What does the new ACNA catechism teach about the sacraments? (Part 5)

By Robin G. Jordan

In this examination of questions 120 – 123 and the answers to these four questions in Part II of Being a Christian: An Anglican Catechism, we will be looking at what the new ACNA catechism teaches about absolution, and ordination.

120. What is absolution?

After repenting and confessing my sins to God in the presence of a priest, the priest declares God’s forgiveness to me with authority given by God. (John 20:22-23; James 5:15-16)

In the answer to question 120 we find a description of the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic practices of auricular confession and priestly absolution. See Fredrick Meyrick’s article, “Absolution,” in A Protestant Dictionary.

Also see “Chapter VII: The Absolution in the Visitation of the Sick,” (p. 101), “Chapter VIII: Auricular Confession,” (p. 115) and “Appendix – Bishop Wilberforce and Dr. Pusey on Private Confession” (p. 215) in Dyson Hague’s The Protestantism of the Prayer Book and “The Voice of the Church of England on Auricular Confession” and Joseph Bardley’s “Confession and Forgiveness of Sins” in the Church Association Tracts (Vol. 1).

As we have seen in our examination of the four previous questions and answers in this section of the new ACNA catechism, the catechism takes the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic position that absolution is a sacrament. While the new ACNA catechism avoids the use of the term “penance,” which the Thirty-Nine Articles identify as “a corrupt following of the Apostles,” and endeavors to avoid other language that is associated with the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic teaching on penance, it is quite clear that the new ACNA catechism is referring to what Thirty-Nine Articles and the Catechism of the Catholic Church call “penance.”

In support of the answer to question 120 the new ACNA catechism cites John 20:22-23 and James 5: 15-16. Anglo-Catholics and Roman Catholics interpret John 20:22-23 as supporting their teaching on auricular confession and priestly absolution. Anglicans have historically been divided over the meaning of this passage. See Fredrick Meyrick’s article, “Absolution,” in A Protestant Dictionary.

In order to cite James 5: 15-16 in support of the practices of auricular confession and priestly absolution, one must ignore the plain meaning of the text, which encourages believers to confess their sins to one another and not to a priest.

Bishop Charles P. McIlvaine, a leading nineteenth century Evangelical in then Protestant Episcopal Church and author of Oxford divinity compared with that of the Romish and Anglican churches, pointed to the attention of a group of confirmands that, while the clergy of their church may have taught them to confess their sins to a priest, the same clergy should be confessing their own sins to the confirmands.

121. What grace does God give to you in absolution?

In absolution, God conveys to me his pardon through the cross, thus declaring to me reconciliation and peace with him, and bestowing upon me the assurance of his grace and salvation.

In the answer to question 121, the new ACNA describes the sacramental grace that it purports is conferred by priestly absolution. Compare this answer with what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

I. What is This Sacrament Called?

1423 It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin.

It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.

1424 It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.

It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."

It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother."

Also see “VI. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation” and “IX. The Effects of This Sacrament” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

122. What is ordination?

Through prayer and the laying on of the bishop’s hands, ordination consecrates, authorizes, and empowers persons called to serve Christ and his Church in the ministry of Word and Sacrament. (1 Timothy 1:5; 5:22; Acts 6:6)

Rather than giving a definition of ordination, in its response to question 122, “what is ordination,” the new ACNA catechism describes what it purports ordination does. Inferred in this description is the position that the catechism takes on ordination. As we have seen in our examination of the four previous questions in this section of the ACNA catechism, this position is the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic position that ordination is a sacrament. This is a view of ordination that is not supported by the Thirty-Nine Articles as we have seen. It is not shared by all recognized schools of Anglican thought.

The longstanding disagreement among Anglicans over the nature of ordination is reflected in the language of the Ordinal in the Form and Manner of Ordaining Priests in the 1789, 1892, and 1928 American Prayer Books.

When this Prayer is done, the Bishop with the Priests present, shall lay their hands severally upon the Head of every one that receiveth, the Order of Priesthood; the Receivers humbly kneeling and the Bishop saying,

RECEIVE the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God, now committed unto thee by the Imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained. And be thou a faithful Dispenser of the Word of God, and of his holy Sacraments; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Or this

TAKE thou Authority to execute the Office of a Priest in the Church of God, now committed to thee by the Imposition of our hands. And be thou a faithful Dispenser of the Word of God, and of his holy Sacraments; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The alternative language was included in the Ordinal in these three Prayer Books in recognition that Anglicans disagreed not only about the nature of ordination but also about how the phrase, “Receive the Holy Ghost…,” used in the Ordinal, should be interpreted and understood.

In The Tutorial Prayer Book for the Teacher, Student, & General Reader, Charles Neil and J. M. Willoughby briefly state one recognized school of Anglican thought’s interpretation and understanding of this phrase:

Receive ye the Holy Ghost, etc. This formula consists of a prayer, an address, and a charge. The Bishop, by speaking these words, doth not take upon him to give the Holy Spirit, no more than he doth to remit sins, when he pronounceth the remission of sins; but by speaking these words of Christ ... he doth show the principal duty of a minister, and assureth him of the assistance of God s Holy Spirit, if he labour in the same accordingly.

(See also pp. 96, 322, n.) The words Receive ye the Holy Ghost, do not occur in any Ordinal prior to 1200 A.D.

Also see “Chapter XI: The Ordinal” in Dyson Hague’s The Protestantism of the Prayer Book.

The new ACNA catechism cites 1 Timothy 1:5 in support of the answer it gives to question 122: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Its relevance to the answer is unclear, even when read in the context of 1 Timothy 1:1- 20. It appears to have been included to suggest that the answer has a Scriptural basis.

1 Timothy 5:22 and Acts 6:6 appeared to have been cited because they refer to laying on of hands. In Freed to Serve: Training & Equipping for Ministry Michael Green points to our attention:

In Acts 6 it is not certain whether the apostles or the people lay hands on the seven;in any case it is not clear whether this ordination or an ad hoc measure to relieve a particular situation (p. 35).

We are invited to accept these Scripture passages as providing a Scriptural basis for the particular teaching in the answer to question 122 but is highly questionable as to whether they do.

123. What grace does God give in ordination?

In ordination, God confirms the gifts and calling of the candidates, conveys the gift of the Holy Spirit for the office and work of bishop, priest or deacon, and sets them apart to act on behalf of the Church and in the name of Christ.

In its answer to question 123 new ACNA ordinal further describes what it purports ordination does. Here again we have a view of ordination particular to one school of Anglican thought. It is not shared by all recognized schools of Anglican thought and is not acceptable to or compatible with their views of ordination. One such view of ordination is that it is a public ceremony in which the Church formally recognizes that a person has the calling and gifts for a particular office in the Church and formally bestows upon the person the authority to exercise that office. This view is reflected in the alternate language in the Ordinal in the Form and Manner of Ordaining Priests in the 1789, 1892, and 1928 American Prayer Books. It is also the view reflected in The Tutorial Prayer Book.

In the first article in this series, we took note of the three guidelines set out in the introduction to Being A Christian: An Anglican Catechism:

1. Everything taught should be compatible with, and acceptable to, all recognized schools of Anglican thought, so that all may be able confidently to use all the material.

2. Everything taught should be expressed as briefly as possible, in terms that are clear and correspond to today’s use of language. There should be as little repetition as possible, though some overlap is inevitable.

3.All the answers and questions should be as easy to explain and to remember as possible.

Our examination of the new ACNA catechism to date has shown that the introduction is mere window dressing, added to create a deceptively favorable impression of the catechism. The catechism is decidely Arminian in its view of God and salvation and Anglo-Catholic in its view of the sacraments. The material in the catechism is not material that all recognized schools of Anglican thought can use with confidence. The catechism also appears to presume that those who are studying it are fairly literate and have a good grasp of the English language. A number of the answers do not lend themselves to memorization.

In the next article in this series we will be examining the remaining questions and answers on the sacraments in Part II of Being A Christian: An Anglican Catechism. We will be skipping the questions and answers on ordained ministry. We will come back to those questions and answers later and examine them in a separate article on the new ACNA catechism’s teaching on Christian ministry.