Becoming Episcopal
I've been researching the Episcopal faith.... which is basically the
American Anglican church, or a first derivative of the Catholic Church.
I like what I see. Apparently, I have been Episcopal all along and just
didn't know it. It much more closely lines up with my belief system
than the present day Catholic system.
For one, they don't require confession. Big plus. I always had a
problem with telling some priest my sins, and didn't like the Catholic
Church's explanation of that. (The priest is the extension of God...
hooey!)
They don't believe that the communion is the ACTUAL body and blood of
Christ (which is a neat parlor trick, but not required for spiritual
significance, in my opinion.) They believe that Christ is present at
the holy communion in spirit and that's good enough for me!
They are much more tolerant in their beliefs, and less guilt oriented.
Committing "mortal sins" does not expel you from God's infinite grace.
They also believe that all Christians, and even non Christians are
offered the grace of God. In other words, you don't have to be Catholic
to be loved and accepted by God. Isn't that closer to Jesus's teachings
and examples than the exclusionist policies of the Catholic faith?
Finally, priests are interviewed by the parish, not simply assigned to a
parish. The parish gets a say in the selection of their priest!! How
progressive! Not to mention that they accept women priests, allow the
priests to marry, and tolerate people of all lifestyles. I like the
sound of that. They've had a recent schism with the homosexual priest
thing, but hopefully, we'll find that the particular parish in our town
isn't divided or beleaguered on this issue. It certainly isn't as bad
an issue as the whole priest pedophilia scandal!
I found this "comparison guide" on the Internet comparing and
contrasting the two faiths. I found it very useful. I'm pretty sure
we're going to make the switch.
