The Thirty-Nine Articles

The Thirty-Nine Articles form the basic doctrinal beliefs of the Church of England. 


During the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, drafted several statements of faith for adoption by the newly-Protestant Church of England. When Elizabeth I returned England to Protestantism after the reign of Queen Mary, a new version was commissioned, based on Cranmer's work. 


Originally written in Latin in 1563, the Thirty-Nine Articles were translated into English and adopted by Parliament in 1571.