TO the end that there be no discord or controversy in any matters pertaining to the established Doctrine of the Christian Episcopal Church of Canada, as well as for the avoidance of all scruple and doubtfulness concerning the same : It is hereby declared that the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England are to be read and taken in their literal and grammatical sense, and that they are to be understood within the historical context of their creation, and furthermore that they are at all times to be interpreted agreeably to the sacred Tradition and the infallible Magisterium of the Catholic Church; and in order that this may be more fully established, and in order that all discord and controversy might be put away in regard to the right understanding and interpretation of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England, these declarations following are made : -

IT is hereby declared that those errors of the Church of Rome made in matters of Faith, as well as in its living and matters of Ceremonies, mentioned in the Nineteenth Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, are only those errors which had prevailed at the time of the publication of the said Article; and that, since the time of the publication of the said Article in the Year of Our LORD 1562, those errors have been addressed and duly corrected by three subsequent General Councils of the Roman Church; and that the Nineteenth Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion is not in anywise to be taken or understood, nor construed in any manner to mean, to deny the unique teaching authority of the Bishop of Rome, but only those errors which were commonly held and taught at the time of the publication of the said Article.

IT is hereby declared that General Councils indeed cannot be gathered together without the commandment and will of Princes, as it is stated in the Twenty-first Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, for every Bishop of the Catholic Church is each one subject to the temporal authority and jurisdiction of the ruler of his own land, as well as to the temporal authority and jurisdiction of the ruler of that place wheresoever a General Council might be held. Howbeit, in order that there be no error in the right interpretation of the said Article, it is hereby declared that the prerogative both to preside at and to confirm the decisions of any General Council of the Catholic Church belongs not to any Prince, but that such prerogative belongs only to the Bishop of Rome who, as the Successor of Saint Peter the Apostle, is the Primate and Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church, and alone possesses the right, authority, and jurisdiction to preside at and to confirm the decisions of a General Council of the Catholic Church; and that to the Prince or ruler of the state belongs the temporal right, authority, and jurisdiction to give the decisions of a General Council of the Catholic Church the force of law within his realms and dominions.

IT is hereby declared that the so-called Romish Doctrine specified in the Twenty-second Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion as concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also the invocation of Saints, is to be understood as being only that erroneous and unscriptural teaching which had often prevailed amongst the ignorant, and which had been exploited by unscrupulous and greedy persons, at the time of the publication of the said Article; and that the words of the said Article shall not in anywise be taken or understood, nor construed to mean, to condemn any true doctrine held and taught in the Catholic Church, but only such false and superstitious beliefs and practices which were ever contrary to the written Word of GOD and the sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church.

IT is hereby declared that there are truly and properly seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church; and that the Twenty-fifth Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion which treats of the nature of those seven Sacraments shall not in anywise be taken or understood, nor construed in any manner to mean, to limit the number of those Sacraments to two only; but only that of those Sacraments named therein, two Sacraments alone were ordained of CHRIST Our LORD in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the LORD; and that those other Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and extreme Unction, are not to be counted as being Sacraments of the Gospel, meaning only that they are not Sacraments generally necessary to be received by all for eternal salvation, but rather they are Sacraments of the Christian life to be received by each according to his calling. And it is hereby declared that all seven Sacraments are and shall be acknowledged and received as being true and proper Sacraments, and with the greatest reverence to be used and esteemed, in the Christian Episcopal Church of Canada.

IT is hereby declared that the doctrine of the transubstantiation of the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament of the Supper of the LORD condemned in the Twenty-eighth Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion is plainly to be taken and understood to mean only that erroneous teaching which had prevailed at the time of the publication of the Article (wherein it had been said and taught by many that the outward sacramental signs, or accidents, of the substance of the Bread and Wine consecrated in the celebration of the Supper of the LORD, underwent a change whereby they ceased to exist, overthrowing thereby the true nature and properties of a Sacrament), and that the true Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation is not in anywise condemned in the Twenty-eighth Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. And therefore, in order that the words of the said Article may not in anywise be taken or understood, nor construed in any manner to mean, that there is no true, real, and substantial presence of the Body and Blood of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST in the Supper of the LORD under the outward sacramental signs, or accidents, of the consecrated species of Bread and Wine : It is hereby declared that the true substances of the most precious Body and Blood of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST, altogether with His very Soul and Divinity, are truly, really, and substantially present under the outward signs, or accidents, of the consecrated Bread and Wine of the LORD’S Supper; and that the whole, complete, and perfect PERSON of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST, in His Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity, is verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Holy Communion.

IT is hereby declared that the sacrifices of Masses condemned in the Thirty-first Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion is to be taken and understood as referring only to that false teaching which had been common at the time of the publication of the said Article, wherein it was taught by many unscrupulous and greedy persons (in the interest of profiting from the ignorance and fear of the weaker brethren) that Our LORD JESUS CHRIST was crucified and offered afresh in each new Mass, and that such a repetition of the sacrifice of Calvary could be offered on behalf of the quick and the dead for remission of pain or guilt, which teaching is indeed rightly and properly condemned in the Article as being a blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit. Howbeit, to the end that all doubt may be removed concerning the true nature of that sacrifice which is made and offered in the Mass : It is hereby declared that in the celebration of the Supper of the LORD, or Holy Communion, which is called the Mass, there is verily and indeed a true and propitiatory sacrifice there made and offered to Almighty GOD, which is only that one perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world which was once made and offered by Our LORD JESUS CHRIST, of which there can be no repetition; and it is only that one perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction once made and offered by Our LORD JESUS CHRIST for the sins of the whole world which is offered up to GOD the FATHER in the Mass as the sacrifice of the Christian Church availing for the benefit of the quick and the dead.

IT is hereby declared that the First and Second Book of Homilies enjoined under the Thirty-fifth Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion do indeed contain in them such godly and wholesome doctrine as was deemed necessary for the edification of the faithful at the time of their publication; but the time of danger being now long past, and the errors and abuses therein countered having been corrected and remedied, the said Homilies need no longer be read in our Churches; and though the said Homilies may profitably be read for the personal edification of the faithful, notwithstanding they shall not at any time by any person or persons whomsoever be applied to establish any doctrine, neither shall they have any canonical or legal force or effect whatsoever, in or for the Christian Episcopal Church of Canada.

IT is hereby declared that the repudiation of the temporal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome in the Realm of England, asserted in the Thirty-seventh Article of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, is not to be taken or understood, nor to be construed in any wise to mean, to repudiate the authority of the Bishop of Rome to decide matters of faith or morals, nor his unique teaching office, nor his spiritual jurisdiction over the faithful within the Catholic Church, but only those claims made by certain Popes to have some temporal jurisdiction over the subjects of other sovereign states outside those states properly subject to their temporal jurisdiction. And furthermore, it is hereby also declared that, without prejudice to or denigration of the lawful authority of the Bishop of Rome or his spiritual jurisdiction over the Christian faithful, it is agreeable to the Word of GOD that Her Majesty the Queen has the chief power in the Realm of England, as well as in this Dominion of Canada and in all other of those Realms, Dominions, and Territories over which Her Majesty the Queen shall reign as Sovereign; and that the chief government of all the estates thereunto belonging, whether they be ecclesiastical or civil, and all causes thereunto appertaining, is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign jurisdiction; and that Her Majesty the Queen is rightly and properly to be accorded both the just titles of Supreme Governor of the Church and of Defender of the Faith within all of Her Majesty’s Realms, Dominions, and Territories.