ABSTRACT
The object of Article XXXI of the Church of England is by a restatement of the doctrine of the perfection of Christ’s atonement to condemn theories of the Eucharistic sacrifice which seriously conflicted with it, and which led to grave practical abuses. The subjects treated of in it are two in number: the sufficiency of the sacrifice of the Cross and the condemnation of the “sacrifices of Masses.” The alterations which have been made in this Article since it was first put forth in 1553 are insignificant and immaterial. It is clear from the position of this Article in the series that the doctrine of the Atonement is introduced to assert emphatically the ground on which the “sacrifices of Masses” are condemned. Its language, which is similar to that used in the opening of the Prayer of Consecration in the Order of the Holy Communion, is in entire harmony with the teaching of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
