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WHEN CHURCHES JOIN - 6. General Documents

Local Ecumenism Information Kit
- Developed by the Local Ecumenism Working Group, NSW Ecumenical Council, October 2000
Phone (02) 9299 2215 for more information.

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Appendix 2. Understanding the Member Churches of the NSW Ecumenical Council

2.1 The Anglican Church of Australia

The Anglican Church of Australia until the 1970s was officially the Church of England in Australia, and some still refer to it as "the English Church". In its origins, and in much of its membership, it is an ethnic church and as such takes its place alongside the many other churches ministering in today's Australia.

In its Constitution. which brought independence from England in 1961, its official understanding of itself is set out in the opening 'Fundamental Declarations'.

1. The Anglican Church of Australia, being a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, holds the Christian Faith as professed by the Church of Christ from primitive times and, in particular, as set forth in the creeds known as the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed.

2. This Church receives all the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as being the ultimate rule and standard of faith given by inspiration of God and containing all things necessary for salvation.

3. This Church will ever obey the commands of Christ, teach His doctrine, administer His sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, follow and uphold His discipline and preserve the three orders of bishops, priests and deacons in the sacred ministry.

The Anglican Church sees itself as a part of the universal church, but it makes no claim to be the whole church. It sees itself not as a 'branch' of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, but rather as an authentic embodiment of that church. The terms 'protestant', 'reformed', 'evangelical' have no formal mention in its formularies, but they do properly qualify its essential catholicity.

In its insistence upon the Reformation emphasis on the centrality of Scripture, Anglicanism does not insist on any particular interpretation. The Bible is to be interpreted within the life of the community of faith. The Holy Spirit continues to work through, and to guide, the Church. The living tradition of faith is taken seriously while always being subject to the criticism and testing of Scripture.

Anglicanism sees a constant interaction between the received faith and developing human life and thought and reason. Doing theology and facing change are done through open and free discussion. This can give the appearance of a lack of authority and order in the church, but the Anglican Church believes that the whole people of God is involved in the process of decision-making, and that authority is not exercised by anyone organ of the church alone, but is dispensed through various interacting organs. Anglicanism believes that the truth will in the end win through even though the result of free discussion may be some untidiness and some uncertainty for a time.

The Anglican Church is a liturgical church. It sees sound liturgy as the prime vehicle not only for good God-centred corporate worship, but also for the preservation and transmission of the tradition of faith. Anglicans learn their faith much more from their participation in liturgical worship than they do from any other source.

Its inheritance from a national church has ensured that the Anglican Church of Australia has a concern for the whole of life. It cannot, therefore, be simply other-worldly and spiritual, or concerned only with individual faith. It must apply the values of the kingdom of God to the total life of the community.

Anglicanism is often described as comprehensive, a 'via media'. This reflects its diversity in both worship and lifestyle. To outsiders, this appears as weakness, but from within it allows the prophetic, the reforming, the critical voice to be openly heard however uncomfortable it may be.

The diversity and the paradoxical nature of the biblical revelation itself is reflected in the diversity and paradoxical nature of some aspects of the church's faith. Anglicanism bears powerful witness to this principle which reflects both the inadequacy of human language to contain the full truth and also the ultimate mystery of God, which transcends full description and understanding.

Finally, Anglicanism has confidence in its own identity and yet a modesty about its place within God's wider purposes; and with this, Anglicans recognise that it may well be God's purpose that they will cease to be a separate entity one day.

In Australia, the Anglican Church has been a founding member of all ecumenical bodies, including the NSW Ecumenical Council, where membership is through each of the seven dioceses in NSW/ACT.