The Continuing Movement: Statistical Analysis

[Shane R]

I have been doing some research on the size of the Continuing Anglican Movement in the United States and Canada. I am not finished with the report, which I will submit first to my own jurisdiction and then, with the approval of the Bishop, to Roger Olsen's team that is compiling the new edition of The Handbook of Denominations. All of the statistics will be in reference to congregations (with no distinction between missions and parishes) as ASA numbers are nearly impossible to come by.

First of all, "Continuing Anglican" must be defined and a judgment made as to who is and is not one. Some would limit the definition to those jurisdictions which arose directly from the Congress of St. Louis. I feel that is inadequate, as there have been occasional separations from TEC since 1873 and the formation of the REC. And yet, not all of the resulting churches have common DNA. I took a rather broad view of the landscape and have included any jurisdiction that can affirm the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, uses an historic edition of the BCP, has retained an all-male clergy, and has not adopted theological positions such as Pentecostalism or Liberation Theology. Also excluded were entities which made ridiculous claims to being in full communion with the RCC or ROCOR. And, I did not include the REC since they are a full member of ACNA.

Thus, included jurisdictions were, in order of US size:

Anglican Catholic Church (83)
Anglican Church in America (58)
Anglican Province of America (57)

* ACA and APA are in the process of merger, which will make them the largest jurisdiction​

Anglican Province of Christ the King (41)
Episcopal Missionary Church (27)
United Episcopal Church of North America (26)
Diocese of the Holy Cross (20)
Anglican Church Worldwide (19)
Holy Catholic Church, Anglican Rite (19)
Orthodox Anglican Church (14)
American Anglican Church/ Province of the Good Shepherd (12)
The Anglican Church, Traditional (11)
Anglican Orthodox Church (5)
Christian Episcopal Church (4?)
​

That yields a total of 398 congregations in the USA, including Puerto Rico.

There are six states which have no congregation: AK, HI, ID, RI, SD, UT
Additionally, there are six states which have only one congregation: DE, NE, NV, ND, WA, WV (also DC)
33.7% of all congregations (134) are located in four states: CA (27), FL (32), NC (30), and VA (45)
57% of all congregations (227) are located in the fourteen states which have at least ten congregations per state: see above + AL (11), AZ (11), CO (10), GA (17), MD (10), NY (15), OH (10), SC (15), TN (10), TX (14)
There are 9 jurisdictions operating in VA, the most of any state.

About half of the jurisdictions have one or more affiliated monastic orders. There are at least seven seminaries operated by various jurisdictions or monastic orders.

I am compiling the Canadian statistics separately and will share when I finish.

 

[Paidiske]

I had no idea the picture was that complex. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[Albion]

I have been doing some research on the size of the Continuing Anglican Movement in the United States and Canada. I am not finished with the report, which I will submit first to my own jurisdiction and then, with the approval of the Bishop, to Roger Olsen's team that is compiling the new edition of The Handbook of Denominations. All of the statistics will be in reference to congregations (with no distinction between missions and parishes) as ASA numbers are nearly impossible to come by.

First of all, "Continuing Anglican" must be defined and a judgment made as to who is and is not one. Some would limit the definition to those jurisdictions which arose directly from the Congress of St. Louis. I feel that is inadequate, as there have been occasional separations from TEC since 1873 and the formation of the REC. And yet, not all of the resulting churches have common DNA. I took a rather broad view of the landscape and have included any jurisdiction that can affirm the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, uses an historic edition of the BCP, has retained an all-male clergy, and has not adopted theological positions such as Pentecostalism or Liberation Theology. Also excluded were entities which made ridiculous claims to being in full communion with the RCC or ROCOR. And, I did not include the REC since they are a full member of ACNA.

Thus, included jurisdictions were, in order of US size:

Anglican Catholic Church (83)
Anglican Church in America (58)
Anglican Province of America (57)

* ACA and APA are in the process of merger, which will make them the largest jurisdiction​

Anglican Province of Christ the King (41)
Episcopal Missionary Church (27)
United Episcopal Church of North America (26)
Diocese of the Holy Cross (20)
Anglican Church Worldwide (19)
Holy Catholic Church, Anglican Rite (19)
Orthodox Anglican Church (14)
American Anglican Church/ Province of the Good Shepherd (12)
The Anglican Church, Traditional (11)
Anglican Orthodox Church (5)
Christian Episcopal Church (4?)​

That yields a total of 398 congregations in the USA, including Puerto Rico.

There are six states which have no congregation: AK, HI, ID, RI, SD, UT
Additionally, there are six states which have only one congregation: DE, NE, NV, ND, WA, WV (also DC)
33.7% of all congregations (134) are located in four states: CA (27), FL (32), NC (30), and VA (45)
57% of all congregations (227) are located in the fourteen states which have at least ten congregations per state: see above + AL (11), AZ (11), CO (10), GA (17), MD (10), NY (15), OH (10), SC (15), TN (10), TX (14)
There are 9 jurisdictions operating in VA, the most of any state.

About half of the jurisdictions have one or more affiliated monastic orders. There are at least seven seminaries operated by various jurisdictions or monastic orders.

I am compiling the Canadian statistics separately and will share when I finish.

Pretty good work, I'd say!

But...the "Anglican Church Worldwide," which may be all but defunct now, is not a Continuing Church and may not even deserve the name "Anglican" (which it assumed a few years back). And I don't know who the "Anglican Church, Traditional" is. The Anglican Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Anglican Church (originally one church) are not normally treated as Continuing Anglican churches, mainly because it/they predate the Continuing movement.

 

[Shane R]

But...the "Anglican Church Worldwide," which may be all but defunct now, is not a Continuing Church and may not even deserve the name "Anglican" (which it assumed a few years back).

I will concede that my notes contain some asterisks next to the more sketchy bodies. ACW was the last which I computed into the totals. I will be moving back to Virginia soon and hope to do more firsthand probing into some of the more obscure jurisdictions.

And I don't know who the "Anglican Church, Traditional" is.

That body is alternatively known as The Anglican Church of Virginia. 8 of its 11 congregations are in VA. The Bishop is +Larry W. Johnson, who is based in Front Royal. http://www.theanglicanchurch.net/index.html

The Anglican Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Anglican Church (originally one church) are not normally treated as Continuing Anglican churches, mainly because it/they predate the Continuing movement.

I am aware of the history as the larger of the two is currently my own jurisdiction. Under Metropolitan Scott McLaughlin, the OAC made strides to come more into the mainstream of the Continuing Movement. Both have seen heavy defection to UECNA at times.

I may eventually try to work out the real impact of the Ordinariate on the Continuing Movement. Also, I did not realize that ROCOR has been absorbing some of the extreme fringes as Western Rite parishes. And, I have had some arguments with the more rabid ACNA apologists who claim, much like Kruschev told Eisenhower, that they will bury us. I personally think that the net effect of ACNA has been neutral, as only a trickle of continuers have left for that pasture and a trickle of dis-illusioned ACNA folk have moved into continuing churches. I believe that the trickle out of ACNA may become a slow stream as the more traditional folk over there realize the problems of that jurisdiction and, especially, come into contact with representatives of some of the unscrupulous church planters who were only half-formed as Anglican clergy and are essentially planting American Evangelical churches with a dash of liturgy.

 

[Shane R]

Here is some data for Canada:

Jurisdictions with congregations:

Anglican Church in America (14)
Anglican Catholic Church (9)
Christian Episcopal Church (3)
Anglican Orthodox Church (2)
American Anglican Church/ Province of the Good Shepherd (1)
Anglican Province of Christ the King (1)
Anglican Church Worldwide (1)

Total= 31
​

Congregations by province:

ON (9)
BC (8)
AB (4)
NS (4)
NL (2)
MB (1)
NB (1)
QC (1)
SK (1)

There are no congregations in the three Arctic territories or Prince Edward Island.
​

 

[Albion]

I will concede that my notes contain some asterisks next to the more sketchy bodies. ACW was the last which I computed into the totals. I will be moving back to Virginia soon and hope to do more firsthand probing into some of the more obscure jurisdictions.

I know. I hoped that my comments might be helpful, that's all.

That body is alternatively known as The Anglican Church of Virginia. 8 of its 11 congregations are in VA. The Bishop is +Larry W. Johnson, who is based in Front Royal.

Hmm. I don't think that's one of the several formal names ("The Anglican Church, Traditional") has used however. If it appears on the ACoV website, it might be meant more as a description than as a title. This church also refers there to itself as "The Anglican Church."

You see churches doing that sometimes, and it's a way of saying "We're the official alternative to TEC...just look at this generic-sounding term for us." It's sort of like ACNA jurisdictions claiming to be part of the Anglican Communion when clearly ACNA is not.

I am aware of the history as the larger of the two is currently my own jurisdiction. Under Metropolitan Scott McLaughlin, the OAC made strides to come more into the mainstream of the Continuing Movement. Both have seen heavy defection to UECNA at times.

Yeh, this is a tough call. They're usually not considered Continuing Anglican churches, and I think the AOC disavows that categorization, although they amount to being such by your criteria (which almost anyone would agree with).

I may eventually try to work out the real impact of the Ordinariate on the Continuing Movement.

That would be one ACA diocese and part of the ACA's sister church in Canada, the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, I believe.

Also, I did not realize that ROCOR has been absorbing some of the extreme fringes as Western Rite parishes.

But not of any Continuing Anglican church bodies.

And, I have had some arguments with the more rabid ACNA apologists who claim, much like Kruschev told Eisenhower, that they will bury us. I personally think that the net effect of ACNA has been neutral, as only a trickle of continuers have left for that pasture and a trickle of dis-illusioned ACNA folk have moved into continuing churches. I believe that the trickle out of ACNA may become a slow stream as the more traditional folk over there realize the problems of that jurisdiction and, especially, come into contact with representatives of some of the unscrupulous church planters who were only half-formed as Anglican clergy and are essentially planting American Evangelical churches with a dash of liturgy.

I suspect that you're quite right about that.

P.S. Don't forget the Diocese of the Holy Cross.

 

[Fish and Bread]

I may eventually try to work out the real impact of the Ordinariate on the Continuing Movement. Also, I did not realize that ROCOR has been absorbing some of the extreme fringes as Western Rite parishes. And, I have had some arguments with the more rabid ACNA apologists who claim, much like Kruschev told Eisenhower, that they will bury us. I personally think that the net effect of ACNA has been neutral, as only a trickle of continuers have left for that pasture and a trickle of dis-illusioned ACNA folk have moved into continuing churches.

A lot of the continuing movement of the 70s left due to female ordination. ACNA and others of course left well after female ordination was established over the consecration of an openly gay bishop (With the caveat that they don't see it that way, they see it as a long line of things- but that was sort of the precipitating event or the straw that broke the camel's back, it seems, without which they may not have split). The obvious difference there is ACNA has female priests. ACNA last I heard was sort of split on female ordination, which could present an issue for them membership wise- people staunchly against it may not be comfortable there, and people who are staunchly for it may feel like it could be taken away at any time and be hesitant about being there long-term. Frankly, I am surprised that some female priests jumped without certainty that ACNA will continue to ordain females going forward.

I believe that the trickle out of ACNA may become a slow stream as the more traditional folk over there realize the problems of that jurisdiction and, especially, come into contact with representatives of some of the unscrupulous church planters who were only half-formed as Anglican clergy and are essentially planting American Evangelical churches with a dash of liturgy.

I can tell you, just I guess for whatever value one personal experience has, that one Sunday in 2005 or 2006, I was unable to get to any church services in the morning and the only one I could find was I think a AMIA or ACNA Eucharist that evening. Despite my theological misgivings against the whole split (I'm very progressive), I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to go and hear the readings and whatnot.

Anyway, I was shocked. They didn't say the words of institution for the Eucharist. The priest literally just blessed the bread like a Catholic priest might bless a rosary or something. No "This is my body", no "this is my blood". Even Luther felt those words were essential- that is in the western tradition the moment the real presence comes into evidence. Without it, it's not a valid Eucharist. They spent much more time on blessing prayer clothes and doing little group confessional prayer cloth things that I couldn't recognize. There were hands extended from the entire crowd toward the priest or the altar a lot of times as if they were blessing him or it. No one spoke in tongues, but I'm told people regularly did that (There was sort of a coffee hour afterwards).

Everyone was nice, but it was like no Episcopalian or Anglican parish I'd ever seen. Completely unrecognizable. I would say that to me off-hand it seemed like a combination of a Pentecostal and a Southern Baptist or Bible Church type service with some very thin veneers of liturgical tradition like that the priest wore an album and a stole.

If I were a traditionalist Anglican, I would be very concerned about what kind of oversight they are really getting from these bishops and structures. It's one thing to say "Well, my priest and my parish are fine.", but what happens if your priest switches to another parish, retires, or dies? What seminary does your next priest come from? Who are your supply priests to fill in during the interim? What if the parish membership changes and starts doing weird stuff? There doesn't seem to a strong episcopal bulwark there insuring that the next generation of priests are well formed or that parishes can't just go off in weird directions.

Now, some might say the same is true of the Episcopal Church given that it is more progressive with each generation and so on and so forth. However, you generally know where that is moving and there is definite structure and authority. Your parish can't just suddenly toss out the BCP and become a defacto Pentecostal congregation without the bishop clamping down. When it comes to these continuing movements and such, it really varies.

Now, with +Duncan nominally in charge of ACNA, I would think they would be okay in that respect, except for that who succeeds him when he retires? And with most of the parishes there having already established that they own their own property, can't they just say "Forget you" and do whatever they want if there's an issue with the bishop? Is Bishop Duncan visiting every one of these parishes regularly? What about the other ones, like the fellow Bishop Lake or Bishop Pond (Whomever it was who got to speak at the primates meeting, but had no vote)? Who are these other people?

People of course should do what they feel is best, but I would say one thing I would seriously consider and evaluate before stepping out of the Episcopal Church if I had a problem with it is whether whatever I was going towards looked like a stable organization that would provide continuity and structure going forward for the long-term.

 

[Albion]

I don't have any desire to nit-pick your post, but we do need always to keep ACNA + AMiA, or whoever else is an extension of some African province, separate from the Continuing Anglican churches.

Not everybody who has left TEC, in other words, ought to be called "Continuing," because that term refers to the churches that meet the criteria Shane listed. And, importantly, there's more than a technical difference.

ACNA et al has women priests, has recruited many pastors from non-liturgical churches who have brought with them some of what you referred to, describes itself as a "convergence" church (i.e. quasi-Pentecostal), and has no settled policy on prayerbook, doctrines, structure, and on and on. Everything is perpetually in the formative stage.

The Continuers, for all their shortcomings, are actually the "traditionalist" Anglicans in this line-up.

 

[Shane R]

But not of any Continuing Anglican church bodies.

In the course of my research, I encountered at least three congregations that had been under one of the thirteen jurisdictions in my OP that have or are in the process of transitioning to ROCOR as Western Rite parishes. There were one or two others that were dodgy about where, exactly, they are in regards to that.

 

[SteveCaruso]

This church also refers there to itself as "The Anglican Church."

Yes, they appear to do that...

And Further, with full knowledge of the examples of Anglican dedication, like John Smith,
George Washington and Robert E. Lee, we accept our Trust with a humble spirit, agreeing
with the devout General Lee, that "duty is the sublimest word in our language;" (source)

When did they break off? During the Civil War? :-/

 

[Fish and Bread]

Yes, they appear to do that...



When did they break off? During the Civil War? :-/

The fact that name check and cite a quote from a General who was most famous for leading an army to fight a civil war on the side that existed expressly for the purpose of continuing the racist and vile institution of slavery not once, but twice, on their page explaining who they are, and even make sure to describe him as "devout" would be a red flag for me for any church. Not a place I'd feel comfortable. What are they, the place where all the local KKK members attend Sunday services?

I know Lee was really not a big proponent of slavery himself and was loyal to his state and yadda, yadda, yadda... but he still led the army. And it's been 160+ years. But this is the guy who they are randomly highlighting as if he is some sort of saint or paragon of virtue that they want to show to the world as the face of what they believe in. It's not such me calling out the man, who may well be in heaven right now, or even calling out people who like to discuss him intellectually or have read some of his writings and agree with parts of them, it's me calling out the church for citing him so prominently as a role model who represents the core of their denomination in some way. Seems inappropriate to me, especially given the continuing problem that racism represents in this country. I think in that context it gives the strong impression they are racists (I am not saying they are or they aren't, I'm saying if they aren't, they need to work on their web page a little bit ).

 

[Albion]

In the course of my research, I encountered at least three congregations that had been under one of the thirteen jurisdictions in my OP that have or are in the process of transitioning to ROCOR as Western Rite parishes. There were one or two others that were dodgy about where, exactly, they are in regards to that.

Parishes affiliated with a Continuing Anglican jurisdiction, as defined by your criteria?

 

[Albion]

The fact that name check and cite a quote from a General who was most famous for leading an army to fight a civil war on the side that existed expressly for the purpose of continuing the racist and vile institution of slavery not once, but twice.

You've now qualified or compromised your own claim, and I'd have to call that a good step. That's EVEN if we were, for some reason, to agree to the claim that the CSA "existed expressly for the purpose of continuing the racist...."

 

[Shane R]

Parishes affiliated with a Continuing Anglican jurisdiction, as defined by your criteria?

Yes. The professor of OT at my seminary made the transition with his parish in OKC. I found an EMC parish in NV that claims to be in the process (http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch05703) and I can't remember which jurisdiction the third came from.

 

[Albion]

Thanks. Yes, that NV mission has been trying to be "really Catholic" from the day it became an Anglican church. Last I heard, it had announced that it was on its way to the Ordinariate. Maybe since that course of action soured, it decided this was the way to go.

By the way, I now realize that I mixed up in my mind what you'd written about this. When I saw the reference to Western Rite and Continuing Anglican church bodies, I thought "Western Rite parishes OF some Anglican jurisdiction." What you're describing here is something else--the case of an Anglican parish deciding to jump ship in order to GO Western Rite Orthodox.

 

[Feuerbach]

I don't know that it's official enough for your stats, but the Diocese of Mid-America of the APA announced two new missions being formed in Texas and another parish in Indiana may be on the way too.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

It's my understanding that the ACC, the APCK, and Diocese of the Holy Cross are now in communion with each other with an eye toward full merger in the near future. I think I have that right.

 

[Albion]

It's my understanding that the ACC, the APCK, and Diocese of the Holy Cross are now in communion with each other with an eye toward full merger in the near future. I think I have that right.

I believe you mean the ACC, APCK, and UECNA. The Diocese of the Holy Cross is in another alignment. I don't think, by the way, that any merger will come from the ACC-APCK-UEC agreement although being in a state of full communion is a step forward for the three original Continuing Anglican bodies.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Thanks, Albion. I thought I saw the DoHC mentioned in the last issue of the Trinitarian, but I could be mistaken. And I do remember that UEC was part of that. The recent article I saw has me confused. If I still have it at home, I'll go back and read it again.

 

[Albion]

Hi, Mary. There are so any federations and proposals working along these lines that it's hard to know which of them, if any, are worth our enthusiasm...at least at the stage where they are at present.