Christian Denominations: Anglicanism


Figure 1.--.

The Anglican Church was founded by King Henry VIII. Henry at first was a devout follower and supporter of the Catholic Church and papacy in the early phase of the Reformation. This changed when Hernry sought to divorce his wife, the Spanish Princess Catherine, so he could marry the beautiful and young Anne Boleyn. Hardly the most inspiring creation for what was to become a great Church. There were other issues, including finances. Henry became concerned about English Church wealth being sent to Rome. The papacy supported Spain which with its large fleet was a threat to England. (This threat would materialize during the reign of Henry's daughter Elizabeth with the Spanish Armada.) Also the rich monasteries scattered throughout England were tempting targets. The Church of England which emerged was the first Church of what is today known as the Anglican Communion. Other national churches such as the Church of Scotland belong to the Calvinist trafition. The Anglican Church in America is known as the Episcopal Church. The term 'episcopal' relates to the system of government by bishops (episcopal system). Anglican churches exist in all of the former British colonies. The head of the Anglican Communion is the Archbishop of Canterbury, although his authority is in no way comparable to the pope. The Anglican Church with its priests and formal ritual is the Protestant denomination closest to that of the Roman Catholic Church. And Christians seeking unity have discussed reunion. In recent years the Anglican church has entered into a great debate over the role of women. Many of the churches in Britain's former colonies are more conservative than the more liberal English church.

English Foundation

The Anglican Church was founded by King Henry VIII. Henry at first was a devout follower and supporter of the Catholic Church and papacy in the early phase of the Reformation. This changed wshen he sought to divorce his wife, the Spanish Princess Catherine, so he could marry the beautiful and young Anne Boleyn. Hardly the most inspiring creation for what was to become a great Church. There were other issues, including finances. Henry became concerned about English Church wealth being sent to Rome. The papacy supported Spain which with its large fleet was a threat to England. (This threat would materialize during the reign of Henry's daughter Elizabeth with the Spanish Armada.) Also the rich monasteries scattered throughout England were tempting targets.

National Churches

The Church of England which emerged was the first Church of what is today known as the Anglican Communion. It was for many years the center of the world-wide Anglican community. Other national churches such as the Church of Scotland belong to the Calvinist tradition. The Anglican Church in America is known as the Episcopal Church. The term 'episcopal' relates to the system of government by bishops (episcopal system). The American church has become very important. A factor here is not only the size and wealth of the United States, but the strength of religion in America and the decline of religious faith in England. Anglican churches exist in all of the former British colonies.

Anglican Community

The head of the Anglican Communion is the Archbishop of Canterbury, although his authority is in no way comparable to that of the pope in the Roman Catholic Church.

Theological Connections with Catholocism

The Anglican Church with its priests and formal ritual is the Protestant denomination closest to that of the Roman Catholic Church. Several features of Anglicanism align it traditionally with Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox churches--elements such as the 1) threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, 2) the apostolic succession, the 3) seven sacraments (two major and five minor), 4) the three creeds (Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian), and 5) the liturgical calandar. In addition, the Book of Common Prayer is in mazny ways in the Catholic tradition. Christians seeking unity have discussed reunion and these features provide considerable common ground for eventual union..

Threefold ministry

Anglicans share the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons with Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. there are of course differences, especially priestly marriage.

Apostolic succession

Apostolic Succession means the unbroken succession of bishops from St. Peter, the first bishop of Rome, to all other bishops in an unbroken chain by the laying on of hands. When bishops are consecrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches, one or more bishops must lay hands on the ordinand, thus physically (i.e., sacramentally) transferring authority to him from Chirst through St. Peter and by the power of the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity). Thus in churches which claim the tradition of Apostolic Succession, bishops derive their ecclesiastical authority through an uninterrupted succession of bishops from Peter the Apostle and first bishop of the church to the present day. The consecration of a bishop in this tradition is a sacramental act parallel to the ordination of a priest under one of the seven sacraments of the Church, namely ordination. Anglicans claim apostolic succession because the English bishops who consecrated the first bishops after Henry VIII had become officially head of the Church of England had previously been Roman Catholic bishops and had had hands laid upon them under the old dispensation from Rome. The Roman Catholic church does not deny that this happened but has thus far refused officially to acknowledge the legitimacy of Anglican clerical orders because of the questionable intentions (in their view) of the English bishops who had once obeyed papal authority but had later transferred their ecclesiastical allegiance to the king.

The sacraments

The sacraments are an important element of Christian faith. Therecare, however, considerble differences among Christians on the number and nature of the sacraments. The Anglicans Catholics, and Orthodox Christians are in general agreement that there are seven sacraments (two major and five minor). There are, however, major differences with Protestant denominations. This is because Jesus in the Gospels does not clearly spell outvthe sacraments. Rather they have been developed by the Church based on interoretations of what Jesus preached.

Creeds

There are three important ancient creeds: Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian, The Apostles Creed is used in the daily offices and in Matins and Evensong. The Nicene Creed is recited at Mass. The Athanasian Creed is rarely used in services but printed with the catechism in the back of the book for reference purposes. The Athanasian Creed spells out in greater detail the specific theological implications of the Apostles and Nicene creeds. Apart from Lutherans, most Protestants do not accept all three of the ancient creeds--or at least do not use them in worship. Another "Catholic" feature of Anglicanism is a complex calendar which keeps the liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) and changes the color of the vestments and hangings accordingly. Also there is the observance of Holy Days that fall on week days such as Ash Wednesday (when ashes are imposed on the forehaeads of worshippers, the beginning of Lent), Epiphany (Jan. 6, commemorating the visit of the Magi and referred to as the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles), the Transfiguration (Christ on the mountain top), Good Friday (the Crucifixion), Candlemas (Feb. 2--the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple), Ascension Day (always a Thursday--40 days after Easter), the Annunciation (9 months before Christmas) etc. The Anglican Church also retains specific holy days dedicated to saints. The eleven faithful apostles (exluding Judas Iscariot) all have their specific days as does St. Michael the Archangel. After the Reformation, specifically Anglican figures were added to the calendar such as the poets George Herbert and John Donne. Archbishops Cranmer and Laud, both of them martyred, have days dedicated to them, and in England, January 30th is celebrated as the Feast of the Decollation of Blessed Charles, King and Martyr (Charles I, beheaded when Cromwell was in power, in 1649). The Church of England was briefly abolished (at least the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons) during the Interregnum, but was restored in 1660 when Charles's son, Charles II, was recalled to the throne and his father's execution became a holy day in the established calendar. Martin Luther King has been added to the calendar as a holy day in the American branch of Anglicanism, the Episcopal Church.

Liturgical calendar

The Anglican liturgical calendar with its specific seasons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, etc.) is similar to that of the Catholic church. The Anglican Church has the same color coding for vestments as the Roman Catholic Church--violet or blue for Advent, white or gold for Christmas and Easter, green for Epiphany, violet for Lent, red for martyrs' days, for Holy Week (the Passion), and for Pentecost (flame of the Holy Spirit)--the birthday of the Church, etc.. A very minor exception is that blue may be used instead of violet for Advent although violet is also correct.

Saints' Days

Another issue is Saints' Days and special holy days that don't fall on a Sunday (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Ascension Thursday, for instance) and post-Reformation commemorations in the Anglican calendar (i.e., for great Anglican figures such as Archbishops Cranmer and Laud, poets George Herbert and John Donne, and many others (including--in the American calendar only--Martin Luther King, also Absolom Jones, the first black priest ordained in 1804.

Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer was a new book of worship, mostly written and assembled by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury under Edward VI. And it introduced worship in English for the first time in England, since the services of the Roman Church had been in Latin. The Book of Common Prayer however derives in important ways from the Roman Catholic services of the Middle Ages (particularly from what is known as the Sarum use, i.e., liturgical traditions at Salisbury Cathedral). The Book of Common Prayer shares important features with Roman Catholicism because the service of Holy Communion and the offices, Matins and Evensong, are basically adaptations of Roman Catholic services. However, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox liturgies are quite different in major ways from those in the Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer changed emphases, omitted much, and introduced new material into his highly influential new service book, so that the Book of Common Prayer is a distinctly English book. Together with the King James Bible (1611), it has profoundly influenced English literature and English-speaking culture. Shakespeare, for instance, reflects the Prayer Book in many plays, echoing its phrases and referring to familiar elements within it.

Modern Issues

In recent years the Anglican church has entered into a great debate over the role of women. The issue of sexuality has also becone a major issue. Anglicans differ over the acceptance of openly gay persons in the priesthood and the episcopate. Both the role of women and sexuality are major (but related) issues in the Anglican Communion these days. Anglican churches in England, The United States, Canada, Scotland, and to some extent New Zealand have taken "liberal positions" on these issues. Many of the churches in Britain's former colonies (especially African countries) are more conservative than the more liberal English church. while some of the African countries (especially Nigeria and Uganda) have voiced extremely conservative and condemnatory positions on these matters. This probably reflects deeply seated traditional African values concerning male roles. Most of the COE and their extentions in the Anglican Church of Canada and the the Episcopal Church in the United States can be considered 'liberal' in their attitude toward women and to sexual minorities. But there remain pockets of conservatism on these issues in some sectors of all these churches. Of course liberal attitudes on social matters (race, gender, sexual orientation equality) doesn't always translate into theological or liturgical liberalism. Many Episcopalians are extremely conservative when it comes to worship traditions and beliefs while voting liberal on political issues.






HBC





Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Chistian denominations page]
[Return to the Main Christianity page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]





Created: 11:29 PM 1/23/2011
Last updated: 8:00 AM 1/31/2011