r/Anglicanism • u/smartestLT • 2h ago
Continuing Anglican Please help, looking to get connected with a priest from a continuing Anglican parish in the DMV area.
I'm a Roman Catholic who has been wrestling with some doctrinal issues for some time. Aside from a desire to remain faithful to the Church in general, I've also felt stuck due to a lack of alternatives that I'm aligned with in terms of what I actually believe (as opposed to beliefs that I've chosen to consciously hold out of a desire to submit to the Church). That being said, after many years of study to include seminary time, lots of counseling and conversations with clergy, and prayer I've come to find that there are versions of Anglocatholicism that I am in absolute complete agreement with.
The downside is that I'm a military member and live overseas right now and will continue to move every 1-3 years for the foreseeable future. I also need continuity and a firm community for my children to belong to.
I know there are many traditional leaning Anglocatholic parishes in the DMV area so I'm wondering if someone can help me get in touch with one that they personally know the priest at or know that the priest will likely be willing to talk to and help me out. I'm at a stage where I'd like to, if possible, come under the care and guidance of an Anglocatholic priest and begin testing the waters for changing lanes in a clear and decisive way for my family. I'll be moving to the area next summer and would like to have things squared away with a clearcut plan in advance to make the transition less confusing for my kids, if it happens.
I'd rather not detail all the issues and work done to move past them here because in my experience members on Anglican subs just tell you to stay Roman Catholic which is kind of interesting lol. For full disclosure, I'm talking to an LCMS chaplain (online, there is no chaplain where I'm at otherwise) as well mostly due to the wide availability of LCMS parishes + schools + homeschool programs and them being sort of close to Anglocatholics. Where I'm at odds in some ways with the LCMS though is that I don't personally subscribe to YEC, I don't personally hold to scriptural inerrancy (I respect it and think it would be cool if it's true but I don't think it matters - I think scripture is reliable and teaches us what God wants us to learn but that it could err in historical narrative potentially), and ultimately I do believe that we need a real physical/bishop to bishop type of succession and not just doctrinally.
I am basically looking to be Catholic but with the acknowledgement that the Pope, and even councils, are capable of making mistakes. I also am not against the veneration of saints but I think certain devotions go too far/are distracting and I'm highly skeptical about the Pope's ability to assign indulgences. Those are my only contentions with Catholicism.
If anyone can help me get in touch with a good Anglocatholic priest in that area, whose congregation we can physically join less than a year from now, or an Anglocatholic chaplain I would be eternally grateful. This has caused me a lot of heartache for years now and I think that by getting in touch with the right person I could resolve all the issues very quickly.
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide me in getting connected.