Continuing Anglicanism in the USA: Questions and Answers

By the Very Reverend Roland F. Palmer SSJE and The Reverend Gary W. Mayhood

"And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine and Fellowship, and in Breaking of Bread, and in Prayers."(Acts 2:42)

WHAT IS CONTINUING ANGLICANISM IN THE U.S.A.?

Who Are Anglicans and What Do They Believe?

Anglicans (faithful Episcopalians) in the U.S.A. in­herited from the Churches of the British Isles the Faith of the undivided primitive Church; together with the Apostolic Orders of Bishop, Priest, and Dea­con, in succession from the Apostles and our Lord; and also the discipline and moral standards of the historic Christian Church from the beginning.

What Went Wrong?

The Episcopal Church continued steadfast in that Faith, Order and Discipline until a few years ago, when some members began to agitate for "updating the Church and bringing it into the Twentieth Cen­tury", which means conforming the Church to the Spirit of the Age. St. Paul has warned us "Be not conformed to this world (age) but be ye transform­ed" by the Spirit of Christ. The work of the Church is not to conform itself to the constantly changing Spirit of the Age but to work to conform the world to the Spirit of Christ.

What Changes Were Made?

These innovators succeeded in getting the General Convention to make changes in the Canons (the rules) of the Church.

1. The marriage canons were altered to conform them to the world's permissiveness in moral matters.

2. Experimental rites (some of them of dubious orthodoxy) were permitted in place of the rites in the Book of Common Prayer. The confusion to which this led enabled some of the clergy to make up new rites to suit themselves. The re­sult of all this experimentation led to a "revis­ed" Prayer Book authorized by General Con­vention. This new book is a radical departure from the Faith and Order of the 1928 Prayer Book and all of its predecessors. Some of these changes are:

a. The age-long practice concerning Baptism, Confirmation, and admission to Holy Com­munion has given way to nebulous rites which deprive Confirmation of its sacra­mental character and make it an option.

b. Language of both the liturgy and the Psalms are deliberately de-sexed to con­form to the current norms of various pres­sure groups in society.

c. Optional Eucharistic Rites (one of which is a do-it-yourself type) lend to confusion in a Church where there once had been a common bond of unity through traditional Prayer Books.

3. Finally, conforming to the gnostic, unisex ideas of the world, General Convention permitted wo­men to be ordained as "priests". This is con­trary to Holy Scripture as the Church has al­ways interpreted it, and therefore contrary to the constant Tradition of the Church from the Apostles' time until now. Men and women are equal in importance and in the love and care of God, but they are not the same as one another. A man cannot be a mother nor a woman a fath­er : "Male and female created He them." Bishops and priests are to be fathers to God's children.

What Did Faithful Episcopalians Do Then?

Those priests and layfolk of the Episcopal Church who could not with a good conscience accept these unaglican and uncatholic changes formed congrega­tions with a view to continuing in the traditional Faith, Order, and Discipline of the Church, and in the worship of God according to the Book of Com­mon Prayer. As such they are the continuing Epis­copal Church in the U.S.A. They did not leave their Church, the General Convention left them.

Is the Anglican Movement a New Church?

It is not a new Church. It continues the Church to which Episcopalians have always belonged. This continuing steadfast in the Faith, Order, and Dis­cipline of that Church gives them their status and authority as the continuation of Anglicanism in the U.S.A.

Have These Radical Changes Been Made Elsewhere?

There have been similar radical changes made by Anglicans in New Zealand and Hong Kong, and by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Can­ada. The priests and laity of that Church who can­not accept these changes, and have formed congre­gations loyal to the Faith. Order, and Discipline of the Anglican Church of Canada are the continuing Anglican Church in that land. A joint meeting in 1977 in St. Louis, Missouri, of these American and Canadian loyalists drew up a statement of their traditional Faith, Order, and Discipline known as the Affirmation of Saint Louis. This is accepted by both the continuing Churches. Each is in full com­munion with the other, and each has its own tradi­tional ecclesiastical structure. This has been the case ever since the days of Bishop Seabury, the first American Bishop, and of Bishop Inglis, the first Bishop of what is now Canada. They were contem­poraries and personal friends. That friendship and communion has continued between the Churches while each has had its own structure.

What Can I Do?

If there is no continuing congregation near you, contact the Bishop as to your desire to form a new congregation and gather people in your home. Until such time as this can be done, write to the parish priest of the nearest congregation, become a mem­ber of it, and help with your prayers and support.

Do Continuing Anglicans Belong to the World Council of Churches?

NO. The W.C.C. and many national and other Councils adhering to the World Council are non-Apostolic, humanist and secular in purpose and practice. Under such circumstances we cannot be members of any of them.

What About Seeking Unity With Other Believers?

It is our firm intention to seek and achieve, fill sacramental communion and visible unity with other Christians who "worship the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity", and who hold the Catholic and Apostolic Faith.

THE ESSENTIALS OF TRUTH AND ORDER

(Statements of belief and practice from the Affirm­ation of St. Louis and Canons)

We acknowledge that Rule of Faith laid down by St. Vincent of Lerins: "Let us hold that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all, for that is truly and properly Catholic."

The Church is the Body of Christ at work in the world. She is the society of the Baptized called out from the world: in it, but not of it. As Christ's faithful Bride, she is different from the world, and must not be influenced by it.

We repudiate all deviation or departure from the Faith in whole or in part, and bear witness to these essential principles of evangelical Truth and apos­tolic Order:

The Holy Scriptures:
The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the authentic record of God's revelation of Him­self. His saving activity, and moral demands - a revelation valid for all men and all time.

The Creeds:
The Nicene Creed as the authoritative summary of the chief articles of the Christian Faith, together with the Apostles' Creed and that known as the Creed of St. Athanasius to be "thoroughly received and believed" in the sense they have had always in the Catholic Church.

Tradition :
The received tradition of the Church and its teach­ings as set forth by "the ancient catholic bishops and doctors", and especially as defined by the seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Clmrch, to the exclusion of all errors, ancient and modern.

Sacraments:
The Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, Pen­ance and Unction of the Sick as objective and effective signs of the continued presence and saving activity of Christ our Lord among His people and as His covenanted means for conveying His grace. In particular we affirm the necessity of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist (where they may be had) Baptism as regenerating and incorporating us into Christ (with its completion in Confirmation as the "seal of the Holy Spirit"), and the Eucharist as the sacrifice which unites us to the all-sufficient Sacri­fice of Christ on the Cross and the Sacrament in which He feeds us with His Body and Blood.

Holy Orders:
The Holy Orders of Bishop, Priests and Deacons as the perpetuation of Christ's gift of apostolic mini­stry to His Church, asserting the necessity of a Bishop of apostolic succession (or a priest ordained by such) as the celebrant of the Eucharist - these Orders consisting exclusively of men in accordance with Christ's Will and institution (as evidenced by the Scriptures), and the universal practice of the Catholic Church.

The Duty of Bishops:
Bishops as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shep­herds and Teachers. It is also their duty (together with other clergy and the laity) to guard and defend the purity and integrity of the Church's Faith and Moral Teaching.
Worship:

The worship of the Church is to be in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer with the celebra­tion of the Holy Eucharist being the main act of a Christian's worship on the Sundays and the major feasts of the Church's Year.