Basically what the title says, I'd like some Anglican friends that I could talk to. As crazy as this might sound I don't actually know a lot of them irl, and the ones I might know I'm not particularly close to them/don't have the opportunity to do so right now. I'm still learning about Anglicanism but the more I learn is the more I'm really falling in love with it, and I'm pretty sure I'll eventually join this church. So yea, I know this is a long shot but anyone willing to talk to me, teach me things and just be a friend please don't hesitate to reply or dm me 😊🙏🏾❤️

Are the continuing Anglican churches still in communion with Canterbury? Don’t most of them answer to an African bishop who himself answers to Canterbury? I believe that in England, the C of E is not as liberal as the Episcopal Church because the archbishop is desperately trying to hold the whole thing together. He doesn’t want to lose people on the left, but there’s more danger of losing people on the right woth Amglicans in Africa, which is where the large majority of all Anglicans live.

How does confession with a priest happen in Anglican churches please? If the person has never been to confession before..

And could anyone recommend verses in the Bible speaking about confession please Links, anything

Thankyou

Today the Church of England commemorates Martin Luther.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_Day

Video from National Geographic

https://youtu.be/FhGGjRjvq7w

Hello everyone! I've tried to find this on the search, but I haven't found anything about it. I know someone who really REALLY loves Anglicanism and is very educated in theology, Church history, the Reformers, etc. He also prays with the Book of Common Prayer and Anglican rosaries. What confuses me is that, he has no Anglican parishes around him at all, so he has to go to a Lutheran church because it's the next best option in his area but he still calls himself Anglican.

I've heard that one has to actually be a member on paper of a denomination to be allowed to call themselves that denomination, and that if someone calls themselves the label of a denomination, they're a "LARPer" and not really part of it because belonging to a denomination is about membership regardless of personal beliefs; so my friend would have to call himself Lutheran even though his actual beliefs don't align with it fully. Who is correct? Thank you so much for your time!

I feel like everyone has heard the phrase “Sunday Best” at some point, but I think that the celebration of the Eucharist on Wednesday Night is still significant though. I was thinking about this because I’m in college and just returned from being baptized at my home parish this Sunday, and this will be my first time taking the Eucharist at my college parish. Is it appropriate to wear what you would usually wear on Sundays? Or is it more normal to wear something less formal?

I've been thinking about Christian veiling for quite some time now, and I'm considering doing it during Lent next year as I still have more research to do on it. I'm looking for advice from anyone who is veiling as an Anglican. I do know it's more common in Orthodox and Catholic churches, and the Anglican women I've met that veil are all nuns, which is a beautiful dedication of faith that I'm not called for and do not want to get mistaken for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Peace be with you all 🙏.

Hello all! I don’t attend an Anglican congregation but do feel drawn to the liturgical aspects of the faith that have been lost. I recently picked up a cop of the Common Book of Worship, the one I have printed in 2000! I was wondering how is best to use it in my own time?

It’s quite a chunky book and I’m not entirely sure how best to use it. I already have a Bible reading rhythm so won’t need the book for that, but looking more for prayers and liturgy. I’ve found a page of ‘other prayers’ that seem the most appropriate as the rest seem to be guiding the user on how to lead a service.

Any input would be greatly appreciated

As an American member of the Episcopal Church, I’m curious what the various low/high forms of worship look like in the Church of England. In America, the Episcopal Church is generally divided into low, broad, and high church categories based on liturgical style, with broad and high styles being the most common. Usually the higher the service in liturgy, the more “catholic” the theology, likewise the more low a service, the more Protestant the theology. Still, despite theological or liturgical differences, all our services will usually be from the Book of Common Prayer or another authorized alternative service. Are Church of England parishes divided similarly? Do parishes across churchmanship still all use a common book of prayer? Or are there completely unstructured services like one might find in a non-denominational church in the US? I’m also especially interested in the Evangelical movement in the Church of England: what does that mean and look like? Does it denote primarily a theological or liturgical style? Does it mean the same thing as America’s understanding of the word ‘Evangelical’?

I’m an Episcopalian who prays the rosary regularly. I know I’m not alone, so wanted to share this resource. My hope is that it will assist individuals in their private devotions (it can easily be used for personal use), or help folks to start rosary circles with other Episcopalians/Anglicans.

All of the prayers and commentary (unless otherwise noted) are from “St. Augustine’s Prayer Book,” a devotional book published for members of the various Anglican churches by the Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican monastic community.

There are two versions available, both formatted for printing:

Portrait: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10FTKZgRTuruUo0YMrDV8Y-900kXNfKZz8lXC4jUfIL4/edit

Landscape (formatted for printing into pamphlets): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DsuODnaf4gBVFNiNsfoRrgvxMzGeGJYA1x92duu8jQQ/edit (print double sided and flipped on the short edge, fold, and staple)

Enjoy!

Edit: ALSO - if anyone has any ideas for how to better share this besides Google docs links, please let me know or feel free to do so yourself!

Just want to share a good news story -

I am a Roman Catholic - a fairly traditional Roman Catholic at that. I attend the Latin Mass and I pray the Divine Office. I also sing, semi-professionally and I often get asked to sing at Anglican Evensong which I very much enjoy!

So I went to my local Anglican church last Friday to pray my office. There's something about sitting in a medieval church, steeped in sacred history, in front of the 15th century rood screen with its intricate carvings that speaks to my soul. But on this day, the local vicar came and spoke with me. She sat down with me and we had a nice and long conversation about life and how I'd been struggling a bit over the last 6 months. I mentioned to her that I had felt for some time that I had been called to the priesthood in the Catholic church but I have been fighting the call for a long time. So I talked through my feelings.

She paused and said, I don't want to scare you but it does sound like you might have a vocation here. It turns out, she was one of the diocesan vocation directors and was quite versed in the discernment process. What I said was something that she looked for in potential candidates. My heart skipped a beat at this! We parted in good spirits and I spent the weekend away, to ponder this turn of events!

So I finally, after a lot of trepidation, sent an email off to my local church's district office to arrange an appointment to discuss this, finally, after many years of wrestling with this decision. I am now waiting to hear back as to what they say!

I don't think I would have done it without that Vicar's kind words of encouragement! It's funny how Our Lord works. I truly hope that things will work out. If it turns out I'm not called, then that's ok as well. At least I tried!

I know this is going to ruffle a few feathers- just a hypothetical question to get some views.

I have switched over from the Roman Catholic Church to Anglo-Catholicism and have already taken communion in an Anglo-Catholic church. In a nutshell I was a liberal Catholic who had trouble believing in and following all the rules but otherwise loved where I was, so it made more sense for me to switch, especially after I became convinced of the validity of Anglican orders/succession.

My closest Anglo-Catholic church is not easy for me to get to and I definitely can't attend every week. My closest RC church is 7 minutes away.

One of the main reasons I go to mass is for communion. It's hugely important to me. Would it be all that bad if I went back to the RCC to take it once in a while?

Two opinions seem to come up:

No - after taking communion elsewhere I cannot take it in an RC church. It's incredibly disrespectful to intentionally ignore the rules like that. Go to RC Mass if you want but no Eucharist if you don't consider yourself a Roman Catholic any more.

Yes - God is what's important, not institutions. If I genuinely believe in the validity of Anglican orders and that He is present in both, it's more important to use the opportunity to take part in a valid communion than miss out just for the sake of breaking rules that, with the validity of the Anglican Church being intact, shouldn't even apply. I'm not doing it to disrespect anyone, I'm doing it to connect with God.

Thoughts?

As requested by those who commented, here's a recap of my experiences of mass on Sunday! Firstly, thank you to everyone for their warm, thoughtful responses to my post it is really appreciated.

On entering the church I was struck by the Catholic feel (stations of the cross, Statues of Our Lady etc). I had been prepared for this but it was a surprise all the same! They even have some Orthodox style icons as well which I loved. The mass itself was both wonderfully new and comfortingly familiar. It was essentially the Roman Rite I'm used to with a few changed words. A few things stood out to me. No kneeling! This was the only thing I missed I would say, pew gymnastics aren't everyone's cup of tea but I personally love to kneel in prayer so it felt a bit odd not doing so. Another thing that struck me was that the priest (or deacon actually in this case I believe) read the gospel from the central aisle. I loved this. It really gave the feeling of bringing the Gospel to the congregation. Now another thing that was markedly different was the sheer amount of incense used. I couldn't believe it! I loved it. As RC we're used to this but it really adds to the feeling of the mass. On the music, this part was quite familiar but I think because English hymnal music or tunes at least are often shared between RC and Anglican churches I believe. The lovely old hymnal books we used were great though. A final observation was the praying of the Angelus at the end of the mass, what a beautiful prayer.

As discussed in my last post, I refrained from the Eucharist on this occasion. I did feel very much welcome to receive it however and I was drawn to do so. I was worried that this would feel different or wrong to me somehow, but I felt the presence of Christ in that mass and it was beautiful. Perhaps in future I will make that step.

I stayed behind after to chat with a few people and spoke with the priest who was great. A young priest maybe 10 or so years older than me but he was great and we spoke in depth about the Anglo Catholic side of the CofE which "most people forget exists" in his words. Everyone was very welcoming and the congregation was pretty diverse both in terms of age and cultural background by the looks. It is a small parish Church compared to the cathedral-sized Jesuit church I usually attend, but it was still pretty full. I was told due to school holidays it's actually usually even busier which is great to hear!

All in all this was a wonderful experience and I've not been able to stop thinking about it which I think is good sign I think. Whilst fulfilling my RC obligations where I can I think I will continue to attend and learn about this tradition. More to follow and do ask any questions you have about my experiences. Peace be with you all!

I've had an idea brewing for a couple of years, and I would love some general feedback to see what people (primarily fellow nerds) might think. I understand this may not go anywhere due to time, resources, copyrights, etc., so please don’t set high expectations for a published project. I'm just interested in gathering people's "wish lists."

If you could have a publication or resource that compared different versions or editions of the Book of Common Prayer (or other Anglican/Anglo-Catholic prayer books) side-by-side, similar to the format of a Parallel Study Bibles, which would you want to see? What services would you compare? Which traditions, lectionaries, or books would interest you?

The inspiration for this project began with my desire to compare the old Eucharistic and Daily Office lectionaries from the 1928 BCP with the 1979 Daily Office and Revised Common Lectionaries. As I continued, I expanded my research to include various prayer books and lectionaries, even typing out parallel services and liturgies. I’ve also been exploring daily readings from historical sources like the breviaries and the Liturgy of the Hours. It’s been a fascinating experience, but there’s much more to explore.

I know modern prayer books have been formatted quite differently from traditional ones since Vatican II through various liturgical revisions. Still, many shared traditions and services can be compared over time.

What would you like to see if this were to become a formal project (again, no expectations)? For example, if you were to have four prayer books or liturgies compared side-by-side, which ones would interest you?

One idea I’m considering is comparing the original 1662 BCP, the Episcopal 1928 prayer book, the 1979 Rite II, and Enriching Our Worship (EOW), utilizing "Rite III" and St. Helena's Breviary (with the Order of St. Helena's permission).

Alternatively, I might conduct several parallel projects focusing on the "official" published prayer books from various provinces or national churches: comparing American editions from 1879, 1928, 1979 Rite II, and EOW; England's 1549 or 1559 BCP, the official 1662, the Alternative Service Book, and Common Worship; and Canada's 1662, 1918, 1962, and the Book of Alternative Services, etc.

Another approach (still a "thought-in-process") could be to compare official and "unofficial" prayer books (like, with permission of course, the Anglican Office Book from Whithorn Press or the Anglican Service Book from the Church of the Good Shepherd) based on their publication pre- and post-Vatican II. For example, I could select strictly Office Books (no Eucharistic services) and compare two from pre-Vatican II and two from post-Vatican II (e.g., the Anglican Breviary and the Monastic Breviary, and compare them with The Prayer Book Office by Howard Galley, and the Monastic Breviary from Holy Cross Monastery/Order of St. Helena).

I could also compare traditional "Rite I" liturgies from modern publications (e.g., IVP's 1662, Lancelot Andrewes Press' version of the 1928 BCP, ACNA's Traditional BCP, 1979 Rite I, Divine Worship for Ordinariates) or Rite II resources (like Canada's and England's "Alternative Books," ACNA's 2019 BCP, the 1979 Rite II, etc.).

I’m curious to hear if others would be interested in this project and if they have other ideas or insights on what they would like to see compared. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Thank you in advance!

Disciples who anticipated a political Messiah completely failed to understand Jesus’ words. On the road from Berea to Jerusalem, James and John expressed their desires to confirm their own roles in Jesus’ mission. When Jesus asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ the two requested to sit on his right and left hand. The other disciples, displeased with their request, became entangled in dispute.

A little later, they arrived at Jericho. When Bartimaeus, a blind man, heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming, he stirred up a commotion among the crowd. Jesus called him over and asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Bartimaeus replied that he wished to see again. ‘Go, your faith has saved you,’ said Jesus. Immediately, Bartimaeus’ sight was restored, and he followed Jesus on the way.

The story of the disciples, blinded by political aspirations to the true kingdom of God, contrasts greatly with that of the blind Bartimaeus. Jesus, entering the city on a donkey amid hollow adulation, seems poignantly solitary.

I want to get Richard Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. It seems that there are 8 books to the full work, but almost all popular works are only books 1-4. I've heard that has the most relevant material, but is there anywhere I can get the full work?

After some rather spicy posts here today, here's a lighter one, a request for hymn suggestions.

Jerusalem is a fantastic hymn, combining a banger tune with sublimely inspiring words about building the Kingdom of God on earth. The problem? Most of the world can't really sing it: "till we have built Jerusalem" where? "In England's green and pleasant land."

Is there a comparable hymn applicable to other parts of the world, even if it is similarly "localized?"

Having just visited relatives across the UK quite recently, I visited a couple of local Anglican churches in each of the 4 nations and notice the standard Marian artwork tended to have brown hair and blue eyes. Not just that but the standard clothing was white headcloth with a blue dress and often with arms opened.... What we would call the standard imagery of "Our Lady of Grace" in the Catholic Church.

Which I found myself wondering....... Why is the Lady of Walsingham so under-represented across the Anglican communion including offshoots that changed the local churches to another name like the Episcopal in America? I just visited her shrine at Walsingham and it was so stranger to see her as your typical blonde blue-eyed pale Scandinavian woman! With a very Nordic looking Jesus statue in her arms! In the United States, too all the episcopal churches I visited tended to follow the Lady of Grace imagery of blue and white dress with fair skin,brown hair, and blue eyes. Even popular art found in British children's books, statues sold at stores while I was in the UK, TV actors, etc tended to have her with brown hair and blue eyes (though not necessarily in the same dress as Our Lady of Grace)!

I am wondering why the Church of England never attempted to use the Lady of Walsingham as a national symbol to oppose the Papacy? Why did typical Anglican direction go with typical Western European Catholic depiction with Mary? It would have been perfect since the Church of England tended to make every Catholic thing more English from using English translations of many old Gregorian Chants (and than adding more English style vocal patterns) to adopting the same structure as the Vatican but with the royal family as the head and the center in Canterbury instead of Rome......I'm surprised the Lady of Walsingham wasn't used for promoting British nationalism! Or became popular in the USA, South Africa and other places where churches modeled after the Church of England's structure (esp when you consider blonde hair and blue eyes are the ideal beauties standards in this places esp the United States!)!

Anyone have a favorite they can share? I would love to learn to sing or chant some version of the litany, but haven’t heard a tune or setting of it. Thanks in advance!

Hi, so there's something I've been wondering about and I'm hoping someone could clarify this. I'm currently learning more about Anglicanism along with Catholicism, and I think it was last month I started learning about the Anglican rosary. I'm really interested in getting/making my own because I love the idea of it so much (I'm coming from a denomination that doesn't use prayer beads but I'm realizing that I'm a very tactile and visual person and need to feel/see things, if that makes sense). And I love the fact that you can basically create your own prayers to recite and its more flexible than the Catholic one (not sure if I'll eventually get a Catholic one but I'd like to start with the Anglican one).

So my question is if/when I get a rosary does it need to be blessed by a priest the way it is for Catholics? And also, another really random question, since there aren't any set prayers for this type of rosary and I can make my own, do people incorporate gospel songs/hymns as part of theirs or is strictly prayers (there's a couple songs that have helped me a lot in my journey and I think it'd be nice to include a portion of the lyrics somehow).

But yeah, let me know about this because I'm honestly excited to start using one.

Thanks in no small part to this sub, where I've lurked for a while.

I converted to Catholicism as an adult but have always been one of those Catholics who didn't believe in everything and kinda hoped it didn't matter. I didn't know what else to do- go evangelical? It just wasn't me. I loved Catholicism and the majority of its beliefs.

Then I found out Anglo Catholicism existed and afterwards became convinced by apostolic succession. After finding out an Anglo Catholic Church was nearby I psyched myself up to making the switch.

The church itself was beautiful, it had everything aesthetic I loved about Catholicism- the art, the smells + bells, and a nice English/Celtic hint in the artwork and architecture which I appreciated.

The Mass I found incredibly similar, they changed a couple of terms and left out the Hail Mary (sad face) but it was almost exactly the same.

I messed up at communion- they went up and kneeled at the altar, I was very confused and awkward but got some sympathetic smiles. I only took the bread and everyone else took the bread and wine which had me concerned that was a faux pas (germaphobe here).

But I feel like I've finally found my spiritual home- thanks for everyone's help. I no longer have to feel guilty and try desperately to ignore the fact my marriage wasn't in a Catholic Church, that we dont want more kids, that I think homosexuality is fine, etc. I feel like I can just be me.

Oh- two days before I went to a beautiful, important Catholic Church in a city during adoration and really felt the presence of God there. It blew me away and make me worry it was a confirmation the RCC was 'correct'. Today at Mass I felt the exact same presence and very much a strong feeling of 'it's ok, I'm here too.' And when I took communion I felt exactly the same as in the RCC (I wasn't even thinking about it, just felt embarrassed about not knowing how to receive it, then I felt this old familiar feeling I often get after the Eucharist and it surprised me and I thought- oh! It's the same!)

So, rambling post with no point but- I'm happy.

Feel free to give someone who's just crossed the Thames any advice if you have any!

Upon arriving at church this morning, I heard an unfamiliar voice speaking from the pulpit, and entered to discover a young man with bright green hair, a satanic symbol tattooed upon his forehead, and all sorts of piercings reading from his phone to an empty nave (I am an acolyte so I arrived early). He is not a regular congregant, though apparently he has shown up from time to time. I was already a bit wary based on his appearance and the fact that he walked around the place as if he owned it, including into the church offices out back.

During the service, as the rector was giving his sermon, this same young man loudly interrupted him to announce that he is a member of the LGBTQ (and various other letters that I don't remember) community and that churches which do not accept such are not truly Christian (it was all rather bizarre, as he wasn't protesting and we are a very diverse and openminded church, although we don't have any LGBT congregants as far as I know). He spoke for almost ten minutes, before the rector was finally able to continue his sermon, only to be interrupted twice again, toward the end of his sermon and after he finished and we were about to recite the Apostolic Creed. Then, during communion, he made a sign of a pentagram with his finger before taking the wafer.

I found his behaviour absolutely unacceptable, but I'm not sure what would have been best to do in such a situation. Should such an individual be asked to leave, or is it best to ignore this type of behaviour?

I have in mind the situation with the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney.

From Saxon to Late Medieval and beyond, all styles are here in this beautiful church lying in a pretty valley wandering down to the sea.

The design and history fascinates, from the Norman tower onwards lots of little and big wonders, and the play of light on wood and stone… The whole is fabulous.

A major Devon church, deservedly so, and my latest online article and gallery here to enjoy, as you will: https://devonchurchland.co.uk/description/branscombe-church-of-st-winifred-description/