Posted on 03/09/2011 1:30:07 PM PST by NYer
LONDON - Hundreds of disaffected Anglicans left the Church of England to become Roman Catholics on Ash Wednesday, the Christian day of penance.
The day set by the church to welcome converts wishing to join the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, a unique grouping created by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglicans left feeling isolated since the Church of England decided in 1992 to ordain women as priests.
Tensions have grown further as the governing General Synod moves to allow women to become bishops while denying special structures to protect the sensitivities of the objectors.
"I believe that synod is trying to make the church conform to the culture rather than being faithful to new life found in Jesus Christ," the Rev. David Lashbrooke said in his farewell sermon at St. Marychurch in Torquay, southwestern England.
Those joining the ordinariate will be allowed to keep some of their customs and liturgy, though they won't be allowed to receive communion until they are confirmed shortly before Easter. Their priests can be ordained to the Catholic priesthood even if they are married.
Church officials haven't released numbers, but a Catholic magazine, The Tablet, has reported that about 20 priests and 600 lay people around England are making the move. Five former bishops have already gone over.
"Of more than 22,000 ordained Church of England clergy in total, about two dozen would appear to have decided to join the ordinariate at this time," said Howard Dobson, spokesman for the Archbishops' Council.
"It is impossible to obtain an accurate figure of lay numbers as no one needs to register their leaving the C of E," Dobson said. The church claims 1.7 million active members.
In the Catholic diocese of Brentwood, covering east London and suburban Essex County, 241 adults and children, including seven priests, have indicated they will be moving from the Church of England, said diocesan press officer Mary Huntington.
The program set by the Catholic Church for the ordinariate is built around the season of Lent leading up to Easter, when new members normally prepare for confirmation, and Pentecost 50 days after Easter when former Anglican priests will be ordained into their new church.
The Rev. Simon Chinery, a curate or assistant priest at two Anglican churches in Plymouth, said he felt "a sense of peace, a sense of excitement and some nervousness" as he prepared for the Ash Wednesday service at a Catholic church.
In his farewell to his old churches on Sunday, Chinery noted he wasn't the first priest from the parish to become a Catholic but that Benedict had made it easier.
"Whereas previously ex-Anglicans were stealthily admitted to the Catholic church through a side entrance, this time the front door has been thrown open and the welcome mat laid out," he said.
"I deeply love the Church of England, it's a hard decision to leave it behind," he said Wednesday, adding that he would particularly miss the church's rich musical heritage.
The Rev. Ed Tomlinson was leaving St. Barnabas Church in Tunbridge Wells, southeast England, and felt relief as he took about 70 parishioners with him into the Catholic Church.
"I spent so many years battling to defend the faith from within the Church of England, which is crazy, and that's taken all my energy away from visiting the sick, preaching the good news and helping people," Tomlinson said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
A smaller group remains committed to St. Barnabas and the Church of England, Tomlinson added, "and they have my prayers and good wishes."
While some move, others are still weighing their options.
Rev. John Corbyn of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Harlow, 25 miles (40 kms) northeast of London, said his group may be part of a second wave to migrants.
"It's not just one day and that's it," Corbyn said. "It's not a closing down sale."
Ping!
I’ve not gone to the C of E ever since they took the liberal position of homosexuality.
If they want to include homosexuals and then ignore what is nature and Gods word then they lose me.
Seems inclusive means ignore the majority and appease the very small minority.
Have been thinking of going to a Catholic church, we’ll see.
In other news, millions of disaffected Catholics try to get forgiveness in an unbiblical manner. Headquarters, in desparate need of the money, power, and new bathrobes, decides not to mention this grave error.
lol
You ever cross the Tiber? I once did, on a bus.
The Tiber is a muddy, turbulent cesspoll of a river.
Ever been to Lake Geneva? I’ve been there.
Cool, calm and refreshing.
Fitting, isn’t it?
Abandoning Jesus for the 700 Saints Club seems a bit of an overkill.
cesspoll=cesspool
That is just fantastic! No bridge...just a bus. Probably drove on top of the floating garbage. I've seen Lake Geneva on a postcard and it certainly looks a lot cleaner. And, yes, fitting. Deep, cool, pure. No additives.
Definitely.
You Calvinistas are a laugh riot.
You wanna see pictures?
Not seeing the problem with the Catholic sacrament of reconciliation here. Christ gives His Church the authority to forgive sins.
How do you get your sins forgiven? Do you shyly admit Divine sinlessness? I hope not.
Do you boldly declare that Christ will forgive your sins whether you repent of them or not? I hope not!
Rather: I hope and trust that when you have sinned you go to Christ - as best you can - and repent.
So it is with the Church, which is Christ's body. We go to His body, where He is truly present. We confess our sins and repent of them, and we resolve not to sin again. And Christ forgives us. This is a simply tremendous thing!
Trust in Christ! Trust in the Divine Mercy! Don't be a stranger!
Read 2 Cor. 5:14-21 for a complete understanding of reconciliation.
It says nothing about a priest being able to remit or retain sins. It says nothing about retaining sins at all. It says nothing about "The Church" acting in any way between man and God.
The grave error the Roman Catholic Church makes is assuming that Jesus is speaking to them. Tragically, they do not read the rest of the story.
"And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." See if you can find this in the "movie".
Predestined to believe? Appears so.
Absolutely.
I will be praying for you
You (collective you) just can’t help yourself can you? Truly it is good that you believe in forensic justification.
Seriously? Predestination?
How can you then even believe in the concept of Sin? You don't even believe in Free Will! Whether you go to heaven or not has nothing whatever to do with you!
Well that must take the pressure off, I guess. Sin as much as you like, its all God's doing, right?
Predestination ranks alongside the Mohammedan concept of co-existing contradictory Truths, and the Skeptic concept that there is no such thing as objective Reality as one of the three or four most absurd pieces of grade A tripe ever believed by Man.
Sorry for the immoderate - indeed, offensive - hilarity, but I am just so astonished to find people still believe in this! Seriously, it's like finding people who think that metal is a kind of fruit. And here on FR too!
Man, your meetings must be a hoot.
You are absolutely correct, sir. Coming to the realization that I cannot help myself is one of the greatest graces that God has granted me in, lo, these many years. He was kind enough to let me see what all those whom He has called realize, that we want to "...be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.