As the years have gone by, it has become increasingly apparent to this Episcopal See that to identify ourselves as an Orthodox Anglo-Catholic Church might be somewhat misleading. Although we use the rites of the Anglican Church and hold very valid lines of Apostolic Succession from both the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church we hold very little resemblance to any of those institutions.
Furthermore we have to this point identified as being part of the Independent Sacramental Movement (ISM). These jurisdictions modeled after the Old Catholic Church founded by the schismatic Bishops of Utrecht in the Netherlands; are in fact predominantly Progressive in regards to their views on secular social positions.
With all this said, while we share some commonalities with these other branches of Christianity, we are also unique. While we are an openly Sacramental Church, practicing a liturgical worship format with the Holy Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper) at its center, similar to that practiced by the Anglican, Orthodox, Roman Catholic ISM and Old Catholic Churches and we believe in the same Creeds and the Seven Sacraments; we do have specific differences that set us apart.
- Unlike the Orthodox, the Old Catholic, and the Roman Catholics, we do ordain women.
- Unlike many within the Independent Sacramental Movement we hold traditionalist views on sexuality, marriage, and other American social constructs.
- Like the Orthodox, we do not recognize the offices of Cardinal or Pope while we may or may not choose to demonstrate respect for those people who have the titles bestowed upon them.
- While we may resemble–in our faith and practice–the orthodox Anglican churches, both those that are and those that are not in communion with Canterbury, but we are not ourselves in communion with any Anglican body and therefore should not attempt to identify as Anglican. We do not seek to mislead anyone.
- While we might be considered Protestant in that we stand aside of Catholicism, we disagree with some of the commonly held beliefs of Protestants that originated with the Reformation, such as but not limited too the heresy of once saved always saved. For more on this heresy read here and here.
Some say that Anglo-Catholicism is a bridge between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It is not a compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism but the central mainstream tradition of the undivided church shared by the churches of the East and West. It is what all first-millennium Christians believed and lived, and what Rome and Constantinople still possess in common today—the consensus fidelium of apostolic tradition. While not identifying as Anglican or Roman Catholic, we seek this same original Christian tradition as practiced by the first-millennium Christian Church. This synergy that defined traditional Christianity.
So if you will take the time to look above at the byline of this blog, you will see that it now reads; “A Sacramental Christian Church ”
If you have questions about this change or who we are, please click here
The Archdiocese of St Michael 