Anglo Catholics

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Here in the UK, there is a part of the Church of England that identifies as ‘Anglo Catholic’, in which all of the traditions of the original Roman Catholic Church are observed.
Although I am a Catholic convert and confirmed, and have nothing to do with Anglo-Catholicism, I am wondering what others here think about this.
God bless ❤️🌹
 
There is one near me and it is still a protestant church.

The church building was Catholic centuries ago but nothing else.
 
Anglo-Catholics (as a convert myself) don’t observe “all the traditions of the Catholic Church”, far from it. Many would affirm some Church teachings, such as the real presence, but deny others, such as the male priesthood or views on sexuality. Much of the similarities are aesthetic, the services look like a Catholic Mass for example, but underneath it all there are huge differences.
 
Thank you :heart:Yes, I think that it’s more aesthetic than factual. But I confess that I’m not really so educated about it all.
 
As with most things Anglican, there’s no one answer. Trying to get your head around what everybody believes is headache territory 🙂
 
Yeah, due to its fundamentally protestant origins, it all depends on each individual, but Anglo-Catholics often appear similarly to the CC through aesthetics. There is widespread disagreement on the pelvic issues, as there always has been and always will be.

When the Anglicans were fist in schism in the 16th century, many of their churches were actually more “high church” or “traditional” than the reforms taking place after Trent on mainland Europe, such as the tabernacle becoming more visible to the laity [this is something that was not without its objectors, who opined that it was disrespectful or even scandalous]. In a contemporary context, you can also see similarities among SSPX, certain Episcopalians, and certain Orthodox. They have aesthetic similarities to the Roman Church - perhaps even “exceeding” it in terms of being high church - but might not agree on various teachings.
 
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I go with the Holy Spirit. And although aesthetics are nice, and I was brought up in the Church of England, since I was a little girl I used to visit Catholic churches and yearn for the truth…I’m so happy that I am part of the real thing 😁
 
When I was 12 years old, I dared to tell my mother that “the Church of England is based on divorce”. I got a big smack on the head for that 😂😂😂
 
I attended an Anglo-Catholic church for a while, before I decided I wanted to become a Catholic (I was confirmed in high-church CofE). The church I chose was a massive, Gothic-style Victorian building, very impressive.

There is a big emphasis on the vestments and copious use of incense. For me, it was somehow comforting, as I was completely familiar with the old-fashioned formal liturgy, which was the one I’d learned as a child. However, the church was poorly-attended and the priest/vicar gave very strange sermons (expressing some political views which I found to be exclusive and un-Christian). I almost walked out once, and it was only good manners that kept me in my seat.

I’m glad it wasn’t a good experience, as if I had felt at home I might never have ended up in RCIA! I recently met the new priest of that church, and he seemed like a very nice guy - which is good for their congregation.
 
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