Anglican Church in America

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Anglican Church in America
Anglican Church in America.svg
Coat of arms of the Anglican Church in America
Classification Anglo-Catholic
Orientation Anglican
Polity Episcopal
LeaderJuan Garcia
Associations TAC
FACA
APA
Region United States
Headquarters Belchertown, MA
Founder Louis Falk
Origin1991
Merger of American Episcopal Church and approximately 1/3 of the parishes of the Anglican Catholic Church
Separations Anglican Province of America American Anglican Church
Congregationsc. 65
Members5,200
Official website www.anglicanchurchinamerica.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Anglican Church in America (ACA) is a Continuing Anglican church body and the United States branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). The ACA, which is separate from the Episcopal Church, is not a member of the Anglican Communion. It comprises five dioceses and around 5,200 members.

Contents

History

ACA Cathedral of St. John, Quincy, Illinois NewStJohnQuincy.jpg
ACA Cathedral of St. John, Quincy, Illinois

The Anglican Church in America was created in 1991 following extensive negotiations between the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) and the American Episcopal Church (AEC). [1] The effort was aimed at overcoming disunity in the Continuing Anglican movement. This was only partially successful. Most ACC parishes declined to enter the new ACA, resulting in a continuing existence for the ACC, while the remainder of its parishes and some of its bishops joined the AEC in forming the new church. In 1995, some parishes which had formerly been part of the AEC, primarily in the eastern states and the Pacific Northwest, withdrew from the ACA and formed the Anglican Province of America under the leadership of Bishop Walter Grundorf.

The Traditional Anglican Communion had been seeking unity with the Roman Catholic Church while still retaining aspects of its Anglican heritage. [2] In 2007, in Portsmouth, England, all TAC bishops present accepted the ministry of the Bishop of Rome and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and requested a means of establishing full communion. The petition was signed on the altar. [3] The Vatican has a record of making some accommodations for Anglicans. In 1980, the Pastoral Provision was issued which allowed the creation of the Anglican Use and the establishment of Anglican Use parishes within dioceses of the United States. [4] These parishes were initially composed of former members of the Episcopal Church. [4]

The Vatican answered the requests of various Anglican groups for full communion by issuing the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus , thus opening the possibility of corporate reunion with Rome for some Anglicans. On March 3, 2010, in Orlando, Florida, the eight members of the House of Bishops of the ACA voted unanimously to accept the Pope's proposal by formally petitioning the Vatican for a personal ordinariate in the United States. [5] [6] The ACA petition to establish an ordinariate in the United States urged it be established "as soon as possible" and indicated that they were establishing an interim governing council. [7]

In September 2010, however, the bishop of the ACA Diocese of the West, Daren K. Williams, announced that the bishops were divided on the matter and that parishes had left the church since the earlier news broke that union with the Roman Catholic Church was anticipated by the bishops. He also stated that talks between the ACA and the Anglican Province of America concerning a possible intercommunion agreement between the two were planned. [8] That agreement was finalized in September, 2011. As of 2016, a reconciliation committee with bishops and priests from the ACA and the APA, under the leadership of Bishop George Langberg, is working on ways to unite the two churches.

On February 5, 2011, the chancellor of the Anglican Church in America issued a statement on behalf of the bishops of the ACA announcing that the church would remain a Continuing Anglican church. The statement also reported that one diocesan bishop who favored acceptance of the Pope's proposal had submitted his resignation and that approximately fifteen parishes were expected to leave the ACA with him. [9]

Brian R. Marsh is president of the ACA House of Bishops and George Langberg is vice-president. [10] [11]

Organization

The ACA consists of five dioceses:

Related Research Articles

Personal prelature is a canonical structure of the Catholic Church which comprises a prelate, clergy and laity who undertake specific pastoral activities. The first personal prelature is Opus Dei. Personal prelatures, similar to dioceses and military ordinariates, are under the governance of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops. Since 4 August 2022, personal prelatures have instead been governed under the Dicastery for the Clergy. These three types of ecclesiastical structures are composed of lay people served by their own secular clergy and prelate. Unlike dioceses, which cover territories, personal prelatures—like military ordinariates—take charge of persons as regards some objectives regardless of where they live.

The Continuing Anglican movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Use</span> Roman Rite liturgical use of former Anglicans in the Catholic Church

The Anglican Use, also known as Divine Worship, is a use of the Roman Rite celebrated by the personal ordinariates, originally created for former Anglicans who converted to Catholicism while wishing to maintain "aspects of the Anglican patrimony that are of particular value" and includes former Methodist converts to Catholicism who wish to retain aspects of Anglican and Methodist “heritage, liturgy, and tradition. Its most common occurrence is within parishes of the personal ordinariates which were erected in 2009. Upon the promulgation of Divine Worship: The Missal, and the term "Anglican Use" was replaced by "Divine Worship" in the liturgical books and complementary norms, though "Anglican Use" is still used to describe these liturgies as they existed from the papacy of John Paul II to present.

<i>Book of Divine Worship</i> Adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer for Roman Catholic use

The Book of Divine Worship (BDW) is an adaptation of the American Book of Common Prayer (BCP) by the Catholic Church. It was used primarily by former members of the Episcopal Church within Anglican Use parishes of the Pastoral Provision and the Personal Ordinariates. It has been replaced by a new book to be used worldwide, titled Divine Worship: The Missal.

The Pastoral Provision is a set of practices and norms in the Catholic Church in the United States, by which bishops are authorized to provide spiritual care for Catholics converting from the Anglican tradition, by establishing parishes for them and ordaining priests from among them. The provision provides a way for individuals to become priests in territorial dioceses, even after Pope Benedict XVI's Anglicanorum Coetibus proclamation established the Personal Ordinariates, a non-diocesan mechanism for former Anglicans to join the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Catholic Church of Canada</span>

The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) is a Continuing Anglican church that was founded in 1979 by traditional Anglicans who had separated from the Anglican Church of Canada. The ACCC has fifteen parishes and missions; with two bishops and 22 clergy.

The Traditional Anglican Church (TAC), formerly the Traditional Anglican Communion, is an international church consisting of national provinces in the continuing Anglican movement, independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The TAC upholds the theological doctrines of the Affirmation of St. Louis. Each of the respective jurisdictions utilizes a traditional Book of Common Prayer deemed to be free of theological deviation. Most parishioners of these churches would be described as being traditional Prayer Book Anglicans in their theology and liturgical practice. Some Anglo-Catholic parishes use the Anglican Missal in their liturgies. The TAC is governed by a college of bishops from across the church and headed by an elected primate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin liturgical rites</span> Category of Catholic rites of public worship

Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, is a large family of liturgical rites and uses of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once dominated. Its language is now known as Ecclesiastical Latin. The most used rite is the Roman Rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Province of America</span> American Continuing Anglican denomination

The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

John Anthony Hepworth was an Australian bishop. He was the ordinary of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the archbishop and primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, an international body of continuing Anglican churches, from 2003 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustana Catholic Church</span>

The Augustana Catholic Church (ACC), formerly the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC) and the Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran (ECCL), was an American church in the Lutheran Evangelical Catholic tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Catholic Church in Australia</span>

The Anglican Catholic Church in Australia (ACCA) is the regional jurisdiction of the Traditional Anglican Church for Australia. The ACCA is not affiliated with the Missionary Diocese of Australia & New Zealand of the Anglican Catholic Church.

A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate, is an ordinariate, a canonical structure within the Catholic Church established in order to enable "groups of Anglicans" and Methodists to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter</span> Diocese-like institution of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or personal ordinariate of the Catholic Church for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in their services. The ordinariate was established by the Vatican in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross</span> Catholic jurisdiction structure

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham (Houston)</span> Church in Texas, United States

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, Texas, is a Catholic church that serves as the cathedral of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.

<i>Divine Worship: The Missal</i> Current Anglican Use Missal of the Catholic Church

Divine Worship: The Missal (DW:TM) is the liturgical book containing the instructions and texts for the celebration of Mass by the former Anglicans within the Catholic Church in the three personal ordinariates of Great Britain, United States and Canada, and Australia. The rite contained in this missal is the Anglican Use, a liturgical use of the Roman Rite Mass with elements of Anglican worship. It was approved for use beginning on the first Sunday of Advent, November 29, 2015.

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Peter Donald Wilkinson is a Canadian Roman Catholic priest. He was formerly a bishop in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, a Continuing Anglican church within the Traditional Anglican Communion. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 2012 and was ordained a Catholic priest and serves within the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.

References

  1. "Anglican Churches | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  2. Pope "wants personal prelature" for ex-Anglicans. The Catholic Herald. "Pope 'wants personal prelature' for ex-Anglicans - Catholic Herald Online". Archived from the original on 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  3. http://www.theanglocatholic.com/2010/01/text-of-the-tac-petition-to-the-holy-see/ [Full text of the TAC petition to the Holy See.]
  4. 1 2 "Home Page". The Pastoral Provision. Office of the Pastoral Provision. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  5. "Judi Online".
  6. Weatherbe, Steve (March 14, 2010). "Anglo-Catholic Bishops Vote for Rome". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-08. The bishops voted to have the ACA become part of the Roman Catholic Church along with 3,000 fellow communicants in 120 parishes in four dioceses across the country. See also: Anglicanorum Coetibus#Anglican Church in America.
  7. "Text of Joint ACA/Anglican Use Petition for USA Ordinariate" . Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  8. "Article redirect | VirtueOnline – the Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism".
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2014-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. George D. Langberg, Anglican bishop of the Diocese of the Northeast and former Vice-President of the church's House of Bishops
  11. Traycik, Auburn. "Traditional Anglicans Mourn Episcopal Church, Will Hold Requiem Mass" . Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  12. "Home | Diocese of the Northeast, Anglican Church in America". Diocese of the North. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  13. "ABOUT US". deus-aca. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  14. "Our Parishes – Diocese of Missouri Valley | Catholic Faith in the Anglican Tradition" . Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  15. West, The Diocese of the. "The Diocese of the West". The Diocese of the West. Retrieved 2023-05-04.