As he read about propitiatory sacrifice in the Old Testament, he thought, "What, may I transfer all my guilt to another? Has God provided an offering for me, that I may lie my sins on his head?" He immediately laid his sins "upon the sacred head of Jesus."

The nature of the Church But what is the Church? Article XIX tells us: 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. Notice first, the reference to the visible Church, as distinct from the invisible Church. The invisible Church is the company of faithful believers known only to Christ.

The first Church of England service on record in the country was conducted by a Naval Chaplain in 1749. After the British occupation of the Cape in 1806, congregations were formed and churches were built.

The 17th century has been described as the "golden age" of Anglicanism. The leading churchmen of the period, collectively known as the "Caroline Divines" aimed for a balanced devotion of "true piety with sound learning." The place of the Prayer Book in their spiritual life is emphasized by Martin Thornton: 'Bible and Prayer Book' were the twin pillars of Caroline spirituality, with the latter given almost equal status, and subjected to the same kind of systematic study as the former....