Is It Wrong For A Cathloic to go to an Episcopal Church?

[Jacqueline47]

Roman Cathloics arent that much diffent from episcopals as far as beliefs right? so it cant be wrong for me to start going to the less-uptight episcopal church in my town…right? I still firmly believe everything i did before.

 

[kmuestwin]

Roman Cathloics arent that much diffent from episcopals as far as beliefs right? so it cant be wrong for me to start going to the less-uptight episcopal church in my town…right? I still firmly believe everything i did before.

Yes. The episcopal sacraments are invalid. To attend an episcopal service and to hold it in the same esteem as Mass is gravely wrong.

 

[Seatuck]

Catholics are obligated to attend Mass every Sunday in a Catholic Church. We are also obligated to form our consciences to the moral teachings as taught by the Catholic Church.
Many of the beliefs of the Episcopal Church are not the same as the Catholic Church. This is why many Episcopalians and Anglicans are converting to Catholicism.

So yes, of course it is wrong for a Catholic .

 

[valentino]

Roman Cathloics arent that much diffent from episcopals as far as beliefs right? so it cant be wrong for me to start going to the less-uptight episcopal church in my town…right? I still firmly believe everything i did before.

The Catholic Church is quite different from any protestant church.You may not feel the difference right away but when you learn about the CC you’ll come to know just how different it is.You don’t say your Catholic in the message but you ask if its wrong for a Catholic to goto an Episcopal church in your title.Im going to assume your not a Catholic.If you were a Catholic you could attend an episcopal church but you would have to go to Mass every Sunday and attend Mass on all holy days.

 

[Redratfish]

Roman Cathloics arent that much diffent from episcopals as far as beliefs right? so it cant be wrong for me to start going to the less-uptight episcopal church in my town…right? I still firmly believe everything i did before.

You may visit and observe, but you may not participate in their “communion”, and you must attend Mass on Sunday at a Catholic Church.

 

[Jacqueline47]

The Catholic Church is quite different from any protestant church.You may not feel the difference right away but when you learn about the CC you’ll come to know just how different it is.You don’t say your Catholic in the message but you ask if its wrong for a Catholic to goto an Episcopal church in your title.Im going to assume your not a Catholic.If you were a Catholic you could attend an episcopal church but you would have to go to Mass every Sunday and attend Mass on all holy days.

I am Cathloic, i forgot to mention that. I understand that as a Cathloic I still need to value Cathloic beliefs, which i intend on doing. I just wanted to go to the episopal church some of my friends go to because they say its a lot easier to understand than my Parish, which has mostly elderly Parishiners. So it’s not that i wanted to totally disregaurd everything i believe in, i just think i could get more out of a service thats supposedly directed for people my age group.

 

[ProspectCard]

Jacqueline47 there are many differences between the Episcopal and Catholic Church that you should understand before you decide to attend an Episcopalian service.

Also, please note that you have misspelled Catholic as Cathloic in all of your posts and on your profile page, hopefully you can still edit if you would like.

 

[ANNE_2]

I am Cathloic, i forgot to mention that. I understand that as a Cathloic I still need to value Cathloic beliefs, which i intend on doing. I just wanted to go to the episopal church some of my friends go to because they say its a lot easier to understand than my Parish, which has mostly elderly Parishiners. So it’s not that i wanted to totally disregaurd everything i believe in, i just think i could get more out of a service thats supposedly directed for people my age group.

It is a Mortal Sin to miss MASS on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation.
A non-Catholic service does not take the place of Mass.

Read the New Testament in a Catholic Bible, and the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition”, (first printed in the USA in March 2000; dark green cover) to help you better understand.
If you are a teenager, read the “You Cat” - “Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church” that was just published this year.

Jesus is present in the Eucharist at each Catholic Mass. It does not get any better than that.
It does not matter the age of the other parishoneers. You are there to talk to God, and to let Him speak to you.

 

[PiousTemplar]

I am Cathloic, i forgot to mention that. I understand that as a Cathloic I still need to value Cathloic beliefs, which i intend on doing. I just wanted to go to the episopal church some of my friends go to because they say its a lot easier to understand than my Parish, which has mostly elderly Parishiners. So it’s not that i wanted to totally disregaurd everything i believe in, i just think i could get more out of a service thats supposedly directed for people my age group.

They say that because they don’t understand what is happening in a Catholic Mass. Sure, you can go to an Episcopal service, but you must not take communion at their service, and this must not replace your obligation to go to Mass each Sunday/Saturday Vigil. I would recommend however, to get a complete understanding of the Catholic faith, before attending protestant services. You don’t want to be influenced by anti-catholicism.

 

[jnpl1185]

You don’t want to be influenced by anti-catholicism.

Yes, because all non-catholics are also anti-catholics.

Roman Cathloics arent that much diffent from episcopals as far as beliefs right? so it cant be wrong for me to start going to the less-uptight episcopal church in my town…right? I still firmly believe everything i did before.

I would recommend you do whatever is best for your relationship with God. Don’t be bought over by superficial matters, but think, pray, research and do whatever will bring you closer to Him. Of course Roman Catholics will tell you it is a Mortal Sin to skip Roman Catholic mass and nothing could bring you closer than Catholic mass (you can’t come to a Catholic forum and expect any different answer), but it is ultimately between you and God, not you and Roman Catholics.

 

[AddictedToTruth]

So it’s not that i wanted to totally disregaurd everything i believe in, i just think i could get more out of a service thats supposedly directed for people my age group.

You can’t get more out of a protestant service than you can a Catholic Mass!!! Whatever you will get at a service will be of infinitesimal little significance compared to the graces you receive when attending a Mass and partaking in Holy Communion!

Surely if you understood the Sacrifice and significance of the Mass you would not desire to substitute it with a protestant service!!

I encourage you to read more about the Catholic faith, in particular the Mass

Here’s a start:
vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P40.HTM

Get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and READ IT a little bit each day! This will not only inform you of Catholic beliefs, the more you know the more you will be interested in knowing more!

 

[jnpl1185]

They say that because they don’t understand what is happening in a Catholic Mass.

And why is it that so many RCs assume the ignorance of everyone who does not agree with them? Maybe they understand and still don’t agree!

So it’s not that i wanted to totally disregaurd everything i believe in, i just think i could get more out of a service thats supposedly directed for people my age group.

The differences between Anglicans/Episcopalians and Roman Catholics as I understand it is not so much in the forms of worship but rather in some points of doctrine and separation from Rome. It is likely that you will see many familiar aspects in an Episcopalian mass. Some of them have even taken on a liturgy very similar to the Vatican II english liturgy, which I understand was in some aspects influenced by the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but I’m not 100% on the history regarding this. Episcopalians still believe in the same seven sacraments, but a Roman Catholic will tell you they are invalid.

 

[Khalid]

It’s wrong, mostly.

The sacraments are invalid: the eucharist isn’t the eucharist, the priests have no authority, the penance is not efficacious, mainly because the orders are invalid (and the sect is schismatic and heretic) and thus the priests are not actually priests. The Episcopal sect (it’s not a church: only RCs and EOs have that respect) is what I believe I know as Anglicanism, and it’s been oft-discussed how wrong the Anglicanism is in many things.

However, to merely sit in the church-building during a service is not a sin, I don’t believe, as long as you do not believe it to be valid, do not hold it in the same regard as a real Mass or Divine Liturgy, and do not go to the Episcopalian service in detriment to your attendance at a proper Roman Catholic Church: however, to go to the Episcopalian service when a Roman Catholic Church is available on a Sunday I would believe is a sin, as it is obligatory on all Catholics to go to Mass on Sunday.

It seems that just sitting through the service, on a day other than Sunday, or after you’ve already gone to Mass, is no more of a sin than listening to a Methodist minister preach, or reading a defense of Calvinism (I’m not sure if more conservative position would hold this to be a sin, as the books would never be granted nihil obstat and imprimatur, as for obvious reasons, read without discretion, they can lead one astray and cause grave damage to the faculty of sacred reason and the faculty of conscience or morality): if you know they are incorrect, yet have interest for educational or research purposes, they can have some value (with the aforementioned caveat).

However, I am not certain about the above, but I am certain that no services are an adequate replacement or proxy for the Mass or Divine Liturgy: there can be no other. To try to defend that all Christian services are the same - or that any service is as valid as any other service - is slipping in to latitudinarian indifferentism.

 

[jnpl1185]

Actually, Vatican II and Pope Paul VI himself have said that Anglicans and many other traditional protestant groups are not “Heretical”, going so far as to call them “our beautiful sister Church”. This is an example of how removed some Catholics are from fulfilling the reforms of Vatican II.

 

[PiousTemplar]

Yes, because all non-catholics are also anti-catholics.

I was trying to imply that there is the possibility of being influenced by anti-catholicism. I don’t mean the denomination specifically, but some members of the church may be very anti-catholic.

 

[zz912]

Roman Cathloics arent that much diffent from episcopals as far as beliefs right? so it cant be wrong for me to start going to the less-uptight episcopal church in my town…right? I still firmly believe everything i did before.

For you to say this tells me you are probably weakly formed in your faith. As such, missing Mass and substituting the worship services of another denomination is very dangerous for your soul.

From your other response, I think you have the viewpoint of the Mass completely wrong. We are not there to be entertained. It is not for our amusement. We are there to give praise and worship to God, and focus on Him. And He gives the greatest gift of all, the opportunity to eat and drink His Body and Blood and become one with Him. You can’t get that anywhere but at Mass.

I don’t care how great the chorus or band is, or how wonderful the preacher is, or how great the fellowship is, or how awesome the experience is, it pales in comparison to the Body and Blood of Christ.

 

[PiousTemplar]

For you to say this tells me you are probably weakly formed in your faith. As such, missing Mass and substituting the worship services of another denomination is very dangerous for your soul.

From your other response, I think you have the viewpoint of the Mass completely wrong. We are not there to be entertained. It is not for our amusement. We are there to give praise and worship to God, and focus on Him. And He gives the greatest gift of all, the opportunity to eat and drink His Body and Blood and become one with Him. You can’t get that anywhere but at Mass.

I don’t care how great the chorus or band is, or how wonderful the preacher is, or how great the fellowship is, or how awesome the experience is, it pales in comparison to the Body and Blood of Christ.

Or having the ability to take part in the seven sacraments left to our Church by Jesus.

 

[exnihilo]

I just wanted to go to the episopal church some of my friends go to because they say its a lot easier to understand than my Parish, which has mostly elderly Parishiners. So it’s not that i wanted to totally disregaurd everything i believe in, i just think i could get more out of a service thats supposedly directed for people my age group.

Worship is to worship God, not please us. I think you have to be careful when thinking about the purpose of worship to not think of it as needing to appeal to your tastes.

Also being a Christian means loving everyone. It is easy to love those who are like you and you naturally like. It is much more difficult to love those who are different.

 

[Bluegoat]

As a Catholic, you really can’t remain Catholic and regularly go elsewhere for Mass. It might be worthwhile to see if there is a group where you can learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church.

But it is a drag not to have people your age to share your experiences with in your parish.
Especially in smaller communities, it can be hard to find Christian friends without going outside of your own faith community. You might see if there is some kind of youth group, perhaps at another Catholic parish, or maybe get involved in some kind of ecumenical group like a soup kitchen or a ecumenical choir, with a lot of young people. You might even see if the Episcopalians have a youth group if you can’t find a Catholic one, but I would combine that with learning more about Catholicism.

 

[CMatt25]

And why is it that so many RCs assume the ignorance of everyone who does not agree with them? Maybe they understand and still don’t agree!

I’m not exactly surprised it only took you a month and 44 posts to catch this common theme. It just seems to me to be the default reaction when someone disagrees. I don’t get why either though. Peace.