Why are you Anglican/Episcopalian?

Discussion in 'Navigating Through Church Life' started by Scottish Knight, Jan 31, 2012.

  1. Mockingbird

    Mockingbird Member

    Posts:
    71
    Likes Received:
    26
    Country:
    United States
    Religion:
    Anglican
    This question came up about three-and-a-half years ago on another discussion site, Ship of Fools. Here is what I wrote there:
     
  2. Lux Christi

    Lux Christi Active Member

    Posts:
    118
    Likes Received:
    99
    Country:
    Canada
    Religion:
    Anglican (Anglo-Catholic)
    What are your reasons? You can list one, or bullet them as points!
     
  3. Symphorian

    Symphorian Well-Known Member

    Posts:
    351
    Likes Received:
    518
    Country:
    UK
    Religion:
    Anglican, CofE
    Personal history is a major reason for me. I was born into a family that has had a long association with the Church of England which I can trace back to the time of Elizabeth I. (Many Churchwardens and several unruly church bell ringers in evidence!)

    The theology and practice of the CofE are also important to me. I believe that Anglicanism is still the best expression of the Catholic faith and the Gospel. We profess the faith that is revealed in Scripture and expressed by the early Church Fathers, the early Church Councils and set forth in the Catholic Creeds. Our theology does not claim too much (unlike the Church of Rome) and our historic formularies reflect the Word of God as found in Scripture and are not set above it. The Book of Common Prayer is full of Scripture and links us to Christian Revelation from the first century to the present day, gathering prayer and praise from the centuries that lie in between. We are both Catholic and Reformed. The Anglican Reformers were not blinded by prejudice; they saw the excesses of Romanism which they removed but they did not discard that which was good.

    There are many other things I appreciate about Anglicanism: its restrained, dignified congregational worship; its three broad traditions - Evangelical, Liberal and Catholic; the fact that the laity are well represented on committees and councils; its sense of mission and outreach to name but a few.
     
    seagull likes this.
  4. seeking.IAM

    seeking.IAM Member

    Posts:
    96
    Likes Received:
    89
    Country:
    United States
    Religion:
    Episcopalian
    I became Episcopalian after the age of 50 and a prolonged search for a new church affiliation. Worship at the church I was attending had become anemic -- actually it didn't feel to me like worship at all. Although looking for a more reverential and liturgical worship experience was my primary motivation, a secondary wish was to join a body less subject to change at the whim of popular fad or opinion. Therefore, I decided to search backward on the timeline of the development of Christianity. I visited only those bodies whose formation preceded the body I had been attending. I had a bit of a fling with the Eastern Orthodox Church. I gained great respect for our Orthodox brothers and sisters but there were some things with which I could not grow comfortable. I became Episcopalian for the constancy of our liturgical, prayer book based worship, and because I perceived it to be the most historic catholic church that welcomes all baptized Christians to share in the Eucharist. An open communion is an essential belief to me in keeping with Christ's wish that the church be one.
     
  5. historyb

    historyb Active Member

    Posts:
    243
    Likes Received:
    199
    Country:
    USA
    Religion:
    CEC (Anglo-Catholic)
    CS Lewis. I finally ot to fo to an CEC Mass and loved it so I stayed before I had been a Catholic
     
    Lowly Layman likes this.
  6. Celtic1

    Celtic1 Well-Known Member

    Posts:
    836
    Likes Received:
    419
    Country:
    USA
    Religion:
    Celtic Christian
    I like your post, and my intent is not to criticize, but let me make a couple of observations: Christian belief is regularly put up for popular vote in TEC, and often abandoned, as in the case of approval of same-sex blessings and ordination of practicing homosexuals.

    And while I love the liturgy of the BCP, many in the TEC just mouth the words while disbelieving the doctrines taught there -- in other words, such have the form of godliness only.
     
    Lowly Layman likes this.
  7. seeking.IAM

    seeking.IAM Member

    Posts:
    96
    Likes Received:
    89
    Country:
    United States
    Religion:
    Episcopalian
    Celtic1, you are quite right of course. I understand TEC is also subject to some of the "popular vote" thing I mentioned. Still there is the slowness to change the BCP, that provides some constancy to worship that I find comforting. A thing I grew tired of in my former church was the worship committee working weekly to find that new, creative "worship" production that would dazzle and amaze congregants so as not to lose their interest and flee membership, go to the golf course, or just stay home in bed. TEC does not frequently change its form of worship as outlined in the BCP, although underlying doctrines may change in ways that are albeit sometimes undesirable. Still, I experience the TEC as being more about worship than about dogma or doctrine. I do not hear doctrine preached or even spoken about in my church, only the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    Your second point if of no matter to me. In any church body, someone in the pew is mouthing words he or she doesn't really believe. That is true, but inescapable. It only matters to me that I believe.
     
    Lowly Layman likes this.
  8. Celtic1

    Celtic1 Well-Known Member

    Posts:
    836
    Likes Received:
    419
    Country:
    USA
    Religion:
    Celtic Christian
    Thanks for your response. I do understand where you are coming from.

    I, too, love the liturgy of the BCP; it is uplifting and beautiful.
     
    Lowly Layman likes this.
  9. Perceval

    Perceval New Member

    Posts:
    12
    Likes Received:
    12
    Country:
    Alabama
    Religion:
    Episcopalian
    Two or three years ago I felt strongly that I should go to church one morning. I chose the local Episcopal church because I had never experienced a liturgical service before, and because I knew Episcopalians to be more gamely tolerant of a diversity of opinion. Having fled a dogmatic sect earlier in my youth, I had no interest in anyone telling me what to think. I enjoyed the service, especially the feel of Communion. When the Great Thanksgiving began, it felt to me -- who then considered myself nonreligious, if spiritual -- as if a presence had entered the place, as if great curtains had fallen. There was such reverence and dignity in the service, and I liked the idea of experiencing divinity in a way that people had been experiencing it for generations before me. My ideal church was a kind of village parish, the center of town and life which was the stage for all the moments of life requiring great ritual: the introduction of newborns to the community, coming of age in confirmation, marriage -- and death. My local parish was very much like that: it sat in the heart of town, just a block from where I worked. Many members of the parish lived within walking distance, and some did walk to morning services. I kept attending services, and I've been there for a little over two years now. But I I love the tradition for another reason: it was the faith of many of the US's founding fathers, and the faith of their forebears. Though an American by birth and heart, to me that feeling is rooted in the deep history of England and its culture. To be Episcopalian, to be attached to the Anglican Communion, is a way for me to connect to my English heritage.
     
  10. seagull

    seagull Active Member

    Posts:
    536
    Likes Received:
    90
    Country:
    England
    Religion:
    Anglican
    An interesting subject. I see that Scottish Knight has addressed the same one under Miscellaneous Discussions.

    Basically I'm in agreement with Symphorian's post. But my history is a bit different. Both my parents (though not my g/parents) were CofE and as mentioned in another thread, I drifted away and back.

    I have some sympathy with the theme that Anglicanism is the most grown up form of Christianity. And I was very impressed by an article by the journalist Christina Patterson, who started life as an Anglican, got bored and became a "born again Baptist nutter". She now has "no religious beliefs" but "loves the Church of England", because:

    I) It is patient;

    ii) It is kind;

    iii) It is not boastful;

    iv) It does not insist on its own way, but it is genuinely tolerant of other religious beliefs and none;

    v) It believes in the values of the New Testament;

    vi) It doesn't speak like a child, think like a child or reason like a child;

    vii) It is calm;

    viii) It is mature enough to recognise doubt.

    From my point of view, I like the beauty of the services and many of the buildings. And I like the fact that it is mature and sensible enough not to get too hung up on contraception, alcohol, gambling, etc as other churches have done.

    But above all it gives me solace and happiness.
     
  11. seagull

    seagull Active Member

    Posts:
    536
    Likes Received:
    90
    Country:
    England
    Religion:
    Anglican
    I believe it's part of the one true church: The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. (And it's the best part!)
     
    Lux Christi and Lowly Layman like this.