Saturday, November 26, 2005
Anglican vs. Roman Catholic Question
According to the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican orders are invalid, as a break occurred when virtually an entire generation of priests were ordained using the Edward VI ordinal, which Rome regards as invalid. However, Mary became Queen of England in 1553 and reunited the Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church. Didn't Rome take action to ensure that the believers in England had access to what it considered a valid priesthood and sacraments? If not, why not?
Furthermore, it has been established that most, and perhaps all, current Anglican clergy have strains of what Rome regards as valid apostolic succession through consecrators of the Old Catholic, Philippine Independent, and even Roman Catholic churches. If this is the case, then what is the reason that the Anglican churches are not accorded the same status as the Eastern Orthodox churches? Sour grapes, if you ask me.
According to the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican orders are invalid, as a break occurred when virtually an entire generation of priests were ordained using the Edward VI ordinal, which Rome regards as invalid. However, Mary became Queen of England in 1553 and reunited the Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church. Didn't Rome take action to ensure that the believers in England had access to what it considered a valid priesthood and sacraments? If not, why not?
Furthermore, it has been established that most, and perhaps all, current Anglican clergy have strains of what Rome regards as valid apostolic succession through consecrators of the Old Catholic, Philippine Independent, and even Roman Catholic churches. If this is the case, then what is the reason that the Anglican churches are not accorded the same status as the Eastern Orthodox churches? Sour grapes, if you ask me.
