Evangelical anglo-Catholic?

[alban]

Before becoming a member of the forum i spent a fair while just browsing as a guest, and recall one member (i think he was an Anglican) describing himself as an evangelical Anglo-Catholic, a term which i liked and thought i could identify with. However, as i mentioned in a previous post i have just returned from a pilgrimage to Walsingham (a rather Anglo-Catholic shrine dedicated to Blessed Mary) and it got me questioning to what extent it is a coherent label for myself. My church roots are firmly in both the Anglo-Catholic and evangelical church, and they are both 'wings' of the church which are very dear to my heart, but i have began to think about the core tennants of 'evangelical' as i understand it, and to look at how it relates to Anglo-Catholicism.


Evangelical churches place a high emphasis on the importance of the bible, something i have found undoubtedly in Anglo-Catholic churches (in my experience certainly more so than broad or high churches). Evangelical churches hold central the importance of the centrality of Jesus, but in the adoration of Blessed Sacrement it is Jesus and Jesus upon whom we reflect. Equally , evangelism places emphais on the simplicity of worship, but in spite of essentially rich nature of Anglo-Catholic worship, at it's heart it is ubelievably simple in the worship of God through the eucharist.

I really apologise for a post which probably doesn't make much sense- it's the result of a mind which has been racing for the past few days with thoughts! I guess what i'm trying to say is what is the evangelical church about? Are Anglo-Catholics by our very nature evangelical (as i am leaning towards) or they totally distinct? (Or perhaps a more important question- is this constant desire to label ourselves getting in the way of the message of the gospel; what image are we giving to the world when just being 'Anglican' isn't enough?) I really should perhaps have broken this up and made it into a few posts, but hopefully there is something there to provoke a small discussion.

(Also i hope noone takes any offence at my post. I'm not making an attack on evangelicals, quite the opposite in fact. I will be happy to clarify any of my comments :) )

[SeenAndUnseen]

This is a great post. I often find myself wondering similar things about how we Anglicans define ourselves in terms of liturgy, beliefs, and personal spirituality. One member of my family considers himself to be very Anglo-Catholic (to the point of being basically Catholic minus the Roman Pontiff) while I and others in my family are liturgically high church, yet very evangelical in our understanding of the faith: the primary authority of the Bible and the 39 Articles of Religion weigh in prominently for us. For me personally, I find I enjoy attending healing services and have begun to read about and practice healing prayer -- something I think most people would recognize as charismatic.

I love the term Evangelical Anglo-Catholic, and I am happy to be a part of a church in which there is room for it. :angel:

[trooper]

I know that at least for a while there was a magazine published under the title of the Evangelical (Anglo) Catholic. The general leaning was Anglo-Catholic, both liturgically and spiritually. It was Evangelical in the sense that it called all people to spread the Good News, in a perhaps more "witnessing in a Protestant" way than has been historically seen. In other words, go spread the news that our sort of Church is a special and unique way to God.

I don't know if the magazine is still around but the term Evangelical Catholic fits quite a few of this on this forum, I would think.

[Colabomb]

Before becoming a member of the forum i spent a fair while just browsing as a guest, and recall one member (i think he was an Anglican) describing himself as an evangelical Anglo-Catholic, a term which i liked and thought i could identify with. However, as i mentioned in a previous post i have just returned from a pilgrimage to Walsingham (a rather Anglo-Catholic shrine dedicated to Blessed Mary) and it got me questioning to what extent it is a coherent label for myself. My church roots are firmly in both the Anglo-Catholic and evangelical church, and they are both 'wings' of the church which are very dear to my heart, but i have began to think about the core tennants of 'evangelical' as i understand it, and to look at how it relates to Anglo-Catholicism.


Evangelical churches place a high emphasis on the importance of the bible, something i have found undoubtedly in Anglo-Catholic churches (in my experience certainly more so than broad or high churches). Evangelical churches hold central the importance of the centrality of Jesus, but in the adoration of Blessed Sacrement it is Jesus and Jesus upon whom we reflect. Equally , evangelism places emphais on the simplicity of worship, but in spite of essentially rich nature of Anglo-Catholic worship, at it's heart it is ubelievably simple in the worship of God through the eucharist.

I really apologise for a post which probably doesn't make much sense- it's the result of a mind which has been racing for the past few days with thoughts! I guess what i'm trying to say is what is the evangelical church about? Are Anglo-Catholics by our very nature evangelical (as i am leaning towards) or they totally distinct? (Or perhaps a more important question- is this constant desire to label ourselves getting in the way of the message of the gospel; what image are we giving to the world when just being 'Anglican' isn't enough?) I really should perhaps have broken this up and made it into a few posts, but hopefully there is something there to provoke a small discussion.

(Also i hope noone takes any offence at my post. I'm not making an attack on evangelicals, quite the opposite in fact. I will be happy to clarify any of my comments :) )
That was me. I was saying at the time that I am an Anglo-Catholic that believes in evangelism.

[gitlance]

I tend to feel the same way and almost find that I have inner conflict over my intention to live both as an Evangelical and an Anglo-Catholic. I was raised in a very strict Evangelical church, and as such I still have a lot of that in me. But I don't consider it a bad thing, and I believe it is fully compatible with Anglo-Catholic theology.

We have a few members on this board who may be surprised to hear me use the word "Evangelical" in a descriptive context of myself, but it is true! (Hahaha ;))

[Albion]

I tend to feel the same way and almost find that I have inner conflict over my intention to live both as an Evangelical and an Anglo-Catholic. I was raised in a very strict Evangelical church, and as such I still have a lot of that in me. But I don't consider it a bad thing, and I believe it is fully compatible with Anglo-Catholic theology.

We have a few members on this board who may be surprised to hear me use the word "Evangelical" in a descriptive context of myself, but it is true! (Hahaha ;))

I honestly think we're using the word in an atypical way. Evangelical as joined to Anglican means Protestant Anglican. That's the usual opposite number of Anglo-Catholic.

Evangelical as meaning spreading the Gospel would better be called Evangelistic. Everyone ought to be that!