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The Washington Chapter of the American Anglican Council

The Thirty-Nine Articles for Reading and Discussion
A group plan for study of the foundational teaching of the Anglican tradition

"Within the Anglican Church of which we are a part... Scripture’s meaning is rightly discerned in addition [to the common Creeds and Canons of the Christian churches] through the theological ordering of our common historic formularies, including the sixteenth and seventeenth century authorized Books of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles which ground the belief and practices of our Communion’s life." Theological Charter of the Anglican Communion Network, Section I (5).

The Draft Anglican Covenant, January 2007, Section 2, The Life We Share: Common Catholicity, Apostolicity and Confession of Faith, paragraph (5): "Each member Church, and the Communion as a whole, affirms that, led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons."

Click here to download a Word file of the Thirty-NIne Articles from the 1979 Boook of Common Prayer in a readable font size.

THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES: BURIED ALIVE?
by Samuel C. Pascoe, Latimer Press, 1998

An eight-week reading plan for Pascoe's text, with suggested background reading from the Bible

Week 1	Introduction	1 Timothy 3-4
	Chapter 1
	Chapter 2
Week 2	Chapter 3	John 14
	Chapter 4
Week 3	Chapter 5	2 Timothy 1-2
	Chapter 6
Week 4 Chapter 7	Articles I-V	Genesis 17
Week 5 Chapter 7	VI- X	Romans 7:14-8:39
Week 6 Chapter 7	XI-XVII	Matthew 7:13-29
Week 7 Chapter 7	XVIII-XXVII	Galatians 2:11-3:5
	XXVIII-XXXIX
Week 8	Chapter 8	1 Corinthians 4

Suggested format:
1. Each participant is expected to do the reading for the week in advance of each session, using a study Bible for the background scripture passage.
2. Arrange chairs in a circle, so that every participant can see each other person. If there are more than twelve people in the group, you may want to divide into two circles, with the second group in another room.
3. For each session, assign a Presenter and a Mentor/Facilitator.
4. The Mentor begins and ends each session with prayer; and facilitates conversation, encouraging everyone to participate. For example, give everyone a chance to answer one question: "What was the most interesting/helpful one point in the reading that struck you;" or, "What one idea did you find puzzling/annoying?" Discussion should aim at clarification, rather than debate.
5. The Presenter gives a brief (five minutes or less) summary of the reading for the week, focusing on one or two main points.

Each session should last one hour. For leaders' preparation, see the leaders' training materials for the Alpha Course: http://www.alpharesources.org/ Item #25606

Click here to download the reading plan as a Word document.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

In his comments on Article III (p. 84) Pascoe quotes H. Richard Neibuhr, in reference to the current tendency to avoid the "harsh" doctrines of the Christian faith: "A God without wrath brought a people without sin into a kingdom without judgement through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross."

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Ashley Null, The Thirty-Nine Articles and Reformation Anglicanism:
Biblical Authoirity Defined and Applied, Global South Institute, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda, 2005

The Thirty-Nine Articles in modern English