The Ordinariate

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outremer

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Specifically, I am referencing the Ordinariate created for Anglicans (and other Protestants) to seek special entry into the Catholic Church.

Is anyone here involved with the Ordinariate in any manner?

Is it stagnant? It seems like it has pretty much stalled out since about 2012/2013. Which is shocking, for example, given the Episcopal Church’s recent approval of gay marriage.
 
I think for the most part any people/parishes which were going to go have gone. I have not heard of a lot of movement there recently.

Why do you ask?
 
kkollwitz said:
ordinariate.org.uk//news/latest.php
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It looks like it is doing well in England, but I don’t know how it is growing here. I converted to Catholicism from the Episcopal then Anglican churches. The Ordinariate formed a year or two later. So someone can join the Ordinariate from the Episcopal or Anglican church or they can join the Catholic church. I don’t think a Methodist or say a Baptist or Presbyterian could join.
 
As a member of the Ordinariate in the UK I feel we are making steady progress. The part I belong to has received a couple of new members this year and more are hoping to ‘swim the Tiber’ later this year. The prayers and Novena prepared by the Ordinariate have been beautifully prepared and I love the order of Morning, Evening and Night prayer.

That said, I think there is still a lot of animosity from remaining Anglicans and it doesn’t help that some people in the Catholic Church have said that there shouldn’t be an Ordinariate, or that others don’t think we are ‘proper’ Catholics. There are a lot of people though who have commented on the beauty of the liturgy and the traditional style.
 
I think the Ordiariate is a very good thing. I have heard what a beautiful
liturgy it is. I would say they are as Catholic as any other Catholic.
 
Father Rob and Sean here in Omaha have expressed the understanding that the main goal of the Ordinariate, apart from bringing in Anglicans who wanted to join, is to bring something to the Church, as a whole.

Angelus, I think the Ordinariate is going to do something great for the Church. I can think of a few things it has done for me as an ordinary Roman Catholic. 🙂
 
TarkanAttila said:
Father Rob and Sean here in Omaha have expressed the understanding that the main goal of the Ordinariate, apart from bringing in Anglicans who wanted to join, is to bring something to the Church, as a whole.

Angelus, I think the Ordinariate is going to do something great for the Church. I can think of a few things it has done for me as an ordinary Roman Catholic. 🙂
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I agree. I believe it to be a good thing.
 
AngelusDomini said:
As a member of the Ordinariate in the UK I feel we are making steady progress. The part I belong to has received a couple of new members this year and more are hoping to ‘swim the Tiber’ later this year. The prayers and Novena prepared by the Ordinariate have been beautifully prepared and I love the order of Morning, Evening and Night prayer.

That said, I think there is still a lot of animosity from remaining Anglicans and it doesn’t help that some people in the Catholic Church have said that there shouldn’t be an Ordinariate, or that others don’t think we are ‘proper’ Catholics. There are a lot of people though who have commented on the beauty of the liturgy and the traditional style.
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Just the sort of individual I was interested in hearing from! 👍

Does the Ordinariate, at least from your perspective, take an active Evangelization role, or does it seem to take more of a “remain still and let them come to us” sort of attitude?

I appreciate the viewpoints.
 
I was present at the ordination on June 30, 2012 when six former Episcopalian priests were ordained for the Ordinariate for the Chair of St. Peter. This took place at a Catholic Church in Keller, Texas (Fort Worth Diocese). One now-Catholic priest present is a friend of mine. I had a good seat and was nearly in tears of joy when our pastor (the now Bishop of El Paso) handed him his vestments at the ordination.

I do know within the last three years, two parishes have applied (and I believe accepted) to become Catholic as part of the Ordinariate. One is in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the other is in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. There’s another one in the Fort Worth Diocese that I believe has been accepted to join. That will make two for the Diocese of Fort Worth, since St. Mary the Virgin in Arlington was one of the first Anglican Use parishes in Texas (it came in around 1993). Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio is another one, and Our Lady of Walsingham (went to Mass there last Christmas) is another one - that’s three in Texas. There’s another one in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

There are a few more former Episcopal priests that are being ordained soon for the Ordinariate. One is coming up in the Houston area and another one is coming up near the Oklahoma border. There’s another former Episcopal priest (I’m familiar with his conversion story, but don’t know him) who was ordained under the Pastoral Provision within the last two years in Texas - he was a classmate of my friend.

I do like the Mass at the parishes that I have been that are under the ordinariate - Masses are reverent - people properly dressed - churches look like churches.
 
outremer said:
Just the sort of individual I was interested in hearing from! 👍

Does the Ordinariate, at least from your perspective, take an active Evangelization role, or does it seem to take more of a “remain still and let them come to us” sort of attitude?

I appreciate the viewpoints.
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Personally, I feel we’re a little bit of both. The Novena produced by the Ordinariate was given to members in a beautifully published format to share with those enquiring and those who are Catholics already - for us in the UK it’s very much about drawing upon our patrimony - and that includes things like spiritual writing etc which are pre-reformation but have been somewhat neglected. On the other hand we’re not pushing our way into parishes and saying ‘this is how it should be’ (although a seminarian did tell me that he thanks God for the Ordinariate as it shows how the liturgy can be celebrated in a truly dignified style - you should see the rubrics in the Ordinariate Use! 😉 )

I really do hope that we can enrich the Church even more with what we bring. I know of quite a few cradle Catholics who love attending an Ordinariate Use Mass as they love the Anglican tradition music and being able to fully participate in the Mass. 🙂

The novena can be found here: calledtobe.org.uk/
 
Just to clarify something that was said above:

-Methodists seeking full union with the Catholic Church can do so via the Ordinariate.

-If an Anglican/Episcopalian/Methodist became Catholic at a “typical” (for lack of a better word) Roman Catholic parish, they can still transfer their membership from their current (arch)diocese to that of the Ordinariate.

ordinariate.net/join
 
rgp3 said:
Just to clarify something that was said above:

-Methodists seeking full union with the Catholic Church can do so via the Ordinariate.

-If an Anglican/Episcopalian/Methodist became Catholic at a “typical” (for lack of a better word) Roman Catholic parish, they can still transfer their membership from their current (arch)diocese to that of the Ordinariate.

ordinariate.net/join
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Thanks for the clarification. Are methodists the only group?
 
From the link in my previous post:

“To belong to the Personal Ordinariate, a person or family must be eligible. A person is eligible for membership if they, their spouse, or any member of their family is or ever has been Anglican, Episcopalian, Methodist, or AME [African Methodist Episcopal Church]. This applies even if the person or their spouse has already become a Roman Catholic. Catholics who are reconciled to the Church and those Catholics who will be completing their sacraments of initiation in an Ordinariate community are also eligible for membership.”
  • As far as which denominations a congregation can come from (an entire congregation looking to become Catholic via the Ordinariate), the four listed are the only ones I’ve ever read were admissible. HOWEVER, as it also says, ANY person who is seeking full communion in the Church (i.e. anyone who wants to become Catholic) can do so via the Ordinariate. So, for a couple of examples:
  • A person was brought up Catholic, but did not receive Confirmation could become a member of the Ordinariate by receiving that Sacrament in an Ordinariate parish/group. Or, any person - regardless of their past religious affiliation (or lack thereof) - can become Catholic in the Ordinariate.
And one last thing, just to note, if a person is already Catholic (received the Sacraments of Initiation) and did not come from one of the four listed denominations before they became Catholic, they can of course still attend Mass at an Ordinariate parish/group. There is also a provision for such a person to register as an “Affiliate”, which, as the website says: “While this will not make you a formal member, it will allow us to remain in touch with you, send you updates, and generally keep in touch.”

If there were an Ordinariate community anywhere close to me I would be there in a heartbeat…but there isn’t (I’ve spoken with an Episcopalian co-worker, trying to see if there was any talk of “making the swim”, but it doesn’t sound like there is at present 🙂 ). If I wasn’t discerning a vocation as a monk I would be seriously considering moving close to an Ordinariate community 🙂
 
rgp3 said:
From the link in my previous post:

“To belong to the Personal Ordinariate, a person or family must be eligible. A person is eligible for membership if they, their spouse, or any member of their family is or ever has been Anglican, Episcopalian, Methodist, or AME [African Methodist Episcopal Church]. This applies even if the person or their spouse has already become a Roman Catholic. Catholics who are reconciled to the Church and those Catholics who will be completing their sacraments of initiation in an Ordinariate community are also eligible for membership.”
  • As far as which denominations a congregation can come from (an entire congregation looking to become Catholic via the Ordinariate), the four listed are the only ones I’ve ever read were admissible. HOWEVER, as it also says, ANY person who is seeking full communion in the Church (i.e. anyone who wants to become Catholic) can do so via the Ordinariate. So, for a couple of examples:
  • A person was brought up Catholic, but did not receive Confirmation could become a member of the Ordinariate by receiving that Sacrament in an Ordinariate parish/group. Or, any person - regardless of their past religious affiliation (or lack thereof) - can become Catholic in the Ordinariate.
And one last thing, just to note, if a person is already Catholic (received the Sacraments of Initiation) and did not come from one of the four listed denominations before they became Catholic, they can of course still attend Mass at an Ordinariate parish/group. There is also a provision for such a person to register as an “Affiliate”, which, as the website says: “While this will not make you a formal member, it will allow us to remain in touch with you, send you updates, and generally keep in touch.”

If there were an Ordinariate community anywhere close to me I would be there in a heartbeat…but there isn’t (I’ve spoken with an Episcopalian co-worker, trying to see if there was any talk of “making the swim”, but it doesn’t sound like there is at present 🙂 ). If I wasn’t discerning a vocation as a monk I would be seriously considering moving close to an Ordinariate community 🙂
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Thank you for that information. I must have got the wrong information from someone. I would love to attend an Anglican Use Mass but there aren’t any offered where I live. I converted to the Catholic church maybe a year or so before the Ordinariate started.
 
7_Sorrows said:
Thank you for that information. I must have got the wrong information from someone. I would love to attend an Anglican Use Mass but there aren’t any offered where I live. I converted to the Catholic church maybe a year or so before the Ordinariate started.
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Pope Francis changed the rules for membership in July 2013. Before then, it was much stricter about who could join. I’m glad for the change, because this way, the Ordinariates have a chance for survival.
 
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