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The '''Anglican Communion''' is a confederation of national churches, each considered independent, yet sharing [[Full Communion]] with one another and the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], who is the spiritual (although not administrative) head of the Communion.  The Anglican Communion maintains the traditional three-fold hierarchy of clergy: Bishops, Priests and Deacons.  In some member churches, women have been admitted to one or more of these orders, whereas some member churches have maintained an all-male clergy.  Beyond the three-fold order, though the administration and leadership of each national church is decided by that particular church.  In the Church of England, for example, the Queen appoints Bishops.  In the Episcopal Church (USA), on the other hand, bishops are elected by diocese and then confirmed by the House of Bishops.
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The '''Anglican Communion''' is a confederation of regional churches, each considered independent, yet sharing [[full communion]] or, in some cases, impaired communion, with one another and the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], who is the spiritual (although not administrative) head of the Communion.  The Anglican Communion maintains the traditional three-fold hierarchy of clergy: Bishops, Priests and Deacons.  In some member churches, women have been admitted to one or more of these orders, whereas some member churches have maintained an all-male clergy.  Beyond the three-fold order the administration and leadership of each regional church is decided by that particular church.  In the Church of England, for example, the Queen appoints Bishops.  In the Episcopal Church (USA), on the other hand, bishops are elected by diocese and then confirmed by the triennial General Convention, or standing committees of advice in the majority of the diocese (depending on when a bishop-elect is chosen by a diocese).
  
Of particular interest to Orthodox inquirers is the current [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] the Most Reverend and Right Honorable Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Wales.  Dr. Williams, an academic, has written two books on the spirituality of [[iconography]] ("The Dwelling of the Light: Praying With Icons of Christ" and "Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin") and did his doctoral thesis on the theology of Orthodox theologian [[Vladimir Lossky]].
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Of particular interest to Orthodox inquirers is the current [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Wales.  Dr. Williams, an academic, has written two books on the spirituality of [[iconography]] (''The Dwelling of the Light: Praying With Icons of Christ'' and ''Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin'') and did his doctoral thesis on the theology of Orthodox theologian [[Vladimir Lossky]].
  
Other major thinkers to come out of the Anglican Communion have been reformers John and Charles Wesley, convert to [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] Cardinal John Henry Newman, social activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and authors Dorothy Sayers and [[C. S. Lewis]].
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Other major thinkers to come out of the Anglican Communion have been reformers and founders of the Methodist Church John and Charles Wesley, convert to [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] Cardinal John Henry Newman, social activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and authors Dorothy Sayers and [[C. S. Lewis]].
  
==History==
 
  
==Member Churches==
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==Relationship with Orthodox Christians==
 
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===Anglican/Orthodox Organizations===
The national churches below are all self-governing members of the Anglican CommunionThere are Anglicans in other countries, however.  In these cases, the parishes are under the jurisdiction of one of the national churches.  The "Primates" (head bishops) of each national church meet periodically to discuss matters of faith and discipline.  In addition, every 10 years (1988, 1998, etc.) the Anglican bishops from around the world are gathered to Lambeth Palace (home of the Archbishop of Canterbury) for the "Lambeth Conference."  The decisions of the Lambeth Conference are seen as advisory, not binding, on the member churches.
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Largely through the initiative and work of Oxford Movement figure Father John Mason Neale, in 1863 there was formed the '''Anglican and Eastern Churches Association'''This organization publishes a journal (''Eastern Churches News Letter'')and encourages interaction of Anglican and Orthodox Christians, particularly through encouraging pilgrimages.  In 1928 an organization with similar goals, the '''[[Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius]]''' was formed and also publishes a journal (''Sobornost'').  In the 1960s an international commission of Orthodox and Anglican clergy and theologians entitled the Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission was formed and has issued two historic statements which will be addressed below.
 
 
''(This list is not exhaustive)''
 
 
 
*The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
 
*The Anglican Church of Australia
 
*A Igreja Episcopal do Brasil
 
*The Church of the Province of Burundi
 
*The Anglican Church of Canada
 
*The Episcopal Church of Cuba
 
*The Church of England
 
*Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui
 
*The Church of North India
 
*The Church of South India
 
*The Church of Ireland
 
*Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Holy Catholic Church in Japan)
 
*The Anglican Church of Kenya
 
*The Anglican Church of Korea
 
*La Iglesia Anglicana de México
 
*The Church of the Province of Myanmar
 
*The Church of the Province of Nigeria
 
*The Church of Pakistan
 
*The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
 
*The Philippine Episcopal Church
 
*The Lusitanian Church of Portugal
 
*The Province of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda
 
*The Scottish Episcopal Church
 
*The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church
 
*The Church of Sri Lanka
 
*The Episcopal Church of the Sudan
 
*The Church of the Province of Tanzania
 
*The Church of the Province of Uganda
 
*The Episcopal Church in the United States of America
 
*The Church in Wales
 
  
==Anglican Schisms==
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===Agreed statements===
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In the 1960s, largely through the ecumenical work of Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey and Patriarch [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople]], both the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Churches established commissions to consider Anglican-Orthodox relations.  Between 1973 and 1976 an "Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission" met which led to the '''Moscow Agreed Statement''' which dealt with "the Knowledge of God, the Inspiration and Authority of Holy Scripture, Scripture and Tradition, the Authority of the Councils, the ''Filioque'' Clause, the Church as the Eucharistic Community, and the Invocation of the [[Holy Spirit]] in the Eucharist."
  
Several times throughout the history of Anglicanism, there have been movements which led to schismThe various resulting bodies have maintained their Anglican heritage to differing degrees.  Among these groups are the various Methodist churches, the Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Church in America.
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In 1984 the Commission again produced a joint doctrinal work entitled '''Dublin Agreed Statement'''This one dealt with the Mystery of the Church, the Holy Trinity and worship and tradition.
  
==Movements Within Anglicanism==
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Another report was released by the Commission in 2006, including all of the interim agreements since 1989.  It is entitled '''The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement'''. 
  
===The Methodist Movement===
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At the time of the first agreed statement, the hope of the Commission had been for the eventual reunion of the Anglican and Orthodox Churches.  However, in between the two, a major development in Anglicanism changed the direction of the Commission.  In 1978 both the [[Episcopal Church U.S.A.]] and the Lambeth Conference put forth positions accepting the ordination of women.  This drastically changed the understanding of the Commission.  Following the Lambeth Conference in 1978, it had now come to be seen, in the words of co-chairman Archbishop Athanagoras, "simply as an academic and informative exercise, and no longer as an ecclesial endeavour aiming at the union of the two churches."
  
===The Oxford Movement===
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As there is much theological variation within Anglicanism, Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]] has explained rightly when he writes, "The Orthodox Church, however deep its longing for reunion, cannot enter into closer relations with the Anglican communion until Anglicans themselves are clearer about their own beliefs" (Ware, p. 321).
 
 
==Relationship with Orthodox Christians==
 
  
==Current Issues Within Anglicanism==
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==Anglican-Orthodox Resources==
 +
The following resources may be of interest to the Orthodox Christian who wants to know more about Anglicanism, or the Anglican who wants to know more about Orthodoxy.
  
==External Links==
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* ''Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue: The Dublin Agreed Statement 1984'' (ISBN 0881410470)
 +
* ''The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement 2006'' (ISBN 6000000061)
 +
* Billerbeck, Franklin.  ''Anglican-Orthodox Pilgrimage'' (ISBN 0962271357)
 +
* Pinnington, Judith.  ''Anglicans and Orthodox: Unity and Subversion (1559-1725)''. Forward by Rowan Williams.  (ISBN 0852445776)
 +
* ''St. Andrew Service Book''. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, 1996.  (This is the service book for the [[Western Rite]] Vicarate, which includes the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow|Liturgy of St. Tikhon]] and Matins and Vespers, which are based upon the old Anglican liturgies)
 +
* Williams, Rowan.  ''The Dwelling of the Light: Praying With Icons of Christ'' (ISBN 0802827780)
 +
* Williams, Rowan.  ''Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin'' (ISBN 1580511244)
  
http://www.anglicancommunion.org <br>
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==Sources==
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org <br>
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*''Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue: The Dublin Agreed Statement 1984''.  Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1985.
http://www.anglicansonline.org <br>
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*Bede. ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People.'' New York: Penguin, 1990.
 +
*Bernadin, J.B. ''An Introduction to the Episcopal Church'' (Rev. Ed.). Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, 1983.  
 +
*''The Book of Common Prayer''. New York: Church Hymnal Corporation, 1979.
 +
*''Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2003''.  New York: Church Hymnal Corporation, 1993.
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*Ware, Timothy. ''The Orthodox Church'' (New Edition). New York: Penguin, 1997.
  
{{stub}}
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==External links==
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* [http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ The Anglican Communion Secretariat]
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* [http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ The Episcopal Church USA]
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* [http://www.anglicansonline.org/ Anglicans Online]
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* [http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/ Official Website of the Archbishop of Canterbury]
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* [http://www.sobornost.org/ The Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius]
 +
* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/pc/orthodoxy/index.html Project Canterbury: Writings on Anglicanism & Orthodoxy]
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* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/pc/nonjurors/langford1.html The Non-Jurors and the Eastern Orthodoxy] by the Rev. H. W. Langford
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* [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/inq_anglican.aspx The Orthodox Christian Information Center: Page for Anglican Inquirers into Orthodoxy]
 +
* [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/hawaweeny.aspx Pastoral Direction and Instruction on Orthodox/Episcopal Relations and Ministrations in America (1912)] by St. [[Raphael of Brooklyn]]
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* [http://www.episcopalchurch.org/6947_9598_ENG_HTM.htm Statement on the Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue from the Episcopal Church Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations]
  
 
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]
 
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Revision as of 20:12, August 11, 2008

The Anglican Communion is a confederation of regional churches, each considered independent, yet sharing full communion or, in some cases, impaired communion, with one another and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the spiritual (although not administrative) head of the Communion. The Anglican Communion maintains the traditional three-fold hierarchy of clergy: Bishops, Priests and Deacons. In some member churches, women have been admitted to one or more of these orders, whereas some member churches have maintained an all-male clergy. Beyond the three-fold order the administration and leadership of each regional church is decided by that particular church. In the Church of England, for example, the Queen appoints Bishops. In the Episcopal Church (USA), on the other hand, bishops are elected by diocese and then confirmed by the triennial General Convention, or standing committees of advice in the majority of the diocese (depending on when a bishop-elect is chosen by a diocese).

Of particular interest to Orthodox inquirers is the current Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Wales. Dr. Williams, an academic, has written two books on the spirituality of iconography (The Dwelling of the Light: Praying With Icons of Christ and Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin) and did his doctoral thesis on the theology of Orthodox theologian Vladimir Lossky.

Other major thinkers to come out of the Anglican Communion have been reformers and founders of the Methodist Church John and Charles Wesley, convert to Roman Catholicism Cardinal John Henry Newman, social activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and authors Dorothy Sayers and C. S. Lewis.


Relationship with Orthodox Christians

Anglican/Orthodox Organizations

Largely through the initiative and work of Oxford Movement figure Father John Mason Neale, in 1863 there was formed the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association. This organization publishes a journal (Eastern Churches News Letter)and encourages interaction of Anglican and Orthodox Christians, particularly through encouraging pilgrimages. In 1928 an organization with similar goals, the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius was formed and also publishes a journal (Sobornost). In the 1960s an international commission of Orthodox and Anglican clergy and theologians entitled the Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission was formed and has issued two historic statements which will be addressed below.

Agreed statements

In the 1960s, largely through the ecumenical work of Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey and Patriarch Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople, both the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Churches established commissions to consider Anglican-Orthodox relations. Between 1973 and 1976 an "Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission" met which led to the Moscow Agreed Statement which dealt with "the Knowledge of God, the Inspiration and Authority of Holy Scripture, Scripture and Tradition, the Authority of the Councils, the Filioque Clause, the Church as the Eucharistic Community, and the Invocation of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist."

In 1984 the Commission again produced a joint doctrinal work entitled Dublin Agreed Statement. This one dealt with the Mystery of the Church, the Holy Trinity and worship and tradition.

Another report was released by the Commission in 2006, including all of the interim agreements since 1989. It is entitled The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement.

At the time of the first agreed statement, the hope of the Commission had been for the eventual reunion of the Anglican and Orthodox Churches. However, in between the two, a major development in Anglicanism changed the direction of the Commission. In 1978 both the Episcopal Church U.S.A. and the Lambeth Conference put forth positions accepting the ordination of women. This drastically changed the understanding of the Commission. Following the Lambeth Conference in 1978, it had now come to be seen, in the words of co-chairman Archbishop Athanagoras, "simply as an academic and informative exercise, and no longer as an ecclesial endeavour aiming at the union of the two churches."

As there is much theological variation within Anglicanism, Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia has explained rightly when he writes, "The Orthodox Church, however deep its longing for reunion, cannot enter into closer relations with the Anglican communion until Anglicans themselves are clearer about their own beliefs" (Ware, p. 321).

Anglican-Orthodox Resources

The following resources may be of interest to the Orthodox Christian who wants to know more about Anglicanism, or the Anglican who wants to know more about Orthodoxy.

  • Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue: The Dublin Agreed Statement 1984 (ISBN 0881410470)
  • The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement 2006 (ISBN 6000000061)
  • Billerbeck, Franklin. Anglican-Orthodox Pilgrimage (ISBN 0962271357)
  • Pinnington, Judith. Anglicans and Orthodox: Unity and Subversion (1559-1725). Forward by Rowan Williams. (ISBN 0852445776)
  • St. Andrew Service Book. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, 1996. (This is the service book for the Western Rite Vicarate, which includes the Liturgy of St. Tikhon and Matins and Vespers, which are based upon the old Anglican liturgies)
  • Williams, Rowan. The Dwelling of the Light: Praying With Icons of Christ (ISBN 0802827780)
  • Williams, Rowan. Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin (ISBN 1580511244)

Sources

  • Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue: The Dublin Agreed Statement 1984. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1985.
  • Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English People. New York: Penguin, 1990.
  • Bernadin, J.B. An Introduction to the Episcopal Church (Rev. Ed.). Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, 1983.
  • The Book of Common Prayer. New York: Church Hymnal Corporation, 1979.
  • Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2003. New York: Church Hymnal Corporation, 1993.
  • Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church (New Edition). New York: Penguin, 1997.

External links