Are you Protestant or Catholic?
Anglicanism is a branch of the historic Catholic Church; we trace our roots to the English Christian tradition, itself dating back to the first century. The term “Catholic” goes back to the first generations of Christians, and simply means “of the whole”. This is what is meant today when we confess “One Catholic and Apostolic Church”. Today, people often conflate the term “Catholic” with what is known as Roman Catholicism: those who are subject to the Bishop of Rome. We are not under the Bishop of Rome.
While we are fundamentally Catholic (again, in that historic “of the whole” sense), we did undergo reformation in the 16th century. For more information on Anglican identity please see this video from our Rector, Fr James.
What do you believe?
Our Faith is founded ultimately upon the Apostles and the Prophets, Christ being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). So most fundamentally, we are Biblical.
Because we place a great love for and emphasis on the early Church, and we believe that the Holy Ghost has always been guiding His People, we also hold to the historic Councils and Creeds of the Church. This would largely include what are known as the Seven Ecumenical Councils (with a special emphasis on the first Four), as well as the Three Catholic Creeds: The Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. Because of this, we are also known as a Creedal Church.
We are also what is known as a confessional tradition; this means that we have authoritative documents detailing our beliefs. We hold to the following as part of this tradition: the Book of Common Prayer (US, 1928), the XXXIX Articles, and the Books of Homilies (links for each).
Why do you use liturgy?
Liturgy is an ordered form of worship that has been vetted by godly men throughout the history of the Church. We recognize that God is orderly (1 Corinthians 14:40), and when we see the form of worship given in both the Old Testament (see especially the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers) and Revelation, we understand that Liturgy is the default of the Christian Church.
As well, we see liturgy being practiced by faithful Christians in every century of the Church: from the Didache and St Justin Martyr to today, the vast majority of Christians have worshipped liturgically; even more than that, we have utilized fundamentally the same form for worship: for instance, all liturgies incorporate the Lord’s Prayer, public reading of the Word, prayers for the Church and the World, and Holy Communion as the climax of worship. For more on this, please read Dom Gregory Dix’s The Shape of the Liturgy.
Within the Anglican Tradition, the Liturgy for Sunday chiefly is Holy Communion. The worship can be divided up thusly: first, the Liturgy of the Word. This is where we read from the Scriptures, always reading from one of the Gospels last. From here, we confess our Faith in the words of the Nicene Creed (a summation of what Scripture tells us Who God is), then an homily (a sermon) is given. Second, we come to the Offertory and the Prayers for the Whole State of Christ’s Church. Because we recognize our duty to God after having received the blessing of hearing from His Word, we give of ourselves in return to God to do the work that He has commanded us to do; this includes caring for the poor, helping the growth of the Kingdom of God, and praying for all within the Body of Christ. At the end of these prayers we are then all called to confess our sins before God; the priest then pronounces God’s forgiveness of our sins and gives us the Scripture’s words of comfort on the forgiveness of sins. Thirdly and finally, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, giving thanks afterwards for the great benefit of being united to Christ in both Word and Sacrament. From there we praise God in the Gloria in Excelsis, then are dismissed after singing further praises to the Lord.