the world shifts and sways around us.

Reformational Anglicanism is Reformational

In other words, the five solas that came to explain the principle beliefs of the reformation in the 1500s still guide and impact our ministry today. We believe that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, and according to the Scriptures alone. While each of these statements require some clarification today (as an increasing amount of Christians shift away from biblical authority once more), we still hold to them as essential positions of true evangelical, Reformational Anglican identity.

Reformational Anglicanism is Mission-Focused

Christianity in England, from whence the Anglican tradition traces it roots, has been defined by mission since the beginning. Within the first 200 years of the church’s existence, missionaries from Rome had come to the island of Britain to proclaim the good news of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. This missionary impulse guided the English Reformers as well. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the key leader of the reforming English church, embodied this missionary aim as he preached without hesitation the true gospel and the need for individual conversion by true and lively faith in the name of Jesus. This desire to proclaim the gospel flowed into the parishes throughout England as preachers were trained and equipped to proclaim salvation by faith in Christ; gospel proclamation confronted the presumption that church attendance equaled salvation, and pastors began calling all to repentance and faith. Today, the focus on mission especially marks the Anglican Churches of the Global South and our shared commitments with them.

Reformational Anglicanism is Episcopal

Following the patterns of the earliest days of the church, and rooted in a faithful reading of the New Testament, Reformational Anglican churches are overseen, shepherded, and protected by Bishops. These Bishops are men set aside to defend the faith and promote the preaching of the true gospel. Null and Yates explain, “Reformation Anglicanism calls on our bishops to promote and protect God’s Word, that they may foster ‘truth, unity, and concord’ in our time and pass these graces on to those who follow.” Bishops also help connect us relationally to our sister churches in the Global South.

Reformational Anglicanism is Liturgical

A liturgical service is a worship gathering that invites the full participation of all those Christians gathered together in one place. In our Reformational tradition, the Scriptures play the key role in the pattern, as we look to the Word to remind us of our need for a Savior and God’s gracious provision of that Savior in Jesus Christ. The worshipers in the service are invited not only to seek the Lord individually, but also corporately and in a unified way as we pray the same prayers together - both in our hearts and with our words. The liturgy is shaped by two movements - the Word preached and the Word displayed. This display is seen in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper when, by faith, we are invited to be fed in our hearts by the spiritual presence of Jesus Christ.

Reformational Anglicanism is Transformative

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus changes lives. Reformational Anglicanism believes in whole-life transformation in the power of the gospel. Thomas Cranmer “realized that merely knowing the moral imperative to love rightly did not empower a person to do so…Coming under the influence of the Protestants in his forties, Cranmer came to see that the apostle Paul had taught a better way. Godly love could only come from personally encountering ear God’s immeasurable love made known in his free gift of salvation. Once faith had captured the human heart and a person believed in Christ’s saving promises, this newfound trust that one would be with God forever would set off a chain reaction deep within the individual.” This chain reaction is the work of the Holy Spirit as God’s love works its way into the heart and life of a believer, changing the sinner to saint from the inside out. Obedience is always a response to God’s love first given, and never an attempt to earn God’s love.