The first principle of the Ordinariate is then about Christian unity. St. Basil the Great, the Church’s greatest ecumenist, literally expended his life on the work of building bridges between orthodox brethren who shared a common faith, but who had become separated from one another in a Church badly fragmented by heresy and controversy. He taught that the work of Christian unity requires deliberate and ceaseless effort...St. Basil often talked with yearning about the archaia agape, the ancient love of the apostolic community, so rarely seen in the Church of his day. This love, he taught, is a visible sign that the Holy Spirit is indeed present and active, and it is absolutely essential for the health of the Church.
- Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Homily on the Occasion of his Formal Institution as Ordinary |
Posts
Beautiful and sad. Was truly looking forward to the establishment of the Anglican Ordinariates so I could finally have a Church Catholic Home. Now, it seems out of fear of offending Canterbury the term Anglican has been removed from the Ordinariates. So be it. I remove myself from all things Catholic and will if possible find a “Continuing” Anglican presence that I can live out the Catholic Faith. Not much out here where I currently live or where I will be moving to but I shakll endeavor to persevere.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, your comment is somewhat confusing. While the official name for the ordinariates are "personal ordinariates" that is not out of fear of offending Canterbury (which certainly shows no sign of caring about offending Rome), but because with the establishment of the personal ordinariates a new structure has been created within the church which can also be used for other groups of the faithful, and doubtless will be. There was already a structure known as ordinariates in Catholic Canon Law, but those applied only to clergy, while the personal ordinariates (so far limited to the three for Anglicans) include laity as well.
ReplyDeleteWithin the ordinariate parishes the Anglican patrimony is cherished, as the note about "Anglican chant" in the notice about St. Gregory the Great alludes to. But getting your sense of what the Ordinariates are about just by means of items posted online is to sell the Ordinariate communities and yourself short.