The Thirty-Nine Articles are some of the defining statements of doctrine in the Church of England. They are not official doctrinal documents in all Anglican churches, only in some of them. The articles were established by a Convocation of the Church in 1563, under the direction of Archbishop Matthew Parker. They are printed in the Book of Common Prayer. Clergy of the Church of England are required to take an oath that the doctrine in the Articles is "agreeable to the Word of God," but the laity are not, and other Churches of the Anglican Communion do not make such a requirement. The Articles highlight some of the major differences between Anglican and late mediaeval Christian doctrinal abuses, as well as more conventional declarations of Christianity.