Following are excerpts from an
article by Shane Schaetzel from the USA.
The square bracket comments make reference to the Canadian situation for
Anglicans. The Anglican Church of Canada is referred to as the ACC.
When I tell other Catholics that I am part of the Personal
Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter [POCSP], I get some inquisitive looks. When I
explain that it is a provision within the Roman Rite that allows Anglican
converts to govern ourselves, using our own liturgy and customs, that
inquisitive look turns confused. It's to be expected really. Most Roman
Catholics are still unfamiliar with the Anglican Patrimony within the Roman
Catholic Church, and so when you present it to them, it often results in
confusion.
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| Msgr Steenson with Cardinals Levada and DiNardo along with Ordinariate Priests opening the Chancery of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter in Houston - February 2015 |
Lately, I've tried a slightly different method of explaining
this. Instead of using the word Anglican up front, I'll throw out the word
English, and for some reason, this seems to get through a little better. I'll
tell them I'm part of a special jurisdiction within the Roman Catholic Church
that puts an emphasis on traditional English Catholic heritage.
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| Our Lady of Walsingham, Principal Church POCSP, Houston |
POW! That nails it!
All of a sudden they get it, and that inquisitive look turns
into curiosity. I then go on by telling them to imagine a combination between
the old Latin mass, and the new vernacular mass . . . Sometimes they'll ask
what sacral English is. I'll simply tell them it's an older form of high
English that is reserved specifically for God, and they use it all the time.
Every time they say the 'Our Father' or the 'Hail Mary' they are likely using
sacral English. That's where the 'thee' and 'thou' comes from. Then I tell them
to imagine a whole mass like that [often accompanied by the best English choral
music].
Suddenly that curious look turns into an epiphany, and they
get it! More than that, they usually like the idea, often requesting where they
can visit such a liturgy. Once that is all done, I'll explain to them that the
word Anglican is just an older way of saying English Christian, and even though
the word is commonly used to describe a Protestant church, it is also used in a
Catholic context to describe . . . Catholics (usually converts but not always)
who prefer the sacral English method of worship . . .
Now, explaining the matter to non-Catholics, especially
Anglicans/Episcopalians in America, is a completely different matter, and that
is the subject of this essay.
Since the late 1970s, The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the
United States (American Anglicanism) has been going through tumultuous changes.
[As did the ACC in Canada]. The 1970s were a difficult time for Western
Christianity in general. The Catholic Church was affected by this too. However,
it could be said that if the 1970s gave the Catholic Church a nasty cold, than
it could also be said that same decade gave The Episcopal Church a fatal case
of pneumonia.
While Rome gave the Catholic Church a new liturgy . . . The
Episcopal Church [and ACC were] sowing
the seeds of its own complete collapse. Following the Vatican's liturgical
update, The Episcopal Church completely changed the American Book of Common
Prayer, creating two completely separate rites, one traditional and the other
modern, but unlike Rome, it didn't stop there. Along with this radical
liturgical change came a massive sacramental change too . . .
Some of these traditionalists set out to start their own
movements, independent of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.
These included, but were not limited to, the Anglican Church in America (ACA)
and the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC). However, these organisations remained
relatively small throughout the years, and most traditional Anglicans chose to
stay within The Episcopal Church, at least until something a little larger came
along.
Meanwhile, the 1979 prayerbook camp did retain a lot of
Catholic forms, but also included modern liturgy, female priests and a general
move toward embracing what the Catholic Church condemned as 'modernism'. Now
this move toward modernism was not universal nor monolithic. It ranged in
degrees, and depended on various priests and bishops.
As I said, much of the struggle that has happened in the
Episcopal Church over the last 30 years mirrors what had been going on in the
Catholic Church over the last 40 years. However, there is one major difference.
In the Catholic Church, the errors of modernism ramped up into the 1980s and
then began to taper off in the 1990s and turn of the century. Since the year
2000, and especially after the pontificate of Benedict XVI (2005 - 2013), the
shift in the Catholic Church has been unmistakeably traditional. Nearly all of
the new priests, coming out of seminary, are . . . traditional . . . In time,
the biological solution will run its course. Older modernised priests will slip
away into retirement, while younger traditional priests will take the reigns of
parishes, and in time entire dioceses as a new crop of bishops take over. While
the older (more modernist) generation still remains, we will still see
modernist innovations and preaching in the Catholic Church. Their days are
numbered however. What's following them in years to come is more 'old school'
and traditional.
. . . Membership
numbers could not be more mirror opposite as well. In the United States, the
number of Catholics has gone up from 47 million in 1968 to 66 million in 2013.
In contrast, the number of Episcopalians has gone down from 3.5 million in 1968
to 1.5 million in 2013. While the Catholic Church has been growing consistently
with the population, the Episcopal Church has literally imploded, losing nearly
2/3 of its membership over the last 47 years.
. . . Why is this happening? The answer is simple, and I can
explain it in just two words. Modernism [secularism] kills. Most people want
modernity in their automobiles and shopping malls, not in their religion.
In the late 1960s, and throughout the 1970s, into the early
1980s; American Christianity experimented with modernism. It wasn't limited to
America of course. Canada fooled around with it too, and so did Australia.
Europe when headlong into it. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Catholic
Church and the Anglican Communion. In America, the effects of this experiment
have never seen more dramatic results. The Episcopal Church in the United
States turned out to be the most progressive in modernism of all the Anglican
provinces throughout the world. This progressive dive into modernism caused
many Episcopalians (nearly two-thirds) to bail out of the denomination over 47
years. The Episcopal Church's experimentation into modernism has cost about 58%
of its members! Can you imagine if the same statistic were applied to the
Catholic Church?
If we started at 1968, with 47 million members in the
Catholic Church, and the Church lost 58% of it's members over 47 years, the
current membership in the U.S. Catholic Church would be at 27 million today.
Think about that for a moment. This would not only eliminate 58% of Catholics
from 1968, but it would also evaporate all the growth the Catholic Church has
seen since.
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| Gene Robinson and Gay lover. |
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| Clowns and others . . . |
. . . While the
Catholic Church gradually moves back in a more traditional direction, The
Episcopal Church rapidly moves in a more modernist direction. Last week, The
Episcopal Church voted to allow same-sex 'marriage' within that denomination.
It will become effective November 1, 2015. Experts are expecting a backlash in
the form of yet another exodus. My experience tells me the exodus will not be
rapid. Episcopalians [Anglicans in Canada] never run from their church. It's
more of a casual stroll. They seem to trickle out gradually, one family at a
time, and sometimes one parish at a time. They will leave though.
. . . As a personal
prediction, I don't expect the overall membership of The Episcopal Church to
ever rise above 1.5 million again. In the years ahead, as members age, and
fewer young people are around to replace them, The Episcopal Church will be
forced to sell off properties just to stay afloat. Some Episcopal dioceses are
already doing that.
So where will they go?
Some Episcopalians [Anglicans] have been so poorly catechised
and sacramentalised over the last generation that a good number of them will be
moving over to Evangelical churches. I personally know some Episcopalian
families who are doing just that. Here in Springfield Missouri, I happen to
know some Episcopalians who have made (or are in the process of making) the
journey from Saint James Episcopal Church, and Christ Episcopal Church over to
James River Church -- an Evangelical/Pentecostal church that is part of the
Assemblies of God denomination. Just a brief overview of each church's website
will reveal a dramatic change!
. . . I spent the early years of my adulthood in that
environment, and let me tell you, it gets old fast. Liturgy and sacraments
added such a deep spiritual dimension to my life that I couldn't possibly
imagine ever giving them up.
Meanwhile, some Episcopalians will take the seemingly easy
option, and just switch over to the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA),
which is where many traditional and conservative Episcopalians have gone. The
ACNA is the most recent splinter group off The Episcopal Church [and the ACC] created in
2009. It is also the largest. Here in Springfield Missouri, that option exists
with All Saints Anglican Church. Basically, the ACNA is a jurisdiction of
Anglicanism that was created after a number of Episcopal groups broke away from
The Episcopal Church in 2009 after decades of trying to work for traditional
reform within The Episcopal Church [and ACC]. However, the Archbishop of Canterbury
refused to recognise them. So they maintain their communion with Canterbury
indirectly and unofficially by their connection with Anglican primates in
Africa.
. . . The ACNA permits the use of the 1979 Book of Common
Prayer, which includes the modernist liturgy that drove away the first wave of
Episcopalians. Currently, the constitution and canons of the ACNA do allow for
ordination of women to the priesthood. This is left up to the local bishop [some do and some don't].
However, as for the episcopate, the current canons require that bishops be
selected from male priests. Essentially, what the ACNA has done is reset the
clock back to 1979. Beyond that, it hasn't done much to address the core
problems that plagued American Anglicanism back then.
[The fact that there is
no Magisterium i.e. teaching authority in ACNA, as it is found in the Catholic Church, means that
there is no mechanism for settling differences in the ACNA just as there is none in TEC or the ACC.]
. . . ACNA is in a vulnerable position which could see a
gradual repeat of what happened to The Episcopal Church over the next 47 years.
Episcopalians who flee to the ACNA will find a reprieve from the trials they
experienced in The Episcopal Church, but there is no guarantee how long that
reprieve will last. While older Episcopalians may find this a viable option,
younger Episcopalians with children may want to reconsider.
The ACNA appears to
be a safe environment to pass on the Anglican Patrimony -- for now -- but that
may change in just one generation. Today's parents may be able to raise their children
in the Anglican Patrimony, but there is no guarantee this same environment will
exist for their grandchildren and future posterity.
Is there a better way?
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| 3 Anglican bishops now Ordinariate Monsignors in England. |
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| Ordinariate priests in the U.K. |
These Episcopalians traded in their communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury for full communion with the Pope of Rome. As a result, they were given the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite. This allowed them to celebrate the liturgy taken from the Book of Common Prayer and approved for use in the Catholic Church as the Book of Divine Worship. In essence, Rome simply adopted the Anglican Patrimony, allowing it to be united but not absorbed. Anglicans who enter the Catholic Church this way become Catholics in doctrine and canon law, but they remain Anglicans in custom and practice.
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| Pope Francis with Msgr. Steenson, Ordinary of POCSP greets Ordinariate in Rome |
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI created Anglicanorum Coetibus,
which is an apostolic constitution that guarantees the position of the Anglican
Patrimony within the Roman Catholic Church forever, and also provides
jurisdictions for Anglicans to govern themselves within the Catholic Church.
These jurisdictions are called ordinariates, and they function similar to
national provinces within the Anglican Communion. The man who governs each
ordinariate is called an Ordinary, and he can either be a bishop or a priest.
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| Ordinariate celebrates English (Anglican Use) Mass at St. Peter's, Rome |
. . . In other words;
Anglicans are allowed to be Anglicans, function as Anglicans, sing as
Anglicans, pray as Anglicans, etc. . . .
Doctrinally and sacramentally they are Catholics. Traditionally and
customarily, they remain Anglicans. This jurisdiction for North America is
called the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter . . .
It's a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me, and it's one that
comes with some guarantees. I know that not only will I be able to pray, sing
and live out my life within the Anglican Patrimony, but I also know that my
children will have access to that same Patrimony as well, and their children,
and their children, and so on. The Episcopal Church may collapse . . . The ACNA
may eventually follow the same route as The Episcopal Church [and the ACC]. The
entire Anglican Communion may fracture, scatter and eventually dissolve. Yet
the Anglican Patrimony will now go on and live in the Catholic Church forever.
That's what Rome does. She seeks to create unity not
uniformity. She seeks to unite but not absorb. The Roman Catholic Church is not
a monolith. It is rather a communion of many churches, of which the Roman
Church is the largest. Within this Roman Catholic Communion there exists many
smaller churches, sometimes referred to as 'rites', but in every sense they are
unique churches.
These include the many Eastern churches, such as the
Byzantines and Maronites for example. What Rome has done for Anglicans is similar,
but not identical. Instead of creating a whole new rite or 'church' for
Anglicans, the Catholic Church has instead created a subset of the Roman Rite,
called the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite, and ordinariates for self
governance.
A space has been made for Anglicans to grow and flourish once
again, without having to worry about the modernist relativism that plagues The
Episcopal Church. Once more, we can focus on the gospel and evangelism again,
without having to worry about the next battle to maintain orthodoxy. Within the
ordinariates, Anglicans are free again! We are free to be Anglican and
Catholic, fully in both ways, and at the same time get back to what's important
about being Christian.
In the weeks and months ahead, those few Episcopalians are going to have some real soul searching to do . . . [Anglicans in Canada who in June 2016, it is reliably predicted, will follow TEC Americans and approve changes to the Marriage Canon
allowing Gay weddings]
Will they go Evangelical, and just completely give up the
liturgical and sacramental life they've always known?
Will they go with the ACNA, resetting the clock back to 1979,
and hope it works out better in this generation than it did in the last?
Will they fulfil the ecumenical vision of Anglicanism, and
the Oxford Movement, by going into full-communion with Rome through the
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, thus guaranteeing their
family's future within the Anglican Patrimony for generations to come?
. . . A lot of
English-speaking Roman Catholics really like the Anglican liturgy, and Pope
Francis has even expanded our evangelical mission to reach out to fallen away
Catholics. It's easy enough too. If there isn't an ordinariate parish or
community nearby, then Episcopalians/Anglicans can still join the ordinariate
through any regular Roman Catholic parish. All one need do is visit the website
of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, read the instructions
and download an application.
. . . Many of us have
been caught up in the culture wars within The Episcopal [Anglican] Church for
so long, that we've forgotten what Christian evangelism is all about. It's time
to drop the siege mentality, and get on with our lives.
. . . The culture wars haven't disappeared in the Catholic
Church, but tradition has the clear upper hand.
[We can say; "I am in full communion with the universal
Church] but I am also an Anglican. I am both, and nobody can take that away
from me. Some people have tried to make up a new term, such as 'Anglican
Catholic' or 'Catholic Anglican'. Some have referred back to the old term of
'Anglo-Catholic'. I say forget it all. I am a Christian, and if you want to be
specific about it, I am a Catholic Christian who worships according to the
[English or] Anglican Patrimony. My goal is to live and preach the gospel,
making disciples of Christ wherever I go. All the while I . . . worship in
sacral English, promoting the zenith of English Christian civilisation. It's
the most counter-cultural thing anyone could ever do these days, and guess
what? It's fun!
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Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books, and columnist
for Christian print magazines and online publications. He is a freelance writer
and the creator of FullyChristian.Com -- The random musings of a Catholic in
the Ozarks.' The full article is found
at Where will Anglicans go?
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