#TractSwarmFour: The Heart of 21st Century Anglican Catholicity

The real development of theology is . . . the process in which the Church, standing firm in her old truths, enters into the apprehension of the new social and intellectual movements of each age . . . and is able to assimilate all new material, to welcome and give its place to all new knowledge, to throw herself into the sanctification of each new social order, bringing forth out of her treasures things new and old, and showing again and again her power of witnessing under changed conditions to the catholic capacity of her faith and life.” ~ Lux Mundi: A series of Studies in the Religion of the Incarnation (Charles Gore, ed.), Preface to the 1st Edition, 1889.

 

The Society Facebook Page regularly gets messages and posts from people asking if we are “real priests” and, if so, if we can answer a question about something. Several of our members get questions regularly, when people see the name of our Society, about whether they are some kind of ecumenical group for Roman Catholics and Anglicans. We seem to go back and forth in Chapter meetings and other gatherings of the Society, debating the finer points of a well-made cassock and then debating whether we should be debating about wearing cassocks! Many members are clear that they are not interested in a “gin and lace” group… while, at the same time, a good number of our members enjoy good gin and well-made lace.

What does it mean to say we are Catholic Anglicans? When we say that one of the twin aims of the Society is Catholic Evangelism… what does that actually mean? Does it mean being evangelistic within our church for the Catholic tradition? Does it mean using the Catholic tradition as the source of our evangelistic efforts outside of the church?

Most importantly, what is at the heart of catholicity for the 21st century Anglican?

This is the Theme for our 7th Annual Conference, October 7-10, 2015, in Denver. What is at the heart of Catholicity?

For our Fourth #TractSwarm, we are asking for your thoughts on this question. What is at the heart of the theology and practice of Catholic Anglicans today? What is the most important message of the Catholic tradition of our church to the broader body? What, for you, is at the core of why you identify as a Catholic?

Posts on #TractSwarm Four: The Heart of 21st Century Anglican Catholicity
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