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Holy Trinity Anglican Church

5333 N. Tamiami Trail

Sarasota, FL 34234

(941) 355-7510

5333 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234

(941) 355-7510

Anglican Province

of America

Our Anglican Faith...

Authority, Religion, and Heritage

Authority

Where does Christianity come from? Some say it’s just an idea in the mind or a hope in the heart. For

too many Christians today, it’s a private faith that seems to lack history and substance. But here at

Holy Trinity we profess the orthodox Christian Faith revealed by Jesus Christ to His Apostles. Our faith is

one with a past with witnesses and sources of good authority for 2000 years! We believe that this witness

has been preserved by the record in Holy Scripture and the oral tradition and pious customs of the

historical catholic Church of the West. This doesn’t mean that we have two separate sources of authority,

as if we must choose, but one single deposit of faith expressed in two forms: the written manner of the

Bible and the teachings, devotions, and rituals that both preceded the Bible and grew out of it. As we

believe that this last age of history is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, we affirm that His indwelling of the

Church has illuminated and directed both. As Anglicans, we are equally concerned with what a Christian

does as what he believes. We contend that the fruit of the Spirit is evidenced by the lives and doctrines of

the apostles, fathers, and saints; and we are obliged to imitate their examples if we are to remain true to

the Gospel and the peace, forgiveness, and fellowship that Jesus has brought in His Father’s Kingdom.

Having said that, we believe that from our authority, one source truly stands out. For us, Holy Scripture is

our final and only infallible authority revealed unto us by the inspiration of God. Again, we are not

“Bible only” Christians, but with the ancient fathers and Anglican tradition, we maintain that anything that is

not consistent with Scripture or cannot be proved by Scripture is not within the parameters of orthodoxy.

As were the 39 books of the Old Testament, we believe that the 27 books of the New Testament are the

work of “holy men who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (I Peter 1:21). According to

Anglican tradition, we also accept the books of the so-called Apocrypha as profitable for “example of life

and instruction of morals”; though we do not apply them for the establishment of doctrine.

But who can read the Bible, or even understand it?

Our answer is that how we interpret Scripture is just as important as our appreciation of its authority.

The easiest way to explain is by saying that we believe that the Bible is the Church’s Book and is best

interpreted “in house.” In other words, we concur with St. Peter that Scripture is of no “private

interpretation,” but is best read and the meaning deduced in light of the illumination that the Holy Spirit

has given the catholic Church over the last 2000 years. While we do not discourage the personal study of

the Bible, we believe it is best done together--benefitting from the wisdom of the whole Body of Christ,

both Christian interpreters past and present.

In the end, it is the One to whom we must answer under whose lordship we live. As explained by St. Paul

(Eph. 1:22, 5:23; Col. 1:18), we look to Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church. He is the King that we

serve and the Bridegroom whom we love. However, we do not believe that Christ has left us without the

proper authority for teaching, governance, and discipline. No person posing as a pastor can just claim

to be God’s messenger. So how can anyone be sure that a minister is authentic? As Anglicans, we

affirm with the ancient undivided Church that Jesus has passed His authority and power on to His Apostles

(St. Matt. 16:18-19; St. John 20:22-23), who have in turn passed this supernatural blessing on to Bishops,

Priests, and Deacons of traditional catholic order. We call this belief in the continuance of authority

apostolic succession. In other words, we avow that the Bishops of the Church stand in direct line of

descent from the original Twelve, their Priests and Deacons deriving authority from them. Not that any

Christian Bishop or Priest has any authority of himself, but through the laying on of hands, receives the

Melchizedek priesthood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6 & 7) to be His sacramental minister. By God’s grace

alone, the clergy are Christ to us. This is why we call our clergy “father.” They are spiritual fathers to us

as Jesus and the Apostles were to their disicples/congregations (I Corinthians 4:15).

Of all the Bishops in the Church, four have traditionally stood out because of their see’s direct link to an

apostle, and are known as Patriarchs. Of ancient times, they are that of Jerusalem, Antioch, Byzantium,

and Rome, which is the seat of the Pope. Out of respect for this time-honored recognition, we respect

all four as enjoying a special deference, though not authority. Specifically with regard to the Pope, we

esteem him as the ecumenical head of the catholic Church, although as Anglicans (like the Eastern

Orthodox), we do not accept his claims from Vatican I (1870) as the supreme and infallible Pontiff of the

whole Church. We believe that arguing about “who is the greatest” is counter-productive to the work of

the Gospel.

Religion & Doctrine

At Holy Trinity we also take seriously St. Paul’s exhortation to St. Timothy: “Take heed unto thyself, and to

the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”

Teaching good doctrine is the sure way to accurate knowledge about God, the needy state of the world

and ourselves, the process of redemption in Jesus Christ, and how we should grow in saintliness as His

people. But good doctrine is not found in a vacuum! We don’t believe that Christian doctrine constantly

has to be reinvented, or that any random person can decide of himself what should be believed and

practiced. Truth is what it is and does not change to suit our wishes. Wouldn’t it be great if we knew

where to find the truth? It’s in the family! The Church has been preserving the truth since the beginning,

and is still our best source for what we should believe (doctrine) and how we should exercise our

Christian faith. To help, the Church has been formulating orthodox religion and doctrine from teaching,

prayer, and Scripture to put all the pieces together: to both summzarize what every Christian should

believe, and to work through the mysteries of God’s revelation by articulating it to enlighten us and

confront error. As Anglicans, we maintain that the crystallization of doctrine and religion has been most

enduringly enshrined in the following three sources:

(1) The three ancient Creeds, including the Apostles’, the Nicean, and the Athanasian. Together, we

believe that they best express our understanding of the Person and saving work of Jesus Christ, the

Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit, the nature and relationship of the Holy Trinity, and the end of the

world when Christ shall return to judge the world and call for the Resurrection of the dead.

(2) The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the undivided Church, which from 325 to 787 met and made

binding pronouncements carrying catholic weight still in effect today. These councils were composed

of the best of the Bishops of the Church, contending that Christians believe and observe everywhere

(in their major declarations):

The full divinity and full humanity of Jesus Christ, being the only begotten Son of His

heavenly Father from all eternity, and the Virgin-born son of Blessed Mary possessing a

sinless human nature, not lacking even a human soul.

The identity of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God (Theotokos).

The appropriateness of sacred images and their necessity in worship, devotion, and

in all social and political spheres for the cultivation of Christian culture.

(3) The writings of the Church Fathers from both the Pre- and Post-Constantinian eras, ranging from the

second through eighth centuries. Not that anything written since the eighth century is of no value, but

that these theologians are considered the foundation of orthodox teaching, prayer, and liturgy.

Finally, in addition to the preached Word of God, we believe that God’s grace is especially found (but not

limited to) the Seven Catholic Sacraments, namely: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance,

Marriage, Holy Orders, and Unction (healing of the sick). In other words, we believe that the fulness of

the Gospel is found in both Word and Sacrament. Christ does not simply speak to us through the reading

and teaching of the Bible, but actually reaches out to touch us and abide with us through physical

mediums. If you’ve ever wondered, this is what the Sacraments are. Not legalistic works to merit grace

but means of grace to experience God’s love and salvation first hand.

Heritage

As Anglicans, our heritage of the orthdox Catholic Faith has come through the Church of England, which,

differing from Protestant churches of the Continental Reformation, did not seek to break our link with

catholic orders, doctrine, and sacraments. Perhaps this will help answer the common question: are

Anglicans Reformed or Catholic? The answer is...BOTH! Because we are intentionally catholic in

our faith and practice, we are not Protestant, but our disagreement over papal supremacy prevents

us from communion with Rome. Our Anglican Catholicism comes out of ancient times before such

partisanship was ever an issue. We seek to preserve the best of both the undivided and Western

Medieval Churches, while concurring with our Anglican fathers of the 16th and 17th centuries that

reformation is an ongoing effort in order to yield a more holy, united, and faithful Church that best

conveys the peace and reconciliation of God’s Kingdom offered to a fallen world.

With this in mind, Anglicans do not view designations such as “Catholic,” “Reformed,” or even

“Evangelical” as contradictory terms. All harmonize to describe what the Church should be. We are

catholic in our tradition, reforming in our motivation, and evangelical in our desire to spread the

Gospel. Ultimately, we do not believe we will be judged by names and adjectives, but by our faithfulness

to our covenant in Jesus Christ and performance of His Great Commission to go into all the world.

What does it take to remain faithful? Well, finally, in our desire to remain in accord with our modern

Anglican identity in effect since the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, we as Tradtional Anglicans

preserve the use of such sacred tools that emobody orthodoxy. In 1977, a group of ex-Episcopalians

agreed in document known as the Affirmation of St. Louis what constitutes orthodox Anglicanism. From

that statement, all Traditional Anglicans have determined to keep the traditional expressions of our

worship, prayer, and music found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the 1940 Hymnal. We also

accept the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Elizabethan Compromise (1559-1563) as a useful expression of

the reforming attempts of the English Reformation, provided they are understood in their historical

context. However, since they have never received universal consent among all Christians, the Articles

do not carry the ecumenical gravitas of the Creeds or Councils.