Anglican Catholic Church

The Beginning of the ACC

In 1977, following increasing liberalisation of member churches of the Anglican Communion, an international congress of nearly 2,000 Anglican bishops, clergy and lay people met in St. Louis, Missouri.

As a result of this meeting, a document "The Affirmation of St Louis" was issued (see the link above).

In addition many of those present placed themselves under the jurisdiction of the retired bishop of Springfield, Illinois, the Right Reverend Albert Chambers. In October 1978 the Church adopted the name 'ANGLICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH'. The ACC has a presence in North, Central and South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand and in India you will find the Second Province of the ACC.

The Missionary Diocese of Australia & New Zealand

The Diocesan Shield The ACC Shield

The Missionary Diocese of Australia & New Zealand

The eagle emblem of the patron saint of the Diocese, Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, the 'beloved disciple' of Jesus, is represented in the shield of the Diocese. Saint John was the the only one of the Twelve who did not forsake the Savior in the hour of His Passion.

The continuing Anglican movement in Australia and New Zealand formed soon after the 1977 international meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. The Anglican Catholic Church in Australia maintained full communion with the Anglican Catholic Church, Original Province (ACCOP) and its catholic churches across the world until the breach in episcopal order occasioned by consecrations at Deerfield Beach, Florida in 1991. The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) was formed by Louis Falk in 1991, (along subsequently with the Anglican Church in America), and he was the first primate, having withdrawn from the ACCOP, taking ACCOP churches with him. The first bishop of the ACC in Australia the Rt. Revd. Albert Haley tried to maintain an untenable 'fence sitting' position for a time, however, the ACC-A ultimately became part of the TAC, and in 1992 James Bromley became Bishop Ordinary of the Missionary Diocese of Australia in the Anglican Catholic Church Original Province.

Bishop Bromley died on Monday, 29th March, 2004 after a lengthy illness. He retired as Ordinary at the end of 2002. In 2003 the Most Reverend John-Charles Vockler was appointed Ordinary by the College of Bishops, retiring in October, 2005. The Right Revd. Rommie Starks served as episcopal visitor until the election of the Right Revd. Brian Iverach as Bishop Ordinary in 2008. The Right Rev. Denis Hodge has been our bishop in New Zealand since 2007; appointed Suffragan Bishop for New Zealand in 2009.

Why Anglican & Catholic?

The Anglican Catholic Church is Anglican, which means 'English'. In other words, we are Christians who have an English liturgical and theological heritage and a spiritual heritage and an ancestral connection to the Church in England, Christianity believed by many to have reached England in the life time of the blessed Apostle. The Anglican Catholic Church is Catholic, because it accepts the doctrine of the ancient Church, which has been "believed everywhere, always, and by all".

But aren't you Protestants?

To be Catholic one doesn't necessarily have to be 'Roman' Catholic.The Orthodox Churches of the East and the Orient, and in other places are Catholic Churches but not in communion with the Pope.

The Catholic Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in two stages during the sixteenth century. However, although a Protestant Reformation was taking place on the Continent the English Reformation was fundamentally different in nature and intention. Primarily the reasons for its formation were political. In the first stage, King Henry VIII, whilst wanting to be independent of Rome, was not a Protestant in intention, although his reasons for separation were not especially honourable. This stage was completely reversed by

Of course there were and have been Anglicans who have wanted to be Protestant, just as there are Anglicans who want complete union with Rome. However, the Church of England was not formed in the same way as the Continental Protestant Churches. The Continental Reformation was primarily German, under the leadership of Martin Luther; French, under John Calvin and Swiss, under Ulrich Zwingli. The Continental Reformers accepted the principle called Sola Scriptura, that is, Scripture alone as the basis for faith and practice. However, the English Reformers appealed to Scripture as interpreted by the ancient Church, especially through the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church. The Continental Reformers also almost unanimously rejected or dropped the principle of apostolic succession. That is, bishops, by virtue of their consecration, being successors of the apostles, tracing a straight link back to them through history. But the English Reformation retained apostolic succession.

Since the Continental Reformers rejected the apostolic succession of bishops and indeed developed a different understanding of the priesthood, they lost a 'valid' ordained priesthood. But at the English Reformation, the Church of England deliberately retained the title 'priest', because it contained a real truth and intention. Christ is the perfect priest. The Church is His body. The organ of a priestly body cannot be less than priestly.

The Church of England maintained its apostolic ministry of bishops, priests and deacons. Its form of worship, though translated into English and somewhat reformed, nonetheless stood in continuity with the Church's historical worship. The goal of the English Reformation was to reform the practice of the Church and return to the ancient and Catholic faith of the Undivided Church.

Catholic heroes of post-Reformation Anglicanism

Richard Hooker

1553-1600

Richard Hooker studied at Corpus Christi College, Oxford until 1577, and became a fellow of the college in the same year. He became assistant professor of Hebrew at the University, and took holy orders, becoming a clergyman in the Church of England in 1581. Hooker was Master of the Temple in 1585-1591. Thereafter he lived in London. He died at Bishopsbourne, in Kent, where he had become vicar.

Hooker's masterpiece is a long work in eight books called Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. The first four books were published together in 1593, the fifth was published in 1597, and the rest appeared after his death. Although the last three volumes were Hooker's work, they seem to have been heavily edited. The work represents one of the most distinguished examples of Elizabethan literature. King James I is quoted by Izaak Walton, Hooker's biographer, as saying, "I observe there is in Mr. Hooker no affected language; but a grave, comprehensive, clear manifestation of reason, and that backed with the authority of the Scriptures, the fathers and schoolmen, and with all law both sacred and civil."

William Laud

1573 – 1645
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. He pursued a High Church course and opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This and his support for King Charles I resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.

Lancelot Andrewes

1555 – 1626
Lancelot Andrewes was an English clergyman and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the Authorized Version (or King James Version) of the Bible.

His services to his church have been summed up thus: (1) he has a keen sense of the proportion of the faith and maintains a clear distinction between what is fundamental, needing ecclesiastical commands, and subsidiary, needing only ecclesiastical guidance and suggestion; (2) as distinguished from the earlier protesting standpoint, e.g. of the Thirty-nine Articles, he emphasized a positive and constructive statement of the Anglican position.

His best-known work is the Manual of Private Devotions, edited by the Revd Dr Whyte (1900), which has widespread appeal. Andrewes's other works occupy eight volumes in the Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology (1841–1854). Ninety-six of his sermons were published in 1631 by command of King Charles I.

George Herbert

1593 – 1633
George Herbert was a Welsh poet, orator and priest. Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education which led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England, George Herbert excelled in languages and music. He went to college with the intention of becoming a priest, but his scholarship attracted the attention of King James I. Herbert served in parliament for two years. After the death of King James and at the urging of a friend, Herbert's interest in ordained ministry was renewed. In 1630, in his late thirties he gave up his secular ambitions and took holy orders in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as a rector of the little parish of St. Andrew Bemerton, near Salisbury. He was noted for unfailing care for his parishioners, bringing the sacraments to them when they were ill, and providing food and clothing for those in need. Throughout his life he wrote religious poems characterized by a precision of language, a metrical versatility, and an ingenious use of imagery.

From the time of Henry VIII there has always been a theological position within Anglicanism which has sought to stress the continuing Catholic nature of the Church of England. Through the reign of his daughter Elizabeth I this was championed by the Elizabethan divine, Richard Hooker. Then later by Archbishop Laud and the Caroline divines including George Herbert and Lancelot Andrewes, up to the time of the Oxford Movement, Tractarians, and the Anglo-Catholic Congresses, notables include John Henry Newman, Edward Bouverie Pusey, John Keble and John Mason Neale.

John Henry Newman

1801 - 1890
The Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman, In early life he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic within which he eventually became a Cardinal. Both before and after his conversion he wrote a number of influential books, including Via Media, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, and the Grammar of Assent.

Edward Bouverie Pusey

1800 - 1882
Edward Bouverie Pusey was one of the most prominent figures in the Church of England during the 19th century. At the age of 28, he was appointed Regius Professor of Hebrew and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, positions he held for the rest of his life.

Pusey co-founded the first Anglican sisterhood in 1845, helping to revive monastic life in the Church of England. The practice of confession in the Anglican Church stems from his 1846 sermon “The Entire Absolution of the Penitent“. Later in his life, he fought the growing influence of liberalism in the church and successfully opposed proposals to truncate or omit the Athanasian Creed.

He was known as a wise, humble, and compassionate man, who built a parish church in Leeds at his own expense and served the sick during the cholera epidemic in London in 1866.
Two years after his death, friends and admirers established in his honour Pusey House, an Anglo-Catholic house of worship, prayer, and learning. His personal library formed the basis of Pusey House Library, now one of the leading theological libraries at Oxford.

John Keble

1792 – 1866
John Keble was for some years a tutor and examiner in the University. While at Oxford he took Holy Orders in 1815. In 1833 his famous Assize Sermon on "national apostasy" gave the first impulse to the Oxford Movement, also known as the Tractarian movement. In 1835 he was appointed Vicar of Hursley, Hampshire, where he settled down to family life and remained for the rest of his life as a parish priest at All Saint's Church. Keble College in Oxford was founded in his memory.

John Mason Neale

1818 - 1866,
John Mason Neale was ordained to the Anglican priesthood in 1842. He was offered a parish, but chronic ill health, which was to continue throughout his life, prevented him from taking it. In 1846 he was made warden of Sackville College, a position he held for the rest of his life. Sackville College was not an educational institution, but an almshouse, a charitable residence for the poor.

In 1854 Neale co-founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an order of women in the Anglican Church dedicated to nursing the sick. Once Neale was attacked and mauled at a funeral of one of the Sisters. From time to time unruly crowds threatened to stone him or to burn his house. However, his basic goodness eventually won the confidence of many who had fiercely opposed him, and the Sisterhood of St. Margaret survived and prospered.

Neale translated the Eastern liturgies into English, and wrote a mystical and devotional commentary on the Psalms. However, he is best known as a hymn writer and, especially, translator, having enriched English hymnody with many ancient and mediaeval hymns translated from Latin and Greek. More than anyone else, he made English-speaking congregations aware of the centuries-old tradition of Latin, Greek, Russian, and Syrian hymns. His translations include: All Glory, Laud, and Honour; Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle;To Thee Before the Close of Day; O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

What do Anglican Catholics believe?

The Anglican Catholic Church accepts the teachings of the Undivided Church, the Church of the first millennium of Church history. From the Day of Pentecost, when the Church was born, to the Great Schism in A.D. 1054, the Church was truly Catholic: one in faith and doctrine, even though there were differences between the way Eastern and Western Churches worshiped. Therefore, the Anglican Catholic Church claims, in essence, to be both an English Catholic Church and a Western Orthodox Church.

The Anglican Catholic Church is part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, faithfully continuing the English Catholic tradition. We practice and uphold the historic Catholic Faith, with Apostolic Order, Orthodox Worship, and Evangelical Witness.

We believe that there is one true and eternal God in Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, without any difference or inequality, Consubstantial, Undivided and of one Essence in Three Divine Persons through whom all that is, was and ever shall be, was created and has its being.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the unique and final revelation of the Person and Purpose of God, in whom alone is the fullness of God's truth and grace, and that there is no other through whom salvation may be obtained.

Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition & the Holy Spirit

Holy Tradition

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be Inspired by the Holy Ghost as the authentic record of the revelation of God, and as conveying His saving Word to us. We believe in the holy Tradition of the Church as set forth by the ancient catholic bishops and doctors, as defined by the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the undivided Church.
We believe that the Holy Ghost gives life to and inspires and guides the Church.

We believe in the Seven Sacraments as outward, visible symbols of the inward, spiritual Grace, Presence and working of our Lord Jesus Christ. In accordance with the faith and practice of Holy Mother Church, We declare these Sacraments to be:

Baptism, whereby the forgiveness of sins and new life in Christ and membership into His Mystical Body the Church is proclaimed and that this sacrament is necessary for Salvation.

Confirmation as the "seal of the Holy Spirit" in completion of Baptism.

The Mass, as the sacrifice whereby our Lord, Jesus Christ, unites us to His all-sufficient Sacrifice, once made, to bestow on us "remission of sins, and all other benefits of His Passion", whereby He is truly present under the forms of bread and wine, and gives Himself to us in His Body and Blood, to be our heavenly food and to unite us to Himself and to all in His Sacred Body the Church.

Holy Matrimony, which is a mystical bond of one man and one woman together in lifelong commitment and unity.

Holy Orders, which is the perpetuation of the sacred and apostolic ministry in accordance with the will of Christ established for the Government of His Church as the ministers of His Gospel and Sacraments; and that the three orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons by Christ's institution are to be confined to the male sex; and that Bishops alone possess the fullness of apostolic authority as Overseers of the faithful and the conveyers of Holy Orders.

Confession, through which the faithful are called to conversion of life, confession of sins and reconciliation with God, and through which we are called to forgive others.

Holy Unction, whereby the healing power and consolation of God is specifically bestowed upon the faithful who are sick in body, mind or soul.

The Communion of Saints

We believe in the Communion of Saints, which is the blessed company of all faithful people both living and departed, furthermore we believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, and that she is preeminent above all others as the first-fruits of those who are saved by Him.

We believe in the sanctity of human life; that life begins at the moment of conception; and that the willful taking of that life in the womb by abortion to be a grave sin.

We believe that all men will appear before Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate Judge and Ruler of all Mankind to receive the due recompense of their faith and works.

But didn't the Pope declare Anglican Holy Orders null and void?

In response to Pope Leo XIII's Apostolicae Curae of 1896, which declared the Anglican apostolic succession invalid, the Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury, Frederick Temple and York, William D Maclagan, made an official response, Saepius Officio, stating that there is an unbroken apostolic succession in the Anglican priesthood, and that the historical episcopate has been in the British Isles from the earliest days of the Church.

However, the Roman Catholic Church maintains that this apostolic succession was broken by the use of the Ordination Rite of King Edward VI, which deletes all reference to the central priestly function and was deliberately designed to contain no indication of the "fullness of the ministry", specific tasks of the Catholic bishop or the "high priesthood", which the Holy See considers essential. The Romans assume that their point of view, based on Late Medieval sacramental theory, is valid for all periods of church history.

In their refutation the Archbishops pointed out, amongst other matters, that no such priestly functions or sacramental theology were evident in the Papal ordination rites of the 9th and 10th centuries, which would render their ordinations invalid as well, using the same criteria aimed at the Anglicans.

For further discussion on this subject see http://anglicancontinuum.blogspot.com/2008/04/necessary-admissions.html

What about the authority of the Pope?

Pope Benedict XVI

Since we have stated that the Anglican Catholic Church is not a 'Roman' but an 'English' Catholic Church it will come as no surprise that we do not consider ourselves to be under the Bishop of Rome's 'Universal Jurisdiction'. Again our position is comparable to the practice of the Undivided Church. Furthermore the Pope claims to be infallible in certain matters. Anglican Catholics believe in infallibility, but they believe that it is found not within the Office of the Pope, but within the Church itself, and that this is best expressed when it is acting as an undivided unity through the medium of the Ecumenical Councils. But since A.D. 1054 this hasn't happened.

We do recognise and give due honour to the Pope as Bishop of Rome and as Patriarch of the West on the ancient principle of primus inter pares. He is the 'first among equals' in the episcopate and has a special role and responsibility because of this.

What are 'Continuing' Anglicans?

There are several present-day bodies, often described collectively as 'Continuing Anglicans' or the 'Anglican Continuum', some which claim and some which do not claim (or possess) descent from the 1977 Congress of St Louis. However, we believe that, strictly speaking, it is only within the Anglican Catholic Church - Original Province (ACCOP), The Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK), and The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) that one finds the 'legitimate' continuation of traditional Anglican Catholicism.

These three all share a common origin, stemming from the same apostolic succession - via The Right Revd. Albert Chambers and bear the same responsibility for preserving apostolic order and for being custodians of faith and morals as envisaged by the Congress of St Louis. A recent, exciting development, in terms of Church unity, is a reaffirmation of the mutual recognition and inter-communion between these jurisdictions.

Which Liturgy?

In the ACC there are a number of different Liturgies (Orders of Service) for celebrating Holy Communion. While the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is not authorised for use in ACCOP - in fact the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, and the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer are in use, although The English Missal and the Anglican Missal are the books used most commonly in our Diocese at the moment. The latter may be found to be celebrated with either the 1549 Canon, American 1928 Canon or the Gregorian Canon. There are other Books of Common Prayer authorised but we mention only those that are used currently in the Diocese.

Sometimes our liturgical use is suggested to be off putting to those who come from a more 'middle of the road' or from a 'evangelical' Anglican liturgical tradition, however we are representitive of the people who have taken the step to commitment themselves and join us. We are open to the establishment of new Missions using other ACC authorised liturgies in the Diocese. It is our faith that unites us and if you share that faith, or seek to, you are welcome.

The future?

To all, and especially those of you who having waded through this page of text, we extend a hand of friendship and Christian Love and offer you an alternative - Please consider seriously the challenges presented to you and we hope that you will join us.

Join us ...

In the Anglican Catholic Church we have the essentials. We have, as the Affirmation of St Louis puts it, Orthodox Catholic Faith, Orthodox Anglican Worship, Apostolic Catholic Order in order to grow we need also Evangelical Witness.