Why I Love the APA

In case I have not said this before!...

To put it in the most basic terms, I became an Anglican at the tender age of 12 because I was convinced, both spiritually and intellectually, that Anglicanism is not a sect or denomination, but simply the Catholic Church of the English-speaking world, the ancient Catholic Church of the British Isles, possessive of all the essential elements or constitutive characteristics of the Church founded by Jesus Christ. That inherent catholicity and apostolicity of Anglicanism makes her a living manifestation or portion of the One Church, for Anglicanism has no faith or order of her own, only the Catholic Faith and Creeds and Catholic Sacraments and Ministry of the Catholic Church of the ages, without addition or diminution. To this day I still hold that conviction with the greatest intensity and belief. Anglicanism is the Church qua Church. Such a position is not a theological value judgement of other churches or ecclesial communities, it is simply what I believe and know Anglicanism to be, a pure historical form of Catholicism, a jurisdiction continuous with the Church of the Apostles and Fathers. Anglicanism is Western Orthodoxy, the Western counterpart of the Eastern Churches, maintaining and preserving the ancient Christianity of the Western Rite. Anglicanism, real Traditional Book of Common Prayer Anglicanism, is not The True Church. But it is A True Church. I am an Anglican because I believe Anglicanism is not only 'mere Christianity' - it is, I profess, 'mere Catholicism' in its heart and soul. After all, we do not want simply 'mere' Christianity per se, but 'more' Christianity, the fullness of the Christian Faith.

It can truly be said that once one is an Anglican, one is always an Anglican, in the deepest recesses of one's being.

As to the Anglican Province of America: The APA offers a jurisdictional and administrative stability my previous jurisdiction did not possess when I left it. I have discovered the APA inculcates a culture of classical Anglicanism which I believe most closely resembles the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in the days of their orthodoxy. The APA has consciously avoided the nagging temptation to recreate Anglicanism in its own image or with a new and different culture, but wilfully intends to continue what is most edifying, what is best, in the received Anglican tradition of historical reality and experience. Most people remark when encountering the APA in worship and practice that it feels like the Episcopal Church before the rot of heresy set in. I believe that is absolutely true. The Affirmation of Saint Louis (1977) states succinctly: 'In this gathering witness of Anglicans and Episcopalians, we continue to be what we are. We do nothing new. We form no new body, but continue as Anglicans and Episcopalians.' The APA, in my personal experience, most closely abides by this mandate. The APA is not a form of 'neo-Anglicanism.' It simply is Anglicanism as that wonderful ecclesiastical and religious phenomenon has been handed down to us. We continue the mission of the Church Catholic as we have received it. For that reason I do believe the future is very bright indeed for the APA, as we are without a doubt one of the fastest-growing and most stable Continuing Churches in the USA: we are currently 75 parishes and 132 clergy across the country. The Lord has blessed and continues to bless us as we focus on being orthodox Prayer Book Catholics in the Anglican Tradition.