As for the possibility of vocational ministry, may the Holy Spirit lead you truly and clearly (one way or the other). May I ask if you could share some of the things you saw in EO and in Anglican that, comparing and contrasting, sparked your transition?
Sure thing! It was really the Filioque and that the Latin Church had held to it all this time. I discovered the Synod of Rome approved it before Constantinople I in 381 ratified the clause on the Holy Spirit in the Creed - so it was a done deal for me. I personally hold the same view as St. Maximos, that it is an economic procession and not one of Hypostatic Origen. However, I think there is some relationship between the Son and the Spirit eternally as well, but not one of origin - but relation in the Godhead. I also think the Essence-Energy distinction of Palamas isn't present in the Cappadocians, especially the oft-cited letter 234 of St. Basil. I do not see him advocating a "real" distinction in the Godhead, but virtual or nominal (what Duns Scotus taught). Additionally, St. Thomas Aquinas challenges this notion with his use of Aristotle and Potentiality. Lastly, I am Western. I appreciate the Latin Liturgies and saints, and I do not think you have to be Eastern to be right. I am by no means an expert in Anglicanism, but I certainly hope it stays true to the teachings of the saints. So far, so good.
Well we certainly have our share of problems, like everyone else, but I hope you find ours a mature tradition! From what I've heard thus far, the REC is a generally solid place to be.
Having been raised Lutheran... I have to be reminded that they have the same issue around acronymes American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC) Apostolic Lutheran Church of America (ALCA) Association of Confessional Lutheran Churches (ACLC) Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) Augsburg Lutheran Churches (ALC) Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC) Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA) Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) Concordia Lutheran Conference (CLC) Conservative Lutheran Association (CLA) Eielsen Synod Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK) Evangelical Lutheran Church - Eesti Synod (E.E.L.K.)[2] Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America(ELCM) Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA) Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) General Lutheran Church (GLC)[3] Illinois Lutheran Conference (ILC)[4] Independent Lutheran Diocese (ILD)[5] Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (LELCA) Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) Lutheran Church - International (LC-I) Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) Lutheran Churches of the Reformation (LCR) Lutheran Conference of Confessional Fellowship (LCCF)[6] Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church (GCEPC) Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA (LMS-USA) Lutheran Orthodox Church (LOC) North American Lutheran Church (NALC) Old Apostolic Lutheran Church Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference (OLCC) Protes'tant Conference United Lutheran Mission Association (ULMA) Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)
Yeow, that is a whole lot of "L" abbreviations. I'd like to say that we should simply avoid anything with an "L" in it, but unfortunately that guideline won't work because I am in the ADLW, Anglican Diocese of the Living Word!
It's actually not quite so bad in the Anglican world. There are a lot of acronyms lately, because of the cataclysmic realignment caused by the decay of the Episcopal Church. From that cataclysm, a good 10-15 acronyms appeared during the last 50 years, but the good news is, it's about to go back down to 2 or so. First of all, groups like the REC (which I'm a part of), AMIA, CANA, these are all within the ACNA (positioning itself as 'the' Anglican Province, the new Episcopal Church). The Episcopal Church, by its current demographics, will disappear altogether. So in 30 years, it will just be ACNA. Second, all of the Continuing groups like the APA, the ACC, have already joined in full communion with each other and the next logical step will be to incorporate under a single Continuing Anglican Denomination. So Anglicanism is actually the only Church body in the world, which (for some reason) has the strength to unify denominations that were previously broken. All other churches, including Rome, the Orthodox, the Lutherans, have only fractured further and further. Only in Anglicanism have I seen the phenomenon where you have more 'church pieces' in the beginning, and fewer in the end. I'm very proud of that actually.
AMiA and CANA are not currently within ACNA. They are mission partners but not member dioceses. Organic union is not as close as the news reports claim and only about half of the significant Continuing groups are currently participating in the unification effort.
For CANA I meant what became the Diocese of the Living Word, which is what most of CANA folded into. There were a number of ethnically Nigerian churches within the old CANA that stayed out, so that's under a Nigerian provincial oversight. However even that only happened last year and only under odd and contingent circumstances, so I don't see that remaining 5 years from now, as it would simply cause too much friction within the Gafcon establishment. With AMIA, most of it also folded into ACNA so that's what I mean. A few churches here also stayed out, but they're doing so poorly that in 10-20 years the highest probability is they'll dissolve or merge into one of the larger bodies. Well you would definitely know more on that. I was told that pride among the Presiding Bishops plays a huge part in keeping that rift intact, which is sad. That being said, at least the Big Four continuing jurisdictions appear to be merging. Maybe you could fill in more information. At the very least, there's enormous pressure on the Continuing groups to merge, whether each one will do it or not. And it's this weird pressure that I really marvel in the Anglican ethos; why does it exist, where does it come from? The bajillion Lutheran groups don't seem to feel that pressure to re-unify. Old Catholics and Roman Catholics don't seem to feel the pressure, each one content to be separate. Old Believers and Russian orthodox don't feel the pressure to re-unify. There's something interesting in the Anglican ethos that I think deserves to be looked at.