Back to the Very Beginning: Part 4

If you’ve been following along this year with Tirzah, you know that we have been on a journey to explore the basic foundations of our faith. Check out Parts 1, 2, and 3 to learn more about the Biblical understanding of “church”. 

Today, we are actually following through on a request for the foundations of the Anglican Church. This was an interesting choice for me, Alycia, because I am learning about England this year.

When I started my research, I discovered that the Anglican Church was rooted in the Church of England. In order to understand its foundations, you have to go way back in history to a King.

There was a King - King Henry VIII - who was in love with a woman and his wife had failed to produce any male heirs. He was the King of England and madly in love with a woman named Ann Boleyn. There was a problem though - he was married to someone else.

In order to move forward in the relationship, he needed to annul his relationship with the queen. This had to be accepted by the Pope and he did not want the Catholic church’s interference.

In order to move forward, he cut ties with the Catholic Church and formed the new Church of England - governed by himself. This allowed him to marry the woman he was in love with.

From that moment forward the Church of England has been the official church for England and, in other countries, is known as the Anglican Church.

There were huge moments that influenced the culture and the doctrine - one of those moments was the Reformation where Martin Luther left the Catholic Church and said faith came through salvation and not works. This influenced how they shaped the Gospel moving forward.

When you dig into England’s history, you will also see how the Gospel was influenced by the government. There was the Revolutionary War - where the United States and England went to war because the people in England fled to escape religious persecution.

The people in the U. S. wanted the choice of their own faith - not just the Church of England. Isn’t it crazy how whole churches and movements are founded?

This journey fascinated me, personally, because it reminded me that only the Word of God can stand and God uses broken things. One King’s decree allowed a new sect of the church to be found. God brought the glory and when you visit their website today, you can see they are committed to reaching as many children as possible with the message of salvation. How cool is that?

Another thing I learned that is important to the Anglican Church is the “Book of Common Prayer”. It is considered to be a supplement to the Bible and not the main source. The Anglican church views the Bible as the primary source of their beliefs and follows both Catholic and Protestant traditions to this day.

You can read more about their doctrine here. This was a very fascinating exploration of a religion, which I would love for you to take the resources and delve into more on your own.

Here at Tirzah we are committed to sharing God’s Truth and not emphasizing one doctrine over another - rather committed to the Bible and if a church is following the Truth and the Creator.

One of the things mentioned in the history of the Anglican church is the Nicene Creed, which we will cover next month so you can learn more about the history of the church in the world. 

*https://www.churchofengland.org/news-and-media/media-centre/history-church-england

*https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/church-of-england