Editing Thirty-nine Articles (section)

== Interpretation ==
According to theologian [[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Henry Chadwick]], the articles are a revealing window into the ethos and character of Anglicanism, in particular in the way the document works to navigate a ''[[via media]]'' (Latin:  middle path or middle way) between the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church on the one hand, and those of the Lutheran and Reformed churches on the other hand, thus giving the Church of England a unique middle-of-the-road position. The ''via media'' was expressed so adroitly in the Articles that some Anglican scholars have labelled their content as an early example of the idea that the doctrine of Anglicanism is one of "Reformed Catholicism".{{sfn|Chadwick|1988|p=}}

In 1628 [[Charles I of England|Charles&nbsp;I]] prefixed a royal declaration to the articles, which demands a literal interpretation of them, threatening discipline for academics or churchmen teaching any personal interpretations or encouraging debate about them. It states: "no man hereafter shall either print or preach, to draw the Article aside any way, but shall submit to it in the plain and Full meaning thereof: and shall not put his own sense or comment to be the meaning of the Article, but shall take it in the literal and grammatical sense."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The King's Declaration Prefixed to the Articles of Religion (Nov. 1628) |url=https://history.hanover.edu/texts/engref/er91.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428232645/https://history.hanover.edu/texts/engref/er91.html |archive-date=2022-04-28 |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=history.hanover.edu}}</ref>

However, what the Articles truly mean has been a matter of debate in the Church since before they were issued. The [[Evangelical Anglicanism|evangelical wing]] of the Church has claimed to take the Articles at face value, and to regard them as of utmost importance. In 2003, evangelical Anglican clergyman Chris Pierce wrote:

{{blockquote|The Thirty-Nine Articles define the biblically derived summations of precise Christian doctrine. The Thirty-Nine Articles are more than minimally assented to; they are believed wholeheartedly. In earlier times English and Irish evangelicals would have read Cranmer, [[Nicholas Ridley (martyr)|Ridley]], [[Hugh Latimer|Latimer]], [[James Ussher|Ussher]], and [[J. C. Ryle|Ryle]] and would unreservedly agree with Dean Litton's assessment that (quoted by Dean Paul Zahl, in his work 'The Protestant Face of Anglicanism'), 'The Anglican Church, if she is to be judged by the statements of the Articles, must be ranked among the Protestant Churches of Europe.'{{sfn|Pierce|2003}} }}

This view has never been held by the whole church.{{cn|date=February 2023}} In 1643, [[Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)|Archbishop of Armagh]] [[John Bramhall]] laid out a broader view of the Articles:

{{blockquote|Some of them are the very same that are contained in the Creed; some others of them are practical truths, which come not within the proper list of points or articles to be believed; lastly, some of them are pious opinions or inferior truths, which are proposed by the Church of England to all her sons, as not to be opposed; not as essentials of Faith necessary to be believed by all Christians ''necessitate medii,'' under pain of damnation.{{sfn|Bramhall|1842|p=355}} }}

This divergence of opinion became overt during the [[Oxford Movement]] of the 19th century. The stipulations of Articles XXV and XXVIII were regularly invoked by evangelicals to oppose the reintroduction of certain beliefs, customs, and acts of piety with respect to the sacraments. In response, [[John Henry Newman]]'s [[Tract 90]] attempted to show that the 39 Articles could be read according to an [[Anglo-Catholic]] interpretation.{{sfn|Newman|1841|p=}}