Continuing Anglican Movement
Encyclopedia
The term Continuing Anglican movement refers to a number of churches in various countries that have been formed outside of the Anglican Communion
. These churches generally believe that "traditional" forms of Anglican faith and worship have been unacceptably revised or abandoned within some Anglican Communion churches in recent decades. They claim, therefore, that they are "continuing" the traditional forms of Anglicanism. The modern Continuing movement principally dates to the Congress of St. Louis
in the United States in 1977, at which participants rejected changes that had been made in the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer
and the ordination of women
. More recent changes in the North American churches of the Anglican Communion, such as the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the priesthood and episcopate, have created further separations.
and lay people who left churches belonging to the Anglican Communion
. These particular Anglican Communion
churches are charged by the Continuing movement with being greatly compromised by adopting what they consider to be secular cultural standards and liberal approaches to theology. Many Continuing Anglicans believe that the faith of some churches in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury has become either unorthodox
or un-Christian
and therefore have not sought to also be in communion with them. Although the term Anglican usually refers to those churches in communion
with the Church of England
and the Archbishop of Canterbury
, many Continuing churches, particularly those in the United States, use the term Anglican to differentiate themselves from the Episcopal Church
. Many continuing Anglicans feel that they are remaining true to historic Anglican tradition and Biblical Christianity and that it is the Episcopal Church in the United States, as well as other parts of the Anglican Communion
, which have become unorthodox.
in general has always sought a balance between the emphases of Catholicism
and Protestantism
, while tolerating a range of expressions of evangelicalism
and ceremony. Clergy and laity from all Anglican churchmanship
traditions have been active in the formation of the Continuing movement.
While there are high church
, broad church
, and low church
Continuing Anglicans, many Continuing churches are Anglo-Catholic with highly ceremonial liturgical practices. Others belong to a more Evangelical or low church
tradition, support the Thirty-nine Articles
, and observe Morning Prayer more frequently than Holy Communion.
Most Continuing churches in the United States reject the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer
by the Episcopal Church and use the 1928 version or prior official versions of the Book of Common Prayer
for their services instead. In addition, some Anglo-Catholic bodies also use the Anglican Missal
or English Missal
in celebrating the Eucharist.
Liturgical use of the 1611 "Authorized Version" of Holy Scripture (more widely known as the King James Version) is also a common feature. This is done for many reasons, not the least of which are aesthetics, and in protest against what some claim to be liberal
or progressive
theology that updated English translations such as the New Revised Standard Version
are believed to embody.
. Related churches in other countries, such as the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the Church of England (Continuing), were founded later.
In 1976, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
voted to approve the ordination of women to the priest
hood and to the episcopate
and also provisionally adopted a new and doctrinally controversial Book of Common Prayer
, later called the 1979 version. During the following year, 1977, several thousand dissenting clergy
and laypersons responded to those actions by meeting in St. Louis, Missouri under the auspices of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen and adopted a theological statement, the Affirmation of St. Louis
. The Affirmation expressed a determination "to continue in the Catholic Faith, Apostolic Order, Orthodox Worship and Evangelical Witness of the traditional Anglican Church, doing all things necessary for the continuance of the same."
Out of this meeting came a new church with the provisional name of the "Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal)". The first bishop of the new church, the Right Reverend Charles Doren
, was consecrated by a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Right Reverend Albert Arthur Chambers of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois
, along with Bishop Francisco Pagtakhan of the Philippine Independent Church
as co-consecrator.
Although expected to be the third bishop participating in Doren's consecration, the Right Reverend Mark Pae
of the Anglican Church of Korea sent a letter of consent instead. This development left the new group open to charges of violating the customs of apostolic succession
, in which three bishops customarily are present, although only one is necessary for a valid consecration.
The newly-consecrated Bishop Doren then joined with Bishops Chambers and Pagtakhan in consecrating as bishops the Reverend James Mote, the Reverend Robert Morse, and the Reverend Francis Watterson. Bishop Watterson left the movement shortly afterward and became a Roman Catholic priest.
led by Bishop Mote, the Diocese of Christ the King (now the Anglican Province of Christ the King
) led by Bishop Morse, and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada
.
In 1981, Bishop Doren and others left the Anglican Catholic Church to found the United Episcopal Church of North America
in opposition to the alleged inhospitality of the other jurisdictions towards Low Churchmen
.
The principles of the Affirmation of St. Louis
and, to a lesser extent, the Thirty-nine Articles
of Religion, provide some basis for unity in the movement, but the jurisdictions are numerous, usually quite small in membership and often splinter and recombine. Reports put the number of jurisdictions at somewhere between 20 and 40, mostly in North America
, but fewer than a dozen of the churches popularly called "Continuing churches" can be traced back to the meeting in St. Louis.
In 2007, various jurisdictions made attempts at overcoming the movement's divisions. The Anglican Catholic Church
, the Anglican Province of Christ the King
, and the United Episcopal Church of North America
entered into discussions about possible organic unity. A Communion Agreement was entered into on May 17, 2007. In January 2009 one bishop from each jurisdiction consecrated three suffragan bishops in St. Louis, intending that they serve all three jurisdictions.
The Anglican Episcopal Church
and the Diocese of the Great Lakes
formed the North American Anglican Conference
for mutual assistance between Evangelical Anglican churches. A suffragan bishop was consecrated for the Anglican Episcopal Church in late 2008 by its presiding bishop and three bishops of the Diocese of the Great Lakes.
Another regional association facilitating increased dialogue and fellowship opportunities is Common Cause Appalachia,
to which some continuing Anglican churches in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee belong.
In 2007, one Continuing Anglican church body, the Traditional Anglican Communion
(TAC), made a formal proposal to the Roman Catholic Church
for admission into "full corporate and sacramental union"
with that church in a manner that would permit the retention of some of its Anglican heritage. The Vatican announced, on July 5, 2008, that it was giving serious consideration to appeals received from various Anglican groups seeking union with itself, observing that "the situation within the Anglican Communion in general has become markedly more complex". On October 29, 2009, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced Pope Benedict XVI
's intention to create a new type of ecclesiastical structure, called a "personal ordinariate
", for groups of Anglicans entering into full communion with the see of Rome.
On November 4, 2009, Pope Benedict signed an apostolic constitution
, Anglicanorum Coetibus. The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America — the American Province of the TAC — responded on March 3, 2010, voting unanimously to request acceptance under the personal ordinariate provision. Within months, however, three ACA bishops made known their opposition to the move.
with the Archbishop of Canterbury
include the Church of England in South Africa
; the Reformed Episcopal Church
in the United States, which was formed in 1873 in opposition to the advance of Anglo-Catholicism
in the Episcopal Church; the Free Church of England
, which was founded in England in 1844 for similar reasons; the Anglican Orthodox Church, another Low Church body that was founded in 1963, and the Orthodox Anglican Communion
founded by the AOC in 1967. These churches are not universally considered to be Continuing Anglican churches because they were founded prior to the beginning of the Continuing Anglican movement of the 1970s; however, they relate to the Continuing churches on a number of levels and have similarities in beliefs and practices.
are associated with the Continuing Anglican movement:
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. These churches generally believe that "traditional" forms of Anglican faith and worship have been unacceptably revised or abandoned within some Anglican Communion churches in recent decades. They claim, therefore, that they are "continuing" the traditional forms of Anglicanism. The modern Continuing movement principally dates to the Congress of St. Louis
Congress of St. Louis
The 1977 Congress of St. Louis was an international gathering of nearly 2,000 Anglicans united in their rejection of theological changes introduced by the Anglican Church of Canada and by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in its General Convention of 1976...
in the United States in 1977, at which participants rejected changes that had been made in the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
and the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
. More recent changes in the North American churches of the Anglican Communion, such as the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the priesthood and episcopate, have created further separations.
Relations with the Anglican Communion
Continuing churches have generally been formed by clergyClergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
and lay people who left churches belonging to the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. These particular Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
churches are charged by the Continuing movement with being greatly compromised by adopting what they consider to be secular cultural standards and liberal approaches to theology. Many Continuing Anglicans believe that the faith of some churches in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury has become either unorthodox
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
or un-Christian
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
and therefore have not sought to also be in communion with them. Although the term Anglican usually refers to those churches in communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, many Continuing churches, particularly those in the United States, use the term Anglican to differentiate themselves from the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
. Many continuing Anglicans feel that they are remaining true to historic Anglican tradition and Biblical Christianity and that it is the Episcopal Church in the United States, as well as other parts of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, which have become unorthodox.
Theological diversity
AnglicanismAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
in general has always sought a balance between the emphases of Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, while tolerating a range of expressions of evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
and ceremony. Clergy and laity from all Anglican churchmanship
Churchmanship
Within Anglicanism the term churchmanship is sometimes used to refer to distinct understandings of church doctrine and liturgical practice by members of the Church of England and other churches of the Anglican communion...
traditions have been active in the formation of the Continuing movement.
While there are high church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
, broad church
Broad church
Broad church is a term referring to latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England, in particular, and Anglicanism, in general. From this, the term is often used to refer to secular political organisations, meaning that they encompass a broad range of opinion.-Usage:After the terms high...
, and low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
Continuing Anglicans, many Continuing churches are Anglo-Catholic with highly ceremonial liturgical practices. Others belong to a more Evangelical or low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
tradition, support the Thirty-nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
, and observe Morning Prayer more frequently than Holy Communion.
Most Continuing churches in the United States reject the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
by the Episcopal Church and use the 1928 version or prior official versions of the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
for their services instead. In addition, some Anglo-Catholic bodies also use the Anglican Missal
Anglican Missal
The Anglican Missal is a liturgical book often used at Mass by Anglo-Catholics and other High Church Anglicans instead of the Book of Common Prayer.-History:...
or English Missal
English Missal
The English Missal is a translation of the Roman Missal used by some liturgically advanced Anglo-Catholic parish churches. After its publication by W. Knott & Son Limited in 1912, the English Missal was rapidly endorsed by the growing Ritualist movement of Anglo-Catholic clergy, who viewed the...
in celebrating the Eucharist.
Liturgical use of the 1611 "Authorized Version" of Holy Scripture (more widely known as the King James Version) is also a common feature. This is done for many reasons, not the least of which are aesthetics, and in protest against what some claim to be liberal
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
or progressive
Progressive Christianity
Progressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity with a strong emphasis on social justice or care for the poor and the oppressed and environmental stewardship of the Earth...
theology that updated English translations such as the New Revised Standard Version
New Revised Standard Version
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version .There are three editions of the NRSV:...
are believed to embody.
Origins
The movement originated in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the Anglican Church of CanadaAnglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
. Related churches in other countries, such as the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the Church of England (Continuing), were founded later.
In 1976, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority in the Episcopal Church. General Convention...
voted to approve the ordination of women to the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
hood and to the episcopate
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and also provisionally adopted a new and doctrinally controversial Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
, later called the 1979 version. During the following year, 1977, several thousand dissenting clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
and laypersons responded to those actions by meeting in St. Louis, Missouri under the auspices of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen and adopted a theological statement, the Affirmation of St. Louis
Affirmation of St. Louis
The Affirmation of St. Louis is the founding document of the Continuing Anglican Movement churches. It was first presented to the Congress of Saint Louis, the 1977 meeting of former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the Anglican Church of Canada who approved the...
. The Affirmation expressed a determination "to continue in the Catholic Faith, Apostolic Order, Orthodox Worship and Evangelical Witness of the traditional Anglican Church, doing all things necessary for the continuance of the same."
Out of this meeting came a new church with the provisional name of the "Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal)". The first bishop of the new church, the Right Reverend Charles Doren
Charles D. D. Doren
Charles David Dale Doren was the first bishop consecrated to serve the Continuing Anglican movement, which began in 1977 in reaction to decisions taken in 1976 at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America...
, was consecrated by a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Right Reverend Albert Arthur Chambers of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois
Episcopal Diocese of Springfield
The Episcopal Diocese of Springfield is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is located in the state of Illinois and includes the area east of the Illinois River and south of the Counties of Woodford, Livingston, Ford, and Iroquois...
, along with Bishop Francisco Pagtakhan of the Philippine Independent Church
Philippine Independent Church
The Philippine Independent Church, The Philippine Independent Church, The Philippine Independent Church, (officially the or the IFI, also known as the Philippine Independent Catholic Church or in Ilocano: Siwawayawaya nga Simbaan ti Filipinas (in in Kinaray-a/Hiligaynon: Simbahan Hilway nga...
as co-consecrator.
Although expected to be the third bishop participating in Doren's consecration, the Right Reverend Mark Pae
Mark Pae
The Rt Rev Mark Pae was an Anglo Catholic Bishop in the 20th century. He was born in 1926 and was educated at Nashotah House, Wisconsin and ordained Deacon in 1954; and priest in 1956. He was a Priest in the Diocese of Korea to 1965 when the diocese was divided. He then worked in the new Taejon...
of the Anglican Church of Korea sent a letter of consent instead. This development left the new group open to charges of violating the customs of apostolic succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
, in which three bishops customarily are present, although only one is necessary for a valid consecration.
The newly-consecrated Bishop Doren then joined with Bishops Chambers and Pagtakhan in consecrating as bishops the Reverend James Mote, the Reverend Robert Morse, and the Reverend Francis Watterson. Bishop Watterson left the movement shortly afterward and became a Roman Catholic priest.
Early fractures
During the process of ratifying the new church's constitution, disputes developed which split its dioceses into two American churches and a separate Canadian church. These were the Anglican Catholic ChurchAnglican Catholic Church
The Anglican Catholic Church is a body of Anglican Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, separate from the Anglican Communion centered on the Archbishop of Canterbury....
led by Bishop Mote, the Diocese of Christ the King (now the Anglican Province of Christ the King
Anglican Province of Christ the King
The Anglican Province of Christ the King is a Continuing Anglican church with traditional forms both of doctrine and liturgy. It is considered one of the more Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions among Continuing Anglican church bodies.-History:...
) led by Bishop Morse, and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada
Anglican Catholic Church of Canada
The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada is an Anglican church that was founded in the 1970s by conservative Anglicans.-Affiliation:With 30 congregations in Canada, the ACCC is the third-largest of the Anglican churches in Canada, after the ACC and the Anglican Church in North America.The Anglican...
.
In 1981, Bishop Doren and others left the Anglican Catholic Church to found the United Episcopal Church of North America
United Episcopal Church of North America
The United Episcopal Church of North America is a traditional Anglican Christian church that is part of the Continuing Anglican movement...
in opposition to the alleged inhospitality of the other jurisdictions towards Low Churchmen
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
.
Recent developments and statistics
The original generation of Continuing parishes in the U.S. were found mainly in metropolitan areas. Since the late 1990s, a number have appeared in smaller communities, often as a result of a division in the town's existing Episcopal parish(es) or mission(s). The 2007/08 Directory of Traditional Anglican and Episcopal Parishes, published by The Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, contained information on over 900 parishes affiliated with either the Continuing Anglican churches or the Anglican realignment movement.The principles of the Affirmation of St. Louis
Affirmation of St. Louis
The Affirmation of St. Louis is the founding document of the Continuing Anglican Movement churches. It was first presented to the Congress of Saint Louis, the 1977 meeting of former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the Anglican Church of Canada who approved the...
and, to a lesser extent, the Thirty-nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
of Religion, provide some basis for unity in the movement, but the jurisdictions are numerous, usually quite small in membership and often splinter and recombine. Reports put the number of jurisdictions at somewhere between 20 and 40, mostly in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, but fewer than a dozen of the churches popularly called "Continuing churches" can be traced back to the meeting in St. Louis.
Reunification efforts
Anglican Catholic Church
The Anglican Catholic Church is a body of Anglican Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, separate from the Anglican Communion centered on the Archbishop of Canterbury....
, the Anglican Province of Christ the King
Anglican Province of Christ the King
The Anglican Province of Christ the King is a Continuing Anglican church with traditional forms both of doctrine and liturgy. It is considered one of the more Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions among Continuing Anglican church bodies.-History:...
, and the United Episcopal Church of North America
United Episcopal Church of North America
The United Episcopal Church of North America is a traditional Anglican Christian church that is part of the Continuing Anglican movement...
entered into discussions about possible organic unity. A Communion Agreement was entered into on May 17, 2007. In January 2009 one bishop from each jurisdiction consecrated three suffragan bishops in St. Louis, intending that they serve all three jurisdictions.
The Anglican Episcopal Church
Anglican Episcopal Church
The Anglican Episcopal Church is a Continuing Anglican church consisting of parishes in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida served by two bishops and 18 other clergy. The AEC was founded at St...
and the Diocese of the Great Lakes
Diocese of the Great Lakes
The Diocese of the Great Lakes is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States and Canada. Although all of its worship centers and clergy are currently located in the American Great Lakes states and the Canadian Province of Ontario, the diocese is non-geographical in structure and open...
formed the North American Anglican Conference
North American Anglican Conference
The North American Anglican Conference is a federation of Continuing Anglican church bodies in the United States and Canada. The NAAC was founded on August 15, 2008 by an assembly of bishops, clergy, and laity gathered in Romulus, Michigan for the purpose of ratifying the association's proposed...
for mutual assistance between Evangelical Anglican churches. A suffragan bishop was consecrated for the Anglican Episcopal Church in late 2008 by its presiding bishop and three bishops of the Diocese of the Great Lakes.
Another regional association facilitating increased dialogue and fellowship opportunities is Common Cause Appalachia,
to which some continuing Anglican churches in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee belong.
In 2007, one Continuing Anglican church body, the Traditional Anglican Communion
Traditional Anglican Communion
The Traditional Anglican Communion is an international communion of churches in the continuing Anglican movement independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The TAC upholds the theological doctrines of the Affirmation of St. Louis and an Anglo-Catholic interpretation of...
(TAC), made a formal proposal to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
for admission into "full corporate and sacramental union"
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with that church in a manner that would permit the retention of some of its Anglican heritage. The Vatican announced, on July 5, 2008, that it was giving serious consideration to appeals received from various Anglican groups seeking union with itself, observing that "the situation within the Anglican Communion in general has become markedly more complex". On October 29, 2009, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
's intention to create a new type of ecclesiastical structure, called a "personal ordinariate
Personal Ordinariate
A personal ordinariate is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church enabling former Anglicans to maintain some degree of corporate identity and autonomy with regard to the bishops of the geographical dioceses of the Catholic Church and to preserve elements of their distinctive Anglican...
", for groups of Anglicans entering into full communion with the see of Rome.
On November 4, 2009, Pope Benedict signed an apostolic constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
, Anglicanorum Coetibus. The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America — the American Province of the TAC — responded on March 3, 2010, voting unanimously to request acceptance under the personal ordinariate provision. Within months, however, three ACA bishops made known their opposition to the move.
Other Anglican churches
Other Anglican bodies not in communionCommunion (Christian)
The term communion is derived from Latin communio . The corresponding term in Greek is κοινωνία, which is often translated as "fellowship". In Christianity, the basic meaning of the term communion is an especially close relationship of Christians, as individuals or as a Church, with God and with...
with the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
include the Church of England in South Africa
Church of England in South Africa
The Church of England in South Africa was constituted in 1938 as a federation of churches. It is an Anglican church but it is not a member of the Anglican Communion. However, it relates closely to the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, to which it is similar in that it sees itself...
; the Reformed Episcopal Church
Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada and a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...
in the United States, which was formed in 1873 in opposition to the advance of Anglo-Catholicism
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
in the Episcopal Church; the Free Church of England
Free Church of England
The Free Church of England is an Anglican church which separated from the established Church of England in the course of the 19th century. The church was founded by evangelical clergy and congregations in response to the rise of Anglo-Catholicism. The first congregations were formed in 1844...
, which was founded in England in 1844 for similar reasons; the Anglican Orthodox Church, another Low Church body that was founded in 1963, and the Orthodox Anglican Communion
Orthodox Anglican Communion
The Orthodox Anglican Communion was established in 1967 as a self-governing worldwide fellowship of national churches in the Anglican tradition. The Orthodox Anglican Communion was one of the first such communions to be formed outside of the See of Canterbury and therefore is not part of the...
founded by the AOC in 1967. These churches are not universally considered to be Continuing Anglican churches because they were founded prior to the beginning of the Continuing Anglican movement of the 1970s; however, they relate to the Continuing churches on a number of levels and have similarities in beliefs and practices.
Churches
The following is a list of North American church bodies commonly called "Continuing Anglican," with the approximate number of their parishes in North America shown in parentheses. Some also have affiliated churches in other countries.- American Anglican Church (12)
- Anglican Catholic ChurchAnglican Catholic ChurchThe Anglican Catholic Church is a body of Anglican Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, separate from the Anglican Communion centered on the Archbishop of Canterbury....
(135) - Anglican Catholic Church of CanadaAnglican Catholic Church of CanadaThe Anglican Catholic Church of Canada is an Anglican church that was founded in the 1970s by conservative Anglicans.-Affiliation:With 30 congregations in Canada, the ACCC is the third-largest of the Anglican churches in Canada, after the ACC and the Anglican Church in North America.The Anglican...
(30) - Anglican Churches of America (2)
- Anglican Church in America (75)
- Anglican Church of Virginia (8)
- Anglican Episcopal ChurchAnglican Episcopal ChurchThe Anglican Episcopal Church is a Continuing Anglican church consisting of parishes in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida served by two bishops and 18 other clergy. The AEC was founded at St...
(6) - Anglican Orthodox ChurchAnglican Orthodox ChurchThe Anglican Orthodox Church is one of the older conservative Anglican denominations in the United States that is not in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury of the Church of England due to the perceived abandonment of Reformation doctrine by that church...
(10) - Anglican Province of AmericaAnglican Province of AmericaThe Anglican Province of America is one of a number of "Continuing" Anglican churches in the United States. This church considers the Episcopal Church in the USA to be heretical, thus it maintains a church separate from that body in order to follow what it considers to be a truly Christian and...
(60) - Anglican Province of Christ the KingAnglican Province of Christ the KingThe Anglican Province of Christ the King is a Continuing Anglican church with traditional forms both of doctrine and liturgy. It is considered one of the more Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions among Continuing Anglican church bodies.-History:...
(42) - Christian Episcopal ChurchChristian Episcopal ChurchThe Christian Episcopal Church is a Continuing Anglican jurisdiction consisting of parishes in Canada and the United States and with oversight of several parishes in the Cayman Islands. Its bishops are in Apostolic Succession through the Right Rev. A. Donald Davies...
(5) - Diocese of the Great LakesDiocese of the Great LakesThe Diocese of the Great Lakes is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States and Canada. Although all of its worship centers and clergy are currently located in the American Great Lakes states and the Canadian Province of Ontario, the diocese is non-geographical in structure and open...
(5) - Diocese of the Holy CrossDiocese of the Holy CrossThe Diocese of the Holy Cross is a continuing Anglican church body in the United States. Unlike most dioceses it is not geographically defined but is a national jurisdiction.- History :...
(19) - Episcopal Missionary ChurchEpiscopal Missionary ChurchThe Episcopal Missionary Church is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States and a member of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas...
(30) - Holy Catholic Church--Western RiteHoly Catholic Church--Western RiteThe Holy Catholic Church—Western Rite is a Continuing Anglican church. It is represented in the United Kingdom, Latin America, the United States of America, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Rome and Spain...
(30) - Orthodox Anglican ChurchOrthodox Anglican ChurchThe Orthodox Anglican Church is the American branch of the Orthodox Anglican Communion. It is now considered to be part of the Continuing Anglican movement, although the church predates the Continuing Church movement and was actively opposed to Continuing Anglicanism when it developed during the...
(20) - Southern Episcopal ChurchSouthern Episcopal ChurchThe Southern Episcopal Church was founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1962 by a physician turned clergyman, the Right Reverend Burnice Hoyle Webster, and a number of former members of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Webster became the SEC's first presiding bishop...
(3) - United Anglican Church (8)
- United Episcopal Church of North AmericaUnited Episcopal Church of North AmericaThe United Episcopal Church of North America is a traditional Anglican Christian church that is part of the Continuing Anglican movement...
(16)
Seminaries
The following seminariesSeminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
are associated with the Continuing Anglican movement:
- Anglican Seminary of Virginia, Front Royal, Virginia
- St. Andrew's Theological College and Seminary, Thomasville, North Carolina
- St. Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Theological College, Berkeley, California
- Seminario Mayor Provincial
Further reading
- Divided We Stand: A History of the Continuing Anglican Movement by Douglas Bess, Tractarian Press, 2002, ISBN 0-9719636-0-6. Revised edition, Apocryphile Press, September 2006, ISBN 1-933993-10-3
External links
- List of churches not in the Anglican Communion, at anglicansonline.org. Includes weblinks for most of the Continuing Anglican churches and some other non-Anglican churches. Some of those listed are now defunct.
- The Measure of A Bishop: The Episcopi Vagantes, Apostolic Succession, and the Legitimacy of the Anglican "Continuing Church" Movement. A master's degree thesis, written by a student at Gordon-Conwell Theological SeminaryGordon-Conwell Theological SeminaryGordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...
, containing historical information on Continuing Anglican and related churches. - Shelter in the Storm Safe Church List of traditional/Orthodox Anglican churches
- Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen Directories of Parishes & Jurisdictions