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Anglican Province of Christ the King

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The Anglican Province of Christ the King ( APCK ) is a Continuing Anglican church with traditional forms both of doctrine and liturgy. It is considered one of the more Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions among Continuing Anglican church bodies.

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104-593: At the founding of the Continuing Anglican movement in 1977 at the Congress of St. Louis , a proposed constitution for a new Anglican church in North America was put before the four existing dioceses for ratification. The two which did ratify the constitution later adopted the name Anglican Catholic Church . The two which did not ratify because of concerns that the role of the new church's bishops

208-612: A via media ('middle way') between Protestantism as a whole, and Catholicism. The faith of Anglicans is founded in the Scriptures and the Gospels , the traditions of the Apostolic Church, the historical episcopate , the first four ecumenical councils , and the early Church Fathers , especially those active during the five initial centuries of Christianity, according to the quinquasaecularist principle proposed by

312-446: A compromise, but as "a positive position, witnessing to the universality of God and God's kingdom working through the fallible, earthly ecclesia Anglicana ". These theologians regard scripture as interpreted through tradition and reason as authoritative in matters concerning salvation. Reason and tradition, indeed, are extant in and presupposed by scripture, thus implying co-operation between God and humanity, God and nature, and between

416-554: A distinct Christian tradition, with theologies, structures, and forms of worship representing a different kind of middle way, or via media , originally between Lutheranism and Calvinism, and later between Protestantism and Catholicism – a perspective that came to be highly influential in later theories of Anglican identity and expressed in the description of Anglicanism as "catholic and reformed". The degree of distinction between Protestant and Catholic tendencies within Anglicanism

520-509: A divine order of structures through which God unfolds his continuing work of creation. Hence, for Maurice, the Protestant tradition had maintained the elements of national distinction which were amongst the marks of the true universal church, but which had been lost within contemporary Catholicism in the internationalism of centralised papal authority. Within the coming universal church that Maurice foresaw, national churches would each maintain

624-559: A high degree of commonality in Anglican liturgical forms and in the doctrinal understandings expressed within those liturgies. He proposes that Anglican identity might rather be found within a shared consistent pattern of prescriptive liturgies, established and maintained through canon law , and embodying both a historic deposit of formal statements of doctrine, and also framing the regular reading and proclamation of scripture. Sykes nevertheless agrees with those heirs of Maurice who emphasise

728-416: A nuanced view of justification, taking elements from the early Church Fathers , Catholicism , Protestantism , liberal theology , and latitudinarian thought. Arguably, the most influential of the original articles has been Article VI on the "sufficiency of scripture", which says that "Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby,

832-861: A possibility, as other denominational groups rapidly followed the example of the Anglican Communion in founding their own transnational alliances: the Alliance of Reformed Churches , the Ecumenical Methodist Council , the International Congregational Council , and the Baptist World Alliance . Anglicanism was seen as a middle way, or via media , between two branches of Protestantism, Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity. In their rejection of absolute parliamentary authority,

936-779: Is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy , and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation , in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the largest branches of Christianity , with around 110 million adherents worldwide as of 2001 . Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans ; they are also called Episcopalians in some countries. The majority of Anglicans are members of national or regional ecclesiastical provinces of

1040-716: Is known as the English Reformation , in the course of which it acquired a number of characteristics that would subsequently become recognised as constituting its distinctive "Anglican" identity. With the Elizabethan Settlement of 1559, the Protestant identity of the English and Irish churches was affirmed by means of parliamentary legislation which mandated allegiance and loyalty to the English Crown in all their members. The Elizabethan church began to develop distinct religious traditions, assimilating some of

1144-508: Is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." This article has informed Anglican biblical exegesis and hermeneutics since earliest times. Anglicans look for authority in their "standard divines" (see below). Historically, the most influential of these – apart from Cranmer – has been the 16th-century cleric and theologian Richard Hooker , who after 1660

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1248-590: Is routinely a matter of debate both within specific Anglican churches and the Anglican Communion. The Book of Common Prayer is unique to Anglicanism, the collection of services in one prayer book used for centuries. The book is acknowledged as a principal tie that binds the Anglican Communion as a liturgical tradition. After the American Revolution , Anglican congregations in the United States and British North America (which would later form

1352-528: Is still considered authoritative to this day. In so far as Anglicans derived their identity from both parliamentary legislation and ecclesiastical tradition, a crisis of identity could result wherever secular and religious loyalties came into conflict – and such a crisis indeed occurred in 1776 with the United States Declaration of Independence , most of whose signatories were, at least nominally, Anglican. For these American patriots, even

1456-475: Is used to describe the people, institutions, churches, liturgical traditions, and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a church member in the Anglican Communion. The word is also used by followers of separated groups that have left the communion or have been founded separately from it. The word originally referred only to the teachings and rites of Christians throughout

1560-537: The 1552 prayer book with the conservative "Catholic" 1549 prayer book into the 1559 Book of Common Prayer . From then on, Protestantism was in a "state of arrested development", regardless of the attempts to detach the Church of England from its "idiosyncratic anchorage in the medieval past" by various groups which tried to push it towards a more Reformed theology and governance in the years 1560–1660. Although two important constitutive elements of what later would emerge as Anglicanism were present in 1559 – scripture,

1664-605: The Acts of Union of 1800 , had been reconstituted as the United Church of England and Ireland (a union which was dissolved in 1871). The propriety of this legislation was bitterly contested by the Oxford Movement (Tractarians), who in response developed a vision of Anglicanism as religious tradition deriving ultimately from the ecumenical councils of the patristic church. Those within the Church of England opposed to

1768-784: The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), the Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK), and the United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) explored opportunities for greater cooperation and the possibility of achieving organic unity. In 2003, Archbishop John-Charles Vockler of the ACC in a letter, called for prayers for healing of the damaged relations between the ACC and the APCK. In 2007 intercommunion

1872-643: The Apostles' Creed as the baptismal symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith . Anglicans believe the catholic and apostolic faith is revealed in Holy Scripture and the ecumenical creeds (Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian) and interpret these in light of the Christian tradition of the historic church, scholarship, reason, and experience. Anglicans celebrate

1976-573: The Book of Common Prayer only in the editions of The Canadian Book of 1962 and the American Book of 1928 . Service books conforming to and incorporating them are also allowed. Chapter 5, Principles of Action, concerns temporal affairs of finances, pensions, and education. Membership in the World Council of Churches or Consultation of Church Union is explicitly rejected. Communion with

2080-680: The Celticist Heinrich Zimmer, writes that the distinction between sub-Roman and post-Roman Insular Christianity, also known as Celtic Christianity, began to become apparent around AD 475, with the Celtic churches allowing married clergy, observing Lent and Easter according to their own calendar, and having a different tonsure ; moreover, like the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox churches,

2184-866: The Charles F. Boynton and the Clarence R. Haden . Participation in the liturgy was limited to members of the Episcopal or Canadian Anglican churches who were sympathetic to the movement, excluding observers from the Anglican Orthodox Church and the American Episcopal Church. Reception of Holy Communion was allowed to all present, including the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, John Allin , who

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2288-500: The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. In the latter decades of the 20th century, Maurice's theory, and the various strands of Anglican thought that derived from it, have been criticised by Stephen Sykes , who argues that the terms Protestant and Catholic as used in these approaches are synthetic constructs denoting ecclesiastic identities unacceptable to those to whom the labels are applied. Hence,

2392-511: The Lutheran Book of Concord . For them, the earliest Anglican theological documents are its prayer books, which they see as the products of profound theological reflection, compromise, and synthesis. They emphasise the Book of Common Prayer as a key expression of Anglican doctrine. The principle of looking to the prayer books as a guide to the parameters of belief and practice is called by

2496-596: The See of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion is again repeated. This section was also repealed by the College of Bishops of the Anglican Catholic Church on October 17, 2014, interpreting it instead as "full communio in sacris should actively be sought with those Apostolic and Catholic Churches that subscribe fully to the Affirmation of St. Louis and uphold its principles in practice." Anglicans Anglicanism

2600-634: The See of Rome . In Kent , Augustine persuaded the Anglo-Saxon king " Æthelberht and his people to accept Christianity". Augustine, on two occasions, "met in conference with members of the Celtic episcopacy, but no understanding was reached between them". Eventually, the "Christian Church of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria convened the Synod of Whitby in 663/664 to decide whether to follow Celtic or Roman usages". This meeting, with King Oswiu as

2704-684: The Society for the Preservation of the Book of Common Prayer , concurred that the principles on which a Continuing Church would be based needed to be formed. In the public statement released by the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen following this meeting, it was announced that the drafting of a statement of moral and devotional principles upon which a Continuing Church would be based had been commissioned. The drafting committee met several times during

2808-534: The Tractarians , especially John Henry Newman , looked back to the writings of 17th-century Anglican divines, finding in these texts the idea of the English church as a via media between the Protestant and Catholic traditions. This view was associated – especially in the writings of Edward Bouverie Pusey – with the theory of Anglicanism as one of three " branches " (alongside the Catholic Church and

2912-560: The historic episcopate , the Book of Common Prayer , the teachings of the First Four Ecumenical Councils as the yardstick of catholicity, the teaching of the Church Fathers and Catholic bishops, and informed reason – neither the laypeople nor the clergy perceived themselves as Anglicans at the beginning of Elizabeth I's reign, as there was no such identity. Neither does the term via media appear until

3016-464: The "three-legged stool" of scripture , reason , and tradition is often incorrectly attributed to Hooker. Rather, Hooker's description is a hierarchy of authority, with scripture as foundational and reason and tradition as vitally important, but secondary, authorities. Finally, the extension of Anglicanism into non-English cultures, the growing diversity of prayer books, and the increasing interest in ecumenical dialogue have led to further reflection on

3120-413: The 1627 to describe a church which refused to identify itself definitely as Catholic or Protestant, or as both, "and had decided in the end that this is virtue rather than a handicap". Historical studies on the period 1560–1660 written before the late 1960s tended to project the predominant conformist spirituality and doctrine of the 1660s on the ecclesiastical situation one hundred years before, and there

3224-401: The 16th-century Reformed Thirty-Nine Articles form the basis of doctrine. The Thirty-Nine Articles played a significant role in Anglican doctrine and practice. Following the passing of the 1604 canons, all Anglican clergy had to formally subscribe to the articles. Today, however, the articles are no longer binding, but are seen as a historical document which has played a significant role in

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3328-592: The 1830s, the Church of England in Canada became independent from the Church of England in those North American colonies which had remained under British control and to which many Loyalist churchmen had migrated. Reluctantly, legislation was passed in the British Parliament (the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786) to allow bishops to be consecrated for an American church outside of allegiance to

3432-710: The Affirmation of St. Louis which authorized the formation of the "Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal)". The first chapter, Principles of Doctrine, was written for the most part by the Rev. Dr. Carmino de Catanzaro, future first bishop of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. Although it was not put to a vote at the Congress, most Continuing Anglican churches nevertheless consider it to be an official statement of their faith. The Affirmation consists of an Introduction and five sections. The main points of

3536-585: The American and Canadian provinces of the Anglican Communion and meant that they had "departed from Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." Theological liberalism, financial support for political action groups, participation in the Consultation on Church Union (COCU), revisions to the Book of Common Prayer , and the ordination of women priests were not the only reasons for

3640-548: The Anglican Orthodox Church. The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church immediately responded on September 18, 1977, with a resolution that called for the Episcopal Church "to continue to talk with our estranged colleagues and not to close any doors to those who choose to separate themselves, with the hope that we will be reunited in God's church." As a result of the Anglican – Roman Catholic dialogue, Cardinal Seper

3744-473: The Anglican churches and those whose works are frequently anthologised . The corpus produced by Anglican divines is diverse. What they have in common is a commitment to the faith as conveyed by scripture and the Book of Common Prayer , thus regarding prayer and theology in a manner akin to that of the Apostolic Fathers . On the whole, Anglican divines view the via media of Anglicanism not as

3848-807: The Asia-Pacific. In the 19th century, the term Anglicanism was coined to describe the common religious tradition of these churches and also that of the Scottish Episcopal Church , which, though originating earlier within the Church of Scotland , had come to be recognised as sharing this common identity. The word Anglican originates in Anglicana ecclesia libera sit , a phrase from Magna Carta dated 15 June 1215, meaning 'the English Church shall be free'. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans . As an adjective, Anglican

3952-475: The British Crown (since no dioceses had ever been established in the former American colonies). Both in the United States and in Canada, the new Anglican churches developed novel models of self-government, collective decision-making, and self-supported financing; that would be consistent with separation of religious and secular identities. In the following century, two further factors acted to accelerate

4056-663: The Canadian and American models. However, the case of John Colenso , Bishop of Natal , reinstated in 1865 by the English Judicial Committee of the Privy Council over the heads of the Church in South Africa, demonstrated acutely that the extension of episcopacy had to be accompanied by a recognised Anglican ecclesiology of ecclesiastical authority, distinct from secular power. Consequently, at

4160-434: The Catholic Church does not regard itself as a party or strand within the universal church – but rather identifies itself as the universal church. Moreover, Sykes criticises the proposition, implicit in theories of via media , that there is no distinctive body of Anglican doctrines, other than those of the universal church; accusing this of being an excuse not to undertake systematic doctrine at all. Contrariwise, Sykes notes

4264-634: The Celtic churches operated independently of the Pope's authority, as a result of their isolated development in the British Isles. In what is known as the Gregorian mission , Pope Gregory I sent Augustine of Canterbury to the British Isles in AD 596, with the purpose of evangelising the pagans there (who were largely Anglo-Saxons ), as well as to reconcile the Celtic churches in the British Isles to

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4368-631: The Church." After Roman troops withdrew from Britain , the "absence of Roman military and governmental influence and overall decline of Roman imperial political power enabled Britain and the surrounding isles to develop distinctively from the rest of the West. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core. What resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices." The historian Charles Thomas , in addition to

4472-687: The English Established Church , there is no need for a description; it is simply the Church of England, though the word Protestant is used in many legal acts specifying the succession to the Crown and qualifications for office. When the Union with Ireland Act created the United Church of England and Ireland, it is specified that it shall be one "Protestant Episcopal Church", thereby distinguishing its form of church government from

4576-553: The English bishop Lancelot Andrewes and the Lutheran dissident Georg Calixtus . Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as "containing all things necessary for salvation" and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith. Reason and tradition are seen as valuable means to interpret scripture (a position first formulated in detail by Richard Hooker ), but there is no full mutual agreement among Anglicans about exactly how scripture, reason, and tradition interact (or ought to interact) with each other. Anglicans understand

4680-418: The Introduction are: Chapter 1, Principles of Doctrine, contains dogmatic theology and affirms the three confessions of faith of the Nicene Creed , the Apostoles' Creed , and the Creed of St. Athanasius . Likewise, the Seven Ecumenical Councils are affirmed, as well as Seven Sacraments , with Baptism and Holy Eucharist highlighted as being incorporation into Christ and "the sacrifice which unites us to

4784-432: The King, was adopted as the church expanded to become a nationwide jurisdiction spanning the United States. The province was renamed as the Anglican Province of Christ the King in 1991. On July 25, 2007, the bishop and most of the parishes in the Eastern Diocese of the APCK withdrew, joining the Anglican Church in America . However, four of its parishes decided to remain within the APCK. On June 29, 2007, James E. Provence

4888-442: The Latin name lex orandi, lex credendi ("the law of prayer is the law of belief"). Within the prayer books are the fundamentals of Anglican doctrine: the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, the Athanasian Creed (now rarely used), the scriptures (via the lectionary), the sacraments, daily prayer, the catechism , and apostolic succession in the context of the historic threefold ministry. For some low-church and evangelical Anglicans,

4992-416: The Orthodox Churches) historically arising out of the common tradition of the earliest ecumenical councils . Newman himself subsequently rejected his theory of the via media , as essentially historicist and static and hence unable to accommodate any dynamic development within the church. Nevertheless, the aspiration to ground Anglican identity in the writings of the 17th-century divines and in faithfulness to

5096-485: The Prayer Book is still acknowledged as one of the ties that bind Anglicans together. According to legend, the founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea and is commemorated at Glastonbury Abbey . Many of the early Church Fathers wrote of the presence of Christianity in Roman Britain , with Tertullian stating "those parts of Britain into which the Roman arms had never penetrated were become subject to Christ". Saint Alban , who

5200-404: The Presbyterian polity that prevails in the Church of Scotland . The word Episcopal ("of or pertaining to bishops") is preferred in the title of the Episcopal Church (the province of the Anglican Communion covering the United States) and the Scottish Episcopal Church , though the full name of the former is The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America . Elsewhere, however,

5304-497: The Tractarians, and to their revived ritual practices, introduced a stream of bills in parliament aimed to control innovations in worship. This only made the dilemma more acute, with consequent continual litigation in the secular and ecclesiastical courts. Over the same period, Anglican churches engaged vigorously in Christian missions , resulting in the creation, by the end of the century, of over ninety colonial bishoprics, which gradually coalesced into new self-governing churches on

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5408-504: The all-sufficient Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and the Sacrament in which He feeds us with His Body and Blood", respectively. The ecumenical goal of seeking full sacramental communion and visible unity with other Christians who hold the Catholic and Apostolic Faith is declared. Chapter 2, Principles of Morality, covers original sin, sanctity of human life, and marriage as a sacrament between one man and one woman. Chapter 3, Constitutional Principles, discusses organizational principles for

5512-422: The apostolic church, apostolic succession ("historic episcopate"), and the writings of the Church Fathers , as well as historically, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and The Books of Homilies . Anglicanism forms a branch of Western Christianity , having definitively declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement . Many of the Anglican formularies of

5616-450: The basis for the modern country of Canada) were each reconstituted into autonomous churches with their own bishops and self-governing structures; these were known as the American Episcopal Church and the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada . Through the expansion of the British Empire and the activity of Christian missions , this model was adopted as the model for many newly formed churches, especially in Africa, Australasia , and

5720-429: The change was mostly political, done in order to allow for the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage, the English Church under Henry VIII continued to maintain Catholic doctrines and liturgical celebrations of the sacraments despite its separation from Rome. With little exception, Henry VIII allowed no changes during his lifetime. Under King Edward VI (1547–1553), however, the church in England first began to undergo what

5824-476: The current location was purchased. Due to disagreements between Robert S. Morse and the then Episcopal bishop, James Pike , in 1963 Morse resigned as Chairman but filled the Board with Orthodox and Catholic clergy, including Prince Vasili Romanov and the Very Rev. Alexander Schmemann . The St. Joseph’s Student Center hosted Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican services throughout the week. Congress of St. Louis The September 14–16, 1977 Congress of St. Louis

5928-406: The decennial Lambeth Conference , chairs the meeting of primates , and is the president of the Anglican Consultative Council . Some churches that are not part of the Anglican Communion or recognised by it also call themselves Anglican, including those that are within the Continuing Anglican movement and Anglican realignment . Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible , traditions of

6032-423: The development of a distinct Anglican identity. From 1828 and 1829, Dissenters and Catholics could be elected to the House of Commons , which consequently ceased to be a body drawn purely from the established churches of Scotland, England, and Ireland; but which nevertheless, over the following ten years, engaged in extensive reforming legislation affecting the interests of the English and Irish churches; which, by

6136-464: The dominant influence in Britain as in all of western Europe, Anglican Christianity has continued to have a distinctive quality because of its Celtic heritage." The Church in England remained united with Rome until the English Parliament, though the Act of Supremacy (1534) declared King Henry VIII to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England to fulfill the "English desire to be independent from continental Europe religiously and politically." As

6240-450: The final decision maker, "led to the acceptance of Roman usage elsewhere in England and brought the English Church into close contact with the Continent". As a result of assuming Roman usages, the Celtic Church surrendered its independence, and, from this point on, the Church in England "was no longer purely Celtic, but became Anglo-Roman-Celtic". The theologian Christopher L. Webber writes that "Although "the Roman form of Christianity became

6344-400: The forms of Anglican services were in doubt, since the Prayer Book rites of Matins , Evensong , and Holy Communion all included specific prayers for the British royal family. Consequently, the conclusion of the War of Independence eventually resulted in the creation of two new Anglican churches, the Episcopal Church in the United States in those states that had achieved independence; and in

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6448-417: The future. Maurice saw the Protestant and Catholic strands within the Church of England as contrary but complementary, both maintaining elements of the true church, but incomplete without the other; such that a true catholic and evangelical church might come into being by a union of opposites. Central to Maurice's perspective was his belief that the collective elements of family, nation, and church represented

6552-488: The historic episcopate . Within the Anglican tradition, "divines" are clergy of the Church of England whose theological writings have been considered standards for faith, doctrine, worship, and spirituality, and whose influence has permeated the Anglican Communion in varying degrees through the years. While there is no authoritative list of these Anglican divines, there are some whose names would likely be found on most lists – those who are commemorated in lesser feasts of

6656-423: The hope that "no one will decide to leave" the church. On September 14, 1977, Holy Cross Day , after Evening Prayer , Perry Laukhuff, President of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, called the Congress to session. There were then three keynote addresses, by George W. Rutler, Carroll E. Simcox, and Thomas G. Barnes. Rutler spoke to the question of remaining in communion with the See of Canterbury, expressing

6760-400: The hope that the Archbishop of Canterbury would join with their cause but noting "Communion with Canterbury is like communion with anybody else in Christ, a good and joyful, beautiful and blessed thing to have.. but it is not of the essence and quidity of Anglicanism." On September 15, the day opened with Morning Prayer and Sung Eucharist, with the Albert Chambers presiding, accompanied by

6864-423: The incompleteness of Anglicanism as a positive feature, and quotes with qualified approval the words of Michael Ramsey : For while the Anglican church is vindicated by its place in history, with a strikingly balanced witness to Gospel and Church and sound learning, its greater vindication lies in its pointing through its own history to something of which it is a fragment. Its credentials are its incompleteness, with

6968-407: The innumerable benefits obtained through the passion of Christ; the breaking of the bread, the blessing of the cup, and the partaking of the body and blood of Christ as instituted at the Last Supper . The consecrated bread and wine, which are considered by Anglican formularies to be the true body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner and as outward symbols of an inner grace given by Christ which to

7072-473: The instigation of the bishops of Canada and South Africa, the first Lambeth Conference was called in 1867; to be followed by further conferences in 1878 and 1888, and thereafter at ten-year intervals. The various papers and declarations of successive Lambeth Conferences have served to frame the continued Anglican debate on identity, especially as relating to the possibility of ecumenical discussion with other churches. This ecumenical aspiration became much more of

7176-449: The international Anglican Communion , which forms the third-largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church , and the world's largest Protestant communion. These provinces are in full communion with the See of Canterbury and thus with the archbishop of Canterbury , whom the communion refers to as its primus inter pares ( Latin , 'first among equals'). The archbishop calls

7280-400: The last century, there are also places where practices and beliefs resonate more closely with the evangelical movements of the 1730s (see Sydney Anglicanism ). For high-church Anglicans, doctrine is neither established by a magisterium , nor derived from the theology of an eponymous founder (such as Calvinism ), nor summed up in a confession of faith beyond the ecumenical creeds , such as

7384-486: The mid-16th century correspond closely to those of historical Protestantism . These reforms were understood by one of those most responsible for them, Thomas Cranmer , the archbishop of Canterbury , and others as navigating a middle way between two of the emerging Protestant traditions, namely Lutheranism and Calvinism . In the first half of the 17th century, the Church of England and the associated Church of Ireland were presented by some Anglican divines as comprising

7488-407: The mid-19th century revived and extended doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral practices similar to those of Roman Catholicism. This extends beyond the ceremony of high church services to even more theologically significant territory, such as sacramental theology (see Anglican sacraments ). While Anglo-Catholic practices, particularly liturgical ones, have become more common within the tradition over

7592-480: The more well-known and articulate Puritan movement and the Durham House Party, and the exact extent of continental Calvinism among the English elite and among the ordinary churchgoers from the 1560s to the 1620s are subjects of current and ongoing debate. In 1662, under King Charles II , a revised Book of Common Prayer was produced, which was acceptable to high churchmen as well as some Puritans and

7696-485: The parameters of Anglican identity. Many Anglicans look to the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 as the sine qua non of communal identity. In brief, the quadrilateral's four points are the scriptures as containing all things necessary to salvation; the creeds (specifically, the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds) as the sufficient statement of Christian faith; the dominical sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion ; and

7800-550: The repentant convey forgiveness and cleansing from sin. While many Anglicans celebrate the Eucharist in similar ways to the predominant Latin Catholic tradition, a considerable degree of liturgical freedom is permitted, and worship styles range from simple to elaborate. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), the collection of services which worshippers in most Anglican churches have used for centuries. It

7904-515: The sacred and secular. Faith is thus regarded as incarnational and authority as dispersed. Amongst the early Anglican divines of the 16th and 17th centuries, the names of Thomas Cranmer , John Jewel , Matthew Parker , Richard Hooker , Lancelot Andrewes , and Jeremy Taylor predominate. The influential character of Hooker's Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity cannot be overestimated. Published in 1593 and subsequently, Hooker's eight-volume work

8008-544: The selection of bishops, structure of synods, and establishment of ecclesiastical courts . It also called for a Constitutional Assembly to draft a Constitution and Canons which would be based on the Affirmation, ancient Custom and the General Canon Law , and the former law of the American and Canadian provinces. This Constitutional Assembly met in 1978 as the Synod of Dallas. Chapter 4, Principles of Worship, permits

8112-575: The shaping of Anglican identity. The degree to which each of the articles has remained influential varies. On the doctrine of justification , for example, there is a wide range of beliefs within the Anglican Communion, with some Anglo-Catholics arguing for a faith with good works and the sacraments. At the same time, however, some evangelical Anglicans ascribe to the Reformed emphasis on sola fide ("faith alone") in their doctrine of justification (see Sydney Anglicanism ). Still other Anglicans adopt

8216-416: The six signs of catholicity: baptism, Eucharist, the creeds, Scripture, an episcopal ministry, and a fixed liturgy (which could take a variety of forms in accordance with divinely ordained distinctions in national characteristics). This vision of a becoming universal church as a congregation of autonomous national churches proved highly congenial in Anglican circles; and Maurice's six signs were adapted to form

8320-573: The split, but they were seen by these churches as evidence of the mainline church's departure from Anglican orthodoxy. The idea for a congress originated with the Reverend Canon Albert J. duBois in 1973 in preparation for the Louisville General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Canon duBois and the group called "Anglicans United" toured parishes in advance of the Congress to garner support. This congress

8424-475: The spring and summer of 1977. At the final pre-Congress meeting of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, less than twenty-four hours before the Congress opened, a complete draft of the Affirmation of St. Louis was presented. After several hours of deliberation, the draft was approved unanimously with some amendments. It was read out to the 1,800 attendees at the Congress and received a standing ovation without debate or discussion. The Congress of St. Louis produced

8528-409: The tension and the travail of its soul. It is clumsy and untidy, it baffles neatness and logic. For it is not sent to commend itself as 'the best type of Christianity,' but by its very brokenness to point to the universal Church wherein all have died. The distinction between Reformed and Catholic, and the coherence of the two, is a matter of debate within the Anglican Communion. The Oxford Movement of

8632-418: The term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity . In its structures, theology, and forms of worship, Anglicanism emerged as a distinct Christian tradition representing a middle ground between Lutheran and Reformed varieties of Protestantism ; after the Oxford Movement , Anglicanism has often been characterized as representing

8736-485: The theology of Reformed churches with the services in the Book of Common Prayer (which drew extensively on the Sarum Rite native to England), under the leadership and organisation of a continuing episcopate. Over the years, these traditions themselves came to command adherence and loyalty. The Elizabethan Settlement stopped the radical Protestant tendencies under Edward VI by combining the more radical elements of

8840-620: The traditional sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Mass . The Eucharist is central to worship for most Anglicans as a communal offering of prayer and praise in which the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are proclaimed through prayer, reading of the Bible, singing, giving God thanks over the bread and wine for

8944-463: The traditions of the Church Fathers reflects a continuing theme of Anglican ecclesiology, most recently in the writings of Henry Robert McAdoo . The Tractarian formulation of the theory of the via media between Protestantism and Catholicism was essentially a party platform, and not acceptable to Anglicans outside the confines of the Oxford Movement . However, this theory of the via media

9048-422: The world in communion with the see of Canterbury but has come to sometimes be extended to any church following those traditions rather than actual membership in the Anglican Communion. Although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. In British parliamentary legislation referring to

9152-515: Was also a tendency to take polemically binary partitions of reality claimed by contestants studied (such as the dichotomies Protestant-"Popish" or " Laudian "-"Puritan") at face value. Since the late 1960s, these interpretations have been criticised. Studies on the subject written during the last forty-five years have, however, not reached any consensus on how to interpret this period in English church history. The extent to which one or several positions concerning doctrine and spirituality existed alongside

9256-539: Was an international gathering of nearly 2,000 Anglicans in St. Louis, Missouri , united in their rejection of theological changes introduced by the Anglican Church of Canada and by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (then known as Protestant Episcopal Church USA) in its General Convention of 1976. Anglicans who attended this congress felt that these changes amounted to foundational alterations in

9360-577: Was appointed to oversee the process, and Father James Parker was named as his assistant. The press coverage of the Congress was quite extensive in national and church media, including the television networks, and resulted in the PECUSA schism being voted by the Religion Newswriters Association as the top religion story of 1977. The New York Times ran a special report on September 17, 1977. The Affirmation of St. Louis

9464-700: Was aware of the impending split early in 1977, and presented a proposal for consideration of what later became the Pastoral Provision to the Rt. Rev. Albert Chambers and Bishop-elect James O. Mote . Only the Pro-Diocese of St. Augustine of Canterbury, which contained parishes that left the Diocese of the Holy Trinity to seek union with Rome, made use of the Pastoral Provision . Bishop Bernard Law

9568-522: Was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches, which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world. In 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer , the then archbishop of Canterbury . While it has since undergone many revisions and Anglican churches in different countries have developed other service books,

9672-437: Was elected as successor to Morse upon the latter's retirement as archbishop of the province. Morse continued as provost of St. Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Theological Seminary which he was instrumental in founding in 1979. Provence was installed as Archbishop in 2008. He resigned on July 20, 2015 after allegations of misconduct. Frederick G. Morrison was elected to succeed him as archbishop. Morrison retired on January 1, 2020, and

9776-691: Was executed in AD 209, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. For this reason he is venerated as the British protomartyr . The historian Heinrich Zimmer writes that "Just as Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, so the British Church formed (during the fourth century) a branch of the Catholic Church of the West; and during the whole of that century, from the Council of Arles (316) onward, took part in all proceedings concerning

9880-550: Was first germinated at the Nashville meeting of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen on November 4 and 5, 1976. Bishop Clarence Haden , of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, who was present as a visitor, suggested that the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen must profess a specific and unswerving basis for its stand if it were to lead a movement to set up a Continuing Episcopal Church. Dr. Harold Weatherby, of

9984-715: Was formally astablished between the APCK and the ACC and UECNA. In January 2009, one bishop from each jurisdiction consecrated three suffragan bishops in St. Louis , intending that they serve all three jurisdictions. Archbishop Robert Morse died in 2015. The publishing arm of the APCK is known as the American Church Union (ACU). The APCK publishes a newsletter called The Shepherd's Staff. The APCK has over forty parishes across three dioceses organized geographically. Sixteen of its parishes are in California. Saint Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Theological College

10088-625: Was founded in 1979 as a seminary for the newly formed Diocese of Christ the King. It continues to offer classes, in person and online, mostly for prospective clergy of the APCK. It is located one block south of the University of California, Berkeley . The college had originally been founded in 1952 by Robert S. Morse as the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Stanford University, with the St. Joseph of Arimathea Foundation established in 1960. In 1964

10192-406: Was increasingly portrayed as the founding father of Anglicanism. Hooker's description of Anglican authority as being derived primarily from scripture, informed by reason (the intellect and the experience of God) and tradition (the practices and beliefs of the historical church), has influenced Anglican self-identity and doctrinal reflection perhaps more powerfully than any other formula. The analogy of

10296-502: Was overly narrow, elected to continue under the original name of the movement. One of these non-ratifying dioceses, the Diocese of the Southeastern States, dissolved within a short time leaving only the Diocese of Christ the King under its bishop ordinary, Robert Morse of California. In 1981, the Diocese of Christ the King reported 40 parishes across the United States, with more than 35 clergy. A new name, Province of Christ

10400-426: Was present but did not address the congress. In the afternoon, more speeches were given, including those of Carmino de Catanzaro, George H. Clendenin, and Dorothy Faber. Later in the day, representatives from the Diocese of the Holy Trinity, which was under Albert Chambers as Episcopal Visitor, elected James O. Mote as the first bishop of the new movement. On the final day, September 16, the Affirmation of St. Louis

10504-520: Was presented, as well as the proposed name of the new church, Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal). The closing discussion concerned finding three bishops to consecrate Fr. Mote, as well as drawing up a Constitution. In addition to Presiding Bishop Allin, nine other bishops of the Episcopal Church were present, as well as bishops of the Independent Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church of North America (Evangelical), and

10608-804: Was replaced by Archbishop John E Upham. Upham had been consecrated a Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of the Atlantic States on August 15, 2012. Archbishop Upham deceased in February, 2023. On June 14th, 2023, Blair W. Schultz was elected as the fifth Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Christ the King. Archbishop Schultz was consecrated Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of the Atlantic States in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 21, 2017, by The Most Reverend Frederick G. Morrison, The Right Reverend Donald M. Ashman, The (then) Right Reverend Doctor John E. Upham, and The Right Reverend Frank W. Brulc. From 2003 to 2011,

10712-418: Was reworked in the ecclesiological writings of Frederick Denison Maurice , in a more dynamic form that became widely influential. Both Maurice and Newman saw the Church of England of their day as sorely deficient in faith; but whereas Newman had looked back to a distant past when the light of faith might have appeared to burn brighter, Maurice looked forward to the possibility of a brighter revelation of faith in

10816-470: Was sponsored by the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, an organization founded in 1973 as a coordinating agent for laypeople and clergy concerned about the breakdown of faith and order within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. Prior to the Congress, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, John Allin , met with five priests active in the movement in which he expressed

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