Anglicans are often said to rely on a “three-legged stool” of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. While this image is helpful, it is frequently misunderstood. These are not three equal authorities competing for dominance. They are three gifts, rightly ordered, serving the one Word of God.

Holy Scripture stands first. It is the inspired record of God’s saving work and the final authority for faith and morals. Anglicanism has never wavered on this point. The Church does not stand above Scripture; she stands under it. Every doctrine, every practice, every moral teaching must ultimately answer to the Word of God written.

Tradition follows—not as an addition to Scripture, but as its faithful transmission. Tradition is the Church remembering rightly. It is how the Scriptures have been read, prayed, preached, and lived by the faithful across centuries. Tradition guards us from novelty masquerading as insight and from private interpretation detached from the mind of the Church.

Reason, finally, is not human opinion elevated to authority. It is the God-given faculty by which we read Scripture attentively, receive Tradition wisely, and apply both faithfully. Reason asks careful questions, resists superstition, and seeks coherence—but it never sits in judgment over revelation.

When these three are properly ordered, the Church remains both catholic and reformed, ancient and living. Problems arise when the order is reversed: when reason becomes the judge of Scripture, when tradition becomes untouchable regardless of truth, or when Scripture is isolated from the Church that preserved it.

Anglican Catholic faith is not anti-intellectual, nor is it driven by innovation. It is confident, careful, and rooted. It believes that God has spoken, that the Church has listened, and that the faithful are called to understand—not reinvent—the faith once delivered.

This ordered harmony keeps the Church grounded, humble, and faithful in every age.