The Parish Church of the Ascension is part of the Church of England, which, at its foundation, is a Bible-believing Church in the Reformed tradition.
Canon A5 of the Church of England, which all clergy are required to uphold, states that ‘the doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal’.
To give a few examples of the biblical teaching of the Thirty-nine Articles (which can be found in the back of most editions of the Book of Common Prayer):
Article I states clearly the Church of England’s belief in the Holy Trinity – One God in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Article II states clearly that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, is both fully divine and fully human.
Article VI states clearly that the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation and that anything that is not taught in the Bible is not necessary for salvation. Thus, the Church of England clearly believes that the Bible sufficiently reveals how we can be saved from God’s wrath on sin through faith in Jesus Christ.
Article VII upholds the ethical teaching of the Old Testament, which would exclude, for example, all sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage.
Article IX – On Original Sin - states clearly the Bible’s teaching that human beings are born sinful. ‘Man is very far gone from his original righteousness and is of his own nature inclined to evil,’ the article states.
Article XVIII states clearly that Jesus Christ is the only Name given under heaven by which people may be saved and that no person can be saved by their non-Christian religion.
Article XXXI states clearly that Christ’s death on the Cross perfectly satisfies God’s righteous anger upon human sin – ‘the offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, both original and actual’. The article adds that there is no other satisfaction for sin apart from the death of Christ.
A clear explanation of the Christian faith as the Bible teaches it can be found here.