Continuing Churches news

[Mary of Bethany]

Some of you may be interested in this:

from www.anglicancatholic.org regarding the joint synod to take place

Representatives from the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), the Anglican Church in America (ACA), the Anglican Province of America (APA), and the Diocese of the Holy Cross (DHC) will meet in joint synods at the Crowne Plaza at Ravinia to conduct business and worship together in this historic event.

The 2017 gathering of Continuing Anglicans coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Congress of St. Louis, from which all four jurisdictions are descended. The expected announcement of full communion (communio in sacris) at a plenary session will mark the healing of an old rift, and a restoration of the unity envisioned by the Affirmation of St. Louis, the founding document of Continuing Anglicanism.

The synod has now taken place, and according to my husband, they actually went beyond this and decided that they would start the process of merging into one body over the next several years.

 

[Naomi4Christ]

I'm puzzled. What does all this mean?

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Just that several of the Continuing bodies here in the States have agreed to merge into one body. These formed in 1977 when they pulled out of the Episcopal Church, and as often happens they fractured into a lot of small, separate entities in spite of the fact that their theology and practice is the same. So now the 4 largest (I think) are coming back together.

 

[Naomi4Christ]

PTL!

 

[everbecoming2007]

Some of you may be interested in this:

from www.anglicancatholic.org regarding the joint synod to take place

Representatives from the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), the Anglican Church in America (ACA), the Anglican Province of America (APA), and the Diocese of the Holy Cross (DHC) will meet in joint synods at the Crowne Plaza at Ravinia to conduct business and worship together in this historic event.

The 2017 gathering of Continuing Anglicans coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Congress of St. Louis, from which all four jurisdictions are descended. The expected announcement of full communion (communio in sacris) at a plenary session will mark the healing of an old rift, and a restoration of the unity envisioned by the Affirmation of St. Louis, the founding document of Continuing Anglicanism.

The synod has now taken place, and according to my husband, they actually went beyond this and decided that they would start the process of merging into one body over the next several years.

Fascinating!

 

[PloverWing]

I'm glad. Schism is sad when it happens, but I'm glad that the groups that could no longer remain with the Episcopal Church are finding unity amongst themselves.

 

[Shane R]

Just that several of the Continuing bodies here in the States have agreed to merge into one body. These formed in 1977 when they pulled out of the Episcopal Church, and as often happens they fractured into a lot of small, separate entities in spite of the fact that their theology and practice is the same. So now the 4 largest (I think) are coming back together.

Not quite the four largest. DHC is essentially a small splinter of the APCK. It is smaller than both UECNA and APCK, both of which trace to the St. Louis Congress and the Denver Consecrations. The four largest are: ACC, APA, ACA, APCK; in that order. But there were separatist churches before St. Louis and there have been a handful after.

My Archbishop, ++Thomas Gordon of the Orthodox Anglican Church, briefed the clergy at our recent Clericus. He had personally attended the Joint Synods as an observer. The Concordat which was signed by the four jurisdictions has a level of eccentricity that may be a limiting factor to this new unification effort. Indeed, the four churches have more in common with the PNCC than the UECNA at this point.

 

[Albion]

It is true that these are probably four of the five most Anglo-Catholic church bodies (the APCK being the other) among the Continuing Anglicans, so that is certain to be the orientation of the merged church if and when organic unity is achieved among them.

Still, most people find the idea of working together to be better than the opposite, and if these merge, perhaps there will be others to come.

BTW, it's often said that the Continuing Anglican churches are divided, but there were seventeen separate Lutheran bodies in this country little more than a half-century ago, and now that number, except for some tiny, tiny splinters, has been pared down significantly. I expect that something similar will happen with Anglicans in this century, too.

 

[Shane R]

An ACA priest has begun the project of making a church locator for the parishes and missions of the churches that signed the Concordat. This particular online tool has been long in coming and often called for: Anglican Church in America | USA | orthodox episcopal Church
https://www.anglicanchurchinamerica.org/locations
I asked him if he had a screening process for inclusion and he does, but it is fairly loose. Results on the ground will vary trying to visit some of these places.

 

[Albion]

That's an attractive and nicely-organized site that obviously needs to have been created. Still--and this is just what I'm feeling--the idea that is inherent in the public statements that have come out of the four-party talks which led to this modest agreement (far from church merger) is that these four are the face of Continuing Anglicanism. In fact, the four didn't even invite other Continuing Anglican jurisdictions to the party.

So I think that it's not only much less than it claims to be but, also, something that harkens back to the worst in the Continuing movement--competition--rather than the dawn of unity.

Anyone who thinks that's too harsh a judgment on my part still has my respect. Reasonable people can differ. But that's how I see it.

 

[Shane R]

That's an attractive and nicely-organized site that obviously needs to have been created. Still--and this is just what I'm feeling--the idea that is inherent in the public statements that have come out of the four-party talks which led to this modest agreement (far from church merger) is that these four are the face of Continuing Anglicanism. In fact, the four didn't even invite other Continuing Anglican jurisdictions to the party.

So I think that it's not only much less than it claims to be but, also, something that harkens back to the worst in the Continuing movement--competition--rather than the dawn of unity.

Anyone who thinks that's too harsh a judgment on my part still has my respect. Reasonable people can differ. But that's how I see it.

You make a good point. They are co-opting the label. I was disappointed with Bp. Jones' (APA) interview with Kevin Kallsen ahead of the synods, wherein he made some unflattering -and frankly naive- statements about other jurisdictions and their validity. The general attitude seems to be: "Join us or be the spawn of vagantes!"