Outside Looking In: Addressing Misunderstandings About the Ordinariate
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| The Barque of St. Peter as a constellation. Coelum Stellatum Christianum (1627) by Julius Schiller [ Read Time: 7 minutes ] |
Most Anglicans and Catholics have little or no opinion about the Personal Ordinariate because Ordinariate communities exist off their radar. Similarly so, Eastern Rite Catholics are often a mystery to Latin Rite Catholics.
People curious about the Ordinariate often learn about it through internet searches or word of mouth. Expanding access to diocesan information systems could help reach current and former Anglicans, Episcopalians, and those with Methodist backgrounds, for whom the Ordinariate is intended.
Many cradle Catholics are discovering in the Ordinariates a Catholicism that is rich in wisdom, beautiful rituals, and devotions that accompany worshippers into a deeper communion with Jesus Christ and His Church. Sadly, from time to time, we in the Personal Ordinariates learn of accusations by diocesan priests and laity of sheep-stealing when diocesan Catholics migrate from diocesan communities to Divine Worship. It is lamentable that such accusations are made by members of the same Faith. When the Liturgy and Eucharistic fellowship is true and good and beautiful, and the preaching orthodox, people find Jesus and choose to commit to God, that place, and people.
The internet can sometimes feel like a hostile place, with certain individuals spreading disinformation for unclear motives. Responding rationally and constructively is crucial to promote factual information, helping those who sincerely strive to follow God's will to seek truth, goodness, and beauty without undue barriers.
A sincere question asked at Reddit: "What are people's opinions of the catholic personal ordinariates? I'm catholic so I'm just curious. I genuinely love anglican tradition and piaty (sic)."
The contribution of a respondent awnpugin.
Episcopal Church of Scotland
I don't think very highly of them. Their concept of "Anglican Patrimony" seems very shallow to me. Their Missal is basically just a normal Novus Ordo with some faux-Cranmerian language here and there, they sing hymns from the NEH and they maybe occasionally have Evensong... seems like that's basically it. Other than that, there's very little that's "Anglican" about them. If you took the average Anglican from any time before the turn of the C20 to an Ordie Mass, they would not find it remotely Anglican.
I don't think this is surprising. The Roman church considers our orders invalid, so whatever we do, it's all just cosplay in the eyes of Rome. That idea, that Anglicanism is just an outward aesthetic, has been carried over into the Ordinariate, where a slightly large surplice counts as "Anglican Patrimony".
Besides, Anglicans who go to Rome are almost always very Romish even before their conversion (using the Roman Rite, eschewing the label 'Protestant', simping for the Tridentine Mass), so if they didn't care for actual Anglicanism when they were still Anglicans, why should we expect them to care after they convert?
A great example of this can be found in an interview given by Bishop Keith Newton, concerning a book produced by the Ordinariate containing (cherry-picked) extracts from the Anglican divines (you can find it somewhere on Youtube)(.) He said something like "Now, as a Catholic, I actually read Anglican theologians more than when I was an Anglican!" To which I can only say—the only person stopping you from embracing Anglican heritage when you were an Anglican, was you! (The respondent has missed Msgr. Newton's point. It's not that he didn't embrace Anglican heritage as an Anglican; his appreciation has been deepened since becoming a Catholic.)
All of this is quite apart from the fact that the whole thing exists solely for the purpose of poaching Anglicans, which I find schemish and naughty.
One can be thankful for the respondent's directness. However, his comments merit a response to correct factual inaccuracies.
Procedamus in pace. Let us proceed in peace.
Let's review the inspiration behind the establishment of the Ordinariates.
In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved groups of Anglicans to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately (emphasis added by GN). The Apostolic See has responded favourably to such petitions. Indeed, the successor of Peter, mandated by the Lord Jesus to guarantee the unity of the episcopate and to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the Churches, could not fail to make available the means necessary to bring this holy desire to realization.
A goodwill gesture.
The establishment of the Ordinariates was a goodwill gesture in response to Anglicans "repeatedly and insistently (petitioning) to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately." Those who initially swam the Tiber acknowledged Rome's response as generous and immediately worthy of acceptance. In the Personal Ordinariates, groups of Anglicans and individuals are provided a home that includes many elements of their former experience, good and holy things compatible with the teaching of the Catholic Church. Since 2009 when Pope Benedict XVI promulgated the apostolic constitution that led to the establishment of the Ordinariates, converts from many backgrounds have been received into the Church via Ordinariate parishes.
2 Timothy 4:3
With the exception of Africa, Anglicanism is collapsing as a result of the adoption of doctrines and practices that many disenchanted Anglicans think are incompatible with Jesus' teaching. Anglicans continue to drift toward Rome because, according to the story told by many converts over the last forty years and more recently, the teachings of Jesus in the Anglican Church in the West have been subordinated to incompatible societal or cultural norms, and they find the fullness of the Christian faith in the Catholic Church.
The average Sunday attendance for the Anglican Church of Canada in 2022 was 65,000. This represents a significant decline from 87,000 in 2019 and 162,000 in 2001. The data also indicates a 40% decrease in average Sunday attendance since 2001 and a 26% decrease between 2019 and 2022, according to The Anglican Journal.
Baptisms have fallen from 44,416 in 1961 to 23, 334 in 1981. In 2022 there were 3583 baptisms down from 4784 baptisms in 2019.
The internet is filled with stories of former Anglicans and Episcopalians who have become Catholics, affirming the distinct Anglican flavor of Ordinariate liturgies. Many cradle Catholics are also discovering a home in the Ordinariates, which offer a fully Catholic identity enriched by beautiful rituals that help worshippers remain open and attentive to God's grace.
The comments on the Reddit feed unfairly diminish the richness of the Ordinariate Missal and the Daily Office. Phrases like "cherry-picked," "occasionally have Evensong," and "faux-Cranmerian language here and there" suggest the respondent has a limited understanding of the Ordinariate’s story. These remarks overlook the Ordinariate parishes that regularly celebrate daily Matins and weekly Evensong. The Ordinariate Missal preserves many elements from the Prayer Book, including beautiful prayers from Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer: The Penitential Rite, The Comfortable Words, The Prayer of Humble Access, Litanies, Prayers of the People, The General Thanksgiving after Communion ("Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank Thee"), entire Masses unique to the English tradition (like the Mass of the Five Wounds), and numerous minor propers and collects adopted from Anglican and Sarum sources. Beyond the texts, the liturgies are deeply infused with traditions and practices from the English Anglican and Catholic patrimonies.
It is true that in England, many Ordinariate parishes use the Roman Missal (Third Typical Edition), but that provision for Ordinariate parishes desiring to use the Novus Ordo Missal (Mass of Pope St Paul VI) is entirely legitimate given the long use of the Novus Ordo among certain continuing Anglicans. In North America, Divine Worship: the Missal is the official book.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Healthy dialogue is not served by misrepresenting the facts, and the Reddit feed in question is rife with inaccuracies repeated by respondents. Characterizing the Holy See's attempt to welcome separated Christians into unity with the Catholic Church as "solely for the purpose of poaching Anglicans" and "schemish and naughty," for example, merely adds to the problem more than contributing to a solution, the solution being Christian unity in the truth. The respondent cited earlier should review the reasons for the establishment of the Personal Ordinariates.
The obstacles to Christian unity are not insignificant. Misplaced pride and an obstinate refusal to engage in charitable dialogue do not serve the will of Christ, who prayed for unity among his disciples, which is, of course, the standard against which we should measure our attempts at fostering concord.
St John 17:20-26 | I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me. I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Readers who want to learn more about the Ordinariate and the spiritualities and rich devotions offered are recommended to visit one of the official websites and, guided by prayer and openness to the Holy Spirit, spend a few Sundays with an Ordinariate community to broaden their experience. A willingness to engage in a realistic evaluation and question one's own ideas is required for any meaningful study.
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