Fully God and human; Chalcedonian Christology affirmed
Anglican Christology is fully orthodox in the Chalcedonian sense: Jesus Christ is one divine person in two natures, fully divine and fully human, without confusion or separation. The Thirty-Nine Articles (Articles II–IV) confess the eternal Son of God taking human nature from the Virgin Mary, suffering, dying, rising, and ascending. The creeds used in Anglican worship — Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian — all confess the two natures of Christ.
Anglican Christology does not develop distinctive doctrinal innovations beyond the ecumenical councils. The tradition draws richly on patristic Christology (particularly the Alexandrian and Antiochene schools) and the writings of the Church of England's divines. Anglican theology of the Incarnation has been particularly influential in shaping Anglican spirituality and social ethics — the Incarnation grounds both sacramentalism and the Christian's engagement with the material world and human society.
Key Distinctions
- Natures formula:
- two complete natures (divine and human) united in one person (hypostatic union)
- Conciliar affiliation:
- Council of Chalcedon (451) affirmed
Scripture References
Sources
- Thirty-Nine Articles, Articles II–IV (1571)
- Book of Common Prayer, Nicene Creed (1662)
- Council of Chalcedon, Definition of Faith (451)