Doctrine Commission (Church of England)

During the twentieth century the Church of England periodically established a doctrine commission to report on an important theological question. The first commission "was appointed in 1922 and reported in 1938".^[1] In early years the commissions appear to have been appointed solely by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. In recent years the doctrine commission was constituted as a sub-commission of the General Synod.^[2] However, the members of the doctrine commission continued to be nominated by the Archbishops.^[3] In the early 1980s the House of Bishops took a greater interest in the work of the doctrine commission and the report We Believe in God (1987) was published "under its authority".^[4] This practice continued for the next three reports. After the completion of Being Human (2002) no further doctrine commission was nominated. In 2010 General Synod established a new permanent Faith and Order Commission of the General Synod which took over responsibility for producing theological reports for the House of Bishops.^[5]

Doctrine Commission Reports

• Being Human (2002)
• The Mystery of Salvation (1995)
• We Believe in the Holy Spirit (1989)
• We Believe in God (1985)
• Christian Believing (1976)
• Prayer and the Departed (1971)
• Subscription and Assent to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1968)
• Doctrine in the Church of England (1938)

Chairpersons

• Stephen Sykes (1996-2002)
• Alec Graham (1987-1995)
• John A. Baker (1986-1987)
• John V. Taylor (1981-1985)
• Maurice Wiles (?-1976)
• William Temple (?-1938)

Doctrine Commission Publications

• Contemporary Doctrine Classics. Church House Publishing, 2005.

above reprints We Believe in God (1987), We Believe in the Holy Spirit (1991) and The Mystery of Salvation (1995)

• Being Human: A Christian understanding of personhood illustrated with reference to power, money, sex and time. Church House Publishing, 2003.
• The Mystery of Salvation. Church House Publishing, 1995.
• We Believe in the Holy Spirit. Church House Publishing, 1991.
• We Believe in God. Church House Publishing, 1987.
• Believing in the Church: The Corporate Nature of Faith. SPCK, 1981. [Essay collection]
• Christian believing: The nature of the Christian faith and its expression in Holy Scripture and creeds. SPCK, 1976. [Report and essays]
• Thinking about the Eucharist. SPCK, 1972. [Essay collection]
• Prayer and the Departed. SPCK, 1971.
• Subscription and Assent to the Thirty-Nine Articles. SPCK, 1968.
• Doctrine in the Church of England. SPCK, 1938. Reprinted by SPCK, 1982.

Doctrine in the Church today

Since 2010 the Faith and Order Commission of the General Synod - which acts as a 'theological resource for the church as a whole' - has taken over the role played previously by the doctrine commission.^[6] Following the resignation of Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2012 the English theologian John Milbank called for the foundation of an international doctrine commission.^[7] This body would be designed to serve the entire Anglican communion and would mirror the Catholic International Theological Commission which was founded in 1969.

See also

• Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England
• General Synod of the Church of England
• World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission
• World Evangelical Alliance Theological Commission
• Catholic International Theological Commission
• Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England

References

1. Sykes, S. "Foreword" in Contemporary Doctrine Classics (Church House Publishing, 2005): xv.
2. Sykes, "Foreword", xv.
3. Sykes, "Foreword", xv.
4. Archbishop Runcie prefatory comment reprinted in Contemporary Doctrine Classics (Church House Publishing, 2005): 2.
5. General Synod Paper GS 1782 (Summer 2010)
6. The Faith and Order Commission website. Last accessed 28 Sep 2013
7. John Milbank, "After Rowan: The Coherence and Future of Anglicanism" ABC Religion and Ethics (4 Apr 2012). Last accessed 28 Sep 2013

External links

• Faith and Order Commission of the General Synod (CofE site)
• List and short description of all the General Synod Commissions (CofE site)
• Reports of the Catholic International Theological Commission