Here we are.. in the twenty first century; Ahead of us is the space century, and other unfathomable changes, challenges and growth… Behind us was the century of Anglican decline, which looks like it’s coming to an end thankfully Where do we need to go from here?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me. John Henry Newman
At some point Anglicanism must decide whether to be Protestant or Anglo-Catholic. ACNA wants to pursue confessional Protestantism. The Continuing Churches are coalescing around an Anglo-Catholic identity. The Anglican Communion is another matter.
Historic Classical Anglicanism High church and Scripture-centric at the same time, the best of both worlds. We have demonstrated that through the last 10 years of our ministry.
Stay the course and continually defend the Catholic faith as understood through the Anglican tradition dating back to 1549. It is our stronghold and our sure defense against this secular, Godless world. As for me, if the AngloCatholic faith (as I live it) does indeed perish, the last communicate is welcome to kneel with me in my parish. Hopefully a priest with appropriate orders will be there to provide the feast of the blessed Body and Blood of our Lord one last time! Until then pray for “thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth”. Blessed Trinity! As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. +++
They do not view that term in opposition to the Fathers, and the church catholic, why do you keep reusing outdated 20th century polemics which have become irrelevant?
(1) I can agree there; (2) I disagree there (3) Forgive me if it is old and tired. In this case for this communicate, it is true.
A significant portion of the ACNA is either gravitating towards, or already embraces basic Anglo-catholicism, and would certainly like to see the rest of the province move in that direction. Those dioceses also don't seem like they're going to give up that identity any time soon. It's also worth noting that they don't consider their catholic emphasis to be opposed to the protestant traits of Anglicanism. Not from what I can tell, at least.
An interesting question. I came across an article some time back that presented some of the issues at play quite nicely (excerpt here): This idea of Anglicans as Mere Christians has had a wide influence. It is central to how many ACNA churches describe and present themselves to would-be worshippers. It is part of how many ACNA clergy think of themselves. As an ACNA priest and founder of an influential website put it, Anglicanism isn’t a denomination at all, for “Anglicans love to hang out mostly in the hallway.”[4] The “just Mere Christians” idea cannot be squared with the Anglican formularies and the pre-twentieth-century understanding of Anglicanism. Many of our fellow Christians find their beliefs distinguished and decisively rejected in the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Black Rubric, and the exhortations in the Communion service. These Christians—including Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, and Anabaptists—would be rightly surprised to learn that what was rejecting their views was just Mere Christianity. This is putative humility; in reality it has more of hubris and self-congratulation. https://mereorthodoxy.com/anglicanism-gateway-catholicism The dilemma seems to be, go too far in one direction and risk getting absorbed into confessional Protestantism, but go too far in the other direction and risk becoming a gateway to Roman Catholicism (or Eastern Orthodoxy).
Looking backward at the trend, we see the Anglican Church distinguish itself from the RCC, followed over the many years by a series of groups developing out of Anglicanism because the groups' peoples more or less felt that the Anglican Church had not moved far enough away from RC ways of doing things and were stifling what God wanted to do in His church. (There was much more to it than that, but I'm generalizing broadly.) IIRC these groups included the Puritans (which gave rise to the Quakers), the Methodists, the Congregationalists, and I guess we might even toss in the Presbyterians (although their differences were more political and cultural in nature). The influence of the Carolinians upon Anglicanism was not favorable; were it not for them, the Anglican churches today might look somewhat more Protestant-ish and, I speculate, might not have had so many groups split away in the past. As for where we go from here, only time will tell. One thing is certain: we all should make sure we're watching for the return of our Lord Jesus and ready to go up! Live each day as if it might be the day of His return. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh (Matt. 25:13). Luke 21:25-28,33-36 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.... Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. 1Thess 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
I attempt to steer clear of polemics. When they appear, it is because the source is still using the same. You must remember, most of your leadership is 50+ and thus trained in the 20th century. There's many an ACNA member's blog out there using the same terminology I carefully employed. And it's the younger generation too. If anything, the 30 something clergy are more polemical than their forefathers and mothers. Irrelevant is an inherently subjective descriptor.
I'd actually say the opposite. We (he said, even though he's just a fanboy) need to lean into the unity in diversity. Even your example of ACNA, the Continuum, and the AC shows the Low, High, and Broad strains of the Church coming unglued from each other, losing the moderating influence they each have on each other, losing the "all things to all men" potential they have as a unified front, sacrificing their institutional influence, and splitting the believers in their communities by churchmanship.
Unfortunately the customer is not always right. Luckily a “limited offering” has been served by Divine Management to a diverse group of “customers” for some two thousand years (infinite stars on Yelp. The Boss knows them all by name). Now let us pray for more customers.
After God created man, He put man in the driver's seat. Gen 1:27-30 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. Then along came the deceiver, the enemy. He whispered his lies and deceived the one whom God had put in control. Man veered off the path and ran into a tree! It's the same old story ever since. God places some men in charge of administration for His people, His Church. The adversary whispers lies into their ears. Deceived, they veer off the path. Some of God's people try to warn, "Hey! You've veered off course!" When the administrators don't listen, those who recognize the danger jump out of the car before it gets totaled, and they return to the designated straight-and-narrow pathway. (Of course, the others are yelling, "Get back in the car, you fools! The Church is going this way!") Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Some people will never learn.