The Lambeth Articles of 1595 were a series of nine doctrinal statements intended to be an appendix to the

Thirty-nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

. In response to a controversy over the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

doctrine of

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby ...

, the Lambeth Articles were created to clarify the church's official teaching. Because Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

refused to authorise the articles, they never went into effect in England. However, they were adopted by the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the sec ...

in 1615.

Creation

During the reign of Elizabeth I, a

consensus developed among the leading clergy within the Church of England, specifically in regards to the doctrine of

. The church's doctrinal statement, the Thirty-nine Articles, addressed predestination in Article 17 "Of Predestination and Election". While Calvinists believed in

double predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby ...

(that God predestined some people for salvation but others for

reprobation Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a doctrine which teaches that a person can reject the gospel to a point where God in turn rejects them and curses their conscience. The English word ''reprobate'' is from the Latin root ''probare'' ('' ...

), Article 17 only endorsed

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

to salvation. An

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...

minority emerged in the universities (notably William Barret, Peter Baro, John Overall, and

Antonio del Corro Antonio del Corro (Corrano, de Corran, Corranus) ( Seville, 1527-London, 1591) was a Spanish monk who became a Protestant convert. A noted Calvinist preacher and theologian, he taught at the University of Oxford and wrote the first Spanish grammar ...

) and challenged the prevailing Calvinism. A controversy over predestination arose at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. The Lambeth Articles (also known as the Nine Articles) were drafted by William Whitaker, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. He had been sent to Whitgift by the heads of Cambridge University, along with Humphrey Tyndal,

Dean of Ely The position of Dean of Ely Cathedral, in East Anglia, England, in the Diocese of Ely was created in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The first Dean of Ely had been the last Benedictine prior of Ely. List of deans Early mode ...

, in order to settle the controversy. The Articles were originally drafted by Whitaker and modified later by the bishops to make them more acceptable to anti-Calvinists. They were signed by Archbishop Whitgift, Richard Fletcher,

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, Richard Vaughan, Bishop elect of Bangor, and others. The Lambeth Articles were not a replacement for the Thirty-nine Articles but were meant to officially align Article 17 to Calvinist theology.

Content

# The eternal

of some to life, and the

of others to death. # The moving cause of

to life is not the foreknowledge of

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

and

good works In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's (exterior) actions or deeds, in contrast to inner qualities such as grace or faith. Views by denomination Anglican Churches The Anglican theological tradition, including The ...

, but only the good pleasure of God. # The number of the elect is unalterably fixed. # Those who are not predestinated to life shall necessarily be damned for their sins. # The true faith of the elect never fails finally nor totally. # A true believer, or one furnished with justifying faith, has a full assurance and certainty of remission and everlasting

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. # Saving

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...

is not communicated to all men. # No man can come to the

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...

unless the

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

shall draw him, but all men are not drawn by the Father. # It is not in every one's will and power to be saved.

Lack of authorisation

The Queen was unwilling to alter her Religious Settlement of 1559 and refused to assent to these new articles.

Church of Ireland

The Lambeth Articles were accepted at the 1615 Convocation of Dublin and consequently engrafted on the Irish Articles (written by James Ussher). One can find the basis of the

Five Points of Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

contained in the

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Dutch city of Dordrecht in 1618� ...

(1618–19) in the Lambeth Articles.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

The Lambeth Articles
History of the Church of England 1595 in Christianity Reformed confessions of faith