www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Traditional Anglicans Seek Union with Rome

All,


I've been away from this Forum for sometime now, but I am glad to be back and I hope everyone is doing great.

As many of you know I have a great affinity towards traditional Anglicanism and have followed up on many developments in that communion for several years.

The TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion) which is the world's largest traditionalist Anglo-Catholic church has very recently met in synod to discuss the idea of full communion with the Roman Catholic church.

Below is a link to the Anglican Church in America (U.S. branch of the TAC) newsletter, dated October 1st, which details the traditional Anglicans desire to seek full intercommunion with the Roman Catholic church, with planned proposals for union to be sent to Rome by 2006.

In a sense, what the TAC would be seeking from the Vatican is an approval to be accepted as a seperate Church with sui juris status.

According to TAC statistics, their churches span 44 countries of the world (located in the Americans, Africa, Europe and Asia) with an adherence of about 400,000 souls.

Upon the recent election of Pope Benedict XVI, the Archbishop and Primate of the TAC, the Most Rev. John Hepworth, met with our new pontiff to express his desires for unity.

Let us pray that true union is reached and that the prophetic message in the Gospel of John, "that they may all be one" come to its completion.

In related news, later this month, the Society of St Thomas More in Scranton, PA will be recieved into the Roman Catholic church. This society is composed of a former Anglican rector, his family and several laity of his former Episcopal parish.

Links:

"The Messenger"-TAC newsbriefs [themessenger.com.au]

Catholic News Agency article [atonementonline.com]

Dear ProC:

Since reading this news item a few weeks ago, I have been waiting for you to take it up as this is your "baby!"

This is good news.

But I personally think that TAC would not be granted a "sui juris" status like the Eastern Catholic Churches because, for one, TAC's rituals are an offshoot of the Roman Rite. TAC does not represent a ritual that is "original" or "ancient."

At best, Rome would extend to TAC the pastoral provisions which allow the "Anglican Use" (in the U.S.) and, now, wherever there are TAC parishes.

Amado

Well, Rome has given a quasi-diocesan status to the Tridentine Mass communities (with their own bishop) in the Diocese of Campos, Brazil, so there is no particular reason to consider it impossible to do something similar for "Catholic-Anglican" parishes - if, that is, the clergy and faithful concerned can agree on their liturgical use.

Incognitus

Dear Incognitus:

The Society of St. John Vianney in Campos, Brazil, although granted a separate apostolic administration, still uses a Roman Rite (TLM), which is one of the 3 "sub-rites" currently allowed.

The other 2 are the Novus Ordo, of course, and the Anglican Use.

If ever, I think the Anglican Use will be tacked to the TAC (pun intended)!

Amado

A reunion would be great!

I am interested to see what the terms of the reuion will be.

Dear Amado - the Sarum Use is still celebrated now and then.

Incognitus

Dear Incognitus:

By certain dioceses/parishes of the Catholic Church in England or by Anglican "Anglo-Catholics"?

It must be both awesome and nostalgic to be able to attend these "dying" old liturgies!

Amado

this is VERY :)exciting - esp. if it pans out!

I think that they should be given, if not full Ecclesia Sui Iuris status, quasi Autonomous Church status (like perhaps the smaller ESIs who are defacto administered from the Vatican) and put on "ESI" track so that after a few years, they can achieve full ESI status.

I wonder what kind of numbers we are talking about?

If done well, it could be a paradigm for Orthodox Catholic reconciliation
and even help to straighten out the complex dynamics between Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Patriarchate.

However it is done, seems to me, the Vatican should have in mind a ESI model for the future. It might act as a bit of a beacon for the whole Anglican communion.

Plus their presence within the Catholic Communion, but help with some of the internal issues extant within the Latin Church.

Herb
who loves the Liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer, not to mention to Coverdale translation of the Anglican Psalter.

Isn't there already an Anglican usage Rite in the RCC?

Hello

Even if the Anglo-Catholic community wishes to be received by the Catholic Church, it will take time to know the when and how. It also depends on how many people they are and how many priests they expect to be ordained by Rome since the Anglican Orders (no matter how Catholic-minded they are) do not posess the grace.

If they can prove that they are a big community they might be given an Apostolic Administration like Campos (suscribed to a certain number of States) but if this is not the case, what will become of the Traditional Anglicans under the diocesan bishops who are so discredited within their own communities and whose possitions gradualy get closer and closer to those of Dr. Rowan Williams' Church?

Incognitus-

The archaeologically minded among us want to know....

where may one go see the Sarum Mass these days?

As we have enumerated above, the Roman (Latin) Rite has 3 "variants" allowed: the predominant Novus Ordo authorized by Vatican II, the TLM via the Ecclesia Dei indult, and the Anglican Use made possible through a pastoral provision issued by the late Pope John Paul II which covers entire (pastor and congregants) Episcopalian parishes converting to Catholicism in the U.S.

Presently, there are 7 "Anglican Use" parishes in the United States: 5 in Texas, 1 in Massachusetts, and 1 in South Carolina, all under their respective (Catholic) local ordinary.

Most, if not all, of the AU current pastors are married.

The St. Thomas More Society, currently attached to the parish of St. Clare (Scanton, PA, Diocese), would be the 8th AU parish, with all members (ex-Episcopalian clergy and laity) entering into the Catholic Church at the end of this month, at 7 p.m. on the 31st of October, 2005. They will be under the jurisdiction of the Scranton Diocese.

On the other hand, TAC leaders claim they have membership, but dispersed thinly throughout the world, at around 400,000. If successful, this would be the largest one-minded group of Anglicans to return to the Catholic fold.

I hope there will be a meeting of the minds!

Amado

Dear Amado and all,

Indeed, upon hearing the news from the TAC I was more than thrilled. So yes, you can say it is like my "baby" :p

Many of us have speculated as to the exact terms for which the union between the Roman and Anglican Catholics would entail.

I do not suspect that there would be anything barring the creation of an "Anglican Church" with sui juris status.

Moreover, I would reject the suggestion that the Anglicans would be subjected to local Roman ordinaries.

As mentioned earlier, the TAC would be coming in with 400,000 to a half million adherents from around the world. So we are not talking about several congregations (as with the current Anglican Use), but rather, thousands of parishes.

However, a personal prelature or an apostolic administration cannot be ruled out either.

But we shall see indeed.

ProCatholico,

I'm in school ar UGA in Athens, Georgia right now. There's a parish (St. Stephen's) that's part of the Anglican Catholic Church.

Could you tell me a little bit about this ecclesial community? I know that they use the liturgy from the 1928 BCP (which I'm having trouble finding online).

I attended a Holy Eucharist service at a traditional Anglican church in Panama City, FL over the summer. I actually didn't like the liturgy at all. I guess this would be the same thing, right?

Logos Teen

Dear Logos,

It's good to hear from you.

As to your question regarding St. Stephens and the church you attended in Panama City, Florida, they are both members of the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC).

It is a wise idea to first understand a little more about the Anglo-Catholic or "Continuing" Anglican movement's history, especially here in the U.S.

In the year 1977, shortly after the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) announced that they would begin ordaining women, around a thousand Anglican priests and some bishops came together in a rather extraordinary meeting held in St. Louis, MO. It was at this meeting that they ratified an article called "The Affirmation of St. Louis" This Affirmation would become the basis for the Continuing Anglican movement to this day.

The Affirmation repudiated the ECUSA's 1976 General Convention, as a departure from orthodox Christian teaching. Indeed, they broke all relations with ECUSA but maintained allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury in England, as well as the remainder of the Anglican Communion.

After this schism, the Continuing Anglicans sought leadership and direction. Quite unfortunately many leaders sprung up and the movement fractured into many factions.

These factions still exist today, although there has been more cooperation between them as of late.

One of the largest of these factions became the Anglican Catholic Church USA (ACCUSA). In 1991, another significant, independent Anglican group, the American Episcopal Church, merged with the ACCUSA and others, to form the Anglican Church in America (ACA).

However, there were bishops in the ACCUSA who opposed this merger and went their own way calling themselves the Anglican Catholic Church-Original Province (ACC).

So today we have the ACC and ACA as the two major contenders for Anglo-Catholicism in America. I cannot tell you with certainty, the exact reason why the two groups remain divided.

Although, the ACA has been interested in reunification with the Holy See almost since its inception, other Anglican groups, no matter how Catholic-minded have had little, if any interest in joining the Roman fold. Perhaps they feel that their traditions would not be honored or they'd be forced to become Roman Catholics. Whatever the reasons, these divisions are real and present.

The ACC is quite large and seemingly growing. The ACA seems less organized and rather small numerically. Other well organized Anglo-Catholic groups in America include the Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK), the Holy Catholic Church-Anglican Rite, the Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC) and the Anglican Province of America (APA).

One bishop told me not to pay any mind to the "alphabet soup" of names.

It would be more than momentous if the ACA would reunite with these other groups before deciding to reunite with Rome. But time shall tell with these matters, and God willing, healing can begin.

ProCatholico