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Welcome!Introduction
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Through the goodness and mercy of God, we believe that we offer a very full and exciting expression of the historic Christian Faith, and we invite you to learn more about us through the various links below. The Catholic Anglican Church is truly what its name implies: we are both Catholic and Anglican. As you come to learn more about us, we believe that you will discover that we truly do attempt to incorporate fully the vast richness and heritage of English Christianity as well as the breadth and depth of Roman Catholic Christianity. We are conservative in our understanding and practice of the Christian Faith; yet, we also desire to be compassionate and merciful as our Heavenly Father is compassionate and merciful (Luke 6:36).
As followers of Jesus Christ, we strive to be, first and foremost, Christians; then Anglican Christians; and then Catholic Anglican Christians. We understand our branch of Christianity to be Anglican; that is, placed within the rich tradition and history of the Church of England and the English Reformation, especially as it developed in the early 17th century and the period of the Restoration in the latter 17th century. Therefore, we see ourselves as Anglican Christians in the best of its authentic expression of historic western Christianity; yet, we incorporate a great deal of the vast teaching resources and abundant spirituality coming from the Roman Catholic Church.
For example, we cherish the history and development of the Catholic Faith through the centuries since the time of the New Testament in its various Councils of Bishops, missionary endeavors, and founding and expansion of various religious orders. We are also very thankful for the more modern development and expression of the Catholic Faith, especially in the Documents of Vatican Council II (1962-1965). We also draw heavily on many of the more recent teaching resources of the Catholic Church that have become available in the last 30 years such as the teachings of Pope John Paul II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (and its recent summary, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). We have utilized these resources and others over the past year and a half to develop our new Catechism of the Catholic Anglican Church, published on May 8, 2008, the Third Anniversary of our young Church.
We believe that you will discover that the Catholic Anglican Church follows clearly and wholeheartedly in the best aspects of historic Western Christianity in a way that is authentic and faithful to the past while being contemporary, fully appropriate for our times, and positioned for the future. We invite you to learn more about us -- to "come and see" (John 1:39). |