Anglicans & Episcopalians

[Angel_Gabriel]

What is the difference(s) between the 2?

I ask b/c I know some people who have recently joined a Charismatic Anglican church and they emphatically stress that they are NOT episcopalian. They belong to The Anglican Mission in America. I’ve done some research on it and I think it’s headed in Africa (Rwanda I think), but I can’t find alot of info on it. They are pretty traditionally minded and do not ordain women or homosexual men. They use incense alot and as far as I know believe that they really receive Jesus in the Eucharist (or as they called it, the Sacrament). They also told me that they often look to the Pope on some issues…this really confused me b/c WHY would they look to the Pope?

Does anyone know about the varying Anglican religions and if they are the same thing with different names or what…I am totally confused!

 

[Will_B]

There are several Anglican communities that desire to be in communion with Rome. One that I know of the TAC “Traditional Anglican Church” has partitioned Rome for communion with Rome and are now waiting for a decision.

The TAC follows the magisterium of the Catholic Church.

There are other Anglican communities as well, however I can not answer for them.

I will say, that most Anglican communities, except the Episcopal Church, are trying to follow a very orthodox Christian doctrine.

 

[Will_B]

What is the difference(s) between the 2?

!

While the roots of the Anglican and Episcopal church are the same… The Church of England… If you remember King Henry the VIII split the Church of England from Rome because the Pope would not grant him an annulment… For years those who remained loyal to the Pope were beheaded, so the Church of England became the only above ground church in England… The Roman Catholic Church had to hide, or be executed.

In the early 1600’s a group of Catholics were granted a colony by King George (I think) for the basis of establishing a Freedom of Religion colony… That colony was call Maryland… The Arc and the Dove (two sailing ships) docked in Maryland on March 25th Those who were once executed for being Catholic could now worship in freedom.

The Church of England did come to American, but after the revolutionary war the members of that church did not feel very comfortable worshiping in a church know as “The Church of England” and changed their name to The Episcopal Church…

As you know the Episcopal Church in the USA had become very liberal. This is also true of other Anglican Churches under the authority of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury.

So… Anglican communities have split from Canterbury… Some are trying to reconcile with Rome.

 

[GKC]

What is the difference(s) between the 2?

I ask b/c I know some people who have recently joined a Charismatic Anglican church and they emphatically stress that they are NOT episcopalian. They belong to The Anglican Mission in America. I’ve done some research on it and I think it’s headed in Africa (Rwanda I think), but I can’t find alot of info on it. They are pretty traditionally minded and do not ordain women or homosexual men. They use incense alot and as far as I know believe that they really receive Jesus in the Eucharist (or as they called it, the Sacrament). They also told me that they often look to the Pope on some issues…this really confused me b/c WHY would they look to the Pope?

Does anyone know about the varying Anglican religions and if they are the same thing with different names or what…I am totally confused!

The Anglican Mission in America is a group of formerly Episcopal churches who, because of the unsavory direction of the national Episcopal Church over the past few decades, applied for and received alternate episcopal oversight from the Anglican Church of Rwanda, which is, like the Episcopal Church (in this, though not in much) a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. They thus are still members of the Anglican Communion, but not members of the Episcopal Church. Other groups in the Episcopal Church have taken similar escape routes out of apostasy, some moving under the oversight of other Anglican Primates, such as the Archbishop of the Southern Cone (sounds funny, I know, but it’s another Anglican jurisdiction, like the Episcopal Church). Other groups have left the Anglican Communion altogether. Many of these are collectively referred to as Continuing Anglican Churches. The Traditional Anglican Communion is one such Continuing jurisdiction.

Orthodox Anglicans are thus divided into a lot of small piles these days. A serious effort to get as many of them united as possible resulted in the formation last June of the Anglican Church in North America, with members from a large fraction of these divided and separated Anglicans.

All these folks had their origin in the Anglican Communion, in some fashion. If the church mentioned in the OP is the Charismatic Episcopal Church, it, oddly enough, did not start from there.

None of all this addresses the fact that, historically, Anglicans have had a range of approaches to doctrine and ecclesiology, from Anglo-Catholic (that’s a description, not a church) to reformed and evangelical. The topic gets discussed here a lot.

GKC

 

[Bluegoat]

Anglican refers to churches descended from the Church of England, and (normally) in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Typically, each national church has it’s own governance, but there are things that tie them all together - the “instruments of communion.” Historically, they have also been tied fundementally by their liturgy, but this has changed in the last 20 years or so. (Which I personally think is significant in the problems they have has.) So Canada has the Anglican Church of Canada, the US the Episcopal Church.

Now, it has normally been a big no-no to have more than one Anglican Church in a given region. Only one Bishop in a given area has authority.

But in recent years, there have been splits in the North American churches. In some cases, the splinter groups have left the Anglican communion as a whole. But especially recently, some groups have set up an alternate authority structure while still maintaining their communion with Canterbury. This is a historically delicate situation - some claim that tradition does not allow such a thing, by splitting they have automatically withdrawn from the communion. The splinter groups feel, however, that they are being true to Anglicanism, while the official hierarchy has left it through their changes to doctrine and practice, and their seeming disinterest in the instruments of communion.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Anglican refers to churches descended from the Church of England, and (normally) in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. . . .

As I read that I wondered if it should be normally or nominally?

 

[Angel_Gabriel]

Thanks everyone The people I know have no ties whatsoever to Canterbury…

 

[Bluegoat]

As I read that I wondered if it should be normally or nominally?

Hah! Perhaps both!