The Churches of the Anglican Communion found it necessary to articulate the Anglican identity when Ecumenism between Church groups started to emerge in the late-19th Century. In 1888, the Bishops of the Third Lambeth Conference articulated the Anglican identity with the so-called Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, which was based on four-points:
We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain all things necessary to salvation, and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
We believe that the Apostles' Creed, as a Baptismal Symbol, and the Nicene Creed, are the sufficient statements of the Christian faith.
We believe that Christ has ordained two Sacraments, namely Baptism and the Eucharist, which are generally necessary for our salvation.
We believe that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church has been administered by and with those whom the Church has called to be Bishops, and said Bishops are in a line of succession going back to Christ's Apostles.
The marks were identified as mission statements over several meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council, and were adopted by the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, sometimes called the XXXIX Articles, are a set of statements initiated in 1563, and finalized in 1571, which sought to distinguished the emerging beliefs of the Church of English from those of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as other Protestants in Europe. At one time, Anglicans being ordained were required to assent to the Articles, however, since the mid-20th Century, Anglican Churches have moved away from requiring this of the clergy.
The Articles are organized into four groups
Articles I to VIII deal with credal statements.
Articles IX to XVIII deal with the topics of sin, justification, salvation, and damnation.
Articles XIX to XXXI deal with the institutional church, the councils of the church, worship, ministry, and sacramental theology.
Articles XXXII to XXXIX deal with clerical celibacy, excommunication, traditions of the Church, and other issues.
One summary of Anglican beliefs in the Catechism as found in the Book of Common Prayer. This is an instructional summary to be used with persons preparing for Confirmation, or for those who have already been confirmed but are being received into the Anglican Communion.