Is this a church?

 One of the most pressing current theological questions, it seems to me, is how you recognise a church. This is so because you know you ought to belong to a church. If your church is not a church, you ought to get one!

What is the proper unit? The local congregation? Or something smaller - a homegroup or a cell or a congregation, perhaps? Or something larger? A benefice? Or some other group of churches? Or diocese? Or province? Or denomination?

And what are the essential marks?

The C of E has done some thinking about this.  

Evangelical Anglicans are sometimes accused of lacking an ecclesiology but this is harsh. The Reformed Thirty Nine Articles of Religion contribute a formal statement:

XIX — OF THE CHURCH
The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred; so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.

The Reformed have debated whether discipline should be included. Or is it a matter of the right administration of the sacraments.  

The C of E generally holds that something beyond the local congregation is essential. Likely this Article thinks so. Notice that it speaks of "the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch... also the Church of Rome". These are not single congregations with one vicar who all meet in the same building. 

(For more on this, we would all like to read Lee Gatiss 'The Anglican Doctrine of the Visible Church' Evangelical Quarterly: An International Review of Bible and Theology (2020))

In fact, though evangelicals don't always like it, it is arguable that bishops (the role, not this use of the term bishop to mean bishop!) go back to the New Testament. It seems bishops were well established during the 2nd Century and were generally thought of as pretty important by the 5th. Timothy Bradshaw writes that Anglican ecclesiology "strongly affirms" the office of the bishop, but in precisely what manner is controversial. In his view, evangelical Anglicans generally agree with Anglicanism more broadly that bishops a more ancient and not to be abandoned. However, he says: "episcopacy is ministerial to the church and it cannot be said to be a test of a true church. It may be said to be of the church's 'bene esse' or well-being, not of its 'esse' nor its 'plene esse' or fullness of being." (The Olive Branch, p175) Hilary and Jerome both suggest that bishops are kinds of presbyters (p176) and Cranmer, Jewell and Field held that bishop's superiority over priests was more a matter of custom than divine command (p177). Bradshaw summarises: "All the evangelical doctrinal authors cite lists of representative texts to show that 'no bishop, no church' is a post Tractarian distortion." (p177).     

How much independence a diocese or a province has or should have could be discussed. 

So, maybe an Anglican doctrine of the church requires:

The Word

The Sacraments

And also probably:

Something beyond the congregation 

Bishops (as a matter of custom and order)

But the question still arises to what standard? Must it have the right Bible? Must it preach it well? How many sacraments and how administered? What links must the local congregation have and to whom? And must the bishop be a good chap? Could the bishop be a woman? What must the connection to the historical episcopate be?

This issue of how to spot a church was a question at the Reformation. Was Roman Catholic baptism valid? Was the Church of Rome a true church in any sense? Calvin argued the church of Rome was not a church, but there were churches among them. Hooker thought the Roman Church was a church, but one in very serious error. 

This matters because if you are not in a church you should be. 

But all churches can and do err. If you are in a church which is in very serious error, you might stay and pray and work for reformation.