The Sacraments According to the Thirty-Nine Articles

Few topics generated more heat in the sixteenth century than the sacraments. The Thirty-Nine Articles navigate the controversy with considerable theological care, staking out a distinctively Anglican position that affirms the sacraments as real means of grace while rejecting both Roman Catholic sacramentalism and the bare memorialism of some radical Protestants.

Two Sacraments Ordained by Christ

Article XXV defines sacraments as "certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us." Crucially, the Articles recognize only two sacraments ordained by Christ himself in the Gospel: Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. The other five rites claimed as sacraments by Rome — confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction — are not counted as sacraments in the same sense because they were not ordained by Christ with a specific outward sign and promise.

Baptism: New Birth and the Covenant Sign

Article XXVII describes Baptism as "a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed." The Article also affirms infant baptism as consistent with the institution of Christ.

The Lord's Supper: Real Presence Without Transubstantiation

Article XXVIII addresses the Lord's Supper with careful precision. Transubstantiation — the Roman doctrine that the bread and wine become the physical body and blood of Christ — is rejected as contrary to Scripture and giving rise to superstitions. Yet the Article insists that the body of Christ is "given, taken, and eaten" in the Supper, but "only after an heavenly and spiritual manner." The worthy receiver truly feeds on Christ, though the mode is spiritual rather than carnal.

A Via Media on the Sacraments

The Anglican sacramental theology of the Thirty-Nine Articles is genuinely a middle way. It takes the sacraments seriously as means of grace — more than mere symbols — while rejecting the mechanical ex opere operato sacramentalism of Rome. It is a position that has generated continuing debate within Anglicanism, but it reflects the Articles' broader commitment to being grounded in Scripture while honoring the genuine insights of the catholic tradition.