THE P RTAL
September 2013
Page 7
Anglican Patrimony
by David Murphy of Ordinariate Expats
in the Personal Ordinariate Of Our Lady Of Walsingham
The Apostolic
Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, which provided the framework for the establishment of the Personal Ordinariates for former Anglicans, itself speaks of “…maintain(ing) the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared”. However, there does not seem to be any real consensus on what this Anglican heritage, or “Anglican Patrimony” as it is called in other documents, actually consists of.
(maximum 550 words, or even 1100 words in the case of something most exemplary).
Contributions
Contributions (including photos or videos where possible) should be addressed by e-mail, with the author’s name, to [email protected] or to [email protected]. All articles will be posted on the Ordinariate Expats website - ordinariateexpats.wordpress.com - and a selection of the most interesting ones will be published in The Portal over the coming months. Depending on the response, we hope to be able to produce a brochure with a selection of the best articles which will be placed at the disposal of all the Ordinariate groups.
what is Anglican Patrimony
It has been a feature of Anglican Catholicism in the UK that to underline their catholicity Anglo-Catholics adopted ways of celebrating the Mass which were closely based on the Roman Catholic liturgy; first the English Missal (basically a vernacular translation of the traditional Latin Mass) and more recently the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, meaning that there is no fundamental difference between the Mass in most Ordinariate groups and the wider Roman Catholic Church. So one might indeed ask what the Anglican Patrimony is that these groups are actually bringing into the Catholic Church. It is to answer this question that the Ordinariate Support Group for Expats in Europe and The Portal magazine have jointly set ourselves the task of collecting and publishing as many concrete examples as possible of how the various groups and religious communities in the Ordinariate are maintaining and promoting important elements of our Anglicanness and in so doing have already had an enriching influence on the Church.
a wide variety of themes
The series began on the Ordinariate Expats website with a video of bellringing from St. Agatha’s in Portsmouth, an activity and a sound which are almost emblematic for the C of E. We are interested to receive articles and reports on a wide variety of themes, including liturgical and musical patrimony (from the way of celebrating the Mass, the various noneucharistic services - Evensong, Lessons and Carols, Advent Processions, etc. - via hymnsinging, anthems and Anglican Chant to robed choirs and pipe organs), Anglican church decor (hanging pyxes, embroidered hassocks, flags and banners, candlesticks, palls and altar frontals), vestments and liturgical dress (surplices, scarves and hoods at Evensong, copes, apparelled albs), organisation (churchwardens, welcomers, clergy wives and families, shared responsibility), pastoral practices (e.g. activities focussed not so much on Catholics but all residents of the community), spirituality (Anglican non-biblical readings, a more ecumenical view of sainthood including the commemoration of Anglican luminaries, etc.) and probably many more elements which we have not even thought of. In next month’s Portal a sequel to this article will consider the significance of our Anglican Patrimony for the wider Church.
no examples are insignificant
All members of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, both clergy and laity, are encouraged to report on any elements of patrimony which they wish to share with others – no examples are insignificant. Articles can be short, medium or long