Any Anglicans / Episcopalians considering switching to RCC?

[Padres1969]

Well, as you say, it’s rather difficult to speak for everyone, but my house group barely goes a week without making much of how UNsacramental communion should be. I can’t speak for the vicar, but he is significantly, shall we say, unCatholic.

I’ve been to an Episcopal parish that was less sacramental feeling and the communion itself was far less Catholic than the majority of parishes I’ve attended. They used leavened bread and partook of it in a circle passing the plate with the blessed bread around the circle rather than the far more typical line up, kneel and receive at the rail. However they still espoused the real presence even if the form of the communion was different. But I don’t think I’ve ever been to an Anglican parish where the two “great” sacraments were not considered Sacramental at all.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

Several years ago I was quite a 39 articles Anglican, though with the three Sacraments Henry initially upheld (Eucharist, Baptism and Reconcilliation).

Continued study and discernment have brought me to the Catholic end of the theological spectrum.

 

[JoyToTheWhirled]

The CofE is a very broad church. Mine might as well be Baptists.

 

[GKC]

I’ve been to an Episcopal parish that was less sacramental feeling and the communion itself was far less Catholic than the majority of parishes I’ve attended. They used leavened bread and partook of it in a circle passing the plate with the blessed bread around the circle rather than the far more typical line up, kneel and receive at the rail. However they still espoused the real presence even if the form of the communion was different. But I don’t think I’ve ever been to an Anglican parish where the two “great” sacraments were not considered Sacramental at all.

Apparently there are no unbreachable boundaries to the motleydom.

This makes my mission even more vital.

 

[GKC]

The CofE is a very broad church. Mine might as well be Baptists.

I know CoE Anglo-Catholics. Can’t generalize about those Anglicans.

 

[GKC]

Several years ago I was quite a 39 articles Anglican, though with the three Sacraments Henry initially upheld (Eucharist, Baptism and Reconcilliation).

Continued study and discernment have brought me to the Catholic end of the theological spectrum.

Welcome.

 

[Padres1969]

Apparently there are no unbreachable boundaries to the motleydom.

This makes my mission even more vital.

Your mission?

 

[GKC]

Your mission?

The very first post I ever made, anywhere, some 12-14 years ago, was to explain the Anglican system, the ABC, the Communion, the TEC, and whether or not all Anglicans burned clarified yak butter before pictures of the British Sovereign, liturgically.This was on another RC board, with some very nice, but confused folk. It was there that I met Contarini, who folks on this board for a couple of years, minimum, might very well recall for his scholarly posts. I miss Contarini.

Thus began my mission, on this board in particular, of spreading widely the point that, in general, one who tries to generalize about Anglicans will, generally, be wrong. Mostly. Expressed in my term motley, and its permutations (copyright applied for, but never enforced).

Those who have watched me here, over a span of time, are familiar with this, as also with the other historical points I pontificate on, as occasion requires.

 

[Padres1969]

The very first post I ever made, anywhere, some 12-14 years ago, was to explain the Anglican system, the ABC, the Communion, the TEC, and whether or not all Anglicans burned clarified yak butter before pictures of the British Sovereign, liturgically.This was on another RC board, with some very nice, but confused folk. It was there that I met Contarini, who folks on this board for a couple of years, minimum, might very well recall for his scholarly posts. I miss Contarini.

Thus began my mission, on this board in particular, of spreading widely the point that, in general, one who tries to generalize about Anglicans will, generally, be wrong. Mostly. Expressed in my term motley, and its permutations (copyright applied for, but never enforced).

Those who have watched me here, over a span of time, are familiar with this, as also with the other historical points I pontificate on, as occasion requires.

Ah ok. Didn’t realize you’d made explaining Anglicans being “motley” a mission. Frankly it’s a mission I can support too due to it largely being true. Anglicanism is, particularly from a Catholic POV, a far less monolithic branch of Christianity. In large part due to its structure and history and semi-hierarchical worldwide episcopal structure that is more Catholic than most other denominations.

 

[GKC]

Ah ok. Didn’t realize you’d made explaining Anglicans being “motley” a mission. Frankly it’s a mission I can support too due to it largely being true. Anglicanism is, particularly from a Catholic POV, a far less monolithic branch of Christianity. In large part due to its structure and history and semi-hierarchical worldwide episcopal structure that is more Catholic than most other denominations.

My explanations in this area (the motleydom) are descriptions, not approbations. My concern is to avoid the “Anglicans believe that…” sort of historical inaccuracies. And suggest that if one wonders what a given Anglican might affirm, it is most prudent to inquire of him/her.

And I do have other missions, rooted in my historical interests and ridiculously large library, that appear from time to time.

 

[Thorolfr]

I support: Affirming Catholicism

Ecumenical Society of Mary

Society of Our Lady of Walsingham

Society of Catholic Priests

Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament

Society of the Holy Cross

Society of King Charles the Martyr

Liberal Catholic Church

Center for Progressive Christianity

UU Christian Fellowship

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Pax Christi USA

and several other Anglo-Catholic, ecumenical, and progressive Christian and Catholic groups.

I expected this thread to mostly include discussions about the eventual demise of TEC, but it’s become more interesting.

I was raised Southern Baptist but being liberal on social issues such as the ordination of women and the inclusion of LGBT people (including in the ministry), have found my way to a Lutheran church (ELCA) which is very liturgical and has a great organist (who originally played the organ in a big Episcopal church somewhere in New England).

I’ve discovered that I very much like this type of traditional, high church worship and think that I would be quite happy attending the kinds of Episcopal churches you mentioned earlier (St. Thomas, Resurrection, and Smokey Mary’s). I’m becoming increasingly interested in the Anglican tradition. Strangely enough, however, most of my ancestors on my father’s side were New England puritans who left England in the 17th century and embraced a very severe, austere and bone dry type of religiosity which was a repudiation of high church liturgical types of worship.

 

[JoyToTheWhirled]

I know CoE Anglo-Catholics. Can’t generalize about those Anglicans.

I’ve attended an Anglo-Catholic church. Loved it. I was baptised in a middle of the candle civic style Anglican church, by which I unconsciously judge all other churches. I haven’t exactly seen it all, but I’ve seen enough to know that you are quite right about the eclectic nature of Anglicanism.

 

[jschwartz]

High church lutheranism is worth exploring, too. In Sweden, they tend towards catholicity in practice. I recall a LWF Orthodox ecumenical declaration in which the Lutherans declared allegiance to the 7 ecumenical councils. I’m the US, the conservative LCMS seems to exhibit more of this style than what I see out of ELCA. Maybe some affirming Catholicism types can start a revival in ELCA towards catholic worship

 

[Thorolfr]

High church lutheranism is worth exploring, too. In Sweden, they tend towards catholicity in practice. I recall a LWF Orthodox ecumenical declaration in which the Lutherans declared allegiance to the 7 ecumenical councils. I’m the US, the conservative LCMS seems to exhibit more of this style than what I see out of ELCA. Maybe some affirming Catholicism types can start a revival in ELCA towards catholic worship

I think that there is a bit of a revival in my ELCA church. One of our pastors brought up the issue once of crossing yourself which our clergy do but which only some of the people in the pews do. For some of them, they were raised believing that this is “too Catholic”. As a baptist, I would never have crossed myself at one time, but have started doing so. Also, my ELCA church has started doing Taize services with the sanctuary lit only by candles and with Taize melodies and chanting.

 

[Sy_Noe]

I’ve been to an Episcopal parish that was less sacramental feeling and the communion itself was far less Catholic than the majority of parishes I’ve attended. They used leavened bread and partook of it in a circle passing the plate with the blessed bread around the circle rather than the far more typical line up, kneel and receive at the rail. However they still espoused the real presence even if the form of the communion was different. But I don’t think I’ve ever been to an Anglican parish where the two “great” sacraments were not considered Sacramental at all.

I’ve been told my local Episcopal parish has a Saturday evening reflective healing service where communicants receive as well by passing the blessed bread and wine to each other. If for some reason someone does not want to receive one or the other or neither, they can just cross their hands over their chest so the person to their right would know that they do not want to receive and then they would give it to the next person. Or a person can simply tell the person next to them that they do not want to receive and that they should continue on to the next person.

At their Sunday contemporary service, communicants receive standing. After receiving the bread, if one wants to receive wine and if they have taken the bread by hand, they offer the bread to the person serving the wine. He or she will take it, dip it into the wine, and place it in the communicant’s mouth. If the bread was taken by mouth, a person may then directly sip from the chalice. For those preferring grape juice instead of wine, grape juice is offered on far right side of the altar. If someone does not want to receive wine or grape juice, but would still like to receive a blessing, they can simply approach with their hands crossed across their chest. Of if a person prefers to pass by and head back to their seat, that is fine too.

Their other 2 Sunday services are the more traditional Rites 1 and 2. I suspect there are communicants at those services who kneel but I am less familiar with those.

 

[Graceful_Lamb]

I think that there is a bit of a revival in my ELCA church. One of our pastors brought up the issue once of crossing yourself which our clergy do but which only some of the people in the pews do. For some of them, they were raised believing that this is “too Catholic”. As a baptist, I would never have crossed myself at one time, but have started doing so. Also, my ELCA church has started doing Taize services with the sanctuary lit only by candles and with Taize melodies and chanting.

I never heard before that crossing yourself could be considered “too Catholic.”

I suppose growing up in TEC, it is common to cross yourself multiple times during the service. I thought that most Christian denominations of this, but I learned something new today.

 

[Thorolfr]

I never heard before that crossing yourself could be considered “too Catholic.”

I suppose growing up in TEC, it is common to cross yourself multiple times during the service. I thought that most Christian denominations of this, but I learned something new today.

I think that most Protestants, and especially those who come from non-liturgical traditions, do not cross themselves. I’ve never seen Baptists cross themselves (I was raised Southern Baptist). I also attended a Presbyterian church for a while and they don’t cross themselves. Some Lutherans do, but there are a lot who don’t. Someone I know who was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran told me that growing up, members of the congregation never crossed themselves. I’ve also been a few times with one of my relatives to a Pentecostal church and they don’t cross themselves. Baptist ministers, Pentecostal ministers, and the clergy of many Protestant churches I’ve been to don’t wear vestments either.

I remember the first time I went to a service in an Episcopal Church, and that was the first time I had ever seen kneelers in the pews of a church before. Having been raised Baptist, at first I felt distinctly uneasy about all the kneeling and crossing and going up for communion. Baptists usually get communion distributed to them in the pews including the little crackers that pass for the host and the little tiny cups of grape juice (not wine).

But in the Lutheran church (ELCA) that I attend now, we go down and receive the host in the form of a wafer either in our hand to be dipped into the chalice of wine or placed on the tongue by the pastor or sometimes we receive kneeling at the altar rail. We also have kneelers in the pews like the Episcopal churches I’ve visited. Our clergy wear vestments. The Lutheran church I attend now is fairly “high church” but probably not as high as the Episcopal church in town. I’ve come to like this kind of worship that at first made me feel uncomfortable because it was so unfamiliar.

 

[exnihilo]

I never heard before that crossing yourself could be considered “too Catholic.”

Almost anything can be considered too Catholic. When so many have as a premise that the Catholic Church perverted the Faith this shouldn’t be surprising. In fact if it were true it would be very wise to be wary. In this case the sign of the cross is ancient, but that is still not enough evidence of acceptability for many.

 

[Peter_J]

I never heard before that crossing yourself could be considered “too Catholic.”

I was at a talk once by a Lutheran pastor in which he discusses the sign of the cross and specifically addressed concerns that it was “Roman” … which one could translate as “too Catholic/catholic”.

 

[Padres1969]

I never heard before that crossing yourself could be considered “too Catholic.”

I suppose growing up in TEC, it is common to cross yourself multiple times during the service. I thought that most Christian denominations of this, but I learned something new today.

I’ve known the crossing yourself wasn’t common in most Protestant traditions, but I’d never heard of it being excluded specifically for being “Too Catholic” or “Too Roman”. Though I suppose to some extent it does make sense since it is a somewhat ceremonial action and many Protestant traditions have removed much of the ceremony from services. Which is why it makes sense that it continues as a practice in the high church Lutherans and among Anglicans.