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Anglicanism commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion , the churches that are in Full Communion with the See of Canterbury .The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition p.65 (March 13, 1997) TERMINOLOGY The word ''Anglicanism'' was a Neologism in the 19th century, being constructed from the much older word ''Anglican''. The word refers to the teachings and rites of Christians in communion with the See of Canterbury . It has come to be used to refer to the claim of those Churches to a unique religious and theological tradition apart from all other Christian churches, be they Eastern Orthodox , Roman Catholic , or Protestant . The word ''Anglican'' originates in ''ecclesia anglicana'', a and the Scottish Episcopal Church . Though the use is disputed by the Anglican Communion, the word is claimed by followers of dissenting groups which have left the Communion or have been founded separately from it. Anglicanism defined Anglicanism, in its structures, theology and forms of worship, is understood as a distinct Christian tradition representing a middle ground between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism and, as such, is often referred to as being a '' Via Media '' (or ''middle way'') between these traditions. The faith of Anglicans is founded in the Scriptures and the Gospels , the traditions of the Apostolic Church , the historic Episcopate , and the early Church Fathers . Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as 'containing all things necessary for salvation' and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith. Anglicans understand the Apostles' Creed as the baptismal symbol, and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. , Kent.]] Anglicans celebrate the traditional sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Holy Eucharist , also called Holy Communion or the Mass . The Eucharist is central to worship for most Anglicans as a communal offering of prayer and praise in which the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are recalled through prayer, reading of the Bible, singing, and the consecration of bread and wine as instituted at the Last Supper . Whilst many Anglicans celebrate the Eucharist in similar ways to the Roman Catholic tradition a considerable degree of liturgical freedom is permitted and worship styles vary from simple to elaborate. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book Of Common Prayer , the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries. It was called "common prayer" because all Anglicans used to use it around the world. In 1549 the first Book of Common Prayer (BCP) was compiled by Thomas Cranmer , who was then Archbishop Of Canterbury . Whilst it has since undergone many revisions and Anglican churches in different countries have developed other service books, the Prayer Book is still acknowledged as one of the ties that bind the Anglican Communion together. Anglicans uphold the Catholic and Apostolic faith and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. In practice Anglicans believe this is revealed in Holy Scripture and the catholic creeds, and interpret these in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason, and experience. ORIGINS AND HISTORY See Also: History of the Church of England History of the Scottish Episcopal Church Church of Ireland#History Origins in Knock , Ireland .]] Anglicans traditionally date the origins of their Church to the arrival in the Kingdom Of Kent of the first Archbishop of Canterbury, St Augustine , at the end of the 6th Century . However, the origin of the Church in the British Isles extends farther back. Christianity first gained a foothold during the Roman Occupation of Britannia , possibly as early as the 1st Century . The first recorded Christian martyr in Britain, St Alban , is thought to have lived in the early 4th Century , and his prominence in Anglican Hagiography is reflected in the number of Parish Church es of which he is patron. Restitutus (fl. 314) is known to have been the metropolitan Bishop Of London and he is named as having attended the Council Of Arles . Irish Anglicans trace their origins back to the founding saint of Irish Christianity ( St Patrick ) who was a Roman Briton and pre-dated Anglo-Saxon Christianity. Some Anglicans consider Celtic Christianity a forerunner of their church, since the re-establishment of Christianity in some areas in the early sixth century came via Irish and Scottish missionaries, notably Patrick and St Columba .2 Reformation See Also: English Reformation by the Pope .]] While Anglicans acknowledge that the repudiation of Papal Authority by Henry VIII Of England led to the Church of England existing as a separate entity, they believe that it is in continuity with the pre-Reformation Church of England. Quite apart from its distinct customs and liturgies (such as the Sarum Rite ), the organizational machinery of the Church of England was in place by the time of the Synod Of Hertford in 672 – 673 when the English bishops were for the first time able to act as one body under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry's Act In Restraint Of Appeals ( 1533 ) and the Acts Of Supremacy ( 1534 ) declared that the English crown was "the only Supreme Head in earth of the Church of England, called ''Ecclesia Anglicana''," in order "to repress and extirpate all errors, heresies, and other enormities and abuses heretofore used in the same." The development of the Thirty-Nine Articles of religion and the passage of the Acts Of Uniformity culminating in the Elizabethan Religious Settlement resulted by the end of the seventeenth century in a Church that described itself as both Catholic and Reformed with the English monarch as its Supreme Governor . MacCulloch commenting on this situation says that it "has never subsequently dared to define its identity decisively as Protestant or Catholic, and has decided in the end that this is a virtue rather than a handicap." 3 King Henry VIII of England The English Reformation was initially driven by the dynastic goals of Henry VIII, who, in his quest for a Consort who would bear him a male heir, found it expedient to replace Papal Authority with the supremacy of the English crown. The early legislation focused primarily on questions of temporal and spiritual supremacy. The introduction of the Great Bible in 1538 brought a Vernacular translation of the Scriptures into churches. The Dissolution Of The Monasteries and the seizure of their assets by 1540 brought huge amounts of church land and property under the jurisdiction of the Crown, and ultimately into the hands of the English nobility. This simultaneously removed the greatest centres of loyalty to the pope and created vested interests which made a powerful material incentive to support a separate Christian church in England under the rule of the Crown. Cranmer, Parker, and Hooker By 1549 , the process of reforming the ancient national church was fully spurred on by the publication of the first vernacular prayer book, the Book Of Common Prayer , and the enforcement of the Acts Of Uniformity , establishing English as the language of public worship. The theological justification for Anglican distinctiveness was begun by the Archbishop Of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer , the principal author of the first Prayer Book, and continued by other thinkers such as Matthew Parker , Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes . Cranmer had worked as a diplomat in Europe and was aware of the ideas of the Reformers Andreas Osiander , Friedrich Myconius , as well as the Roman Catholic theologian Desiderius Erasmus . ( 1489 – 1556 ), Archbishop Of Canterbury and principal author of the first two Books Of Common Prayer .]] During the short reign of Edward VI , Henry's son, Cranmer and others moved the Church of England significantly towards a more reformed position, which was reflected in the development of the second Prayer Book ( 1552 ) and in the Forty-Two Articles of Religion. This reform was reversed abruptly in the subsequent reign of Queen Mary , a Roman Catholic who re-established communion with Rome. In the 16th Century , religious life was an important part of the cement which held society together and formed an important basis for extending and consolidating political power. Differences in religion were likely to lead to civil unrest at the very least, with Treason and foreign invasion acting as real threats. When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, a solution was thought to have been found. To minimise bloodshed over religion in her dominions, the Religious Settlement between factions of Rome and Geneva was brought about. It was compellingly articulated in the development of the 1559 Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Ordinal, and the two Books of Homilies. These works, issued under Archbishop Matthew Parker, were to become the basis of all subsequent Anglican doctrine and self-identification. The new version of the prayer book was substantially the same as Cranmer's earlier versions. It would become a source of great argument during the 17th century, but later revisions were not of great theological importance. The Thirty-Nine Articles were based on the earlier work of Cranmer, being modelled after the Forty-Two Articles. .]] The bulk of the population acceded to Elizabeth's religious settlement with varying degrees of enthusiasm or resignation. It was imposed by law, and secured Parliamentary approval only by a narrow vote in which all the Roman Catholic bishops who were not imprisoned voted against. As well as those who continued to recognise papal supremacy, the more militant Protestants, or Puritan s as they became known, opposed it. Both groups were punished and disenfranchised in various ways and cracks in the façade of religious unity in England appeared. King James Bible ]] Shortly, after coming to the throne James I attempted to bring unity to the Church of England by instituting a commission consisting of scholars from all views within the Church to produce a unified and new translation of the bible free of Calvinist and '' Popish '' influence. The project was begun in 1604 and completed in 1611 becoming ''de facto'' the '' Authorised Version '' in the Church of England and Anglican churches throughout the communion until the mid-20th century. The New Testament was translated from the '' Textus Receptus '' (Received Text) edition of the Greek texts, so called because most extant texts of the time were in agreement with it. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, while the Apocrypha was translated from the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The work was done by 47 scholars working in six committees, two based in each of the University Of Oxford , the University Of Cambridge , and Westminster . They worked on certain parts separately; then the drafts produced by each committee were compared and revised for harmony with each other. This translation had a profound effect on English Literature . The works of famous authors such as John Milton , Herman Melville , John Dryden and William Wordsworth are deeply inspired by it. The ''Authorised Version'' is often referred to as the ''King James Version'', particularly in the United States . This despite the fact that King James was not personally involved in the translation, though his authorization was legally necessary for the translation to begin, and he set out guidelines for the translation process, such as prohibiting footnotes and ensuring that Anglican positions were recognised on various points. English Civil War For the next century, through the reigns of and an Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud . For about a decade (1647-1660), Christmas was another casualty as Cromwell abolished all Feasts and Festival s of the Church to rid England of outward signs of '' Popishness ''. Under The Protectorate of the Commonwealth Of England from 1649 to 1660 , Anglicanism was Disestablished , Presbyterian Ecclesiology was introduced as an adjunct to the Episcopal system, the Articles were replaced with the Westminster Confession , and the Book of Common Prayer was replaced by the Directory Of Public Worship . Despite this, about one quarter of English clergy refused to conform. In the midst of the apparent triumph of Calvinism, the 17th century brought forth a Golden Age of Anglicanism. The Caroline Divines , such as Andrews, Laud, Herbert Thorndike , Jeremy Taylor , John Cosin , Thomas Ken and others rejected Roman claims and refused to adopt the ways and beliefs of the Continental Protestants. The historic episcopate was preserved. Truth was to be found in Scripture and the bishops and archbishops, which were to be bound to the traditions of the first four centuries of the Church's history. The role of reason in theology was affirmed. Restoration and beyond See Also: English Restoration Act of Toleration With the Restoration of Charles II , Anglicanism too was restored in a form not far removed from the Elizabethan version. One difference was that the ideal of encompassing all the people of England in one religious organization, taken for granted by the Tudors , had to be abandoned. The 1662 revision of the Book Of Common Prayer became the unifying text of the ruptured and repaired Church after the disaster that was the civil war. With the Act Of Toleration enacted on 24 May 1689 , Nonconformists had freedom of worship. That is, those Protestant s who dissented from the Church of England such as Baptist s, Congregationalist s and Quaker s but not Roman Catholics were allowed their own places of worship and their own teachers and preachers, subject to acceptance of certain oaths of allegiance. It deliberately did not apply to Catholics and Unitarians and continued the existing social and political disabilities for dissenters, including their exclusion from political office. The religious landscape of England assumed its present form, with an Anglican established church occupying the middle ground, and Roman Catholics and those Puritans who dissented from the establishment, too strong to be suppressed altogether, having to continue their existence outside the national church rather than controlling it. Restrictions and continuing official suspicion and legal restrictions continued well into the nineteenth century. The Elizabethan Settlement failed in that it was never able to win the assent of the entire English people, let alone the other peoples of the British Isles, yet it experienced enormous success as this model of Anglican Christianity spread overseas. Spread of Anglicanism outside England See Also: History of the Anglican Communion The history of Anglicanism since the 17th Century has been one of greater geographical and cultural expansion and diversity, accompanied by a concomitant diversity of liturgical and theological profession and practice. At the same time as the English reformation, the Church Of Ireland was separated from Rome and adopted articles of faith similar to England's Thirty-Nine Articles. However, unlike England, the Anglican church there was never able to capture the loyalty of the majority of the population (who still adhered to Roman Catholicism). As early as 1582, the Scottish Episcopal Church was inaugurated when James VI Of Scotland sought to reintroduce bishops when the Church Of Scotland became fully Presbyterian (see Scottish Reformation ). The Scottish Episcopal Church enabled the creation of the Episcopal Church In The United States Of America after the American Revolution , by consecrating in Aberdeen the first American bishop, Samuel Seabury , who had been refused consecration by bishops in England, due to his inability to take the oath of allegiance to the English Crown prescribed in the Order For The Consecration Of Bishops . The polity and ecclesiology of the Scottish and American churches, as well as their daughter churches, thus tends to be distinct from those spawned by the English church - reflected, for example, in their looser conception of Provincial government, and their leadership by a Presiding Bishop or Primus rather than by a Metropolitan or Archbishop . The names of the Scottish and American churches inspire the customary term ''Episcopalian'' for an Anglican; the term being used in these and other parts of the world. ''See also: '' At the time of the Reformation the four (now six) Welsh dioceses were all part of the Province of Canterbury, and remained so until 1920 when the Church In Wales was created as a province of the Anglican Communion. The intense interest in the Christian faith which characterised the Welsh in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was not present in the sixteenth, and most Welsh people went along with the Reformation more because the English government was strong enough to impose its wishes in Wales, rather than out of any real conviction. Anglicanism spread outside of the British Isles by means of emigration as well as missionary effort. English missionary organizations such as USPG - then known as the Society For The Propagation Of The Gospel In Foreign Parts , the Society For The Promotion Of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and the Church Missionary Society (CMS) were established in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to bring Anglican Christianity to the British colonies. By the nineteenth century, such missions were extended to other areas of the world. The liturgical and theological orientations of these missionary organizations were diverse. The SPG, for example, was influenced by the Catholic Revival in the Church of England, while CMS was influenced by the Evangelicalism of the earlier Evangelical Revival . As a result, the piety, liturgy, and polity of the indigenous churches they established came to reflect these diverse orientations. The growth of the twin "revivals" in nineteenth century Anglicanism — Evangelical and Catholic — were hugely influential. The Evangelical Revival informed important social movements such as The Abolition Of Slavery , child welfare legislation, Prohibition of alcohol, the development of Public Health and Public Education . It led to the creation of the Church Army , an evangelical and social welfare association and informed piety and liturgy, most notably in the development of Methodism . The Catholic Revival, arguably, had a more penetrating impact. It succeeded in transforming the liturgy of the Anglican Church, repositioning the Eucharist as the central act of worship in place of the Daily Office s, and reintroducing the use of vestments, ceremonial, and acts of piety (such as Eucharistic Adoration ) that had long been prohibited in the English church and (to a certain extent) in its daughter churches. It had an impact on Anglican theology, through such Oxford Movement figures as John Henry Newman , Edward Pusey , as well as the Christian Socialism of Charles Gore Frederick Maurice. DOCTRINE See Also: Anglican doctrine Catholic and Reformed In the time of Henry VIII rather than theological disagreement, the nature of Anglicanism was based on questions of jurisdiction - namely, the belief of the Crown that national churches should be autonomous. The effort to create a national church in legal continuity with its traditions, but inclusive of the doctrinal and liturgical belief of the Reformers , was joined by a real concern to make the institution as hospitable as possible to people of different theological inclinations, so as to maintain social peace and cohesion. The result has been a movement with a distinctive self-image among Christian movements. The question often arises whether the Anglican Communion should be identified as a Protestant or Catholic church, or perhaps as a distinct branch of Christianity altogether. The distinction between Protestant and Catholic, and the coherence of the two, is routinely a matter of debate both within specific Anglican Churches and throughout the Anglican Communion by members themselves. Since the Oxford Movement of the mid-19th century, many churches of the Communion have embraced and extended liturgical and pastoral practices dissimilar to most Reformed Protestant theology. This extends beyond the ceremony of High Church services to even more theologically significant territory, such as sacramental theology (see Anglican Sacraments ). While Anglo-Catholic practices, particularly liturgical ones, have become more common within the tradition over the last century, there remain many places where practices and beliefs remain on the more Protestant or Evangelical side. Guiding principles (1554–1600), one of the most influential figures in shaping Anglican theology and self-identity]] Unlike other Christian movements, Anglican doctrine is neither established by a and Nicene Creed s, the scriptures (via the lectionary), the sacraments, daily prayer, the Catechism , and apostolic succession in the context of the historic threefold ministry. Beyond the prayer books of various provinces, however, there are other important principles that have had an impact on Anglican belief. The earliest are contained within the '' and Hermeneutics since earliest times. Anglicans look for authority in their so-called "standard divines" (see below). Historically, the most influential of these - apart from Cranmer - has been the sixteenth century cleric and theologian Richard Hooker . Hooker's description of Anglican authority as being derived primarily from Scripture, informed by reason (the intellect and the experience of God) and tradition (the practices and beliefs of the historical church), has influenced Anglican self-identity and doctrinal reflection perhaps more powerfully than any other formula. The analogy of the "three-legged stool" of scripture, reason and tradition is often incorrectly attributed to Hooker. Rather Hooker's description is a hierarchy of authority, with scripture as foundational, and reason and tradition as vitally important but secondary authorities. Finally, the extension of Anglicanism into non-English cultures, the growing diversity of prayer books, and the increasing interest in ecumenical dialogue has led to further reflection on the parameters of Anglican identity. Many Anglicans look to the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 as the "''sine qua non''" of Communal identity. In brief, the Quadrilateral's four points are the Holy Scriptures, as containing all things necessary to salvation; the Creeds (specifically, the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds), as the sufficient statement of Christian faith; the dominical sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion ; and the historic Episcopate . Anglican divines See Also: John Donne George Herbert William Laud Within the Anglican tradition, there have been certain theological writers whose works have been considered standards for faith, doctrine, worship, and spirituality. While there is no authoritative list of these Anglican divines, there are some whose names would likely be found on most lists - those who are commemorated in Lesser Feasts of the Church, and those whose works are frequently Anthologised .4 The corpus produced by Anglican divines is diverse. What they have in common is a commitment to the faith as conveyed by Scripture and the Book of Common Prayer, thus regarding prayer and theology in a manner akin to that of the Apostolic Fathers .5 On the whole, Anglican divines view the Via Media of Anglicanism, not as a compromise, but "a positive position, witnessing to the universality of God and God's kingdom working through the fallible, earthly ''ecclesia Anglicana''."6 These theologians regard Scripture as interpreted through tradition and reason as authoritative in matters concerning salvation. Reason and tradition, indeed, is extant in and presupposed by Scripture, thus implying co-operation between God and humanity, God and nature, and between the sacred and secular. Faith is thus regarded as Incarnation al, and authority as dispersed. Among the early Anglican divines of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the names of Thomas Cranmer, John Jewel , Richard Hooker, Lancelot Andrewes , and Jeremy Taylor predominate. The influential character of Hooker's '' Of The Laws Of Ecclesiastical Polity '' cannot be overestimated. Published in 1593 and subsequently, Hooker's eight volume work is primarily a treatise on Church-state relations, but it deals comprehensively with issues of Biblical Interpretation , Soteriology , Ethics , and Sanctification . Throughout the work, Hooker makes clear that theology involves prayer and is concerned with ultimate issues, and that theology is relevant to the social mission of the church. ]] The eighteenth century saw the rise of two important movements in Anglicanism: Cambridge Platonism , with its mystical understanding of reason as the "candle of the Lord," and the Evangelical Revival , with its emphasis on the personal experience of the Holy Spirit . The Cambridge Platonist movement evolved into a school called Latitudinarianism , which emphasised reason as the barometer of discernment and took a stance of indifference towards doctrinal and ecclesiological differences. The Evangelical Revival, influenced by such figures as John Wesley and Charles Simeon , re-emphasised the importance of Justification Through Faith and the consequent importance of personal conversion. Some in this movement, such as Wesley and George Whitefield , took the message to the United States , influencing the First Great Awakening , and created an Anglo-American movement called Methodism that would eventually break away, structurally, from the Anglican churches after the American Revolution. By the nineteenth century, there was a renewed emphasis on the teachings of the earlier Anglican divines: Theologians such as John Keble , Edward Bouverie Pusey , and John Henry Newman had widespread influence in the realm of polemics, homiletics, and theological and devotional works, not least because they largely repudiated the Old High Church tradition and replaced it with a dynamic appeal to antiquity which looked beyond the Reformers and Anglican formularies.7 Their work is largely credited with the development of the Oxford Movement , which sought to reassert Catholic identity and practice in the Anglican Church. Through such works as '' The Kingdom Of Christ '', Frederick Denison Maurice played a pivotal role in inaugurating another movement, Christian Socialism . In this, Maurice transformed Hooker's emphasis on the Incarnation al nature of Anglican spirituality to an imperative for social justice. In the nineteenth century, Anglican biblical scholarship began to assume a distinct character, represented by the so-called "Cambridge triumvirate" of Joseph Lightfoot , F. J. A. Hort , and Brooke Foss Westcott . Their orientation is best summed up by Lightfoot's observation that "Life which Christ is and which Christ communicates, the life which fills our whole beings as we realise its capacities, is active fellowship with God." The twentieth century is marked by figures such as Charles Gore , with his emphasis on natural revelation, William Temple 's focus on Christianity and society J.A.T. Robinson 's provocative discussions of deism and theism, Darwell Stone's and E L Mascall's thomism and defence of Catholic orthodoxy, and Kenneth Kirk's Moral Theology.8 Outside England, one sees such figures as William Porcher DuBose , William Meade , and Charles Henry Brent in the United States. More recently, theologians such as Henry Chadwick. John Macquarrie and Don Cupitt , who rejected all the doctrines of historic Christianity in favour of a "Christian Buddism",9 Jeffrey John , N.T. Wright , and Rowan Williams have added to the mix. Churchmanship , a Catholic liturgical phenomenon which re-emerged in Anglicanism following the Catholic Revival of the nineteenth century]]. "Churchmanship" can be defined as the manifestation of theology in the realms of liturgy, piety and — to some extent — spirituality. Anglicanism diversity in this respect has tended to reflect the diversity in the tradition's Protestant and Catholic identity. Different individuals, groups, parishes, dioceses and provinces may identify more with one or the other, or some balance of the two. The range of Anglican belief and practice became particularly divisive during the 19th century when some clergy were disciplined and even imprisoned on charges of Ritualism while, at the same time, others were criticised for engaging in public worship services with ministers of Reformed churches. Resistance to the growing acceptance and restoration of traditional Catholic ceremonial by the mainstream of Anglicanism ultimately led to the formation of small breakaway churches such as the Free Church Of England in England (1844) and the Reformed Episcopal Church in North America (1873). Anglo-Catholic (and some Broad Church) Anglicans celebrate public liturgy in a fashion that resembles that of the contemporary Roman Catholic Church, sometimes in an even more traditional manner (e.g., an "eastward orientation" at the altar). The Eucharist may be conducted by priest, deacon and Subdeacon dressed in their traditional vestments, using incense and Sanctus Bell s and with "secret prayers" said by the presiding celebrant. Such churches may practice Eucharistic Adoration , such as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. In terms of personal piety, some Anglicans may recite the Rosary and Angelus , be involved in a devotional society dedicated to "Our Lady" (the Blessed Virgin Mary ) and seek the intercession of the saints. In recent years the prayer books of several provinces have, out of deference to a greater agreement with Eastern Conciliarism (and a perceived greater respect accorded Anglicanism by Eastern Orthodoxy than by Roman Catholicism), instituted a number of historically Eastern and Oriental Orthodox elements in their liturgies, including introduction of the Trisagion and deletion of the Filioque clause from the Nicene Creed . For their part, those Evangelical (and some Broad Church) Anglicans who emphasise the more Protestant aspects of the Church stress the Reformation theme of Salvation by grace through faith. They emphasise the two dominical sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, viewing the other five as "lesser rites". Some Evangelical Anglicans may even tend to take the inerrancy of Scripture literally, adopting the view of Article VI that it contains all things necessary to salvation in an explicit sense. Worship in churches influenced by these principles tends to be significantly less elaborate, with greater emphasis on the Liturgy of the Word (the reading of the scriptures, the sermon and the intercessory prayers). The Order for Holy Communion may be celebrated bi-weekly or monthly (in preference to the Daily Office s), by ministers attired in Choir Habit , or more regular clothes, rather than Eucharistic vestments. Ceremony may be in keeping with their view of the provisions of the controversial Ornaments Rubric of the historic English prayer books — no candles, no incense, no bells and a minimum of manual action by the presiding celebrant (such as touching the elements at the Words Of Institution ). In recent decades there has been a growth of Charismatic worship among Anglicans. Both Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals have been affected by this movement such that it is not uncommon to find typically charismatic postures, music, and other themes evident during the services of otherwise Anglo-Catholic or Evangelical parishes. The spectrum of Anglican beliefs and practice is too large to be fit into these labels. Many Anglicans locate themselves somewhere in the spectrum of the Broad Church tradition, and consider themselves an amalgam of Evangelical and Catholic. Such Anglicans stress that Anglicanism is the "'' Via Media ''" (middle way) between the two major strains of Western Christianity. ''Via media'' may be understood as underscoring Anglicanism's preference for a communitarian and methodological approach to theological issues rather than relativism. PRACTICES: PRAYER AND WORSHIP see also In Anglicanism, there is a distinction between Liturgy, which is the formal public and communal worship of the Church, and personal prayer and devotion, which may be public or private. The Liturgy is regulated by the prayer books and consists of the Holy Eucharist (some call it Holy Communion or Mass), the other Sacraments, and the Liturgy of the Hours. Anglican worship: an overview Anglican worship services are open to all visitors. Christian visitors from the Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches will all find features of Anglican worship to be different: some will indeed find aspects of Anglican worship Defective , Offensive , Heretical and Blasphemous . This is the legacy of Christian Disunity . On the whole, most Christians would find much that is familiar in Anglican worship. The single most distinctive feature of Anglican worship that is unique amongst Christian worshippers is the use of the Book Of Common Prayer . No other Protestant church has anything similar nor are the use of Roman Catholic Missal s. Even with the variants in use across the Anglican Communion, the Book of Common Prayer so defines an Anglican church that even those churches outside of the Communion - churches that may even have no historical link to the Communion - which call themselves Anglican will have identified themselves so because they use the Book of Common Prayer in any of its variants in the shaping of their worship services.
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