Anglican Essentials Canada is a Christian group of Anglicans who share a common commitment to "faithful biblical orthodoxy," often broadly meaning an opposition to progressive norms embraced in the late 20th and early 21st century (especially the issue of

marriage equality Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and acceptance of LGBT people), but also reflecting a general trend toward conservatism and orthodoxy in thought and practice.

History

Conservative Anglicans formed the group in 1994 to represent their interests within the Anglican Church of Canada. Montreal Declaration It was previously named "the Essentials movement"' and then, in 2005, launched as the Essentials Federation and the Anglican Network in Canada before 750 delegates, most of them Canadian Anglicans, during a gathering dubbed the "Open Door Conference". There were also visitors from the United States and other countries.

Stated goals

Anglican Essentials Canada states they "offer support to Canadian Anglicans who wish to remain true to biblically-faithful, historically-authentic Anglicanism." ''Anglican Essentials Canada'' stands for the supremacy of the complete Canon of Holy Scripture, the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 ...

as the standard of doctrine and worship, the Ordinal, and the Articles of Religion affirmed by the

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...

of 1968. Although one of the constituent groups is the Prayer Book Society, Anglican Essentials Canada states that the ''

Book of Alternative Services The ''Book of Alternative Services'' (''BAS'') is the contemporary, inclusive-language liturgical book used in place of the 1962 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) in most parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada. Further reading * Webster, John, ...

'' meets a widely felt need for contemporary liturgy, and brings life and joy to many Anglican worshippers". They are neutral on the matter of the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...

and include women priests among their ranks. They are opposed to the

blessing of same-sex unions The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that homosexual acts are sinful and that holy matrimony can only exis ...

Subgroups

Within ''Anglican Essentials Canada'' there are two sub-groups: ''The Essentials Federation'' and the'' Anglican Network in Canada''. *''The Essentials Federation'' is dedicated to working for the Essentials cause within the Anglican Church of Canada. *The ''

Anglican Network in Canada The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) is a group of Anglican churches in Canada and the United States established in 2005 under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, a province of the Anglican Communion. It was a found ...

'', or ''Essentials Network'', is a Canadian church established in 2005 under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, a province of the Anglican Communion. It joined the Anglican Church in North America in June 2009.

Ecumenical relations

In October 2009, Anglican Essentials' leadership reacted to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's proposed creation of

personal ordinariate A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...

s for disaffected traditionalist Anglicans by saying that this provision would probably not have a great impact on the majority of its affiliated laity and clergy, who are already pastorally satisfied with the current

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...

movement.Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) responds to Vatican announcement

References

External links