Salvation

Anglican soteriology is deliberately broad and functions as a via media. The Thirty-Nine Articles (Article XI) affirm that we are 'justified by faith only' in a manner consistent with Reformation Protestantism, and Article XII distinguishes good works — which do not justify but are the 'fruit of faith.' This Protestant emphasis on justification by faith is central to evangelical Anglicanism. At the same time, Anglican sacramental theology holds that Baptism conveys regeneration and that the Eucharist spiritually nourishes the faithful — implying a sacramental dimension to salvation that goes beyond pure sola fide.

Anglo-Catholic Anglicanism emphasizes the necessity of the sacraments and the church as the ordinary means of salvation, drawing on the church fathers and the Catholic tradition. Evangelical Anglicanism emphasizes personal conversion and faith. Broad church Anglicanism focuses on God's inclusive love. The Book of Common Prayer's rites hold these tensions together through liturgical language that can accommodate both Protestant and Catholic readings. The Articles explicitly reject Roman Catholic doctrines of purgatory, indulgences, and merit, while retaining sacramental theology.