Anglicanism | reverendorogerio

Anglicanism

Christianity arrived in England in the 3rd century. At that time the territory was under a process of Roman colonization. The legionaries, merchants, soldiers, and administrators brought their laws, customs, and religion to the colony. Among them were probably those who had embraced the Christian faith and secretly prayed to God, while their companions paid honor to the empire, the emperor, and the gods of the mystery religions. We are here in the realm of conjecture. History left no documents that could prove the veracity of the facts.

For this reason, in places marked by the silence of history, we find legends and traditions that speak of missionary journeys that would have been made to that island by the apostles Paul and Philip and by Joseph of Arimathea. The first historical reference to the existence of Christians in Great Britain was recorded by Tertullian who, in 208, speaks of regions of the island that had converted to Christianity. Little is known about these Christians during the second century. What is certain is that, in 314, three English bishops participated in the Council of Arles, in southern France. This fact shows that there was already an organized church on the large island. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Romans abandoned Britain, allowing the Anglo-Saxons to invade, who destroyed the churches and reduced the practice of the Christian faith for almost 150 years. In 597, Pope Gregory sent a delegation of 40 monks, led by Augustine, to convert the Britons. The missionary work begun by Augustine was consolidated by a second Roman mission led by Theodore of Tarsus. At the end of the 10th century, the Danes invaded Great Britain and destroyed almost everything, leaving the impression that God had disappeared from the world. In 1016, there was a second Norman invasion, but with the difference that the king was Christian and therefore the church was protected. Twelve centuries later, the English church found it necessary to resist the former papal meddling, severing its relations with Rome.

Principles

Anglican churches defend and proclaim the Catholic and Apostolic faith in the Scriptures as interpreted in the light of tradition, scholarship, and reason. In obedience to the teachings of Jesus, churches are commissioned to proclaim the good news of the Gospel to all creation. Faith, order, and practice are expressed in the Book of Common Prayer, in the ordinals of the 16th and 17th centuries, and more briefly in the Lambeth Quadrangle, approved by the Lambeth Conference of 1888. This document defined as essential elements of faith and order for the pursuit of Christian unity:

1. Holy Bible – We believe that the Holy Scriptures contain all the revelation necessary for humanity to achieve full life. All of our doctrine and liturgy are based on the Holy Bible.

2. The Apostolic and Nicene Creeds – Written at the time of the undivided church, they constitute the normative confession of the Catholic faith that we still preserve today.

3. The Sacraments – The Anglican Church is a sacramental church. We profess Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist as legitimate sacraments directly ordained by Christ and instruments of God's saving grace. There are other minor sacraments, not ordered by Jesus, but recognized by the church as having a sacramental character. They are Confirmation, Penance, Ministerial Orders, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick.

4. Historical episcopate – We profess that the authority transmitted by Christ to the apostles and these to their successors (including our bishops) is, at the same time, a guarantee and expression of the catholicity and apostolicity of the Church.

The central point of worship is the Holy Eucharist, which is also called Holy Communion, Holy Supper, the Lord's Supper, or Holy Mass. In offering prayer and praise, the life, death, and resurrection of Christ are remembered through the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the sacrament. Worship is at the heart of Anglicanism.

Our Way of being is

Ecumenism is part of the way of being of Anglicans. They pray and work so that other churches seek unity in love and obedience to God as one body through the action and power of the Holy Spirit. Anglicans believe that the work of the church is to preach the gospel of reconciliation to the entire universe and not just to the part that considers itself Christian.

The Anglican Church seeks to balance Catholic tradition with the beneficial influences of the Protestant Reformation. Therefore, it is essentially Catholic and also Reformed. The liturgy preserves the oldest structure of Christian worship, with great emphasis on the proclamation of the Word of God. There is great value in the Liturgy, with beliefs and doctrines being defined in the liturgical manual itself (the Book of Common Prayer).

The LOC guides the different cultic celebrations not according to an individual opinion, but the consensus of the Church as a whole. It is the most important book after the Bible. His doctrine establishes what he believes to be true moral and Christian values. In its long history, pastoral care and individual freedom do not automatically dictate that its adherents have to do this or that, but that for their own good, they must follow the teachings of the church and decide for themselves. It is a church that does not disdain the use of reason and scientific investigation. Its democratic position places it in a privileged position to dialogue ecumenically with other branches of Christianity.

Thomas Cranmer - 16th-century English Archbishop and Reformer responsible for compiling the Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

For the glorification of God, in addition to the LOC, the Church also gives great value to sacred art, the altar, temple architecture, and everything that can contribute to expressing our faith in God: altar flowers, liturgical colors, candles, incense, music and the atmosphere of reverence before God. The Church dedicates great respect to its Temples, to the point that some people interpret it as a sign of coldness which for us is an expression of reverence for the space dedicated to prayer and worship of God.

Other Rites of a Sacramental Character

A) Confirmation: Given by the bishop, it represents the majority in faith and confers on every confirmed person the dignity of lay ministry and the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. To be confirmed, a person must be baptized, have personally and consciously accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord, and receive appropriate catechetical instruction.

B) Marriage: The Anglican Church celebrates marriage in accordance with the laws of the country and provided that one of the bride and groom is baptized. Divorced people can remarry, subject to the canonical determinations of the Church.

C) Anointing and blessing of Health: Given by the priest through the laying on of hands to everyone who feels physically, mentally, or spiritually down. The priest, if he deems it appropriate, can administer the blessing with oil consecrated by the bishop.

D) Confession and Absolution. Ministered by a priest collectively (during the liturgy) or individually, it assures God's forgiveness to all people who repent of their bad actions and wish to restart a new life. “Those whose sins you forgive will be forgiven” (John 20:23).

E) Ordination: The Church ordains to the sacred ministry people who have received adequate theological preparation to correspond to the dignity of the ministry and who have been tested in their faith through an accurate period of spiritual and pastoral preparation. The orders of deacon, presbyter, and bishop are cumulative, lifelong, and open to single or married men and women.

Símbols

One of the best-known symbols of the Anglican church is the Compass Rose, spread everywhere where there is an Anglican church, demonstrating that its use is becoming increasingly universal. In the center, we see the cross of Saint George, which reminds us of the origins of the Anglicans.

The inscription in Greek was taken from John 8:32 (the truth will set you free) and surrounds the cross and the compass, remembering the expansion of Anglican Christianity throughout the world. The miter above the emblem reminds us of the role of the bishop and the apostolic order as essential elements of the churches that make up the great family of the Anglican Communion. The Compass Rose is a symbol widely used by Anglicans as an identifying sign of the Anglican Communion.

The Celtic cross is a symbol of early Christianity in the British Isles, and today, closely associated with the Anglican faith. The Circle around the cross symbolizes the universality of Christ, which has no beginning or end, according to the book of Revelation: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Rev 22: 13)

The Anglican Communion

“Communion” means "fellowship." The Anglican Communion is the fellowship of Anglican Churches throughout the world. We are Anglicans because our heritage comes to us from the English Church. However, the Anglican Communion is not just for the English and their descendants. People of every race and language make it their spiritual home.

See more here: The Anglican Communion | Being Anglican | Anglican Diocese of Ontario

The Anglican Church of Canada

The Anglican Church of Canada has its roots in the Church of England, which separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Influenced by the Protestant Reformation, the new English church simplified rituals and introduced the Book of Common Prayer (1549), which enabled services in English instead of Latin. At the same time, the church preserved certain traditions, including the early church creeds and the succession of bishops from the line of the apostles.

Because of this history, Anglicanism is sometimes referred to as “Reformed Catholicism.

See more here: Anglican Church of Canada | Being Anglican | Anglican Diocese of Ontario

Conclusion

Our intention in this brief presentation was to give you a very general overview of Anglicanism. For those most interested in the subject, our recommendation is good old-fashioned research. If you have any questions and if I can help, it will be a pleasure, just get in touch.

What we can summarize, and with this we conclude, is that the Anglican Church is quite diverse in its way of being and that basically being Anglican means being part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ, a church that is also Reformed, but which did not emerge in the Reformation in the 16th century as some people think. As I often say, you only need to be Anglican to understand the Anglican Church. I invite you to join us in serving the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.

Fr. Rogério de Assis +

Anglican Priest, Bel, Esp, M.Ed

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