Anglicans - Protestant or Catholic?

Can somebody explain to me whether the Anglican church is Protestant or Catholic in its views/theology, or something altogether?

I was a little surprised to see Anglicans put in the same section with Old Catholics.
What does Old Catholic mean, compared to the Catholic Church, I mean ...

Hope you don't mind my questions. I am just trying to be clear on the differences.

Thanks

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For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Anglicans are both Catholic and Protestant.

You can read the sticky at the top of the forum about that, but in short, Old Catholics are those who rejected Vatican I and Papal Infallibility.

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Originally Posted by JasonV

Anglicans are both Catholic and Protestant.



You can read the sticky at the top of the forum about that, but in short, Old Catholics are those who rejected Vatican I and Papal Infallibility.

Yep, both Anglicans and Old Catholics don't come under the influence of the Pope.

Here are the links that JasonV mentioned (I hope they are the right ones)

The Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches
An outline of Anglican Faith.

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Jason pretty much covered it. The Anglican Church claims to be both Catholic and Protestant, how much depends upon who you ask.

The Old Catholics were given a home here due to their close ties with Anglicanism and our mutual denial of the doctrine of Papal Infallibility. They were not welcome on OBOB and they were welcomed on STR. I am glad they are here although I wish Padre Egan and Msgr. Rick would come around more often. ( I would probably miss them even if they did) I think Jason was Old Catholic at one time as well. One would also think that the PNCC could find a home here as well.

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

Originally Posted by later nonjuror

Anglicans are both Catholic and Protestant

Where did that come from? No offence meant, but historically Lutherans were the protestants! Protesting against Rome. Anglicans used the term in a political way when they opposed the right of the Papacy to interfere in English politics, but in a religious setting they always used to eschew the term.

When the usurper, William of Orange took over the throne, (A Calvinist), he asked the English Church if they would use the term more often, so that the Dutch Calvinists would be more at one with us! The English Convocation, High Church men, for the most part refused, declaring the Church was historically Catholic. Interestingly, the one part of the Catholic Church to lay claim to the title was the Roman Church , when in a letter to the House of Lords, they claimed to be Protestant Dissenting Catholics.

The English church dates from long before Luther, and the problems which English people have had in reconciling spritual duty with a relationship with a very earthy principality date from long before Luther. And many of these problems were of concern to good English Catholics (but not Romans) long before, during and after the reformation.

The Anglican church is an apostolic church, predating the Augustinian mission which brought Roman authority here. It is certainly Catholic, in the sense of recognising and forming part of the Universal church, but it is also Protestant, insofar as what was protested were the abuses of the Roman Catholic church and its clergy in medieval times. Of course, this is a cloudy area, because most modern day Romans would also find certain aspects of medieval Catholicism unacceptable, but I think it is fairly well understood and accepted that the Anglican communion is both protestant and Catholic.

So, when you ask, where did that come from, I would say, from about 2000 years of history.

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Thanks for all your replies. They have been a real eye-opener for me.

How then, theologically speaking, does the Anglican Church define itself?

Did it not originally start at the whim of a king who refused to bow under the authority of the Pope, because he would not grant him the divorce he desired? Henry's reasons to split from the Catholic Church were hardly of a spiritual nature ... where they??

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For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

It can be said that Henry VIII's desire for a divorce or dissolution may have been a catalyst but it should not be assumed that the Church was not headed in that direction anyway. The English Church was not planted by the Roman it has been documented to exist as early as the 3rd century. Recently some arguments have been made that it was probably planted by the Africans.

Eventually they placed themselves under the authority of the Pope (some argue that they never actually did even this) but they did not originate as a mission of the Roman Church.

As for how it defines itself, that is a great question that would require pages of explanation to even come close to an accurate answer. In essence the Anglican Church is proud of its diversity. One guiding principle of the Anglican Church is that they are the "via media" or the middle way. Anglicans try, unsuccessfully at times, to not lean too far one way or another. They certainly consider themselves Catholic and orthodox, they consider themselves an expression of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church yet they do not insist that they are the only expression.

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

Hi Catherineanne!

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

Glad we could help.

Depends on who you ask. Perhaps the only unified statement you'll get is that our theology is based on the Book of Common Prayer. Our worship is our theology, everything else is subject to the opinion of he or she who gives it.

Look at it this way, the same could be said of Constantine and the Roman Catholic Church.

I believe that in spite of Henry VIII, God worked His will in England via a less than perfect monarch to bring about much needed reform within the Catholic Church within England. I believe the Holy Spirit continues to work in the Anglican communion in ways that many find difficult, but I guess that's why we all eventually die, so that we cannot continue to hinder the progress of the Great Work.

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