The Continuing Anglican Movement is a group of Christian churches which follow the Anglican tradition but which split from one or another province of the Anglican Communion because of their rejection of perceived orthodoxy. The movement originated in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada. Related churches in other countries, such as the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the Church of England (Continuing), were founded later. Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... Anglicanism commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion, the churches that are in full communion with the see of Canterbury. ... An ecclesiastical province is a unit of religious government existing in certain Christian churches. ... The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the Episcopal Church in the United States. ... Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (the ACC) is the Canadian branch of the Anglican Communion. ...

Anglicanism in general has always been a balance between the emphases of Catholicism and Protestantism, traditionalists and reformers. Clergy and laity from those factions were active in the formation of the Continuing Anglican Movement. The issues that most contributed to the founding of the "Continuing churches" were the approval of women priests and the introduction of revised versions of the Book of Common Prayer. Anglicanism commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion, the churches that are in full communion with the see of Canterbury. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Coptic Orthodox Pope · Roman Catholic Pope Archbishop of Canterbury · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      As... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      For other uses, see Reformation (disambiguation). ... Feminist theology is a movement, generally in the Western religious traditions (mostly Christianity and Judaism), to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective. ... For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ...

Establishment

In 1976, the General Convention of the ECUSA voted to approve the ordination of women to the priesthood and to the episcopate and also provisionally adopted a new and doctrinally controversial Book of Common Prayer, later called the 1979 version. During the following year, 1977, several thousand dissenting clergy and laypersons responded to those actions by meeting in St. Louis, Missouri under the auspices of the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen and adopted a theological statement, the Affirmation of St. Louis. The Affirmation expressed a determination "to continue in the Catholic Faith, Apostolic Order, Orthodox Worship and Evangelical Witness of the traditional Anglican Church, doing all things necessary for the continuance of the same". Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The General Convention of The Episcopal Church takes place every three years, and it the way legislation is passed in the Episcopal Church. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about a title... For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ...

Out of this meeting came a new church with the provisional name of Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal). The first bishop of the church, the Rt. Rev. Charles D. D. Doren, was consecrated by a retired bishop of ECUSA, the Rt. Rev. Albert Chambers, along with Bishop Francisco Pagtakhan of the Philippine Independent Church as co-consecrator. Although expected to be the third bishop participating in Doren's consecration, the Rt. Rev. Mark Pae of the Anglican Church of Korea sent a letter of consent instead. Consecrations of bishops normally involve three existing bishops as a guarantee of the candidate's worthiness, but there are many cases in church history of a single consecrator, and these are not considered invalid consecrations for lack of the customary three. The Most Revd Charles D. D. Doren was the first Bishop consecrated to serve the Continuing Anglican Movement, which began in 1977 in reaction to decisions taken in 1976 at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

During the process of ratifying the new church's Constitution, disputes developed which split its several dioceses into two American churches and one separate Canadian church. These are the Anglican Catholic Church, the Diocese of Christ the King (later renamed the Anglican Province of Christ the King), and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. Several years after this, Bishop Doren and others founded the United Episcopal Church of North America in opposition to the alleged inhospitality of the other jurisdictions towards Low Churchmen. The Anglican Catholic Church is a world-wide body of Anglican christians, which developed out of the St. ... The Anglican Province of Christ the King is a continuing Anglican church with traditional forms both of doctrine and liturgy. ... The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada is an Anglican church that was founded in the 1970s by conservative Anglicans who were dissatisfied with decisions made by the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) to confer priestly ordination upon women and to make liturgical reforms that would evolve into the Book of... The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) is a Christian denomination in the Continuing Anglican Movement with parishes and mission projects in the United States of America. ... Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches, initially designed to be pejorative. ...

Theological approach

The continuing churches are generally Anglo-Catholic in approach, and their liturgies are usually more high church than low church. Most of them use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer that preceded the prayer book adopted by ECUSA in 1979, although some use Missals and other forms. The use of the Authorized Version of Holy Scripture (also known as the King James Version) as opposed to modern translations, is a distinguishing mark of most continuing churches. ... High Church relates to ecclesiology and liturgy in Christian theology and practice. ... Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches, initially designed to be pejorative. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ...

The principles of the Affirmation of St. Louis and, to a much lesser extent, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion provide some basis for unity in the movement, but these jurisdictions are numerous and often splinter and recombine. Reports put their number at somewhere between 20 and 40, mostly in North America, but fewer than a dozen of the churches popularly called "continuing churches" can be traced back to the meeting in St. Louis. The 2005/06 Directory of Traditional Anglican and Episcopal Parishes, published by The Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, contains information on over 400 Continuing Anglican parishes which requested to be listed. The Thirty-Nine Articles are the defining statements of Anglican doctrine. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The term continuing Church has been used by dissenting splinter groups of a number of churches following schisms normally on ideological grounds, most notably in recent years opposition to the ordination of women beginning in the 1970s in the USA. Examples of continuing churches include the Free Church of England...

Other Anglican churches

Other such bodies not in communion with Canterbury include the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) in the United States, which left the Episcopal Church in 1873 in opposition to the advance of Anglo-Catholicism; the Free Church of England, which was founded in 1844 for similar reasons; and the Anglican Orthodox Church, another Low Church body that was founded in 1963. The term Communion is derived from Latin communio (sharing in common). ... The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, groups, ideas, customs and practices within Anglicanism that emphasise continuity with Catholic tradition. ... The Free Church of England is an Anglican church which separated from the established Church of England in 1844. ... Jan. ... The Anglican Orthodox Church (AOC) is a small Anglican body that separated from the Episcopal Church in the USA in 1963. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

These churches are not always considered to be Continuing Anglican churches, although the REC has recently moved to associate itself more closely with them by entering into agreements with a number of Continuing churches such as the Anglican Province of America. Both of them also have formal agreements in place with several provinces of the Anglican Communion that have been critical of ECUSA. See Anglican realignment. The Anglican Province of America is one of a number of continuing Anglican chuches in the United States, i. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

List of churches

The following is a list of churches commonly called "Continuing Anglican," with the approximate number of North American parishes shown in parentheses. Some have additional affiliates in other countries.

• American Anglican Church. (11)
• Anglican Catholic Church. (90)
• Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. (42) The Canadian counterpart of the Anglican Church in America.
• Anglican Church in America. (100)
• Anglican Church in the USA. (20)
• Anglican Churches of America. (2)
• Anglican Episcopal Church. (4)
• Anglican Independent Communion Worldwide. (2)
• Anglican Orthodox Church. (7)
• Anglican Province of America. (77)
• Anglican Province of Christ the King. (46)
• Christian Episcopal Church. (4)
• Diocese of the Holy Cross (19)
• Episcopal Missionary Church. (33)
• Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite). (35)
• Orthodox Anglican Church. (11)
• Reformed Episcopal Church. (120)
• Southern Episcopal Church. (3)
• United Anglican Church. (11)
• United Episcopal Church of North America. (22)

The Anglican Catholic Church is a world-wide body of Anglican christians, which developed out of the St. ... The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada is an Anglican church that was founded in the 1970s by conservative Anglicans who were dissatisfied with decisions made by the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) to confer priestly ordination upon women and to make liturgical reforms that would evolve into the Book of... The Anglican Church in America (ACA) is a Continuing Anglican church body and the United States branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion. ... The Anglican Episcopal Church is an Anglican church based in the western United States. ... The Anglican Orthodox Church (AOC) is a small Anglican body that separated from the Episcopal Church in the USA in 1963. ... The Anglican Province of America is one of a number of continuing Anglican chuches in the United States, i. ... The Anglican Province of Christ the King is a continuing Anglican church with traditional forms both of doctrine and liturgy. ... The Christian Episcopal Church (XnEC) is a Continuing Anglican Jurisdiction consisting of parishes in Canada, the United States, and the Cayman Islands. ... The Diocese of the Holy Cross (DHC) is a Continuing Anglican Church body in the USA. Unlike most dioceses it is not geographically defined, but rather is a national jurisdiction. ... The Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC)is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States. ... The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada. ... The Southern Episcopal Church was founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1962 by a physician, the Rt. ... The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) is a Christian denomination in the Continuing Anglican Movement with parishes and mission projects in the United States of America. ...

Further reading

• Divided We Stand: A History of the Continuing Anglican Movement by Douglas Bess, Tractarian Press, 2002, ISBN 0-9719636-0-6. Revised edition, Apocryphile Press, September 2006, ISBN 1-933993-10-3 This book received a positive review in the June, 2004, journal of Anglican and Episcopal History. Described as the "best published book on the Continuing Anglican Movement" by John P. Plummer, author of The Many Paths of the Independent Sacramental Movement.

External links

• List of churches not in the Anglican Communion, at anglicansonline.org. Includes weblinks for most of the Continuing Anglican Movement churches, some former churches now defunct, and some churches which are not Anglican but do have bishops.
• This map locates some of the Continuing Anglican parishes in the United States along with other Anglican parishes not affiliated with ECUSA. (You can limit the map to a particular jurisdiction by changing the ShowAll parameter to Province=APA, for instance. See the list of province acronyms at the bottom of the map.)
• The Measure of A Bishop: The Episcopi Vagantes, Apostolic Succession, and the Legitimacy of the Anglican "Continuing Church" Movement. A Master's thesis, written by a student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, containing a great deal of historical information on Continuing Anglican and related Churches.