AIBU to swap from a catholic church to a Church of England Church

[fishfacedcow]

For services and such?

Is it a big deal?

FrancisdeSales

You could just as easily argue that Henry got in first. The same was true of Scotland, yet in 1560 its church broke with Rome by way of popular uprising. There was a large and increasing Lutheran influence in England by the 1530s including some bishops. I think it was only a matter of time. While it is true that Henry encountered resistance, so did Mary I when she tried to reimpose Roman Catholicism - more in fact. Things were changing at the ground level very quickly indeed.

The people who were served very well by the break with Rome were the upper classes who were able to perform huge land grabs of what were church lands (farmed and managed by the local populations) which they still hold to this day.

Fat cat nobles after, fat cat prelates before. Any narrative that paints the situation before or after as the right one should be rejected.

Anyway, what has this got to do with the respective churches today?

All Henry did was a) remove the right of appeal to the Pope and b) replace the Pope's authority over the church with his own.

That was a pretty big "all," Toad.

Don't forget Henry's other marriages and executions of his wives - hardly a man attempting to live Christian virtue.

He would not get an annulment because he had already requested a special dispensation from the Papacy to marry his brother's (Arthur) wife Catherine of Aragon. They were married for two decades and Henry was very devout and a strong theologian and defender of the church.

He would not get an annulment because he had already requested a special dispensation from the Papacy to marry his brother's (Arthur) wife Catherine of Aragon. They were married for two decades and Henry was very devout and a strong theologian and defender of the church.

He didn't get an annulment because the Pope was scared shitless of Charles V. Other people in those situations got them because popes in that day and age were nothing if not politicians.

Henry was an unpleasant man to be sure and put politics before principle - but it is laughable to suggest that the popes or church at the time were actually any better.

That was a pretty big "all," Toad.

Yes it is. But it is a lot less than legalised theft of property (apart from the Dissolution of the Monasteries), which some have suggested.

It is also less than saying he "created" a new Church. He didn't.

Toadinthehole I think it is interesting and it is relevant today because many people only hear a version of Whig Protestant history and therefore have some very strange ideas about the Catholic Church and what Catholics believe.

Yes, it is true that prelates would have held the lands before, but the local population benefitted by the agricultural education and improvement of the lands that monks shared, plus the education and health services they offered which were decimated when the monasteries were destroyed.

This thread has wandered all over, but ultimately I would just encourage anyone to examine and understand their faith tradition before abandoning it. The Catholic Church has 2,000 years of living tradition and is still growing. It has members in every country of the world and serves those in need everywhere. I agree with Mathanxiety that talking to a Franciscan, Dominican or other religious would be a good starting point.

Yes he would have got his annulment easily if not for Charles v having control of the pope (probably).

If this thread evidences anything it is that most people's ideas about the Reformation come from Horrible Histories and the second series of Blackadder, which if anything are further over on the other extreme than any Whig myth.

My view to the OP? Go where you feel gives you the best spiritual sustenance. The RC does indeed have a strong, vibrant spiritual tradition. So do a whole heap of other churches. Just beware of anyone who says everyone else is wrong.

I don't think anyone is saying everyone else is wrong Toad. I think there are many views and it's OK to air them. I also did not say that anyone's use of history was a "myth" just that there are many sides to a story as we know.

I am Catholic because I do believe Jesus is really and truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in Communion and in the church I find goodness, truth, beauty and also great and loving Christian friends. I do believe in a creed and think that what we believe is important.

I find Jesus in the church and that is why I am Catholic.

Since you know so little about either faith I think YABU to go to church at all.

I'm an ex-Catholic atheist, and one of the reasons I am an atheist is seeing the pain that my parent's mixed denomination marriage brought them and finding it quite incomprehensible given the similarities in the services and fundamental beliefs (not doctrines).

Oh and while Catholic services share the same liturgy they can vary in a fairly similar way to CoE churches ie they can be very formal or very relaxed, I've been to high church services with incense and choir boys and low church services with guitars and home made bread. As with CoE churches a lot depends on the priest and the congregation.

Op,

Both math and Francis are quite right, please please explore a bit more.

My cof e church would welcome you with open arms, of course, but you will find all sorts of congregations within the Anglican communion and some are nice and some are not, some welcoming, some not.

The same is true of RC and any other type of parish. My former rc next door neighbours loathed their firmer pp before they came here, thought if going cofe, but their new parish is fine.

. It's not frightfully important to many Anglicans if you become RC, though it used to be. It's just wrong the other way for many RCs. The Catholic Church does not recognise Anglican orders as valid. There is one church, albeit with some others in communion with it. And the Anglican Church is not one of those.

The Pope has a position that is not the same as the Archbishop of Canterbury, and when the Pope makes a pronouncement ex cathedra about doctrine, that's it.

So if you don't go, in stark terms and although many people will be loving to you and tactful, you have turned your back on what is right, you have signed up to a misinterpretation. You do it your way, we'll do it His is the caricature, but it expresses the fundamental position neatly.

You may feel that is out if date and silly and you are relaxed about it. If so, fine. But be clear with yourself.

There are in addition other bits that are different as Frances and math say., though in the Anglican Church you can find parishes that venerate relics of the same Pope that other areas of the country execrate/ burn. Some will celebrate the assumption and believe in transubstatiation, despite the 39 Articles, some won't.

But it is the claim of authority and the consequence of not obeying it that you need to be clear about.

My DH is a born and brought up Catholic who now attends a C of E Church - he doesn't see it as any big deal and is perfectly happy with where he worships.

We live in a village where the only church is C of E - myself and my children were members of the congregation before I met DH and the nearest Catholic Church is a fair few miles away.
DH was already quite disillusioned with Catholicism when we met although he did attend church now and again but when we became a couple he started to attend church with us and has done ever since.
We married in a civil ceremony but had a blessing in our village church and the DC we have had since our marriage have been christened and brought up as C of E.

It doesn't cause my DH any issues at all - our eldest DD is to be confirmed in a couple of weeks at our local Anglican Cathedral; he takes communion from our parish vicar (who is aware my DH was brought up Catholic) and is an active member of the congregation on the parochial register.

To quote Dolly Parton's character in Steel Magnolias - "God doesn't care which church you go to as long as you show up"

It doesn't sound as if the OP's views align with the Vatican anyway though, so I'm guessing she already doesn't feel that the Catholic way is 'right'.

both are based on the bible and have many more similarities than differences. go chat to the vicar and if the CofE has the feel and environment that inspires you than go for it. no harm in attending, you will not be struck by lightning, excommunicated, or cursed.

isn,t one of the main differances that when catholics take communion they beleive they are taking the actual body and blood of christ and CofE beleive it is a symbol of christ?[lapsed catholic here]

"isn,t one of the main differances that when catholics take communion they beleive they are taking the actual body and blood of christ and CofE beleive it is a symbol of christ?[lapsed catholic here]"

I think hat is possibly the official thinking but i doubt every catholic believes that or even could tell you that much about their religion in detail.

X, broadly, yes, tho you will find some Anglicans do believe in transubstantiation. As I say, there are theological differences.

If you are of the Dolly Parton mind - another great encapsulation- that's fine. And many/most Anglicans are. Maybe the clergy too.

But not the Vatican. If you care what the Vatican thinks, or you think you might, then you need to look before you leap, although you will always be welcomed back.

I'm a Christian with both Catholic and Evangelical roots. There are plenty of Christians within both the Catholic and Anglican traditions. Technically, they differ in theology and you should really make your choice based on what you believe is correct. However, in practice, it's natural that you will also consider the quality of each particular church and your personal preferences for what 'church' should be like. My feeling is that you should go and see if you feel, deep down, that these people are following God. I think you will know.

I went.

I will be going back again.

I felt a warmth, a belonging, that I haven't felt since childhood. and yes I felt closer to God there than in my previous church.

I was officially raised catholic. First communion and stuff. But attended a church service maybe twice a year on big festivities. It was an overcrowded cold place, never a community.
Now i attend CoE -- its my neighbors, my friends, my community. I don't care about formalities or politics. There is just one God after all

I'm glad you had a good experience op.

Well done!

Pleaed for you.

Pleased for you!

Yes indeed.