Thank you for your post and thank you for your stand for the faith. It takes great courage and can often be greatly distubing. Few have been willing to make such a sacrifice.

Thanks also for your good comments on “Anglicanism – Protestant or Catholic.”

The author of the monograph you refer to is none other than the Rev. Dr. James I. Packer! I do not give authorship credit as I am no longer in posession of the original copy. I have circulated that piece for years and have yet to have a response other than positive.

The problem is that churchmanship in America has always moved from “low” to “high” – never the reverse. In the 1950’s the PECUSA was a vibrant Protestant denomination with a common national identity. Witness the funeral of President Reagan – a staged affair if there ever was one – nevertheless, a straighforward “Prayer Book” service minus smells and bells, female clergy, Romish vestments, and with a strong emphasis on preaching. How different from what actually takes place at the Cathedral or at any other ECUSA church any given Sunday!

The majority of clergy in the “continuing” churches and the handful left in ECUSA are not conservatives – they are conservative liberals. They believe the 1928 BCP to be worthy but essentially flawed. It needs to be added to or amended in use in order to make it “complete” or “correct.” The APA and the Anglican Catholic Churches have even adopted the Anglican Missal as their official service book, all the while giving lip service to the 1928 BCP.

Meanwhile, the long–suffering laity have been encouraged to accept Roman innovations in order to keep their clergy and parishes. Protestant churchmen are usually very tolerant of change and Anglo–Romanism is something of a slippery slope. Catholic innovations are usually introduced to Protestant minded congregations slowly and deliberately and, as long as the integrity of the 1928 BCP is assured, these parishes are usually willing to go along.

The number of Protestant minded clergy in the continuum was small to begin with and younger men entering the ministry were trained only in the Anglo–Catholic tradition. The bishops who control the Continuum with absolute papal authoity knew that if they just waited long enough, death and attrition would weaken the tiny Protestant minority and it would eventually disappear due to lack of clerical (episcopal) leadership.

As world–wide Anglicanism becomes more and more Roman visually (i.e. liturgically) so it has also embraced Roman theology and practice. Most Episcopalians believe that there are seven sacraments, that it is proper to call a priest “Father” and the Holy Communion “the Mass.” They use the King James Version for liturgy but cannot tell you why. They give out ashes on “Ash Wednesday.” They quote the Articles of Religion but actually believe that the Chicago– Lambeth Quadrilateral to be the defining “Anglican” document.

Anglo–Catholicism is something of a Trojan Horse in church history. Many honest Anglo–Catholcs are now seeking a return to Rome, as their hero John Henry Newman did so long ago. But the “conservative” Anglican movement has been hijacked by Anglo–Catholic and charismatics and any Protestant who takes a firm stand on these innovations is destined for criticism and expulsion from the “continuing” or “conservative” jurisdictions – the very concept of continuing the identity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America is anathema. The movement is dominated by bishops and clergy – poor lay people are kept in the dark and urged to contribute generously to a movement in which they have no voice.

Invocation of saints is but the tip of a theological iceberg. We live in an essentially Catholic society. Protestantism has fallen into social disfavour with the American public and this has opened the door to the Romanizing of American Protestant churches. As Protestants have abandoned their historic Bible and doctrinal standards, Mariolotry creeps in as a viable expression of “traditional” Christianity. Catholicism markets itself as a “conservative,” “historic” and even “apostolic” expression of the Christian faith.

In a world of radical change, unwitting Anglicans seem willing to trade their own ecclesiastical history for something which seems more substantial and spiritually satisfying. Soon, the only difference between Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism will be allegiance to the Pope. The Reformation will be undone – not by the Inquisition but by Protestant clergy.

Regrettably, we have only a handful of parishes in the TPEC and none in the DC area. I will attempt to locate a church near you, however, and hope that my next communicaion with you will be a bit brighter!

I strongly recommend the works of Bishop J.C. Ryle, especialy his masterwork apologia “Knots Untied.” It is “required reading” for our vestrymen and clergy. Please allow me to send you a copy as a gift.

Please know of my prayers for you and your parish and again, thank you for you courage and faithfulness.

Respectfully,

Charles Morley
BP, T.P.E.C.

Eph.5:30

This page last updated 19 August 2005