The Irish Articles of Religion of 1615 are a series of 104 theological articles which were intended to serve as a standard of doctrine for the post-Reformation Church of Ireland. Adopted by the Convocation of Irish Protestant clergy that met in Dublin in 1615, and probably written by the future Archbishop of Armagh, James Ussher, the Irish Articles defined the Church of Ireland in a largely Reformed theological direction, even exceeding the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England in this regard.
After the accession of Charles I, the appointment of William Laud as Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Restoration in 1660, the Irish Articles of Religion were eventually superseded by the Thirty-nine Articles as the doctrinal standard for the Church of Ireland and largely fell out of prominence in Anglicanism. However, the Irish Articles would later influence the Westminster Confession drawn up in 1646, which was later adopted by the Church of Scotland and Presbyterian churches throughout the world.
Background
After King Henry VIII broke with the papacy, he was proclaimed the Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England by the English Parliament in 1534. In 1537, the Irish Parliament followed suit and proclaimed Henry VIII Supreme Head on earth of the Church of Ireland. Although the post-Reformation Church of Ireland retained most of the diocesan buildings and lands, most native Irish remained Roman Catholic, and by the early 17th century, a mostly Presbyterian settler population emerged in the province of Ulster.
Largely confined to an English-speaking minority in the Pale, the Church of Ireland adopted the use of the Book of Common Prayer in 1560 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and followed the lead of the Church of England in setting the standards for doctrine and worship for much of its early post-Reformation history. The Church of England after the English Reformation and the Elizabethan Religious Settlement had been moving towards forming a Reformed consensus amongst its leadership, and certain bishops in the Church of England crafted the Lambeth Articles in 1595. Although never approved by Queen Elizabeth I, the Lambeth Articles were intended to supplement the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion finalised and adopted by the Church of England in 1571, supplementing Article 17 with clarified teaching on the doctrine of predestination. At the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, a proposal to formally insert the Lambeth propositions into the Thirty-nine Articles failed. However, the Lambeth propositions were accepted in the Church of Ireland in which Puritanism was ascendent.
Development The Church of Ireland would hold its first convocation of archbishops, bishops, and other clergy beginning in 1613, held in conjunction with a session of the Irish Parliament in Dublin. The Reformed consensus was even stronger in Ireland than in England, and the convocation of clergy decided to develop its own confession of faith along the lines of Reformed theology. The new articles of religion, modeled on the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and (in all likelihood) principally written by James Ussher, then Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College Dublin, were adopted by the 1615 Convocation of Irish clergy in Dublin, then approved by the Viceroy of Ireland in 1615. In addition to incorporating much of the material in the Thirty-nine Articles, the Irish Articles also incorporated the content of the nine Lambeth Articles developed in 1595 and the phraseology of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
Content
While the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England were never intended to be a complete confession of the Christian faith, the Irish Articles of Religion, by contrast, aimed to be much more comprehensive and systematic, defining the Church of Ireland in a decidedly Reformed direction theologically. The Irish doctrinal articles number 104 in all, and while reproducing the content of 37 of the Thirty-nine Articles, the Irish articles also incorporate other material, including from the two Books of Homilies, commended in Article 35 of the Thirty-nine Articles. The Irish articles differ markedly in their order from the original Thirty-nine Articles, often following the lead of Reformed confessions produced earlier in continental Europe (such as the Second Helvetic Confession) in the structure. The Irish Articles also fail to incorporate Article 36 (which dealt with the consecration of bishops and ministers) of the earlier Thirty-nine Articles. This omission perhaps catered to Puritans who existed within both the Church of Ireland and the Church of England at the time (some of whom advocated other forms of church government besides episcopalianism).
The Irish Articles of Religion can be divided into nineteen sections based on their content:
Articles 1-7 (Of the Holy Scripture and the Three Creeds): The first articles deal with the authority of Scripture and the three ancient creeds. The Irish Articles go further than the Thirty-nine articles in listing the canonical books of both the Old and New Testaments and affirming their inspiration (1-2), in disclaiming the divine inspiration of the Apocrypha (3), of advocating for the translating of the Scriptures into all languages (4), and in affirming the perspicuity and sufficiency of Scripture for salvation (5-6). Article 7 affirms the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian creeds as being consistent with holy Scripture.
Articles 8-10 (Of Faith in the Holy Trinity): These articles largely replicate the doctrines of the Thirty-nine articles on the Trinity, including an outline of the doctrine (8), language on the eternal generation of the Son (9), and the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son (10).
Articles 11-17 (Of God's Eternal Decree and Predestination): Article 11 affirms absolute divine sovereignty (eternal decree) as well as the existence of secondary causes. Articles 12-17 explain the doctrine of predestination: that from all eternity God elected (predestined) some to everlasting life and left (reprobated) others to death (12). This election to everlasting life is not based on foreseen faith or of anything within the person, but on the 'good pleasure of God himself' (14). The Irish Articles places a prelapsarian emphasis on predestination, adopting and incorporating the language of the nine Lambeth Articles authored in 1595.
Articles 18-21 (Of the Creation and Government of All Things): These articles explain the doctrines of creation (18) and providence, touching on the creation of all things, including both angels and man (19-20). After explaining the creation of man, the articles then go on to explain how the 'covenant of the law' was engrafted on the heart of man, with the promise of everlasting life upon condition of man's perfect obedience (21, cf. the Covenant of Works explained in the Westminster Confession).
Articles 22-28 (Of the Fall of Man, Original Sin, and the State of Man before Justification): These articles explain how Fall of man (22) corrupted mankind's nature with original sin (23-24), rendering man unable by his own natural strength to respond to God (25), thus his works which do not proceed from the inspiration of the Spirit cannot merit grace (26), and make him liable to God's judgment (27). Although God permits evil for the ultimate good of his elect and the manifestation of his glory, he is not the author of sin (28).
Articles 29-30 (Of Christ, the Mediator of the Second Covenant): These articles describe Jesus Christ and the hypostatic union of divine and human natures in the person of the Son (29). He is said to be the mediator of the second covenant (cf. the Covenant of Grace explained in the Westminster Confession), who through his life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and future return to judge the world reconciled man to God and took away the sins of the world (30). In these articles, and in Articles 18-21, the reader can trace the influence of covenant theology that was circulating within the Reformed churches at this time.
Articles 31-33 (Of the Communicating of the Grace of Christ): These articles make clear that salvation is to found in Christ alone, and not in any thing in man, either by his belonging to any sect or living by any law of nature (31). Also, the articles make clear that no one can come to Christ unless the Father draw him (32), but that the elect are effectually called to Christ and regenerated by his Holy Spirit, and thus are made partakers of Christ and all his benefits (33).
Articles 34-38 (Of Justification and Faith): These articles articulate the Reformation doctrine that believers are accounted righteous before God 'only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, applied by faith, and not for our own works or merits' (34). This justification by faith alone, comes as the free gift of God in his Son Jesus Christ, who by his ransom paid and his fulfillment of the law credited to believers, satisfies the justice and mercy of God (35). This justifying faith also comes with true repentance, hope, charity, and the fear of God (36). Justifying faith does not mean simply the belief in general in Christianity, but 'a particular application of the gracious promises of the gospel to the comfort of our own souls' (37). This justifying faith is never extinguished in the regenerate (38).
Articles 39-45 (Of Sanctification and Good Works): The articles go on to say that sanctification follows justification (39), whereby believers in Christ are granted true repentance (which is a 'godly sorrow' for former sins with a 'constant resolution [...] to cleave unto God and to lead a new life' (40). Good works that spring from true faith, though they cannot in themselves make satisfaction for sins, are nevertheless pleasing to God (41). These good works are such as God has approved in his holy Scripture, and thus the articles deny the doctrine of works of supererogation (42, 45). The regenerate after baptism, and for the rest of this life, will always struggle with sin and cannot perfectly fulfil the law of God, and so must always repent (43-44).
Articles 46-56 (Of the Service of God): From the articles on sanctification, the articles then proceed on outlining the service to God alone (54) that believers owe, summarizing it as to 'believe in him, to fear him, and to love him with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our soul, and with all our strength; to worship him, and to give him thanks; to put our whole trust in him, to call upon him, to honor his holy name and his Word, and to serve him truly all the days of our life' (46). These articles go into particular ways that believers serve God even in times of affliction (49), including prayer (47-48), fasting (50-51), true worship (52) that does not involve images of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit (53), hallowing of God's name, permitting the taking of oaths when appropriate (55), and the observance of the Lord's Day (56). These articles thus cover the Great Commandment and the first four of the Ten Commandments (according to the numbering used by Reformed Churches).