The History of the Thirty-Nine Articles: England's Reformation Confession

The Thirty-Nine Articles did not appear fully formed. They were hammered out over decades of theological controversy, political upheaval, and royal intrigue. Understanding their history means understanding the English Reformation itself.

The Break with Rome

When Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 1530s over his desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he created a theological vacuum. The Church of England was now independent, but what did it actually believe? Early attempts to define English doctrine, such as the Ten Articles of 1536 and the Six Articles of 1539, reflected the tensions between those who wanted a fully Protestant church and those who preferred a Catholic faith without the Pope.

Cranmer and the Protestant Turn

Under the young King Edward VI, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer moved the Church of England decisively in a Protestant direction. The Forty-Two Articles of 1553 were Cranmer's most comprehensive attempt to define Anglican doctrine along Reformed Protestant lines. But Edward died before they could be widely enforced, and the Catholic Queen Mary reversed course entirely, burning Cranmer at the stake along with nearly three hundred other Protestants.

Elizabeth I and the Final Settlement

When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, she sought a religious settlement broad enough to hold England together. Her Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, revised Cranmer's Forty-Two Articles, reducing them to thirty-nine and moderating some of the more aggressively Calvinist language. The Thirty-Nine Articles were adopted by Convocation in 1563 and given parliamentary authority in 1571.

A Confession That Endured

Unlike many Reformation confessions that were tied to a single city or prince, the Thirty-Nine Articles became the confession of an entire nation and, eventually, a global communion. Their durability lies partly in their breadth — they are Protestant and Reformed in doctrine but flexible enough to accommodate a range of theological emphases that became the distinctive genius of Anglicanism.

Today the Articles are subscribed to by clergy across the Anglican Communion from England to Nigeria, from Australia to Canada. Their history is a testament to the power of carefully crafted theological language to outlast the controversies that produced it.