What does the new ACNA catechism teach about Christian ministry?

By Robin G. Jordan

In this article, the eleventh in the series, “The New ACNA Catechism – A Closer Look,” we will be examining what Being A Christian: An Anglican Catechism teaches about Christian ministry. We will also be comparing its teaching with what the ACNA Ordinal teaches.

The ACNA Ordinal makes a number of major changes in the Anglican Ordinal (1661). These changes as I have written elsewhere represent significant departures from the doctrine of the Anglican Ordinal (1661). For example, the ACNA Ordinal substitutes “three” for “these” in the phrase “these orders of ministers in Christ’s Church” in the Preface to the Ordinal. With this change it makes one school of Anglican thought’s interpretation of the Preface the only permissible interpretation.

The English Reformers regarded bishops and presbyters as belonging to the same order but exercising different offices. In the New Testament overseer (or bishop) and presbyter are used interchangeably. The Preface in the Anglican Ordinal (1661) does not preclude this view of bishops and presbyters, a view held by conservative Evangelicals in the Church of England and other Anglican provinces.

124. What are the three ordained ministries in the Anglican Church?

The three orders are bishops, priests, and deacons.

Both the question and answer reflect the position that the ACNA Ordinal takes. Compare this question and answer with the corresponding question and answer in the the revised catechisms of the Church of England and the Anglican Church of Kenya.

What orders of ministers are there in the Church?

There are these orders of ministers in the Church: Bishops, Priests, and Deacon.

Both the question and answer are consistent with what the Preface to the Anglican Ordinal (1661) itself states. They do not preclude the English Reformers’ view of bishops and presbyters.

What is notable about the new ACNA catechism is that it contains no teaching about the common ministry of all Christians. This is one of its major defects. Even An Outline of the Faith, or Catechism, in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer does not neglect this important New Testament doctrine:

Who are the ministers of the Church?

The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons.

What is the ministry of the laity?

The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and according to the gifts given to them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.

The ministry of lay persons is recognized along with the ministries of bishops, priests, and deacons.

125. What is the work of bishops?

Thework of bishops is to represent and serve Christ and the Church as chief pastors, to lead in preaching and teaching the faith and in shepherding the faithful, to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church, and to bless, confirm and ordain, thus following in the tradition of the Apostles. (Titus 1:7-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Acts 20:28)

What is particularly notable about the answer to question 125 is the claim that bishops alone represent and serve Christ and the Church in their particular ministry. The New Testament , however, teaches that all Christians represent and serve Christ and the Church in their various ministries, not just bishops.

The answer to question 125, in its description of the work of bishops, in its choice of language, takes an elevated view of the episcopal office. The new ACNA Ordinal in its Form for Ordaining and Consecrating a Bishop also takes a similarly high view of that office. This can be seen in the Medieval ceremonial prescribed or permitted by the rubrics in the ACNA Ordinal.

The answer to question 125 also suggests a connection between the ministry of bishops and the ministry of the Apostles, a doctrine over which Anglicans have been historically divided. When considered in light of what the new ACNA catechism teaches about ordination, the answer to question 125 appears to be alluding to the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic doctrine of apostolic succession.

The new ACNA catechism cites Titus 1:7-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and Acts 20:28 in support of the answer to question 125. Titus 1:7-9 gives the Sciptural requirements for the office of overseer. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 also gives the Scriptural requirements for the same office.

The term “overseer” as used in Titus 1:7-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7 does not refer to a bishop in the modern sense but is a term used interchangeably with elder, or presbyter, in the New Testament. It is from a contraction of presbyter, “prester,” that the term “priest” in the Anglican formularies is derived.

Acts 20:28 must interpreted in the context of Acts 20:17-38. Paul is addressing the elders, or presbyters, of the church at Ephesus. It is these elders that he is calling “overseers.”

When they are properly interpreted and understood, these passages have nothing to do with the answer to question 125. Acts 20:28, however, does support the English Reformers’ view that bishops and presbyters belong to the same order.

126. What is the work of priests?

The work of priests, serving Christ under their bishops, is to nurture congregations through the full ministry of the Word preached and Sacraments rightly administered, and to pronounce absolution and blessing in God’s name. (Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5:1)

What is particularly notable about the answer to question 126 is the phrase “serving Christ under their bishop.” This phrase is highly suggestive of the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic view of the ministry of the clergy as an extension of the ministry of the bishop. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this concept in its article on the sacrament of ordination.

1562 "Christ, whom the Father hallowed and sent into the world, has, through his apostles, made their successors, the bishops namely, sharers in his consecration and mission; and these, in their turn, duly entrusted in varying degrees various members of the Church with the office of their ministry.""The function of the bishops' ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ."

This view would explain why the answer to question 125 claims that bishops alone represent and serve Christ and the Church in their particular ministry.

What is noteworthy is that none of the other Anglican catechisms that I examined as a part of my research for this article contain anything that approximates the phrase, “…serving Christ under their bishop.” This phrase and the foregoing claim appear to be peculiarities of the new ACNA catechism. What is also noteworthy is that their explanations of the work of a priest are simpler and more easy to understand.

The Church of the Province of Southern Africa and the Diocese of West Lagos (The Church of Nigeria):

What is the ministry of a priest or presbyter?

The ministry of a priest if to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as pastor to the people; to share with the bishop in overseeing of the Church; to proclaim the gospel; to administer the sacrament; and to bless and declare pardon in the name of God.

The Anglican Church of Kenya and the Church of England:

What is the work of a Priest?

The work of a Priest is to preach the word of God, to teach, and to baptize; to celebrate the Holy Communion;to pronounce absolution and blessing in God’s name; and to care for the people entrusted by the Bishop to his charge.

The new ACNA cites Titus 1:5 and 1 Peter 5:1 in support of the answer to question 126. Anglicans are divided over how Titus 1:5 should be interpreted and understood as are other Christians. 1 Peter 5:1,2, as Michael Green points to our attention in Freed to Serve: Training & Equipping for Ministry, the elders (or presbyters) are “told…‘to act as bishops’ of the flock.” As in the case of the Scripture references in parentheses at the end of the answer to question 125, these Scripture references appear to have been added to make the answer to the question appear to have a Scriptural basis.

127. What is the work of deacons?

The work of deacons, serving Christ under their bishops, is to assist priests in public worship, instruct both young and old in the catechism, and care for those in need. (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8-13)

The phrase, “serving Christ under their bishops,” is also used in the new ACNA catechism’s description of the work of deacons. Here again it points to the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic view of the ministry of the other clergy as an extension of the ministry of the bishop. As in the case of priests, none of the other Anglican catechisms contain anything approximating this phrase.

Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13 are cited in support of the answer to question 127. As Michael Green also points to our attention in Freed to Serve: Training & Equipping for Ministry, it is debatable whether the seven in Acts 6 were deacons in the technical sense. They were not called “deacons.” Their functions of preaching and evangelizing did not correspond with the duties that are associated with the later diaconate. Philip who was one of the seven is called “the evangelist” in Acts 21:8, not “the deacon.” While Paul refers to “bishops” and “deacons”in 1 Timothy 3, he does not refer to “deacons” in a similar letter to Titus.

In viewing the seven in Acts 6 as the first deacons, the ACNA catechism is taking the traditional Catholic view of the seven, a view first attributed to Iraneus. While Acts 6 may describe the origin of the diaconate, it does not support what is stated in the answer to question 127. As far that goes, neither does 1 Timothy 3. It gives the Scriptural requirements for the office of deacon. It does not give its duties.

Another peculiarity of the new ACNA catechism is that it inserts the questions and answers on Christian ministry in the section on sacraments. The other Anglican catechisms that I examined place these questions and answers in a section of their own and place this section after the questions and answers on the church and its mission.

In the questions and answers on Christian ministry in Being A Christian: An Anglican Catechism we find further evidence that the new ACNA catechism is partisan in its views. A major defect or weakness of the new ACNA catechism, as we have seen, is that it takes the position that the church’s ministers are the bishop and the other clergy. It teaches nothing about the ministry of all Christians, an important New Testament doctrine.

Another major defect or weakness of the new ACNA catechism, which warrants mentioning at this point, is its length. A number of the questions and answers could have been omitted. The catechism would not have suffered from their omission. On the other hand, a number of questions and answers that should have been included in the catechism were not included. As a result the catechism is overblown in some places and skimpy in others.