ARTICLES, The of the Church of England, a term applied to a body of divinity, chiefly founded on the formulary of Forty-Two Articles compiled by Archbishop Cranmer in 1551, in obedience to the command of Edward VI and the privy council, who in structed him to "frame a book of articles of re ligion, for the preserving and maintaining peace and unity of doctrine in this Church, that, be ing finished, they might be set forth by public authority)) Several • of these articles (the 1st, 2d, 25th and 31st) were drawn directly from the Augsburg Confession, and the 9th and 16th are traceable to the same source. During the reign of Mary the Articles were suppressed, but the accession of Elizabeth offered an oppor tunity of drawing up a fresh formulary. In 1562-63 a convocation was held, in the course of whose sitting King Edward's Articles were carefully considered and revised. As the result of this revision (mainly the work of Arch bishop Parker, assisted by Bishops Grindal, Horn and Fox) four of the original 42 articles were omitted, namely, the 10th, 16th, 19th and 41st, and articles 5th, 12th, 29th and 30th were newly introduced; 17 other articles were more or less modified. On a further revision articles 39th, 40th and 42d were struck out, and some slight changes made in several others. These 39 articles were drawn up and ratified in Latin, but when printed both in Latin and English the 29th was omitted and the first clause of the 20th struck out. The 39th was, however, restored on a final revision by Parker in 1571, and then imposed on the clergy for subscription. They were ratified anew in 1604 and 1628. All can didates for ordination must subscribe these articles, but subscription is no longer necessary on matriculating or taking a degree at Oxford or Cambridge. This formulary is now accepted by the Episcopalian Churches of Scotland, Ira land and America.
The first five articles contain a profession of faith in the Trinity, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his descent to hell, and his resurrection, and the divinity of the Holy Ghost. The three following relate to the canon of the Scripture. The 8th article declares a belief in the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creeds. The 9th and following articles contain the doctrine of orig inal sin, of justification by faith alone, of pre destination, etc. The 19th, 20th and 21st de clare the Church to be the assembly of the faithful, and that it can decide nothing except by the Scriptures. The 22d rejects the doctrine of purgatory, indulgences, the adoration of images and the invocation of saints. The 23d decides that only those lawfully called shall preach or administer the sacraments. The 24th requires the liturgy to he in English. The 25th and 26th declare the sacraments effectual signs of grace (though administered by evil men), by which God excites and confirms our faith. They are two: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism, according to the 27th article, is a sign of regeneration, the seal of our adop tion, by which faith is confirmed and grace increased. In the Lord's Supper, according to article 28th, the bread is the communion of the body of Christ, the wine the communion of his blood, but only through faith (article 29) ; and the communion must be administered in both kinds (article 30). The 28th article con demns the doctrine of transubstantiation, and the elevation and adoration of the Host; the 31st rejects the sacrifice of the mass as blas phemous; the 32d permits the marriage of the clergy; the 33d maintains the efficacy of ex communication. The remaining articles relate to the supremacy of the king, the condemna tion of Anabaptists, etc.