What is an Anglican service like?

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Hello friends,

As are many of you, I am following with great interest the news of the Holy Father’s overture to Anglicans who have a desire for communion with Rome. I also know that there are Anglican Rite Catholic Churches (is that the proper terminology? these details aren’t easy 😉 ) already in existence. My question, then, is threefold:
  1. What are Anglican services like, liturgically? I know absolutely nothing about them. Could someone give me a very basic primer?
  2. What are Anglican Rite Catholic liturgies like?
  3. Does anyone have any predictions as to what an Anglican-Catholic service will look like in the future now that these new ordinariates are about to be established?
Hope this question makes sense…thanks a lot!

Peace,
+AMDG+
 
the ones I have been to are indistinguishable from the Catholic Mass in most aspects and for most Catholics, I suspect if they did not know it was an Anglican Church they would not realize they were not at Catholic Mass. That is probably why so many Catholic parents here who take their children to Mexico for baptism end up in Anglican churches. The only difference I note between the average American Catholic parish and an Anglican church are much better music, better performed be organists and singers who are trained, featuring traditional hymns including Latin, and much closer attention to the rubrics. I accompanied a blind student to various Anglican Churched for quite some time as I was her only source of transportation, and found it to be much more like the Mass I remember from my childhood than an average suburban Catholic parish today where random liturgical abuse and abysmal music are the norm rather than the exception.
 
tuviskazinai said:
Hello friends,

As are many of you, I am following with great interest the news of the Holy Father’s overture to Anglicans who have a desire for communion with Rome. I also know that there are Anglican Rite Catholic Churches (is that the proper terminology? these details aren’t easy 😉 ) already in existence. My question, then, is threefold:
  1. What are Anglican services like, liturgically? I know absolutely nothing about them. Could someone give me a very basic primer?
  2. What are Anglican Rite Catholic liturgies like?
  3. Does anyone have any predictions as to what an Anglican-Catholic service will look like in the future now that these new ordinariates are about to be established?
Hope this question makes sense…thanks a lot!

Peace,
+AMDG+
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What the previous poster said, I would say. But there are types of Anglican services, that might vary from this. A low service, might look considerably more protestant than a high, sung Mass; simpler vestments, no sung portions, fewer candles. It varies.

There is no Anglican Rite, as of now. There is an Anglican Use. It is based on Rite I of the 1979 prayer book used in the Episcopal Church, and generally might roughly look like the service described above. Here is a link to the current Book of Divine Worship liturgy of the Mass, which is the Anglican Use:

atonementonline.com/orderofmass/Rite1.html

The services to come under the new arrangement will probably initially look like the existing Anglican Use. Though I expect that would change, over time. It should still look and sound distinctly Anglican, adapted for the needs of the RCC.

GKC
 
puzzleannie said:
the ones I have been to are indistinguishable from the Catholic Mass in most aspects and for most Catholics, I suspect if they did not know it was an Anglican Church they would not realize they were not at Catholic Mass.
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I’ve been listening to a history podcast lately (Binge Thinking History, in case you want to check it out). While talking about James of Stuart’s coronation, he came up with a great line that sums up the Anglican Church’s attitude toward the Catholic Church:

“I don’t like you, but I like what you’re wearing.”

😃
 
I’ve been to Anglican services twice. One was a small chapel in England and one was a large Cathedral in my state. The ceremony was very similar to the Mass. In England the priest faced the altar instead of facing the people. Communion was given kneeling at an altar rail. The service at the Cathedral was almost identical to the Mass I’m familiar with except that communion was given kneeling at an altar rail. Also, the procession was more elaborate.
 
Middleman said:
I’ve been to Anglican services twice. One was a small chapel in England and one was a large Cathedral in my state. The ceremony was very similar to the Mass. In England the priest faced the altar instead of facing the people. Communion was given kneeling at an altar rail. The service at the Cathedral was almost identical to the Mass I’m familiar with except that communion was given kneeling at an altar rail. Also, the procession was more elaborate.
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I think that you have touched on a big difference that in the Episcopal Church we kneel at the alter rail to receive the body and blood of Christ. Also, I have never in the Episcopal Church not been offered the cup at Communion. I have noticed at the RCC that the cup is not always offered to the people. We have the option of drinking from the cup or intinction.

I attended a Catholic Funeral Mass last week and I did catch myself saying the wrong responses to the priest–small differences. Here is an example…
Priest - “The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to _____.”
TEC-- “Glory to you, Lord Christ.” (RCC-- Glory to you, Lord)
Priest- “The Gospel of the Lord.”
TEC- " Praise to you, Lord Christ." (RCC-- Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ)

God Bless!
 
Perhaps the addition of Anglicans will be a backdoor into allowing a married priesthood in the Western Church. I would be in favor of that happening.
 
Middleman said:
Perhaps the addition of Anglicans will be a backdoor into allowing a married priesthood in the Western Church. I would be in favor of that happening.
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Can’t really see it happening to be honest.
 
From my limited perspective, I find that our Episcopal Rite II service and the Rite the RC in my city uses to be almost identical. Very little is different. I think they use the Danish Rite in the church I’m referring to. I don’t know what that means. :o

Our Rite I has more differences. We use “traditional language” in the Rite I service. Here, I’ll give you an example. This is our Collect for this week:

“Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, on God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

This type of language is used throughout the service.

Hope this helps.
 
emeraldcoast said:
I think that you have touched on a big difference that in the Episcopal Church we kneel at the alter rail to receive the body and blood of Christ. Also, I have never in the Episcopal Church not been offered the cup at Communion. I have noticed at the RCC that the cup is not always offered to the people. We have the option of drinking from the cup or intinction.

I attended a Catholic Funeral Mass last week and I did catch myself saying the wrong responses to the priest–small differences. Here is an example…
Priest - “The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to _____.”
TEC-- “Glory to you, Lord Christ.” (RCC-- Glory to you, Lord)
Priest- “The Gospel of the Lord.”
TEC- " Praise to you, Lord Christ." (RCC-- Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ)

God Bless!
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Emerald Coast:

As a delegate to my diocesan convention, I found myself out of sync with the rest of the congregation. They say “Praise to you, Lord Christ”, and I say “Praise be to thee oh Christ”, etc. because we use the 1928 prayerbook most of the time (na na na na na), and it is so beautiful!
 
I attended Anglican services in the late 1970s and early 1980s in a smaller parish. From what I recall, it’s very similar to Novus Ordo. Strangely, in Canada Catholics do NOT recite the Nicene Creed, but the Anglicans do. Having attended Eastern-rite services (both Orthodox and Catholic) and traditional Latin masses, I really think they need to replace the Apostle’s Creed with the full Nicene.

I also remember a form of “kneeling / communion in the hand” for Eucharist, unlike the standing cafeteria / assembly-line approach that takes place each Sunday in a Catholic church. Also, the music was a bit better… but not by much. It was strange hearing some of the same new-style hymns in both Catholic and Anglican settings. From strictly an aesthetic standpoint (and not liturgical text), I have a small preference for Anglican over Novus Ordo, although the difference is one of degree. The inclusion of Communion from the Cup in Catholic parishes has blurred the differences between RCC/Anglican even further.

I have fond memories of learning about Christianity as a Cub Scout from one of the canons, who came over to the house and went through the creed and Our Father bit by bit, which earned me a religion patch.
 
Also, if you are interested you can look at the whole service you can go to the Book of Common Prayer on the internet. Here is a link: bcponline.org/
 
Usbek_de_Perse said:
Emerald Coast:

As a delegate to my diocesan convention, I found myself out of sync with the rest of the congregation. They say “Praise to you, Lord Christ”, and I say “Praise be to thee oh Christ”, etc. because we use the 1928 prayerbook most of the time (na na na na na), and it is so beautiful!
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Usbek de Perse,

The 1928 Prayer Book! I haven’t used it since 1979, but oh how I miss it! Well, I keep my missing it to a minimum by going to “early church” and doing Rite I every week. I think I have a 28 Prayer Book on my desk, hmmm, yep, right here. 👍
 
Usbek_de_Perse said:
Emerald Coast:

As a delegate to my diocesan convention, I found myself out of sync with the rest of the congregation. They say “Praise to you, Lord Christ”, and I say “Praise be to thee oh Christ”, etc. because we use the 1928 prayerbook most of the time (na na na na na), and it is so beautiful!
Click to expand...
Usbek de Perse,

Wow! You are old school…😉

God Bless!
 
pgerpup said:
Usbek de Perse,

The 1928 Prayer Book! I haven’t used it since 1979, but oh how I miss it! Well, I keep my missing it to a minimum by going to “early church” and doing Rite I every week. I think I have a 28 Prayer Book on my desk, hmmm, yep, right here. 👍
Click to expand...
My husband likes to say “Rite I is the right one…”😉

I am more of a “Rite II is for me and you”👍

God Bless!
 
We use 1928 at 8:00 and 1979 Rite I at 10:00. And we use the 1928 Morning Prayer one Sunday a month. We do use the modern lectionary, however.
 
I think what I noticed most when I attended a full Anglican service led by the Primate of the Canadian Anglican Church was that the Lord’s Prayer was at a different place & they knelt at the altar rail to receive. For the most part the language is closer to what we had in the early 60s translation than in the one we use now. But to be perfectly frank, if I were returning to the church after a long absence and mistakenly walked into an Anglican one by mistake I might not notice.
 
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