Process for converting from Episcopalian to Catholic

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Carole

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My husband has been very active in Episcopal faith for 40 years. He has been on the vestry, an acolyte, a reader. He is considering converting to Catholic Faith. What would be involved in RCIA? Would it be a year long process or could it be shortened based on his Christian background. I am afraid if it is a long process he will procrastinate and not attend.
 
In my experience, your husband would not need to go through the full RCIA in my parish. It would be best for him to schedule an appointment with your parish priest and discuss what he needs to do in order to come into full communion with the Church. I am sure they will be willling to work with him (and you, of course!).

Peace and prayers to both of you!
 
There is typically supposed to be a separate process for “candidates” (those already validly baptized who wish to come into full communion with the Church). The amount that the process is shortened compared to the RCIA program for catechumens (the unbaptized) will likely be based on how much of the Catholic faith he already knows. This should be determined by the priest, who would recommend the proper process.
 
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Carole:
My husband has been very active in Episcopal faith for 40 years. He has been on the vestry, an acolyte, a reader. He is considering converting to Catholic Faith. What would be involved in RCIA? Would it be a year long process or could it be shortened based on his Christian background. I am afraid if it is a long process he will procrastinate and not attend.
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I converted from the EC 12 years ago. It is very individual, based in the person and the parish. Talk to a priest. While RCIA is not technically necessary, if the priest wants everyone to go through it, then I would suggest following that path. I went through RCIA and was confirmed 10 months after joining. It was hard to wait, once I was convicted of the Truth, but obedience is part of the deal!
 
I converted to Catholicism in 1996 after having been baptized in a Southern Baptist Church four years earlier. I started RCIA class in late December of 1995 and had my First Communion in Easter 1996. I was allowed to do this after only a few months of RCIA class partly because I was already baptized, but mostly because I had read alot about the faith previously and had a pretty good grasp of it. I think there are alot of similarities between the Anglican and Catholic Churches, so converting shouldn’t be that difficult.
 
When you go thru RCIA besides learning about the Catholic faith, you become part of a community. A good portion of RCIA is that community. If you are worried that a long time will cause him to not do it, do it with him. Be his sponsor. In our RCIA, the sponsors are encouraged to attend with those that they sponsor. Make it something that you can share.
In our parish, if you are married to a Catholic and have attended with your spouse and raised your children Catholic, then often our priest will ask if you have any issues that you have trouble accepting. If not, often he will bring you into full communion within a very short time. But he always encourages people to become part of the community.

I will pray for you and your husband.

Newby

PS, I am an instructor in our parish RCIA program, and I love sharing my faith with prospective Catholics.
 
Carole,

I know we have a lot in common with regards to our faith. The Church of England was once part of the Catholic Church, and I believe Episcopalians derived from this Church (correct me if i’m wrong). Honestly, when becoming a Catholic, you should know what the Church teaches–doctrines and dogmas. In short, you have to accept ALL of them. RCIA is a beautiful process of learning the Catholic faith, aside of course from reading the Cathecism and other good sources. Contact the parish nearest you and talk to the priest about this process (RCIA). God bless!

Pio

btw, are you also an Episcopalian?
 
Carole,

This must be a hard time for you with one family member going one way and the other another. A wish you and your family the best no matter haw it turns out. We are all Christian and God loves us and knows that as humans, we do have freewill.

The good news is that going from an Episcopalian to a Catholic is a somewhat easy step compared to a Baptist or JW becoming Catholic. We share many common beliefs with our Episcopol brothers and sisters and our services are not too different.

When I attended a Lutheran church in Stansburry UT, we did not have a full time preacher. We did have an Episcopal minister that came by about twice a month to lead our services. He also led our Bible study. He was a great man and a great minister. He taught us Gods word very well and explained much of the Episcopal faith to us. I left this church to go to a Baptist church.

When I began my journey home, I studied for the truth in all denominations except the Catholic one. The Catholics were not Christian and the Church was very evil, so I believed and was taught in the Baptist churches I attended. When I discovered the flaws in Baptist faith and decided to follow Jesus no matter where He led me I began to study any protestant denomination I could find information on. I started to study the Episcopal faith and nearly thought I was home at last.

When I continued to study I began to have Catholic theology creep into my view. My wife became angry with me and threatened divorace before she allowed me to cross the Tiber and ruin her salvation and that of my children. I told my wife I would stop studying theology and stick with the Episcopal faith. One day while I was working on the patio, she came outside and told me to continue searching for my Faith regardless of the consequences. I was not only shocked but had to discuss this with her to make sure she wasn’t on medication. God worked through her to touch and guide me. Praise God, he works in mysterious ways.

Have Faith and let the Holy Spirit guide your family.

Good luck!
 
Your husband should talk to the priest. I have an MDiv from an Episcopal seminary and they didn’t let me out of RCIA – that was my parish. Two other parishes told me I could skip it. Fr. George Rutler thought I was “strange” for accepting my pastor’s decision. They didn’t make me go through the catechetical part, but I had to participate in all the “rites.” It serves as a catechetical instrument for the rest of the parish. Not wanting to go through the process is kind of indicative of the intensity of his desire to become Catholic, isn’t it?
 
Last year, my wife went through RCIA to be received in the Church, and my 2 daughters went through RCIA to complete their Catholic initiation.

There were some “boring” interludes for them during that time, but none regretted the process. Even where teachings between Catholics and Protestants are very similar in the terms used, the basis of them is often very different. Each, for example, acknowledges sanctification, but Protestant theology knows nothing of sanctifying grace, and as a consequence, sanctification for them does not imply an actual transormation of the soul so that it is fit to enter heaven. Rather, a cloak of the righteousness of Jesus is thrown over it so that the Father sees his Son’s righteousness, not the state of the soul.

In his book “Letters to a Young Catholic” (and in other writings), George Weigel describes what he calls the Catholic “sacramental imagination”. No Protestant denomination has anything comparable, even the ones that may acknowledge the existence of some sacraments. It would be short shrift if someone were to enter the Church without a chance to develop that “imagination”, and RCIA is a good way to nurture that development.

That being said, the parish priest is the best person to assess the situation and determine the appropriate approach, but if he points towards RCIA, that would not be a bad thing.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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Carole:
My husband has been very active in Episcopal faith for 40 years. He has been on the vestry, an acolyte, a reader. He is considering converting to Catholic Faith. What would be involved in RCIA? Would it be a year long process or could it be shortened based on his Christian background. I am afraid if it is a long process he will procrastinate and not attend.
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RCIA is not mandatory for your husband. But if you husband has been outside the Catholic Church for over forty years as an Episcopalian, why does it now have to be a rush job to come into full communion with the Catholic Church?

The RCIA classes that I have been involved in have had people at all different levels of knowledge of the Catholic faith, from adults that have never known that Jesus is God, to people like your husband. I would think that your husband’s witness would enrich the RCIA classes for all that attend. Sharing one’s faith is an important part of a good RCIA program - RCIA classes are supposed to be more than religious lectures to potential converts.

If your parish has a good RCIA program, your husband’s participation could be a real asset to the other candidates and catechumens going through RCIA. Perhaps, after he has gone through your parish’s RCIA program, he would want to get involved in this ministry as a catechist. Or perhaps, after seeing how much religious instruction actually is given in a typical RCIA program, he would want to get involved in teaching a class for adults who are already members of the Catholic Church.
 
It’s done on a completely individual basis. In my case I met a priest to discuss being recieved into full communion about 6 times. I then went to work abroad for 4 months which was a time of reflection. On my return I approached a priest who I met about 5 times and he agreed that as I had been practically practising the Catholic faith as an Anglo Catholic episcopalian and that as the fact I could not recieve in the Episcopal Church in concience any more and obviously not in the Catholic Church and given that this was causing me some distress, that I could be recieved soon after these meetings.

It’s different for everyone and depends on your beliefs, the denomination you are coming from and the priest’s judgement on the most appropriate way to proceed.

I would agree with Matt16 above, it sounds like he could greatly enrich a RCIA class.

I didn’t do one at the time but am about to help at one, two reasons, to help out and also I think I’ll gain a great deal from it.

Hope this helps.
 
Anglo-Catholic- but of course Episcopalians are Anglican, at least until tomorrow.
 
Carole- I strongly recommend that your husband go through the RCIA process. I found it very rewarding. I’d also recommend that he read the heck out of the catechism and ask all kinds of questions to make sure he knows all that the church teaches and expects him to assent to.
 
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Carole:
My husband has been very active in Episcopal faith for 40 years. He has been on the vestry, an acolyte, a reader. He is considering converting to Catholic Faith. What would be involved in RCIA? Would it be a year long process or could it be shortened based on his Christian background. I am afraid if it is a long process he will procrastinate and not attend.
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I converted to The Catholic Church from The Episcopal Church in 1995. I investigated on my own by watching EWTN and reading books a year before I even approached a Priest about coming into the Church. I took classes with a small group taught by our Priest( the next year , more structured classes actually called R.C.I.A. were started and taught by someone certified to teach the Catholic faith). Anyway, we were divided into two groups, those who were Baptised and those who were not. That made no difference on how long the course was. No matter how much you knew about your particular faith(mine being Episcopal, others were Baptist, Methodist, or no-denomination), we all had to learn what being a Catholic meant, which meant that we all came into the Church at the same time, which was about 9 months all together. God Bless your Husband on his faith journey, coming home to the Catholic Church was a wonderful experience for me and I hope it will be for him too. I pray that he does not get discouraged as he can be a good witness for someone else in his class who perhaps never went to Church or went once in a while & has little understanding of faith matters.
 
:No Protestant denomination has anything comparable" (to the Catholic “sacramental imagination”).

I’m sorry, but you obviously haven’t encountered Anglo-Catholics. You’d be better advised not to make sweeping statements that go beyond your knowledge.

Edwin
 
I posted this message a while back and I have very good news. I read all of your feedback, and it was very helpful. I prayed alot and turned it over to God. On New Years Day my husband said that he had decided to convert to Catholicism and he is in the process of RCIA. He is so happy and peaceful. He is taking this very seriously! We are going to have our marriage blessed in the Church and he will be received on Easter. I just wanted to give you the “end of the story” and let you all know the good news. Also to thank all of you who so graciously responded to my questions. Carole
 
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Carole:
I posted this message a while back and I have very good news. I read all of your feedback, and it was very helpful. I prayed alot and turned it over to God. On New Years Day my husband said that he had decided to convert to Catholicism and he is in the process of RCIA. He is so happy and peaceful. He is taking this very seriously! We are going to have our marriage blessed in the Church and he will be received on Easter. I just wanted to give you the “end of the story” and let you all know the good news. Also to thank all of you who so graciously responded to my questions. Carole
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What wonderful news! 😃 👍 :dancing:

You are going to have one wonderful Easter Vigil this Holy Saturday, just as I did last year when my wife (of 36 years) was received into the church.

Three cheers and a Tiger!

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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Carole:
My husband has been very active in Episcopal faith for 40 years. He has been on the vestry, an acolyte, a reader. He is considering converting to Catholic Faith. What would be involved in RCIA? Would it be a year long process or could it be shortened based on his Christian background. I am afraid if it is a long process he will procrastinate and not attend.
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  1. Your husbamd would be welcomed in Holy Mother Church. Carole , are you Catholic?
  2. I read something bothersome in your post. You said he is considering becoming Catholic BUT if it is too difficult in terms of time, he will not attend. That tells me he doesn’t really know what it means to be a Catholic. If it is “easy” he will, if it’s hard , he won’t. Right? What will he say just after his death, when he learns the Catholic Way is the correct Way? Sorry to be blunt, but Jesus was blunt too.
 
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