Reformed and Anglican Foundations
The Reformed and Anglican traditions share one apostolic and Reformation foundation. Its weakening explains today’s mirrored patterns of drift.
Scripture
Scripture is the Church’s governing norm: Scripture interprets Scripture; the New Testament governs the Old; canonical unity shapes doctrine, worship, and ethics; and tradition serves Scripture. This is the apostolic hermeneutic.
Preaching
The authoritative preaching of Holy Scripture stands at the centre of Reformed and Anglican worship, and ministry, where the word proclaimed governs the Church's doctrine, sacraments and mission.
Christ’s Sacrifice
Christ’s finished work is central: His priesthood is unique and unrepeatable; His mediation is sufficient; all earthly priesthood and sacrifice are terminated; worship and sacraments are evangelical. When this weakens, sacrificial symbolism and sacerdotal language reappear.
Ministry
Ministry is pastoral, declarative, and evangelical—not priestly. Ministers are heralds, stewards, and shepherds; authority is exercised through the Word; ministry is defined by proclamation, not sacrifice. This guards the Church from sacerdotal drift.
Sacraments
The sacraments are signs and seals of the gospel, not sacrifices: not ex opere operato; baptism initiates covenant life; the Supper is anamnesis, not oblation; Christ is present by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and is physically in heaven.
Confessions
Both traditions stand on a shared confessional witness—the Ancient Creeds, Thirty‑Nine Articles, Homilies, Cranmer’s Ordinal, Westminster Confession, Three Forms of Unity, and Irish Articles—documents that together articulate one Reformation theology, even though each tradition formally subscribes to its own standards.
Polity
Both traditions affirm presbyterial unity and shared jurisdiction, rejecting ontological distinction between bishop and presbyter, hierarchical episcopacy, solitary jurisdiction, and temple‑model polity. This restores apostolic government.
Oversight
Apostolic oversight and discipline guard doctrine, hermeneutics, worship, order, and mission. Discipline is pastoral and protective. Without it, foundations weaken, drift accelerates, and mechanisms of drift entrench themselves.
Unity
The two traditions are not competing systems but two expressions of one Reformation theology. This unity explains the shared crisis, mirrored drift patterns, and the need for a shared remedy.
4. JDP Restoration
The JDP restores these shared apostolic and Reformation foundations by re-establishing Scripture’s supremacy, Christ’s once‑for‑all sacrifice, evangelical ministry and sacraments, confessional clarity, presbyterial unity, and apostolic mission.