Thirty-Nine Articles (Thomas): Article 19, "Of the Church" (271ff.)

Thomas unequivocally asserts his views on the visible and invisible Church. He maintains that the visible Church must exhibit the marks or notes of the pure Word of God preached, sacraments duly administered, and proper discipline. He strongly dismisses the concept of Petrine supremacy as unexegetical. Moreover, he is resolute in his belief that the Eastern and Roman Churches have made grave errors in their doctrines. He starkly points out that the Roman Church's practices, such as clerical celibacy, speaking to the congregation in an unknown tongue, withholding the cup from the laity, tradition, supererogation, purgatory, seven sacraments, transubstantiation, and other practices are anti-apostolic, un-Biblical and require immediate correction and discipline.