A CONCISE SURVEY OF ANGLICAN SPIRITUALITY

Ven I. A. Menegbe Ph.D.

The vision statement of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican

Communion) 2010 states that:

The Church of Nigeria shall be Bible based spiritually dynamic,

united, disciplined, self-supporting, committed to pragmatic evangelism
social welfare and a Church that epitomizes the genuine love of Christ.

The guarantee of Christian spirituality is the presence and power of

the Holy spirit in the life of the believer. A study of spirituality shows the
interplay between doctrine, discipline, liturgy and life.

Doctrine speaks about what is believed about self, others, the world
and the supernatural. Discipline relates to the source of authority, the
arrangement or corporate life and actions or punishment to be meted
out in case of deviance. Liturgy relates to corporate life of worship,
praise and thanksgiving. Life relates to individual lifestyle of the faithful
in his prayer, study, devotion as well as his work in the society. It is
against this background of these four factors - DOCTRINE,
DISCIPLINE, LITURGY and LIFE that spirituality can be understood in
any perspective.

Therefore, Anglican spirituality is used to describe how an Anglican

Christian lives his /her life toward God. These things Anglicans share in
common which relates to our common way of living towards God shows
our spirituality. It is not egocentric but related to the readiness of the
individual to respond to the word of God in prayer and action. Generally
speaking spirituality is the spiritual quality of life that believers enjoy in
their relationship with God. A biblical approach to spirituality involves the
whole person but is based on an individuals spiritual relationship with
God, especially through the activity of the Holy Spirit (Galations 5:25).
Sin constantly threatens this relationship, though believers sometimes
have a deep longing to know God (Psalm 27:8)

Biblical, spirituality emphasizes prayer, meditation on God's word,

love and service to others, holiness of life, the testing of faith and