The Anglican Communion Church

Anglicanism is a denomination within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or have similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. Anglicans base their faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic the concept of apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having fully declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. (Sentamu, 2012) The Anglican Church of Southern Africa is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. This diocese is made up of both “low” and “high” churches. The former referring to parishes that do not follow a strict liturgical structure in their services, whilst the latter, also known as Anglo-Catholic churches, are usually more old-fashioned in their worship style and share many doctrinal beliefs with the Roman Catholic Church. (McCulloch, 1994)

The titles “Anglo-Catholic” and “Anglican Catholic”, are labels associated with Christians, beliefs, and practices within Anglicanism which emphasise their Roman Catholic heritage and identity of some Anglican churches. A “Catholic Revival” was started in 1833 at the University of Oxford by some Anglican clergy. There are even certain groups of Anglo-Catholics, often referred to as Anglo-Papalists, which view themselves under the Holy See, even though they are not in any form of formal communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Anglo-Papalists, often celebrate their Mass in the modern Catholic rite and seek reunion with the Catholic Church.

After the passing of the Act of Supremacy and King Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of ...

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...an Church is in a state of uncertainty, and creating links with new churches would only contribute further to the loss of members.

Conclusion

Anglicanorum Coetibus has indeed been the sought after form of unity which many Anglo-Catholics have, for centuries, have been longing for. With the potential unifying of two large Christian denominations, one can conclude that power and ideological status shall indeed be realigned and re-examined. Whilst the two churches do have many similarities, it is at times human nature to focus on the differences. Whilst there has not been any harsh criticism from the Anglican Communion on the matter, the relatively low response indicates a reluctance of the vast majority of Anglicans to enter into full communion with the pope indicates that an ideological shift may not be a priority for an already internally conflicted church.