Can a divorced and remarried person join the Anglican Church?

Discussion in 'Family, Relationships, and Single Life' started by bwallac2335, Jan 6, 2020.

  1. Rexlion

    Rexlion Well-Known Member

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    Hmm, interesting.... I was going to say, "Why don't you change it? Should be easy to do," but then I went looking and couldn't see a way to make a change in one's stated religion! :dunno:
     
  2. Botolph

    Botolph Well-Known Member

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    I think under your name if you go to personal details you can change a stated religion, otherwise ask on of the staff to change it for you.
     
  3. bwallac2335

    bwallac2335 Well-Known Member

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    Got it changed
     
  4. PDL

    PDL Well-Known Member Anglican

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    Out of interest where does the ACNA fit?

    Evangelical - Low Church - Middle of the Road - High Church - Anglo-Catholic?

    What's the ACNA position regarding the ordination of women?

    I know your divorced was approved but what's the ACNA's general stance regarding divorce?
     
  5. bwallac2335

    bwallac2335 Well-Known Member

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    ACNA has all of the mentioned I believe. As for the ordination of women that is up to the local bishop. The majority of Bishops do not ordain women and it is in the canons that they can't be Bishops.

    ACNA's stance on divorce and remarriage for the most part is that it has to be approved by the Bishop. They will generally allow one divorce and remarriage but not two. It really reminds me of the EO position.
     
  6. Rexlion

    Rexlion Well-Known Member

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    On ordination of women, it varies from diocese to diocese. In our Anglican Diocese of the Living Word, women may be ordained to the diaconate but not to the priesthood. A couple of the dioceses (east coast in particular, I think) will ordain female priests (which makes no sense to me).

    My parish is middle-of-the-road, I think, on the low church-high church spectrum. I think it will vary according to the parish as well as the diocese.
     
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  7. Stalwart

    Stalwart Well-Known Member Anglican

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    American Anglicanism has evolved a different meaning for these categories than what's existed in their English context. So for example, you will have even many Low Church parish and clergy be at least okay with being called "Fr." So and So. Also, vestments are really not an issue in the American church; everyone wears them and is onboard, no issue. Conversely on the Anglo-Catholic side, you will have them being friendly with high church Lutherans, really anyone who takes the liturgy seriously. In short the civil wars that our church has stupidly waged against itself over the last century are far less radical and extreme in the American context. Having visited the UK I have seen how extreme and drastic the oppositions between the evangelicals and the high church may be, which is surely one of the reasons why the CofE has been in such a cataclysm. The good guys are fighting the good guys.

    Furthermore I would say that those divisions in ACNA are growing even less drastic over time. Like I said even more and more evangelicals are getting comfortable being called "Fr." (or "Mr." ... don't ask). The 2019 BCP will drive out the last stragglers who've had issues with liturgical worship. The 1662 BCP is still available and still the doctrinal standard (which I personally follow), but the 2019 BCP has its uses and this will be one of them. On the other hand, the Anglo-Catholics have been getting more comfortable using some contemporary music (as long as it's decent and reverent). They don't pour over Roman encyclicals, or look to the Roman Church for guidance and leadership any longer (which could be due to the disastrous reign of Pope Francis).

    So I basically see a long-term convergence of all these camps into something which can be considered a single "Anglicanism" once again, after a generation or so.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2020
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  8. bwallac2335

    bwallac2335 Well-Known Member

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    Our last big division is over women ordination and hopefully we can decide that against wo. Bishop Beach is against it.
     
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  9. bwallac2335

    bwallac2335 Well-Known Member

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    My parish is probably low church. We do the full liturgy but there is contemporary music. The priest does not wear much in the way of vestments though. He wears the collar and what I think is described as a stole.
     
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  10. Rexlion

    Rexlion Well-Known Member

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    This is all interesting info. Stalwart, thanks for the comparison between UK and US, I had no idea of the differences.

    Our parish had been (pre-Covid) holding two services, one with no music and one with mostly traditional hymns. Our priest wears the cassock and stole, and sometimes a chasuble (not often as they keep him too warm). The chasuble he wears for Easter looks splendid; it's white with (what appears to be) gold filigree around the hems. We don't ring bells or burn incense, btw, but I think I'll ask the rector if he's ever considered using some incense on Easter; to my mind it would make the celebration of Christ's resurrection stand out more from the rest of the year if the initial procession included a censer.
     
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  11. Stalwart

    Stalwart Well-Known Member Anglican

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    And I just want to point out, to anyone reading this, that you're easily one of the most evangelical-leaning here among us. That's how helpful these labels are any longer (which isn't a whole lot, as I say, in our American context).


    That's probably the one cataclysm-level division still present in ACNA. We have to get this resolved.
     
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  12. bwallac2335

    bwallac2335 Well-Known Member

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    Yep and it is going to be a doozy. I think the biggest obstacle is the North East.
     
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