[Apologetics] Fwd: follow up to Anglican story

[Dianne Dawson]

This one too. - Dianne

SCCL <sccl at sclife.org> wrote:From: "SCCL" <sccl at sclife.org>
To: "Dianne Dawson" <rcdianne at yahoo.com>
Subject: follow up to Anglican story
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 17:06:39 -0400

Dianne,
Here is the entire article.  Note the paragraphs I've highlighted in blue.
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Holly
 
Episcopal sect proposes reunion with Rome

By Ken Tatro 
Staff Writer

SCARBOROUGH (Sep 29): A meeting in Portland last week brought an Episcopalian sect closer to reunifying with the Roman Catholic Church, in what would be the first post-Reformation church to rejoin with Rome. 

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The sect, called the Anglican Church in America, is part of a worldwide group of conservative churches that split from the mainstream Anglican Communion in 1979, opposing the ordination of women clergy and changes to the Book of Common Prayer, which catalogues the church’s basic doctrines and prayers. 
The Anglican Communion has its roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, which resulted in several religious groups separating from the Roman Catholic Church for theological and political reasons. In the U.S., most Anglican churches go by the name “Episcopal” while retaining their ties to the English church, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
Some churches, including St. Paul’s Cathedral in Portland, split from the mainstream Episcopal Church USA and joined a more conservative group, the Anglican Church in America. 
Members of that group and conservative Anglicans from North and South America and the Caribbean – all members of the umbrella group called the Traditional Anglican Communion – met at St. Paul’s last week, when they decided to seek reunion with Rome. The group included the Traditional Anglican Communion’s highest-ranking cleric, Archbishop John Hepworth. 
The group’s members voted in favor of starting a formal discussion with Rome and eventually creating what is called a “single Eucharist community,” allowing members of the Traditional Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church to take communion at each other’s churches. 
But from a basic theological and operational standpoint, nothing will be different within the church, according to Very Rev. Lester York, dean of St. Paul’s, which split in 1989. 
“Nothing changes with this church except we’re in communion with Rome,” York said. 
York said St. Paul’s is gaining membership as the Episcopal Church ordains homosexual clergy – including consecrating a homosexual, V. Gene Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 – and debates whether to sanctify marriages between homosexual couples. 
He said his church is attracting people who no longer find acceptable the liberalism of other Protestant faiths. 
The Anglican Church in America’s decision to attempt at reestablishing formal unity with the Holy See in Rome provides further evidence of its conservative beliefs and better reflects the sect’s doctrine, according to York. 
It also shows the sect identifies more closely with the Roman Catholic Church than the country’s Episcopal churches. He notes that his sect and the Roman Catholic churches have very similar beliefs and share the same seven sacraments and have confessions. 
“The only thing here is we don’t demand things. We offer everything they do then it’s up to you,” York said. 
The move has not caused much consternation or even discussion amongst parishioners at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Scarborough, according to Rev. David Matson. 
“At ground zero, at the congregational level, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. 
With such large and controversial issues facing the Episcopal Church it seems to be in the center of a very difficult time, but Matson said they are not causing problems within the church. 
“It’s not a hard time for St. Nicholas,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s a hard time for Episcopalian Church in general.” 
The nice thing about the church is that there are no strict doctrines detailing what people should believe, and as long as the congregation worships together then dialogue can occur, he said. 
Traditional Anglican Communion leaders have been discussing unifying with Rome for the past few years, according to York. These discussions have included former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI. 
By next year Traditional Anglican leaders hope to propose a formal plan to the Vatican outlining how intercommunion may be accomplished. It is unclear how long this process will take, as it has never been attempted by churches that descended from the Reformation.

 
 
 
Holly Gatling, Executive Director
South Carolina Citizens for Life
803-252-5433
P.O. Box 5865, Columbia, SC 29250-5865
www.sclife.org



Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul longs for you, O God.

Ps 42:1
 
 



		
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