Anglicans and the Reformation

The last Sunday in October is regarded as Reformation Sunday in some churches, and late October is a time when many Christians think about Martin Luther and the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Although Anglicans sometimes have divergent views about the 16th-17th century reforms, there were clearly historical Reformation influences upon the beliefs and practices of the English Church.

In the early years of the Reformation, some English Reformers were influenced by Luther. For example, William Tyndale identified and was martyred as a "Lutheran." His Bible translation, which has influenced subsequent English versions, was guided in many respects by the Luther Bible. Lutheran liturgical reforms influenced the Anglican Daily Office, the Order for Holy Communion, and the Litany. The Anglican Thirty-nine Articles of  Religion were influenced by the Augsburg Confession as well as by some Reformed documents. Furthermore many collects and other prayers were revised or re-written under Reformation influence to emphasize grace and faith and to minimize ideas of human merit. 

As time went on, various continental and native reformers became influential in England, but the English Reformation followed a conservative Reformation model. It emphasized Scripture while affirming the ancient Creeds, preserving liturgical worship, and keeping traditional forms of ministry. The English Church sought to reform while avoiding radical discontinuity with the Christianity that had gone before. It rejected Anabaptist and "Zwinglian" sacramental views as well as papal authority and some medieval doctrines. 

In general terms, the English Church was considered Protestant by observers within and without. Although influenced by European Protestantism, English thinkers such as Jewel, Hooker, and Andrewes began to develop unique English theologies.  Anglicans developed a different ethos and retained more traditional structures than other heritages impacted by the Reformation. While honoring the ancient catholic heritage, Anglicans asserted that the medieval Church needed reforming. They honored certain observations and principles of the Reformation. They placed Scriptural authority first, they emphasized grace and justification by faith, and they saw sanctification as a fruit of grace and faith. Anglicans viewed some Reformation influences as consistent with the best in the catholic or universal Christian heritage of all times and all places.