I belong to the Orthodox Church in America, and have no plans to change this. But I've become very appreciative of Anglicanism, primarily due to the BCP daily office, the KJV, and the numerous Anglican translations of patristic texts into English. In recent years, I have begun to learn more of the history of Anglicanism. In the process I've read St. Bede's History of the English Church and People, the Tracts for the Times, the Eikon Basilike by King Charles the Martyr, and Fr. Douglas Bess' Divided We Stand. I'm also working my way through Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, though slowly and in small chunks. I'm here to learn more about Anglicanism, and I hope for eventual reconciliation between the continuing Anglican Churches and the Orthodox, that we may "hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life," as the prayer book puts it. God bless you all, and thanks for having me here.
Glad you are here. This site has many reproduced resources, and the site forum contains quite a few informative discussions. Plus we are happy to answer questions! It's hard to say whether the churches will officially reconcile, but in the meantime we are united in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as members of His body on earth.
Welcome, my friend and brother from the East. Anglican is a way of being Christian, as is Eastern. Hooker is poorly understood by many contemporary Anglicans, yet is has much to offer. He is a Divine who I suspect is invoked more often than he is read. As Anglicans, I believe we owe a great deal to the East for the origins of our tradition, stemming back to the period before the Augustinian Mission. As you have read Bede you have no doubt reflected on that already.
Welcome! Bess' book is a double edged sword. There have been scant few authors who have undertaken written histories of the Continuing churches. But it is fairly clear Bess had a deep disdain for James Parker Dees and Anthony Clavier.
Thanks for the warm welcomes! The part I found most interesting was that he portrayed everything as basically a struggle between those who wanted to be pretty much Roman Catholic, and those who pretty much wanted to be congregationalist Evangelicals. As if no one thought to look back to Hooker or the Caroline divines. I'm definitely curious how accurate that portrayal was.
This has been one of the mysteries for me, as I was discovering Anglicanism... It does not seem that some of its modern adherents give full recognition to the riches and depths within their tradition