The APA and the REC are on a path towards unity. I believe it is supposed to take place around 2010. Already they cooperate on the grassroots level by sharing clergy, resources, facilities, etc. But they will be one organic unity by the end of the decade. After years of division in the continuum this comes as welcome news. But it is also a bit perplexing as they two churches are so very different in terms of the their churchmanship. The REC is low and the APA is high. And then there are deeper issues on top of that, such as the Declaration of Principles - an REC document that denies many historical Anglican beliefs, the unusual practice of not always requiring convert nonconformist clergy to undergo episcopal ordination when joining, and more.
These divergent beliefs and traditions are not the end of the world.... I mean, I believe that God can impart sacramental grace through a man who does not have episcopal ordination (though it would be highly unusual), but it is just weird. And I know that people ignore historical documents all the time, so maybe the Declarations will just be quietly deep-sixed. But there are more issues than all of that. Unity? I don't know how they expect it to work. I hope it does for unity's sake and for God's glory, but whether or not it actually will is what's questionable. Apparantly they do not even have any canon theologians who hash all of this stuff out (though maybe that's a good thing). So I don't know how they even decide on these issues, who is on what comittee and so on! What a bunch of craziness.
I will have more on this over the coming months.
Monday, November 22, 2004
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Church of Ten
I found out today that a friend's sister, who lives a few states away, is Anglican. She's like, "They're not Episcopal but Anglican, and they go to this really small church. I mean, it's really small... there's like ten people." I just had to chuckle. Her sister must be a continuing Anglican. The clue is the parish size, and also that she refers to herself as Anglican - continuers do that to differentiate themselves from the mainline Episcopal Church.
Having been in this tradition for several years, hyper-small parishes come as no shock to me. It's just part of the deal. The downside is that programs can be limited somewhat because of that, but the good side is that the parishes tend to be very friendly, and everyone wants to come and talk to you. There are other advantages and disadvantages as well.
Having been in this tradition for several years, hyper-small parishes come as no shock to me. It's just part of the deal. The downside is that programs can be limited somewhat because of that, but the good side is that the parishes tend to be very friendly, and everyone wants to come and talk to you. There are other advantages and disadvantages as well.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
St. Willibrord, Archbishop of Utrecht
That is the guy whose feast we celebrate today according to the kalendar that my denomination uses. The various continuing churches use slightly different kalendars. They differ mostly with regard to these minor saints. This saint, as most of the other ones we commemorate this month (e.g. Hilda of Whitby; John of the Cross; Catherine of Alexandria; etc.) are not found in the 1928 BCP. There are no propers, no prayers, no nothing. So I do not know why they are put on our kalendar. I have never been able to figure that out. I guess a priest could celebrate mass for them, and that the missal has some propers, but what is the layman supposed to do?
I mentioned something along these lines to the parish priest once and he says," They have propers in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.", which is a supplemental book that is authorized for use. The trouble is, however, that the edition that is authorized has been out of print for decades. When you mention that to these parsons they tell you to go and scour the used book stores to find one. Well, call me strange, but that just sounds silly to me - even if you could actually find one.
So, I will not commemorate this archbishop today in my daily prayers as I have no prayers to pray, and no readings to read. He should either be added to the BCP, or included in a supplemental bok that is still in print and could sold/given away at local parishes. Or he should be stricken from our kalendar altogether.
I mentioned something along these lines to the parish priest once and he says," They have propers in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.", which is a supplemental book that is authorized for use. The trouble is, however, that the edition that is authorized has been out of print for decades. When you mention that to these parsons they tell you to go and scour the used book stores to find one. Well, call me strange, but that just sounds silly to me - even if you could actually find one.
So, I will not commemorate this archbishop today in my daily prayers as I have no prayers to pray, and no readings to read. He should either be added to the BCP, or included in a supplemental bok that is still in print and could sold/given away at local parishes. Or he should be stricken from our kalendar altogether.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
The Crazy, Eccentric, and Beautiful World of Continuing Anglicanism
This blog is dedicated to all things related to being a continuing Anglican/Episcopalian. It will serve as a place to discuss issues such as liturgy, theology, philosophy, ethics, ecumenicism, and more as they relate to "continuing" Anglicanism. It will also serve as a place to discuss these issues as they relate to other christian traditions.
Now, for those of you who do not already know, let me tell you something about continuing Anglicans. We are "continuing" because the idea is that we are "continuing" the orthodox Christian faith that was once delivered to the saints. We are Anglicans because we are descended form the Church of England in terms of our liturgy, ethos, and theology. We are not in sacramental communion with Archbishop of Canterbury or other parts of the mainline Anglican Communion (i.e. the Episcopal Church). We use older liturgies, such as the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer and/or the Missal. We do not ordain women or permit girls to serve as acolytes for various reasons that will be discussed later. We are pro-life, and embrace traditional moral values. We usually use the old 1940 Hymnal of the Episcopal Church, which is full of beautiful and serious hymns. Our congregations are rather small, and the buildings quite modest. There are lots of old people in the pews, but also some younger people depending on your parish. The entire liturgy, save the sermon, is conducted in beautiful Elizabethan English, and we usually say mass facing the altar. Sometimes, depending on where your go, one of the main Sunday liturgies is Morning Prayer instead of the Holy Eucharist... really old people usually favor Morning Prayer. I could go on, but hopefully this gives you some idea of what we are all about. The operative term is "old school". We are "old school" in everything we do... almost to a fault.
Now, for those of you who do not already know, let me tell you something about continuing Anglicans. We are "continuing" because the idea is that we are "continuing" the orthodox Christian faith that was once delivered to the saints. We are Anglicans because we are descended form the Church of England in terms of our liturgy, ethos, and theology. We are not in sacramental communion with Archbishop of Canterbury or other parts of the mainline Anglican Communion (i.e. the Episcopal Church). We use older liturgies, such as the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer and/or the Missal. We do not ordain women or permit girls to serve as acolytes for various reasons that will be discussed later. We are pro-life, and embrace traditional moral values. We usually use the old 1940 Hymnal of the Episcopal Church, which is full of beautiful and serious hymns. Our congregations are rather small, and the buildings quite modest. There are lots of old people in the pews, but also some younger people depending on your parish. The entire liturgy, save the sermon, is conducted in beautiful Elizabethan English, and we usually say mass facing the altar. Sometimes, depending on where your go, one of the main Sunday liturgies is Morning Prayer instead of the Holy Eucharist... really old people usually favor Morning Prayer. I could go on, but hopefully this gives you some idea of what we are all about. The operative term is "old school". We are "old school" in everything we do... almost to a fault.
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