![All Souls Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/All_Souls_Church.jpg)
Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or
church party within
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
that shares affinity with broader
evangelicalism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, activism, biblicism and crucicentrism" identified by historian
David Bebbington as central to evangelical identity. The emergence of evangelical churchmanship can be traced back to the
First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
in America and the Evangelical Revival in Britain in the 18th century. In the 20th century, prominent figures have included
John Stott
John Robert Walmsley Stott (27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011) was an English Anglican cleric and theologian who was noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He was one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974. In ...
and
J. I. Packer.
In contrast to the
high-church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originat ...
party, evangelicals emphasize
experiential religion of the heart over the importance of
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
forms. As a result, evangelicals are often described as being
low church, but these terms are not always interchangeable because ''low church'' can also describe individuals or groups that are not evangelical.
Description
In contrast to
Anglo-Catholics,
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
Anglicans stress the
Reformed,
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
nature of
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. Historically, evangelicals have come from both moderate
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
as well as
Arminian
Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...
backgrounds.
According to
J. I. Packer
James Innell Packer (22 July 192617 July 2020) was an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric and writer in the low-church Anglican and Calvinist traditions. He was considered one of the most influential evangelicals in North Amer ...
, evangelicals stress the
supremacy of scripture; the majesty of Jesus Christ; the lordship of the Holy Spirit; the necessity of
conversion
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
(either instantaneous or gradual) and a
new birth
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...
; the priority of
evangelism
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
and the importance of
fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
.
[Packer, J I, The Evangelical Identity Problem, Latimer Study 1, 1978, Latimer House; page 20] The historian Gillis Harp adds that the
substitutionary atonement
Substitutionary atonement, also called vicarious atonement, is a central concept within Christian theology which asserts that Jesus died "for us", as propagated by the Western classic and objective paradigms of atonement in Christianity, which ...
of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
is the focus of their preaching. Harp also claims that Evangelicals stress the need for a
conversion experience, however Packer specifically denies that this is the case.
Evangelical Anglicans have been particularly fierce critics of
ritualism
Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion.
In the Church of England, Anglican church in the 19th century, the rol ...
and
sacerdotalism Sacerdotalism (from Latin ''sacerdos'', priest, literally one who presents sacred offerings, ''sacer'', sacred, and ''dare'', to give) is the belief in some Christian churches that priests are meant to be mediators between God and humankind. The und ...
.
With respect to
baptismal regeneration
Baptismal regeneration is the name given to doctrines held by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican churches, and other Protestant denominations which maintain that salvation is intimately linked to the act of baptis ...
, evangelicals hold baptism to be "part of a process of regeneration, a step before eventual 'rebirth'."
[: "When the infant grew to adulthood and experienced spiritual regeneration, then baptismal regeneration would be made effective."] Evangelical Anglicans hold a
Reformed view of baptism understood in light of
covenant theology
Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organ ...
in which baptism seals or pledges the blessings of the
New Covenant
The New Covenant (Hebrew '; Greek ''diatheke kaine'') is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:31-34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the C ...
to the individual Christian. However,
regeneration
Regeneration may refer to:
Science and technology
* Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs
* Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis
...
is not simultaneous with baptism. In the case of
infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
, the
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
"signifies and seals to them graces which they still need to receive later by faith."
Evangelicals maintain a
Reformed view of Holy Communion, believing that
Christ is spiritually present in the Eucharist, rather than corporeally present.
[: "For example, many evangelical Anglicans acknowledge the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist."][: "Bishop Ryle was clear that there is 'a spiritual presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper to every faithful communicant, but no local corporal presence in the bread and wine to any communicant'. This, he went on to assert, 'is evidently the uniform doctrine of the Church of England'. Ryle was quite specific as to the meaning of 'a spiritual presence'. He spelt it out as follows: 'But we by the real spiritual presence of Christ do understand Christ to be present, as the Spirit of God is present, in the hearts of the faithful by blessing and grace; and this is all which we mean'".] According to this view, known as
receptionism
Receptionism is a form of Anglican eucharistic theology which teaches that during the Eucharist the bread and wine remain unchanged after the consecration, but when communicants receive the bread and wine, they also receive the body and blood o ...
, the
body
Body may refer to:
In science
* Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space
* Body (biology), the physical material of an organism
* Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...
and
blood of Christ
Blood of Christ, also known as the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Christian theology refers to (a) the physical blood actually shed by Jesus Christ primarily on the Cross, and the salvation which Christianity teaches was accomp ...
are received spiritually by
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
.
By region
Church of England
19th century
Evangelicalism emerged from the religious revivals of the 18th century. While previous movements in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
had revolved around issues of church order and authority, evangelicals stressed lifestyle, doctrine and conduct. Evangelicals emphasized domestic religion, especially family prayer. Evangelical concern for the moral reform of society manifested itself in large scale support for
missions,
schools
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
, charitable societies for the poor, and the formation of the
Society for the Suppression of Vice
The Society for the Suppression of Vice, formerly the Proclamation Society Against Vice and Immorality, or simply Proclamation Society, was a 19th-century English society dedicated to promoting public morality. It was established in 1802, based o ...
. It was also demonstrated by political campaigns in the
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
, the most important being the movement to
abolish slavery led by
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
. Wilberforce was a prominent figure in a network of evangelical social reformers nicknamed the
Clapham Sect
The Clapham Sect, or Clapham Saints, were a group of social reformers associated with Clapham in the period from the 1780s to the 1840s. Despite the label "sect", most members remained in the established (and dominant) Church of England, which ...
.
Charles Simeon
Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric.
Life and career
He was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and baptised at St Laurence's parish church on 24 October of that year. He was the ...
was the most influential leader of evangelical Anglicanism. He established the
Simeon Trust
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meaning
The name is derived from Simeon, son ...
, a fund that became a major source of evangelical
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
. By the time of his death, the Trust controlled the
livings of 42 churches, including
Bath Abbey
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th ...
. He also helped to found the
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
in 1799, which was meant to be an evangelical alternative to the high-church
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...
. The society sponsored mission work in India, Africa, and Australia. In 1804, the
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world.
The Soc ...
was founded to provide Bibles in different languages to accompany the missionary work, though in 1831 there was a schism which led to the founding of the
Trinitarian Bible Society
The Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831 "to promote the Glory of God and the salvation of men by circulating, both at home and abroad, in dependence on the Divine blessing, the Holy Scriptures, which are given by inspiration of God and ...
.
Nineteenth-century evangelicals were fascinated with
biblical prophecy
Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that are claimed to reflect communications from God to humans through prophets. Jews and Christians usually consider the biblical prophets to have received revelations from G ...
as it related to future events, and some also promoted
Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 were in accordance with Bible prophecy. The term began to be used in the mid-20th century i ...
, the belief in the restoration of the
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
to Palestine. The London Society for Promotion of Christianity Amongst the Jews (now the
Church's Ministry Among Jewish People
The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) (formerly the London Jews' Society and the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews) is an Anglican missionary society founded in 1809.
History
The society began in the early 19th ...
) was created in 1809. In the 1830s, the
7th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 – 1 October 1885), styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was a British Tory politician, philanthropist, and social reformer. He was the eldest son of The 6th Earl of Shaftesbury ...
, a leading evangelical, helped persuade
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to sponsor Jewish settlement. In 1841,
Edward Bickersteth published ''The Restoration of the Jews to Their Own Land and the Final Blessedness of the Earth''.
The first evangelical bishop,
Henry Ryder
Henry Dudley Ryder (21 July 1777 – 31 March 1836) was a prominent English evangelical Anglican bishop in the early years of the nineteenth century. He was the first evangelical to be raised to the Anglican episcopate.
Life
Ryder was the ...
, was appointed to
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
in 1815 by the
Earl of Liverpool
Earl of Liverpool is a title that has been created twice in British history. The first time was in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1796 for Charles Jenkinson, 1st Baron Hawkesbury, a favourite of King George III (see Jenkinson baronets for e ...
after initial objections that he was a "religious bishop". The second evangelical bishop,
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
,
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
, was not appointed until 1826, over 10 years later. His brother
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
later became
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...
and then
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
in 1848. The number of evangelical bishops grew afterwards, especially during Lord Palmerston's time as prime minister since he relied on Shaftesbury's advice when making appointments. In the latter half of the 19th century, the leading evangelical was
J. C. Ryle
John Charles Ryle (10 May 1816 – 10 June 1900) was an English evangelical Anglican bishop. He was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool.
Life
He was the eldest son of John Ryle, private banker, of Park House, Macclesfield, M.P. for Maccles ...
, first
Bishop of Liverpool
The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. .
The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...
. Ryle helped to found evangelical theological institutions such as
Wycliffe Hall
Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, Oxfo ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and
Ridley Hall
Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and membe ...
as alternatives to the diocesan-run colleges, which by this time were dominated by the ritualists.
Evangelical insistence on the necessity of conversion provoked controversy within the Church of England over the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. Evangelicals rejected this doctrine, a position summarized by the Bishop of Winchester, who wrote, "I must look, notwithstanding his baptism, for the Scriptural evidence of his being a child of God." The controversy came to a head in the late 1840s in what became known as the Gorham Judgment. In 1847,
Henry Phillpotts
Henry Phillpotts (6 May 177818 September 1869), often called "Henry of Exeter", was the Anglican Bishop of Exeter from 1830 to 1869. One of England's longest serving bishops since the 14th century, Phillpotts was a striking figure of the 19th- ...
,
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell. , refused to induct
George Cornelius Gorham
George Cornelius Gorham (1787–1857) was a vicar in the Church of England. His legal recourse to being denied a certain post, subsequently taken to a secular court, caused great controversy.
Early life
George Cornelius Gorham was born on 21 Aug ...
as
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of a parish in Devon on the grounds that Gorham did not believe in baptismal regeneration. Gorham appealed the case all the way to the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
, which in 1850 ruled in Gorham's favour.
In 1844, a number of congregations separated from the Church of England. They formed the
Free Church of England
The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century.
The doctrinal basis of the F ...
, a Protestant and reformed body, as a reaction to the ritualist movement.
20th century
From the 1870s into the early 20th century, evangelicals came to feel increasingly marginalized as ritualism became more commonplace within the Church of England. As evangelicalism continued to lose ground to the high-church party, a split became apparent between
conservative evangelicals and liberal evangelicals. Liberal evangelicals led by
Vernon Storr
Vernon Faithfull Storr (4 December 1869 – 25 October 1940) was an Anglican priest, most notably Archdeacon of Westminster from 1931 to 1936.
Early life and education
The son of Edward Storr (1840–1878), Indian Civil Service (a descendant of ...
coalesced into the Anglican Evangelical Group Movement. Their position was outlined in the 1923 collection of essays ''Liberal Evangelicalism'', which argued that evangelicalism had been discredited and needed to move away from strict notions of penal substitutionary atonement and scriptural infallibility. Conservatives accused liberal evangelicals of being no different from the older
broad church liberals that evangelicals had always opposed.
In 1922, disaffected evangelicals left the Church Missionary Society over moves to broaden the society's theological boundaries and established the Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society (now known as
Crosslinks
Crosslinks is an evangelical Anglican missionary society, drawing its support mainly from parishes in the Church of England and Church of Ireland. It was known as the Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society (BCMS) until 1992. The BCMS was created as ...
). Soon, there were BCMS missionaries in Africa, Burma, and among the
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
. In 1925, what would become
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in Bristol was established by the BCMS to train missionaries. Trinity, then known as Tyndale Hall, would maintain a conservative position, while other evangelical colleges like Ridley Hall would go in a more theologically open direction. The two later merged to form the present college.
The failure of the
1928 proposed Book of Common Prayer to be approved by Parliament was seen as a victory for evangelicals, though this was overturned when the
ASB, and its successor
Common Worship
''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Movemen ...
, were approved in the latter part of the twentieth century.
Beginning in the 1960s, evangelicals began to emerge from isolation. In response to
Congregationalist minister
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister and medical doctor who was influential in the Calvinist wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster ...
' call for the formation of a pan-evangelical denomination,
John Stott
John Robert Walmsley Stott (27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011) was an English Anglican cleric and theologian who was noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He was one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974. In ...
of
All Souls, Langham Place
All Souls Church is a Conservative evangelicalism in the United Kingdom, conservative evangelical Anglican Church, Anglican church in central London, situated in Langham Place, London, Langham Place in Marylebone, at the north end of Regent Street ...
founded the
Church of England Evangelical Council
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) is an association of evangelical Anglican members of the Church of England. It self-describes as the collective voice of all evangelicals within the Church of England, and states its aim "to promote ...
in 1960 to act as a collective voice of all evangelicals within the Church, and delivered a strong assertion of Anglican identity at the
National Evangelical Anglican Congress
The National Evangelical Anglican Congress (NEAC) is an infrequent conference for evangelical Anglicans in the Anglican Communion. All congresses to date have been held in England, but have attracted delegates from other countries. They have been n ...
in 1967. This produced a greater willingness to remain within the Church of England and to change it from within. Influential organisations include the
Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
network and the Proclamation Trust, which have worked to oppose
women's ordination
The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...
and
permissive attitudes toward homosexuality in the Church of England. ''
Churchman'', published by the
Church Society
Church Society is a conservative, evangelical Anglican organisation and registered charity formed in 1950 by the merger of the Anglican Church Association (founded 1865) and National Church League (founded 1906 by amalgamation of two earlier bodie ...
, is an important journal for conservative evangelicals. The think tank
Fulcrum
A fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots.
Fulcrum may also refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank
* Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry
* Fulcrum Wheels, a bicy ...
and the journal ''Anvil'' represent the
open evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both individuals and institutions.
Uses
Open ...
perspective.
21st century
As other church parties experienced decline in the 21st century, evangelicalism has seen a rise in influence and popularity within the Church of England. According to Peter Brierley, a researcher on church statistics, 40 per cent of Anglicans attended evangelical parishes.
As of 2016, 70 percent of
ordinand
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vario ...
s were reported to be evangelical, and 18 out of 42 dioceses had evangelical bishops.
Justin Welby
Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
since 2013, is an evangelical with connections to
Holy Trinity Brompton
Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's, Onslow Square and St Augustine's, South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (former ...
in London. Evangelical growth in recent years has been aided by
church planting
Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...
and urban evangelisation. However, some liberals within the church have criticized the growing influence of evangelicalism as a threat to the inclusive,
broad church values of the Church of England.
In December 2014, it was announced that the suffragan
see of Maidstone would be filled again in order to provide
alternative episcopal oversight
A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...
for particular members of the Church of England who take the conservative evangelical view on
male headship and object to the
ordination of female bishops. On September 23, 2015,
Rod Thomas
Rod Thomas (born 11 January 1947) is a Welsh former professional footballer who represented Wales at International level.
During his career Thomas played for Gloucester City, Swindon Town, Derby County, Cardiff City, Gloucester for a second ...
was consecrated Bishop of Maidstone.
Episcopal Church in the United States
19th century
![Old St Pauls - 225 South 3rd St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Old_St_Pauls_-_225_South_3rd_St.JPG)
In the 19th century, the newly organized
Episcopal Church was divided between two competing church parties, the high-church party led by
John Henry Hobart
John Henry Hobart (September 14, 1775 – September 12, 1830) was the third Episcopal bishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate New York, as well as founded both the General Th ...
and the evangelical party (also simply called the low-church party). The evangelical party was influenced by their counterparts in England and included
Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
s who chose to remain in the Episcopal Church rather than joining the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
.
[: "... most Wesleyans became members of the Methodist Church, but some remained within the Episcopal Church to form an influential group, the Evangelicals or the low-church party."] Evangelical Anglicans, however, did not share the strong "sacramental emphasis" of the Methodists, who were also evangelicals.
[: "Evangelical Anglicans in the main did not follow the sacramental emphasis of the Wesleys but tended to be Cranmerian in their eucharistic theology...They were also content with the 1662 rite as agreeable to Christ's institution, understanding consecration as the setting aside of the elements for holy use."]
Like evangelicals in other Protestant denominations, they stressed the need for a conversion experience and participated in the
revivalism
Revivalism may refer to:
* Christian revival, increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect
* Revivalism (architecture), the use of visual styles that consciously ...
of the
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
, holding
revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come ...
s and
prayer meeting
A prayer meeting is a group of lay people getting together for the purpose of prayer as a group. Prayer meetings are typically conducted outside regular services by one or more members of the clergy or other forms of religious leadership, but the ...
s. They also tended to disapprove of social amusements such as dancing, card-playing, and the theatre.
While the high-church party disapproved of participation in inter-denominational voluntary societies, evangelical Episcopalians strongly supported them. Leaders such as
Alexander Viets Griswold
Alexander Viets Griswold (April 22, 1766 – February 15, 1843) was the 5th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States from 1836 until 1843. He was also the Bishop of the Eastern Diocese, which included all of New Englan ...
,
William Meade
William Meade (November 11, 1789March 14, 1862) was an American Episcopal bishop, the third Bishop of Virginia.
Early life
His father, Colonel Richard Kidder Meade (1746–1805), one of George Washington's aides during the War of Independence, ...
,
James Milnor
James Milnor (June 20, 1773 Philadelphia – April 8, 1845 Manhattan, New York) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania for two years (1811–1813), a lawyer for 16 years (1794 to 1810), and an Episcopal priest for ye ...
,
Stephen Tyng and
Charles McIlvaine participated in societies such as the
American Bible Society
American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...
, the
American Tract Society
The American Tract Society (ATS) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian but evangelical organization founded on May 11, 1825, in New York City for the purpose of publishing and disseminating tracts of Christian literature. ATS traces its lineage back thro ...
, the
American Sunday School Union
InFaith has its roots in the First Day Society (founded 1790). InFaith officially formed in 1817 as the “Sunday and Adult School Union.” In 1824, the organization changed its name to American Sunday School Union (ASSU). Then, in 1974, the ASSU ...
, the
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
, the
American Temperance Society
The American Temperance Society (ATS), also known as the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance, was a society established on February 13, 1826, in Boston, Massachusetts. Within five years there were 2,220 local chapters in the U.S. wit ...
and the
American Seaman Friends Society. According to church historian William Manross, evangelicals often preached to the "outcast and the underprivileged", which made them more aware of social problems and, therefore, more enthusiastic supporters of efforts to reform
antebellum America.
Participation in voluntary societies reflected evangelical Episcopalians' beliefs that every Christian had a responsibility to spread
the gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...
and
righteousness
Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with "rightness" or being "upright". It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theologi ...
in preparation for the
millennial reign of Christ on earth. Like their English counterparts, millennial expectation fuelled an interest in biblical prophecy among evangelical Episcopalians. Bishop
John P. K. Henshaw
John Prentiss Kewley Henshaw (June 13, 1792 – July 20, 1852) was the fourth Bishop of Rhode Island in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first to hold that position alone.
Early life
Henshaw was born in Middletown, ...
, Benjamin Allen (
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Old St. Paul's in Philadelphia) and other Episcopal ministers published books or magazines dedicated to millennialism.
By 1844, two-thirds of Episcopal clergy were evangelical. Nevertheless, the growing influence of the Anglo-Catholic
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
on Episcopal Church leaders worried evangelicals. They experienced a loss of confidence in the church's institutions after 1844 when the church's
General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...
refused to label the Oxford Movement a
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
. Their own attempts to stem the tide through
heresy trials ultimately failed as well. In response, evangelicals chose to form their own distinctly evangelical Episcopal voluntary societies to promote education and evangelism, such as the Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge (which later merged with what is now known as the Episcopal Evangelism Society) and the American Church Missionary Society (which was modelled on the English society).
After the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, the breach between evangelicals and high churchmen had deepened. While an older generation of evangelical leaders, such as McIlvaine, tried to preserve evangelical loyalty to the Episcopal Church, a younger generation was calling for schism and the creation of a distinctly evangelical church. In 1874, some of these evangelicals led by
George David Cummins
George David Cummins (December 11, 1822 – June 26, 1876) was an American Anglican Bishop and founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church.
Life and career
He was born in Delaware on December 11, 1822. Cummins graduated from Dickinson College, ...
and
Charles E. Cheney
Charles Edward Cheney (February 12, 1836 – November 15, 1916) was an American clergyman and second bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church.
Life
Charles E. Cheney was born in Canandaigua, New York on February 12, 1836. A graduate of Hobart ...
organized the
Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The REC is a founding member of ...
.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the old evangelical party would evolve into broad church liberalism. Broad church Episcopalians sought to promote theological openness and tolerance, as well as
social ministry and
higher criticism
Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...
of the Bible. Bishop
Thomas M. Clark is an example of a leading 19th-century evangelical who had become a broad churchman by the time of his death in 1903. However, it was younger evangelicals, those from evangelical families or who had been educated in evangelical Episcopal seminaries, who were most susceptible to liberalism. This was the case of leading broad churchman Bishop
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835January 23, 1893) was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston's Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. He wrote the lyrics of the Christmas hymn, "O Little Town of ...
, who was educated at the evangelical
Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...
. Broad churchmen like Brooks preserved the old evangelical emphases on liturgical and ecumenical liberty and personal religious experience, but they rejected the core teachings of evangelical theology.
20th century
The
Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and 1930s had less of an impact on the Episcopal Church than in other Protestant denominations. Nevertheless, it did lead to a reconfiguration of Episcopal church parties. Broad churchmen with more evangelical leanings, such as
Walter Russell Bowie
Walter Russell Bowie (October 8, 1882 – April 23, 1969), was a priest, author, editor, educator, hymn writer, and lecturer in the Episcopal Church.
Early and Family Life
Walter Russell Bowie was born in Richmond, Virginia, actually the fourth ...
and Bishop
Edward L. Parsons began to identify as liberal evangelicals. These liberal evangelicals sought to embrace modern science while also having a personal relationship with God. Liberal evangelicals also advocated for closer ecumenical relationships and union with other Protestant churches.
Liberal evangelicals in the United States were influenced by liberal evangelicals in the Church of England. The difference between the American and English movements was that in the Episcopal Church the liberal evangelicals were the only evangelicals, whereas in England the liberals were countered by the conservative evangelicals.
By mid-century, there was no living memory of the 19th-century evangelicals, and Episcopalians were "reluctant" to acknowledge that they had ever existed. Beginning in the 1960s, however, conservative evangelicalism would re-emerge as an important force within the Episcopal Church. The evangelical revival in the Episcopal Church was part of a larger postwar evangelical resurgence known in North America as
neo-evangelicalism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
, and it was promoted and supported by Anglicans from England, where evangelical Anglicanism had remained a vibrant tradition throughout the 20th century. The most influential voice from England was John Stott.
The new evangelicals would provide the strongest opposition to the liberal trajectory of the Episcopal Church, especially regarding progressive views on homosexuality. In the late 1980s, evangelicals began to form organizations aimed at promoting and defending their understanding of Anglican orthodoxy and changing liberal church policies. In 1996,
Alden Hathaway, the
Bishop of Pittsburgh, founded the
American Anglican Council to represent evangelicals at the national level. Unable to alter the liberal program of the Episcopal Church, evangelical Episcopalians and their Anglo-Catholic allies looked to Anglican churches in the
Global South
The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
for help in a process called
Anglican realignment
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
.
Anglican Church of Australia
In the
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...
, Calvinist evangelicalism is the dominant theological orientation of these dioceses:
*
Anglican Diocese of Sydney
The Diocese of Sydney is a diocese in Sydney, within the Province of New South Wales of the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is evangelical and low church in tradition.
The diocese goes as far as Lithgow in the wes ...
*
Anglican Diocese of Tasmania
The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania includes the entire Tasmanian archipelago and is an extraprovincial diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia.
The cathedral church of the diocese is St David's Cathedral in Hobart. The twelfth Bishop of ...
*
Anglican Diocese of North West Australia
The Anglican Diocese of North West Australia (known as the Anglican Diocese of Northern Australia until 1961) is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, founded in 1910. It is situated in the northern part of the state of Western Austral ...
*
Anglican Diocese of Armidale
The Anglican Diocese of Armidale is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia located in the state of New South Wales. As the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale, it was created (from the Diocese of Newcastle) by letters patent in 1863. When th ...
Additionally, the following non-evangelical dioceses have evangelical bishops:
*
Anglican Diocese of Bathurst
The Anglican Diocese of Bathurst is located in the Province of New South Wales. It includes the cities of Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo. The Bishop is the Right Reverend Mark Calder, installed on 23 November 2019.
Ministry
The diocese has 32 ...
(Mark Calder)
*
Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn
The Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese has 60 parishes covering most of south-east New South Wales, the eastern Riverina and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It st ...
(Stuart Robinson, Mark Short)
*
Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory
The Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory covers Australia's Northern Territory and is part of the Province of Queensland in the Anglican Church of Australia.
The first Bishop of the Northern Territory was consecrated in 1968. The cathed ...
(Greg Anderson)
*
Anglican Diocese of Bendigo
The Anglican Diocese of Bendigo is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It is situated in the Bendigo region of the state of Victoria, Australia. Its geographic remit extends from that part of Victoria that lies north of the Great ...
(Matthew Brain)
*
Anglican Diocese of Rockhampton
The Diocese of Rockhampton (also known as Anglican Church Central Queensland) is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, founded in 1892. It is situated in the central part of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Provi ...
(Peter Grice)
Two of Australia's largest theological colleges are Anglican and Evangelical:
Moore Theological College
Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...
in Sydney and
Ridley College
Ridley College (also known as RC, Ridley) is a private boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) from Niagara Falls. The school confers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma ...
in Melbourne.
Africa
In Africa, evangelicalism is the primary theological orientation of the
Church of Uganda
The Church of Uganda is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently there are 37 dioceses which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop.
Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest known a ...
, and it is low church in liturgical style. This is due largely to the fact that in much of East Africa Anglicanism was introduced by the evangelical Church Missionary Society. The evangelical character of the Anglican church in Uganda, as well as in the
Anglican Church of Rwanda
The Anglican Church of Rwanda (French: ''Église anglicane du Rwanda'') is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 11 dioceses in Rwanda. The primate of the province is Laurent Mbanda, consecrated on 10 June 2018.
Official names
The Provi ...
, was strengthened by the
East African Revival
The East African Revival ( lg, Okulokoka) was a movement of renewal in the Church in East Africa during the late 1920s and 1930s. It began on a hill called Gahini in then Belgian Ruanda-Urundi in 1929, then spreading to the eastern mountains of ...
of the 1930s and 1940s.
The growth of
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement in Africa has pushed the church in a more
charismatic
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
direction. It is not unusual for church services to feature spontaneous prayer, greater leadership from
lay people, and
praise and worship music.
See also
*
Anglican Church in North America
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
*
Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a global network of conservative Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Conservative ...
*
GAFCON
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a global network of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion. ...
*
Ridley Theological College
*
*
Conservative Evangelicalism in the United Kingdom
''Conservative evangelicalism'' is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe a theological movement found within evangelical Protestantism and is sometimes simply synonymous with ''evangelical'' within the United Kingdom. The term is used more ...
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
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{{Portal bar, Christianity, Calvinism, Evangelical Christianity
Anglican Churchmanship
Christian theological movements