I feel like John Henry Cardinal Newman must have felt…(sorry so long) I apologize if anyone finds this “offensive”…I’m just trying to be honest and ask if anyone feels the same.
I attend a “high church” oxford movement type Anglican church. We don’t have female “priests/deacons/bishops” and we think homosexuality is perversion. We got the smells and bells, altar boys-no girls etc.
With that said, I just can’t stay Anglican. I hear all this stuff about “rich Anglican Patrimony” I fail to see it. Every time I tell someone I go to an Anglican church they say “what’s that?” (if they are protestant and “oh…” with a kind of uncomfortable look (if they are Catholic).
My husband and his friend perpetuate the MYTH that Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain and brought Jesus when he was a boy that the Brits had the Catholic faith from Joseph of Arimathea, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha after the crucifixion not that they got it from the Roman conquest of Britain around 55AD which would make them Christian from Roman Christians (which is the actual truth-so says Bede) Anyway I have to deal with the schismatic “jurisdiction” with is ABC Alphabet soup of Continuing Anglican Churches (APCK, ACA, APA, ACC, UEC, etc. etc. etc. because non of them want to be part of the main body centered around Canterbury or Schiori and her bunch at the ECUSA/TEC yet they are separate from eachother because their bishops want to stay in purple being the boss of their jurisdiction instead of uniting with eachother. I keep hearing “we’re Catholic just not ROMAN Catholic”, and “the church isn’t an institution it’s invisible made up of all believers” and my favorite “we are one of three branches of the Catholic Church.” The main bodies of the ACNA (that recently made itself from disenchanted Episcopalians) and all of the continuing churches I’ve seen have little or no children because they are soooo for birth control. So they are literally dying.
I’m a realist I see in reality: 1. The church didn’t start back in the good ol’ days with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha…Anglicanism was started from Henry VIII and his lust for women and power. 2. The rich history of the church consists of divorce remarried clergy including bishops, during the reign of Edward VI they tossed out correct theology in favor of personal (whomever in charge at the time) theology and heck since then it’s a believe what you want church. 3. Like I said it’s huge on birth control so much that my husband and I are the only “breeders” in our parish of 30+ people. The other jurisdictions in our city have either NO kids or people that have kids (one church had 2 families with children aren’t having anymore because they boldly proclaimed they got “fixed”.) 4. How can people belong to “one” church when they have different competing bishops, (who don’t have intercommunion with eachother btw)? 5. There are no more Saints in Anglican church not since they split away from the Pope if they are just like or another “branch” of the Catholic Church how come no more Saints?
Personal info…I can’t go Catholic (actual CATHOLIC) same old story husband is basically an oxford movement Newman that hates the papacy with a passion and would pull out his own fingernails before he dared call the Pope “His Holiness” but I can’t be “happy” or “excited” or even “content” being part of such a huge mess calling itself Anglicanism. To make a long story short same old thing he’ll divorce me we have 4 kids who’d be stuck in the middle of this (he will he thinks Catholicism is of the devil yet he admits their sacraments are valid?-does it make sense no I don’t think so) He thinks that praying to Saints asking for help is talking to demons…that there is no Saints in Heaven that they are in Sheol (abode of the dead waiting for the resurrection) He wants to become a priest so he can teach people what he wants and what he believes without too much interference from the Bishop of a certain jurisdiction who is on the other side of the U.S. away from us yet he thinks this is “being under subjection” (yeah right.) I’m trying hard not to resent him and keep my marriage together.
Why would someone fight to remain in such a mess? My husband says that “the church went astray around 325 AD at Nicea when it married the secular world and since then it’s “introduced” false doctrine and that Anglicanism is the best we can do in the last days in the mess that people have made of Christianity”…I don’t buy it…not for a second.
Anyone feel the same?
DoT
hoping to “come over.” There are a few U.S. formerly Episcopalian parishes that already have. You might enjoy surfing the web using search terms such as “Anglican Ordinariate,” as well.
