THE SOLEMN DECLARATION OF 1893 -

IMPORTANCE AND BINDING NATURE

By: Father Larry Winslow

INTRODUCTION

The Solemn Declaration of 1893 is at the centre of many disputes within the Anglican Church of Canada today. It played a major role in the 1918 Canadian revision of the Book of Common Prayer and was considered so important that it was printed in the 1959/62 Canadian revision of the Book of Common Prayer – the current official BCP of the Anglican Church of Canada. But, strangely, The Solemn Declaration of 1893 does not even receive a reference in the Wikipedia history of the Anglican Church of Canada supplied by the same.

At General Synod of 2004 the statement is made in “A Guide to General Synod, 2004,” “General Synod continues to adhere to the Solemn Declaration, which cannot be amended, as the basis for doctrinal decisions.” Yet the actions and statements from its leadership clearly indicates that little notice is taken of that unalterable declaration’s content with reference to the Holy Scriptures, the Traditional Creeds, and the Thirty-nine Articles.

Therefore it is appropriate to produce a cursory review the framing of the Solemn Declaration and its intended and effective place within Anglican Christendom in Canada.

A BRIEF HISTORICAL REVIEW

The Church of England was present in Canada from the time of the first English explorers. However, the first recorded service was at Frobisher Bay around the beginning of September 1578 and the first resident clergyman was Erasmus Stourton at Ferryland., Conception Bay, Newfoundland (1612-1628). As the fledgling Church of England grew and developed in what we now know as Canada it became necessary for the organisation to evolve from functioning as a satellite administered directly from England from where Bishops and Priests were appointed and sent out to the developing Church to one that functioned in relation to the Church of England in England but as a self-administering body in the New World. The first Synods of the Canadian Church began to be held in 1850. But the first General Synod in which Robert Machray was elected Primate of the Church of England in Canada was held in 1893.

As all organisations require a statement of purpose and direction so the new administrative body of the Church of England in Canada required a definition of its relationship to the broader communion of the Church of England and the content of the foundation upon which the she would stand. To accomplish this The Solemn Declaration of 1893 was produced.

IMPORTANCE AND BINDING NATURE

This declaration has been a key and pivotal document from that time forward. The framers of the Canadian revisions of the Book of Common Prayer of both 1918 and 1959/62 were seriously concerned about not violating its content on any mane. W.J. Armitage, DD, Ph.D., Rector of St. Paul’s and Archdeacon of Halifax, Nova Scotia; Custodian of the Canadian Book of Common Prayer, in The Story of the Canadian Revision of the Prayer Book, 1922, pp 32/3, said that there was considerable concern for anything that would seem to change the content of the Solemn Declaration of 1893 and/or the determinations of Lambeth 1908 in the deliberations of the Central Sub-Committee of the Committee on the Prayer Book leading to the Synod of 1911. Further, the Preface to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer 1959/62 clearly states, “When the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity of the Church in Canada assembled for the first General Synod in 1893, they made a Solemn Declaration of the faith in which they met together. It is in that faith that this Book of Common Prayer is offered to the Church, with the hope that those who use it may become more truly what they already are: the People of God, that New Creation in Christ which finds its joy in adoration of the Creator and Redeemer of all.” Immediately following this Preface in this latter book is printed the full text of The Solemn Declaration of 1893.

Finally, the importance and binding nature of the Solemn Declaration of 1893 is affirmed in the published “A Guide to General Synod, 2004” as referenced in the introduction to this work. Thus, it is clear that, at least formally, the Anglican Church in Canada not only sees The Solemn Declaration as an historical founding document but also as an inviolable document that cannot be amended and is therefore just as binding upon the Church today as it was in the day it was written. Further, the presence of this document in the framing of both Canadian revisions of the Book of Common Prayer and, thus, its inclusion in the theological position of the Official Theology of the Church, firmly establishes its importance and binding nature in defining the intended theology of the Anglican Church of Canada.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTENT

In this section the intent will be to simply highlight the content of the Solemn Declaration of 1893. A full discussion would require a work of the length of a doctoral thesis. However, the intent here is to provide the reader with a starting point from which to view this foundational and pivotal document that is so violated by the so-called “inclusive” left wing of today’s Anglican Church of Canada.

First it must be stated that this document must be read with a view to the intention and understanding of the framers of the work at its inception and adoption in 1893. It is “fashionable” today for many to make such deceptive and meaningless statements as, “I accept ‘such-and-such a document’ in the light of how it is read and understood today.” Nothing could be more dishonest, deluding, and misleading. It is simple to revisit, revise, and reinterpret something to suit one’s own stance and then to say that one accepts it as thus. But, the truth is that The Solemn Declaration and the matters to which it refers such as Ecclesiastical Communion, relationship, and hierarchy; the position and understanding of Holy Scripture; the content and Scriptural Foundation of the Traditional Creeds (Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian); the Thirty-nine Articles; The Holy Trinity; the Headship of Christ; etc. must be understood in their original context and acceptance by the Body of Christ in its Ancient and Traditional sense. No other contrived meaning or understanding is either valid or acceptable.

The foundation upon which the Solemn Declaration stands is that of Holy Scripture. Such is to be the final judiciary when it comes to matters pertaining to the Salvation of the individual in Jesus Christ. Further, that Scripture must be accepted in accordance with the understanding of the Apostolic Church and the definitions of the Thirty-nine Articles of Faith. Thus, the Holy Scripture contains all things necessary for salvation. The Holy Scripture is to be seen as one single doctrinal statement written in 66 books of differing authorship and one part cannot be used to refute any other part. No matter how one’s own mind may try to delude the individual into seeing contradiction it is necessary to understand the unity of Scripture in the light of the Mind of God as opposed to the fallible mind of humanity.

The Traditional Creeds seen in their portrayals of the teachings of the Divinely Inspired Scriptures teach the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity as seen in the Oneness of the Godhead; the uniqueness of the Jesus as perfect God/perfect man (Son of God/Son of Man) perfectly united in one perfect nature; salvation is found only in Christ through His Sacrificial Death on the Cross and His triumphant bodily resurrection in victory over sin and death; his Ascension and Coming Again as judge of all humankind; the Divine Gift of the Holy Spirit and His work with individual and the Church as a whole; and the nature of the Church under the sole headship of Jesus Christ.

The Thirty-nine Articles define the foundational tenets of the Reformed Church of England. While many like to negate their importance despite their having signed assent to them by making the brash and unfounded statement that they are nothing more than an ancient political document, they put forth the doctrinal position of the Reformed Church of England and form an inviolable whole upon which the Church then and today is founded as a reformed and retargeted Body of Christ. They state the intention of the Church of England to remain constant with the historical Body of Christ. As such the elements of reformation are intended to bring that Body back into alignment with the Will of God found in the Holy Scriptures as understood by the Apostolic Church.

The Book of Common Prayer contains in its liturgies and in its publication of The Solemn Declaration of 1893, the Traditional Creeds, and the Thirty-nine Articles of Faith the doctrinal position of the Anglican Church of Canada as it has grown out of the Church of England in Canada. Robert Crouse in a lecture delivered in Toronto on May 1, 1999 points out a fact that should be obvious, The Book of Common Prayer to which the Solemn Declaration points is the revision of 1662. Thus, it is only in the doctrine of that Revision of the Book of Common Prayer, and its direct descendants containing the same doctrinal documents and position, that the true Anglicanism of Canada can find its foundations and truths. Professor David Lyle Jeffery in his work “The Solemn Declaration and the Place of Holy Scripture” writes “The Solemn Declaration of 1893 expresses a commitment to unity of the Canadian with the English Church, of Toronto with Canterbury. Expression of that unity is to be use of the Book of Common Prayer in all its liturgies and ordinances, and, pre-eminently, a theological orthodoxy as defined by the classic tenets of the Anglican tradition which are expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles.” Thus, no “revision” of the Book of Common Prayer can reframe, restate, replace, or refute the unifying doctrinal material of the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 and still be called Reformed Anglican in nature or being!

Of course, much more could be said about the content of The Solemn Declaration of 1893. These points discussed herein merely establish that it clearly and irrefutably defines the intended doctrinal position of the Anglican Church of Canada and that there can be no variation or departure from this foundational vision of the Apostolic Faith Once Delivered to the True Body of Christ.

CONCLUSION

It can be clearly seen from this brief commentary on the content of the Solemn Declaration of 1893 that the intention is for the Canadian Church to be true to the Reformation principles of the Anglican Communion. Any moving outside of those principles is a move to “walk apart” from the Worldwide Anglican Communion as she seeks to undertake a journey that, in its Reformation toward the Faith Once Delivered to the True Body of Christ in the Apostolic Traditions founded upon the Person of Jesus Christ, is faithful to Almighty God and His Divine purposes in the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. Such a walk is to be undertaken in accordance with the teachings of Almighty God in His Word written in the Holy Scriptures and Living in the Person of the Risen/Ascended/Glorified Christ Jesus. No precepts, concepts or lifestyles existing outside of or in contradiction to this twofold unified Word of God can be accepted in any Church founded upon the Doctrinal Faith outlined in the Solemn Declaration of 1893.

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