Thank you Anne! It appears I am an "Anglo-Catholic" after all (and I mean this in a most positive sense and not to denigrate other Anglicans). I love that the ACA accepts all Seven Ecumenical Councils, and interprets the Anglican Forularies in light of the ancient undivided Church. And I love the "Affirmation of St. Louis", which I had read before but now fully agree with.
Can someone give me a run down on all these US Church acronyms and what types of Churches they are? ACA, TEC, ACNA etc? Are they all Anglican? In the UK, apart from the Continuing Anglican Churches that are not in Communion with Canterbury, all Anglican Churches are Church of England, although within the C of E some are low, evangelical; some are broad and liberal; some are high, Anglo- Catholic. And, I must look up the Affirmation of St Louis as have not come across this!
I'll be compiling a list of acronyms...as it does get very confusing! But here's a link to the Affirmation of St. Louis, which is held to by many American Continuing Anglican churches: http://www.acahome.org/anglican_documents/anglican_documents_affirmation_of_st_louis.html
...And for the basics the most important part of the Affirmation of St. Louis is the section Principles of Doctrine: http://www.acahome.org/anglican_documents/asl_i_principles_of_doctrine.html
So basically The Episcopal Church (TEC) is the original, official American branch of the Anglican Communion in communion with Canterbury. Over the years various groups broke away from TEC. One of the first, if not the first, to separate is the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) in the 19th century. It was originally Low Church and evangelical. And then in the 1970's many more separated from TEC due to ordination of women and growing liberalism. These would be the Continuing Anglicans. Some of which merged, and some of which are in communion with each other, but not with Canterbury. And some of them split from groups that split Here's just a few: Anglican Catholic Church (ACC). Anglican Church in America (ACA) Anglican Province of Christ The King (APCK) Anglican Province of America (APA) Anglican Orthodox Church (AOC) Orthodox Anglican Church (OAC) And then there's the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) which is not technically a Continuing church...but more of a federation of churches which left TEC. They range from charismatic, evangelical to Anglo-Catholic. Perhaps more Anglo-Catholic than not...I'm not sure...the one I briefly attended was more charismatic-high church. Most, but not all(!) Continuing Anglican churches are very Anglo-Catholic, such as the one I attend (ACA, not to be confused with the ACNA ) Some even desired unity with Rome. But none to my knowledge are actually in communion with Canterbury. Hope this helps a bit. I'm sure a whole book could be written about these churches. Oh and here's a fairly decent Wiki article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_Anglican_movement
Thank you for this CWJ - really interesting. I hadn't realised there were so many different Anglican Churches in the US. So, only TEC is in communion with Canterbury. In the UK we do have Continuing Anglican Churches, but I don't think they are so widespread as in the US. There's the Anglican Catholic Church and the Traditional Anglican Church in Britain, but they don't have that many parishes/Churches around the UK. When people talk about Anglicanism in the UK they generally mean the Church of England. This is an interesting summary of Anglo- Catholicism in the Church of England (from an Anglo-Catholic Church website): http://www.stmarymagdalenoxford.org.uk/what-anglo-catholicism. I like the first line which says that the Church of England and the Wider Anglican Communion are confusing institutions! This is also interesting, in particularly regarding differences between Anglo-Catholics themselves - also from an Anglo-Catholic Church website: http://www.stmarysilford.org.uk/anglo-catholic.htm Under the section theology it says that what Anglo-Catholics believe is fiercely debated, sometimes even among Anglo-Catholics themselves. Forgot to mention the Anglican Ordinariate Churches in the Uk, which are in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Thanks for those links, I added them to my bookmarks and am reading them. You should see my "Anglicanism" bookmark, by the way....I need to categorize them topically, I have so many In another thread you had posted the Anglican church you attend, it seems to be rather Anglo-Catholic and looks beautiful and similar to the ACA parish I attend. Would you describe your church as Anglo-Catholic? And then there's the whole High-Church and Anglo-Catholic differences, which is mentioned in the second link you provided. In the end, Anglicanism is nothing if not diverse and confusing But that's when I remind myself of the ancient undivided Church, Creeds, Councils and Fathers, and see that these traditions are indeed continued in many churches calling themselves Anglican. As confusing as it all can be...I feel truly at home worshiping God in an Anglo-Catholic church, in my case in the ACA.
Yes, my Church is definitely Anglo-Catholic. I know what you mean about your bookmarks - I have so many articles, websites etc that I want to read! There is so much to learn about!
Yes, and so much rich tradition and spirituality in Anglicanism to read From the early Celtic monastics, the later Anglo Saxon conversions, the English Reformers, and the Caroline divines, the Oxford Movement, and all the way until now when all is available on our computers
I have much respect for the Anglo-Catholic churches, during my parting from Orthodoxy I was heading in that direction. Unfortunately, none was close to where I live. I came across a small REC church close by. Great church, liturgical,creedal, Christian morality, etc. Probably not exactly what I would've handpicked, but I feel like I'm home. I recently met an older gentleman who has taught me much. He was ordained as a baptist pastor in the 60's, went through the Charismatic Movement, went to Anglican seminary,founded 2 churches in 2 denominations, discovered EO, went to live and study in various monasteries,ordained as a deacon in GOA. 50 + time span. Has sorta just embraced all of Christianity...I guess when you get a certain age all your knowledge, books,possessions don't mean as much. It seems to me that a good church, close to home is worth more than wandering to find more "truth". Wandering sometimes equals a lot of time wasted. Time is a precious thing. We are to follow Him, and it is the same Lord in most any church you go. Anyway, that's a realization that has really stood out to me recently.
Hey there Jay my friend, I'm very happy you've found a church to call home. And it sounds like a very faithful church. And thanks a ton for sharing your thoughts, I agree fully. Time is indeed a precious thing as you said, and you are so right in saying we are to follow Him...we are Christians above all else, regardless of our church's acronym. I've always tried my best to avoid "church shopping", as I've read it described somewhere and implies seeking what we personally consider the "perfect church"....and it is difficult when one is surrounded by churches of every possible tradition. And after having moved (geographically) several times during my 20+ years of being a follower of Christ, I've been to so many different churches. I really appreciate the story of your friend, though he has obviously much more experience than I ever will At last, I've found my church home here locally. One that I believe is among many that is faithful to Christ. But throughout the entire journey over the years...good times, bad times, moving around, I was simply Christian and always will be. Many blessings to you my brother in Christ
Glad you've gotten a good church home. Great to hear it's Anglican!(I'm a little biased.lol) May God bless you now and always.
At least Jesus didn't go disciple-shopping... There's real wisdom in these posts, as part of our human journey, and spiritual development, I think, is in coming to appreciate less-than-perfect circumstances. That's my path, for sure!
Yes indeed Madeline. And I as well enjoy reading/learning of others Christian journeys. (There's no wisdom in any of my posts by the way, unless I happen to quote Scripture or a Saint, but in the posts of others here there is a lot to learn from) Blessings to you on your path my sister in Christ.