Is, then, the Anglican Communion somewhere in the middle between Protestants and Roman Catholics?
A. Yes, indeed. In fact, finding a middle ground between the extremes of the Continental Reformation and the Roman Catholic Church was intentional and studied. Queen Elizabeth I (Ruled 1558 – 1603) wanted to end long, bitter and bloody religious struggles between Protestants and Catholics that had so divided England. She ordered her bishops to find a way to unite her realm. The objective was to find a Via Media, or a “Middle Way,” that would allow Catholic-minded people to feel the fullness of faith, so long as they were willing to renounce Roman domination and authority in England. But it was also important that Protestant-minded people in England should be able to feel comfortable by eliminating the excesses and errors of late medieval Roman Catholic teachings. The English bishops were able to articulate this “Middle Way” quite clearly in the revised Book of Common Prayer (1559), the Elizabethan Act of Uniformity (1559) and the “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571). The Anglican C
