Anglican Catholic
Anglican Catholic
"About our Church: The Anglican Catholic Church is the principal
entity formed by the people who, in 1978, left the Episcopal Church in the
United States of America and the Anglican Church of Canada. Bishops were
elected for the new group, which viewed (and views) itself as merely
continuing the pre-1970 practices of the Anglican Communion (hence the
generic term "Continuing Anglicans"), and those Bishops were consecrated
by bishops of, or in one case in affiliation and communion with, the
"official" (i.e., Lambeth) Anglican Communion.
"Originally, our people considered themselves to remain in communion with
the Church of England and the other Provinces of the Anglican Communion
that, up to that time, had not yet 'ordained' women. However, Lambeth and
its affiliates have always preferred to pretend we don't exist, because we
represent their bad conscience, rather the way Archbishop Lefebvre
represented Although quite small -- our total numbers world-wide would make up two or
three good U.S. Roman Catholic Parishes -- we do have people in North
America, South America, Australia and New Zealand, India, Europe, Great
Britain, and elsewhere. One of the most prominent laymen in our church
is the admiralty jurist Frank L. Wiswall, Jr., now of Castine, Maine.
"Almost all of us are disgruntled former "Lambeth" Anglicans who simply
wish to worship according to traditional versions of the Book of Common Prayer,
to receive the traditional Sacraments from ministers in the undoubted
Apostolic succession, and to be taught morality that is founded on
Scripture and the Tradition of the Church rather than upon 'bad French translations
of bad German ideas' (which is how someone accurately characterized so-called 'Liberation Theology').
"As the old song has it: 'Give me that old time religion, it's good enough
for me!'" --The Rev'd Canon John A. Hollister JD, Chancellor, Anglican Catholic Church, Akron, Ohio.
(created 16 December 2002)
SOURCE: Bow Wave Issue 160--Definitional Edition, 16 December 2002, edited by Sam Ignarski