HISTORY OF THE ANGLICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

An Ancient Church

          There appeared to them tongues as of fire, which
          parted and came to rest on each one of them.
          And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
                                                  Acts 2:3

     With these words, the Holy Scriptures describe the birth of the
Christian Church over 2000 years ago.  Following these events of
Pentecost, that early Christian community began the seemingly impossible
task of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all corners of the world.
By the end of the third century, the life and witness of this Christian
community had found its way from Jerusalem to Africa, Asia, Europe, and
the British Isles.

     The Anglican Catholic Church is a continuation of this " one, Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church" which, once founded in Jerusalem, was
planted and grew as the Christian Church in England.  The Anglican
Catholic Church is an ancient Church and, although few official records
exist of the Church of England before the fourth century, we know of at
least one martyr killed during the early Christian persecutions.  St. Alban
was a pagan who was converted and protected a priest by changing clothes
with him. He was martyred in A.D.304.  There is also evidence that three
English bishops attended the Council of Arles in A.D.314.  By the end of
the fifth century, the Roman Legions had left the British Isles and the
English Church had suffered greatly at the hands of the invading
Anglo-Saxon tribes.   But when Augustine, a missionary priest of Pope
Gregory, arrived during the latter part of the sixth century. He found an
extensive net work of churches still present.  Augustine was consecrated in
A.D.597 and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.  By the end of the
seventh century , most of the Anglo-Saxon tribes had been converted and
the English Church had accepted many of the liturgical practices of the
Western church.

     The early Anglican Catholic Church is a most interesting witness to
the works of the Holy Spirit.  Many individuals figure prominently in our
early heritage including St. Alban, St Augustine of Canterbury, St. Aidan,
The Venerable Bede, St. Dunstan, and St. Anselm, along with many others.

A Reformed Church

     The years, 1000-1500, saw a rapid decline in the discipline and
integrity of much of the Western Church.  Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, was killed by knights of Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral in
A.D.1170.  Church courts began selling justice to the highest bidder.  The
selling of indulgences became a prevalent practice.  Clergy were, as a
general rule, uneducated and openly violated their vows.  Superstitious
practices, including the worship of idols, was common place.  Bishops often
did not reside in their jurisdictions and the sale of church offices had
become common.  The Catholic Church was in dire need of reform.

     During the early part of the sixteenth century, reformers in Europe
begin to question much of the theology and teachings of the Catholic Church.
Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and others refused to accept traditional Catholic
theology and worship practices and began to leave the Catholic Church.  In
England, the "reform" of the church was widely discussed.  There were those,
who wanted to see the Church go with the protestant reformers of the
continent, while others sought only to correct abuses while maintaining
the rich Catholic tradition and Catholic Faith.

     Henry VIII was a devout Catholic.  He believed strongly in the
doctrine taught by the Church. But, he felt strongly that these teachings
should be more available to the people.  At this time, all worship services
were conducted in Latin.  Henry ordered the teaching of the Lord's Prayer.
Ten Commandments, and the Creed be in English. He also ordered all lessons
at the Sunday worship service to be read in English.  However,during the
reign of Henry, the essential Catholic Faith that existed since the early
church was to remain unchanged.  In 1534 for largely personal and political
reasons, Henry VIII announced his refusal to accept the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Rome over the Church in England.  Although, the Anglican
Church had separated herself from Rome, she remained a Catholic Body.

     After Henry's death on 1547, the church reform continued and in 1549,
the English prayer book of Thomas Crammer was introduced to the world.
This prayer book retained the essential Catholic elements of the worship
service of the day, but was translated into the language of the people.
Since Protestant reformers had much greater influence in later editions of
the payer book, the 1549 prayer book with its strong Catholic theology and
beautiful poetic language remains the standard for the Anglo-Catholic
worship today.

     The Anglican Catholic tradition was brought to America with the early
settlers.  The Rev. Robert Hunt, an Anglican priest, was among the first
colonist at Jamestown in 1607 and celebrated Mass the day after they
landed.  Following the American Revolution, Samuel Seabury was consecrated
the first bishop for the Anglican Church in the United States.  William
White, who was consecrated by English bishops in 1789, begins the
lineage though which Anglican Catholic bishops trace their historic
episcopate.  Because of the enmity that remained against the English
government following the American Revolution, the use of "Anglican" was
seen as inflammatory and the Anglican Church of America became known as
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

A Modern Church

     In 1977, a group of individuals met in St. Louis to express their
concern about preserving the rich Anglican Catholic tradition in the United
States.  Many people wanted to see the Church return to an emphasis on the
teachings of Holy Scripture and the ancient Catholic faith, the adoption
of traditional moral values, and the use of the historic Catholic worship.
This meeting resulted in the "Affirmation of St. Louis" which became the
fundamental doctrinal statement for tradition  Anglicans in  America.  It
also resulted in the establishment of the Anglican Church of North America 
as a body separate from the Episcopal Church and the put themselves under
the he jurisdiction of he retired Episcopal bishop of Springfield, Illinois, 
the Right Reverend Albert Chambers.   October 19-21, 1978,  first  
Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of North America, held in Dallas, Texas, 
the Diocese of the Holy Trinity was represented by Bishop elect James O Mote, 
who presided.  At the Dallas Synod: it came to the front that they were not just a 
North American movement..  But, a movement that would move to the world stage 
in the Anglican history.  Catholic was in many areas was thought of a ‘Roman Catholic’ 
and many struggled with that,  One of the large issues at the  October 19-21, 1978, 
Dallas Synod: was the name church.  The debate was very heated when, 
Fr. James Mote called for a recess of 15 minutes for prayer.   Every one came back 
with a more christian attitude to hammer out the issue.   Anglican Catholic Church
was adapted as the continuing name for this movement.  In 1978, four bishops were
consecrated for the Anglican Catholic Church, combining the episcopal
successions from the Church of England, the Episcopal Church, the Polish
National Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church, and the Philippine
Independent Church.

    The Anglican Catholic Church, has fifteen dioceses with congregations
in all but a few state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico,  It also, 
has affiliated jurisdictions in England, Australia, New Zealand, the 
Caribbean, Central and South America, India, and South Africa.  The Anglican
Catholic Church maintains cordial relationship with traditionalist and 
Anglo-Catholics of the Church of England.  Friendly ties also exist with 
the Roman Catholic Church, the Polish National Catholic Church and other 
continuing Anglican Catholic bodies within the United States.

Faith

    The Anglican Catholic Church is first and foremost a Bible Church.  The
beliefs held by the Anglican Catholic Church are thoroughly grounded in Holy
Scriptures.  A priest takes an oath at his ordination to "teach nothing as
necessary to eternal salvation, but that which ...  may be concluded and
proved by the scripture".  The use of the Bible is a prominent part each
worship service and about eighty percent of the 'Book of Common Prayer' is
taken from the Bible directly.  An orderly reading of the Bible is provided
through the use of a lectionary so that within the course of a year the
people will heard or read a majority of the Old and New testaments.

     We are also a creedal church, which means that we believe that the
ancient creeds of the Church (the Apostles's Creed, the Nicene Creed and
the Athanasian Creed) express succinctly and literally the Faith of the
Church as it has been since ancient times.  In the creeds, we express our
firm belief that God is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit; that God the Son became man, born of the Virgin Mary as our
Lord Jesus Christ; that Jesus was born fully God and fully man; that by our
Lord's sinless life, death and resurrection, He gained access for us to
God the Father and the way for us to be His children.  We also believe in
the eternal communion of all Christian saints and the final judgment and
resurrection into a new life in a new kingdom.

    We are also a Catholic Church.  This means that the faith, we teach and
practice is in the mainstream of traditional Christian thought as found
throughout the history of the Church since the time of the Apostles.  The
Anglican Catholic Church believes, as do all Catholic churches, that there
are seven sacraments: Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance,
Anointing, Marriage, and Ordination.  A sacrament is a an objective and
effective sign of the continued presence and saving activity of Christ our
Lord among His people and the way in which he conveys to us His grace.

Worship

     The Anglican Catholic Church in the United States uses as its standard
of worship the '1928 Book of Common Prayer'.  One author called this book
of worship the "greatest book in English except only the Bible".  Some of
you will recognize the beautiful prayers and scripture reading found within
its pages since many denominations have borrowed from its timeless
liturgies.  Almost eighty percent of the Prayer Book is taken from Holy
scripture.

     The major worship service is the Holy Eucharist.  If a priest is
available, the Mass is celebrated in all Anglican Catholic Churches on
Sunday and Major Feast Days of the Church.  The priest wears special
garments which have ancient symbolism and add to the dignity of the service.
In the absence of a priest, or often before the Mass, a service of Morning
or Evening Prayer may be said.  Worship practices often vary slightly from
parish to parish as local customs dictate.

     The worship of the Anglican Catholic Church is rich in tradition and
symbolism.  Within the Eucharist liturgy, you find prayers and hymn of
praise that date to some of the earliest recorded worship services of the
Church.  If you have worshiped in other Catholic churches, you will notice
the similarity of the Anglican Catholic Mass to many of the traditional
Catholic liturgies.  If you are new to our worship experience and wish to
learn more about the history and meaning of worship in the Anglican
Catholic Church, please do not hesitate to contact one of our priest to
assist you.