The Continuing Anglican Communion: A Call to Arms

A hard-hitting, clarion call to orthodox Anglicanism from The Revd R.R. Tarsitano writing at The North American Anglican.  This is a must read.  An excerpt:

The churches which will survive this storm are those bodies who have access to a radical and conservative Christianity which sees the forces of modernity as soul-deadening enemies with whom no truce can be wrought. Unfortunately, for Evangelicals, the goal of cleansing their churches of what they deem “Romish practices” has created a vacuum in which Woodstock and Oprah have crept in to write their liturgies—theology is following. One need simply listen to the average Baptist’s extemporaneous prayer to hear more Dr. Phil than Edwards or Spurgeon.   For Roman Catholics, while traditionalists fight a rearguard action, the hierarchy of their church is quickly being replaced by bishops and cardinals loyal to the progressive vision of Francis I. This story will end in tears. There are two paths to follow, become the chaplaincy of the dying world or joyously receive its rebuke and disdain in the name of Christ. The Continuing Anglican Communion is the space in which men and women of faith can take up their cross and die. Join us.

Those familiar with the work of writer John O’Sullivan will know his famous “O’Sullivan Rule,” which simply states that any organization that is not essentially and doctrinally conservative will eventually become liberal. This rule explains why organizations like the Boy Scouts of America and the American Association of Retired People are becoming more and more politically progressive. Unfortunately, the same holds true for the all too human organizations we call churches. All Christian churches should be fundamentally conservative because the Bible expressly claims that the greatest revelatory moment in human history happened 2,000 years ago—we are a people always looking to the past to understand the present and the future (basically the definition of a good conservative); however, in this present age—an age in which all new things are deemed good or useful—a church must be radically committed to the conservation of the apostolic deposit or it will trade it away to be last on the firing line. A church is either progressing or conserving, there is no neutrality in the 21st-century war between evil and good.

The Continuing Anglican Communion is small, and we are belittled by our neighbors and enemies who have imbibed the metrics of McDonald’s to determine the work of the Holy Spirit. We are small, but we are growing as an international communion that maintains the medium and message we have been tasked with safeguarding. Our smaller size frees us of the crushing institutional weight which hamstrings the radical conservation our world desperately needs. Further, our catholic bishops are doctrinally and sacramentally linked with the twelve chosen by Christ, and we are the blessed recipients of a reformation spirit that focuses our piety in Word and Sacrament. I am a priest in the Anglican Catholic Church, and I am happy to report that traditional Anglicans are coalescing to stand firm on the Catholic Christian foundation that survived the fall of Rome, the Black Death, and two world wars. Four of the largest continuing jurisdictions are now in full communion and are preparing for organic unity within the next two years. Churches are banding together to build schools and form alternative communities to protect and promote the next generation of saints.

At this exciting time, I ask my fellow Christian brothers to consider joining us in the fight. I do not care where you come from; I do not care if we were enemies in the past. First, traditional Anglicans, evangelical and anglo-catholic alike, must band together to stand firm against our common enemy. To my evangelical Anglican brethren, you will find that there are “high churchmen” in the Continuum, but these are men who care scrupulously about serving as a living link back to the apostles; men who believe that rules matter. Are you not better off with a brother who prefers Tract 90 and the first prayerbook of Edward VI than you are with a Montanist or progressive moved by the spirit of the age? Why not band together with reformed catholic Christians who truly value the Word? To my anglo-catholic brothers, the progressive Christians in Canterbury and Rome (and other American Anglican bodies) are simply waiting for you to die off so they can build one more temple dedicated to suburban Christianity-lite. Why stay with people who have such disdain for what you hold dear? Why not band together with catholic Christians who truly value the Eucharist?

Beyond traditional Anglicans, here in the Continuing Anglican Communion, there is a home for all Christians who want a church devoted to saying, “Enough, we will stand against the tide—especially if it kills us.” A church attempting to recapture the comprehensive catholicity of the first 1500 years of the faith. To my Evangelical brethren, I say here is place in which a reformed catholic is protected, where he knows the rules will be cherished and followed. To my Roman Catholic brethren, unhitch yourself from the papal experiment before it is too late. To all, rather than spending your time trying to evangelize the members of your elder boards and presbyteries and bishops’ conferences, why not join a church that is outward focused because it knows what it believes and why? Why not trust in a tradition that has actually survived the worst the world can throw at it? I realize this call is asking clergy and their families to make financial sacrifices, and I know some among the laity will be forced to lose prestige and the comfort of the crowd, but for those who are called to this path of righteousness—this way of the cross—please contact me, and let us continue the fight together.

Fr. Tarstitano's challenge to Roman Catholics might be considered brash and laughable, as it emanates from a newbie mouse presuming to speak truth to an ancient behemoth.  But newbie the Orthodox Anglican faith ain't, and I think his prediction that the "papal experiment" will "end in tears" will ultimately come true.  Consider this from Road Dreher:  The Queering of the Catholic Church.  And if the Eastern Orthodox think they are exempt, well, they should consider the serpents that have slithered under their door:  Three Trojan Horses: Insider Attempts to Disorient the Orthodox; Metropolitan Kallistos and The Wheel.

Smaller and purer, as Benedict XVI put it.  That's what the Contining Anglican Communion is.  No more "the Church of here comes everybody."