Home / Tools / Compare Denominations / Anglican / Episcopal vs. Seventh-day Adventist

Anglican / Episcopal vs. Seventh-day Adventist

A side-by-side comparison of Anglican / Episcopal and Seventh-day Adventist teaching on 16 questions, from Scripture and salvation to baptism, communion and church government.

Anglican / Episcopal

The Anglican Communion descends from the Church of England, which broke with Rome in the 1530s while keeping bishops and much of the older liturgy. The Episcopal Church is its American branch. It describes itself as both catholic and Reformed.

More about Anglican / Episcopal Christianity

Seventh-day Adventist

The Seventh-day Adventist Church grew out of the Millerite expectation of Christ’s return in the 1840s and was formally organized in 1863. It worships on the seventh day, Saturday, and holds distinctive teaching on the state of the dead and the end times.

At a glance

Where they differ: Authority: Scripture and tradition; Baptism; Sacraments or ordinances; Church government; Death, purgatory and hell; Style of worship; Day of worship.

Varies within one or both: Predestination and free will; Communion (the Lord’s Supper); Clergy and women in ministry; Mary and the saints; The Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts.

Where they agree: Books of the Bible; The Trinity; How a person is saved; Can a saved person fall away?.

Side by side

Question	Anglican / Episcopal	Seventh-day Adventist
Authority: Scripture and traditionDiffer	Scripture holds first place, and it is read with the help of tradition and reason. This threefold approach is often traced to the theologian Richard Hooker.	The Bible alone is the standard for doctrine. Adventists also honor the writings of Ellen G. White as a prophetic gift, but hold them to be subject to Scripture.
Books of the BibleAgree	66 books as Scripture. The Thirty-Nine Articles say the Apocrypha may be read “for example of life and instruction of manners,” but not to establish doctrine.	66 books.
The TrinityAgree	One God in three persons. The creeds are recited in worship and are part of the Book of Common Prayer.	One God in three co-eternal persons. Some early Adventists were not Trinitarian, but the church has affirmed the doctrine since the 20th century.
How a person is savedAgree	Article XI teaches that we are justified by faith only. Anglicans differ on how this fits with the sacraments, with Evangelicals stressing faith and Anglo-Catholics stressing baptism and the Eucharist.	Saved by grace through faith in Christ. Adventists teach that obedience, including keeping the Ten Commandments, is the fruit of salvation and not its cause.
Can a saved person fall away?Agree	Yes. Article XVI says a believer may depart from grace given and fall into sin, and by God’s grace rise again and amend his life.	Yes. Salvation can be lost by rejecting God, but no one is lost who continues to trust in Christ.
Predestination and free willVaries	Article XVII affirms predestination in gentle terms. Anglicans range from Calvinists to Arminians, and the church has never enforced one view.	Arminian in outlook. God desires all to be saved, and each person chooses whether to respond.
BaptismDiffer	A sacrament of new birth into the church. Infants and adults are baptized, by pouring or immersion. Anglicans differ on how closely baptism is tied to regeneration.	Baptism by immersion, given after instruction and a public profession of faith. It marks membership in the church.
Communion (the Lord’s Supper)Varies	The Eucharist. Anglicans affirm Christ’s presence but leave the manner open, from real presence among Anglo-Catholics to a spiritual or memorial view among Evangelicals.	Observed quarterly, in a service that includes foot washing as an act of humility. The bread and grape juice are symbols.
Sacraments or ordinancesDiffer	Two sacraments “ordained by Christ,” baptism and the Eucharist. Five other rites, including confirmation and marriage, are called sacramental rites, and Anglo-Catholics often count all seven.	Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church’s own statement treats foot washing as part of the Lord’s Supper service, and some Adventists describe it as a third ordinance.
Church governmentDiffer	Governed by bishops, with a presiding archbishop in each province. The Archbishop of Canterbury is a symbolic leader of the communion, without authority over other provinces.	A representative system of local churches, regional conferences and a General Conference. Delegates make decisions for the world church.
Clergy and women in ministryVaries	Varies. Many provinces ordain women as priests and bishops, while some do not. Clergy may marry.	Women serve as pastors and elders in many regions, but ordaining women as pastors has been disputed at the level of the world church.
Mary and the saintsVaries	Varies. Anglo-Catholics ask for Mary’s and the saints’ prayers, while Evangelical Anglicans do not. Official teaching honors the saints, but Article XXII calls the invocation of saints “a fond thing vainly invented,” so Anglo-Catholic practice goes beyond the formal doctrine.	Mary is honored as Jesus’ mother. Adventists do not pray to saints and teach that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection.
Death, purgatory and hellDiffer	Article XXII rejects the “Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory.” Some Anglo-Catholics pray for the dead and hold a gentler view of the intermediate state.	The dead are unconscious until the resurrection (sometimes called “soul sleep”). The wicked are ultimately destroyed rather than tormented forever, which is the doctrine of conditional immortality.
Style of worshipDiffer	Liturgical, following the Book of Common Prayer or a modern equivalent. Styles range from ornate “high church” to simple “low church” services.	A Sabbath school and a worship service on Saturday. The service is built around preaching, hymns and prayer.
The Holy Spirit and spiritual giftsVaries	Varies. Anglicanism includes a large charismatic wing, and other Anglicans give little emphasis to gifts.	Spiritual gifts are believed to continue, and the church holds that the gift of prophecy was shown in Ellen G. White. Tongues are understood as real human languages.
Day of worshipDiffer	Sunday.	Saturday, the seventh day. Adventists keep the biblical Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset and consider it a lasting commandment.
Best known for	The Book of Common Prayer, bishops, and a middle path between Catholic and Protestant traditions.	Saturday Sabbath, a health message that includes vegetarian eating, a large system of schools and hospitals, and the expectation of Christ’s soon return.

“Agree” means the two traditions take the same broad position, although the wording above may still note finer differences. “Varies” means at least one of the two is itself divided on the question, so no single position can be given. These summaries describe typical teaching, and individual churches may vary. For an authoritative statement, consult each denomination’s own confessions.

Anglican / Episcopal vs. Seventh-day Adventist