Our Anglican Identity

To be Anglican is not to embrace a distinct version of Christianity. Rather it is a distinct way of being a “mere Christian”—one that is at the same time evangelical, apostolic, catholic, reformed, and Spirit-filled.

Anglicanism comes out of the Protestant Reformation as it took shape in the Church of England in the 1500s. It is now among the largest global bodies with the Church, whose structuring beliefs can be found in the 39 Articles and the basic liturgies (the Book of Common Prayer in its various editions; the most recent can be found here). Its distinctives include a commitment to the main principles of the "Protestant" or Reformation churches—like the full authority of Scripture to speak outside of and over the church—while remaining firmly settled within the Great Tradition of the worship and practices of the church over all the centuries. This gives rise to the oft-cited idea of modern Anglicanism as a deliberate pursuit of "mere Christianity" holding both to traditional orthodoxy in belief and practice, while holding a variety of theological positions that can be found within that umbrella.

In short, we are a global, evangelical, catholic, reformed, Spirit-filled church trying to live in submission to Scripture from within the historic life of the church ("tradition").

The Anglican Church traces its roots all the way back to the 2nd Century, when the first Christian missionaries came to the British Isles. Our tradition is shaped by the historic teachings and practices of the apostolic Church, and also by the biblical and evangelical values of the Reformation. The Book of Common prayer shapes our worship and life together around this tradition, and we celebrate its beauty, stability, and power to put us in the way of Jesus.

The Anglican communion is the third largest Christian body (following the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church) in the world with over 70 million members, most of whom are in the global south.

We are a member of the Global Anglican Future Conference, proud of our diverse global communion, and value the encouragement and perspective this connection brings us.

Church of the Incarnation is part of the Anglican Church in North America in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest. Alongside many other growing churches in the Midwest, the heartbeat of our movement is to see a revival of Word and Sacrament.

We are a church plant of Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, IL, and we are extremely grateful for Resurrection's ongoing oversight and support.