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Episcopal Language | |
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ABC's of Prayer: Ask, believe, claim. Anglican Conscience: Conscience is the inner sense of what is right and wrong in one's conduct and motives, impelling one toward right action. This spirituality has traditionally been guided by the 'parent' of the Episcopal Church - the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Conscience is defined by sensibility, the ordinary, God's nature, and left-brain thinking. By 'sensibility', we mean the ability to incorporate into our awareness the totality of an experience in all of its depth and breath. By 'ordinary', we mean the extra-ordinary love of God is to be found in the ordinary - the inner reality of things. By 'God's nature', we mean the balanced perspective of a Creator, who is caring, intuitive, receptive, and open. By 'left brain thinking', we mean intuitive, analogical, metaphorical, symbolic (poetry, art, music - for example) versus that which is analytical, logical, and unambiguous. Anglicans are "Yes, but…" people - dialectic, quest oriented, and sharing a willingness to accept ambiguity and chaos as a part of life. Anglican Principle of Spirituality: "lex orandi legem statuat credendi" - The law of prayer constitutes and shapes the law of belief. Anglican Theological Method: 1. Evaluate the knowledge of God by the authority of Scripture as the revealed Word of God. 2. Evaluate the knowledge of God by the guidance of tradition in articulating the Biblical faith in creeds and liturgies. 3. Evaluate the knowledge of God by the use of reason as a tool for explicating and applying the deposit of faith in every age. Anglo-Catholic: English Catholic; those who stress the historic catholic nature of the church in contrast to its connection to the Protestant Reformation. The Oxford Movement of the 19th century recalled the church to its catholic (sacramental and universal) nature. Authority for the Anglican: Authority among Anglicans, including Episcopalians, comes from Tradition, Reason and Holy Scripture. Tradition is set forth in the evolution of the Book of Common Prayer and the rubrics therein. Reason means 'reasonable' and it is the power of the human mind to discern truth - intuitive and rational. By means of our reason we participate in the unfolding mind of God. Anglicans believe there is continuity between nature and the supernatural, that God is the initiator of our relationship, and that there is no natural/divine separation. Through reason, we discern God's vision, develop the church's mission, and collaborate with each other to reach goals and fellowship in peace - as much as possible. Scripture apart from reason (reasonableness) is believed dangerous, often becoming - and historically proven - tyrannical and harmfully judgmental. However, Scripture is the bedrock of the history of our community and it is neither the end of God's revelation to man nor separate from the new stories of God's life with mankind. Anglicans believe the authority behind Scripture are the ecumenical basics found in the four major historical Councils of the Church - Nicea (325 AD), Constantinople (381 AD), Ephesus (431 AD, and Chalcedon (451 AD). From these we have learned that Scripture should not used to project opinion in such a way as to give a misdirected person the authority of God, which would result in the sin of schism and the destruction of the Church. Anglicans believe nothing should be taught contrary to Scripture. Protestants generally believe only what is in Scripture should be taught. These and other historical understandings are primarily a result of the thinking of Richard Hooker (1554-1600) and Elizabethan Settlement in 1558. Prior to that, authority was established within the historic faith given to the Apostles, St. Paul, then the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Classical Protestantism of the 1500's. This was the era of Martin Luther and the reformed churches - with an emphasis on reading the Bible and being 'inspired' by the Holy Spirit. Out of the 1500's, of course, were born the Anglo-Catholics and Book of Common Prayer. After that, the 'Radical' Protestantism of the late 1800's came about with the 'direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit' doctrine. Then the evolution of theologies of the modern church and the 'postmodern' church evolved, in which there is much 'discussion'. Independent decisions of various Provinces has disturbed the Communion of late. Episcopalians are generally uncomfortably thankful for the authority 'as it is' and accept what is vague as the price of freedom. Anglicans often believe in 'muddy positions' in evidence of episcopal (bishop's) strength and wisdom in their slowness in trying to figure out what "Thus saith the Lord" means. Postmodern issues certainly speak to this continuing spirituality and dialogue within Anglicanism and the Episcopal Church. |
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Contact Us | |
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863.688.4502 | |
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| Fax: | 863.603.4659 | |||||
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| Email: | communications@ teamallsaints.org | |||||
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| Mail: | 209 South Iowa
Avenue Lakeland, Florida 33801 |
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| Address: | 202 South Massachusetts
Avenue Lakeland, Florida 33801 |
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