The Congregation of Saint Athanasius
An Important Message to Visitors and Newcomers:
This congregation began with members of The Parish of All
Saints, Ashmont, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston,
Massachusetts. All Saints has been a parish of the Episcopalian
Church in the United States of America for over one hundred
years.
In January, 1996, several dozen members of All Saints,
together with their rector, elected to withdraw from the
Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, in order to seek
admission corporately into the Roman Catholic Church under the
special terms of the "Pastoral Provision".
After a period of preparation, the transition was
completed with great rejoicing when, on September 28, 1997,
twenty-nine members of the congregation were received into full
communion at the direction of his Eminence Bernard Cardinal Law,
Archbishop of Boston. The Cardinal then formally erected the
Congregation of Saint Athanasius as an Anglican Use chaplaincy in
the archdiocese.
Probably you will have some questions about all this; and, if
you would like to ask them, we will be glad to try provide
answers. Meanwhile there are three obvious questions to which you
may be glad to have some preliminary explanations:
What is the Pastoral Provision?
The Pastoral Provision is a generous arrangement made by the
Holy See in 1980 for those who were formerly priests and
lay-people in the Episcopal Church and who now wish to enter into
full communion in the Roman Catholic Church while retaining some
elements of their Anglican heritage and customs. This provision
notably allows for the continuance of an "Anglican
style" liturgy, approved by the Vatican, in The Book of
Divine Worship. It also provides a mechanism whereby former
Episcopal priests who are married may be ordained to the Roman
Catholic priesthood.
Our decision to leave the Episcopal Church was difficult and
heart-wrenching, for Anglicanism has provided us (all our lives,
for some of us) with a graceful and grace-imparting spiritual
home. So, obviously, our reasons were both weighty and complex.
But, briefly there were four main consideration.
First, we are convinced that Our Lord's will for His
Church is that it should be one. [John 13:34-35; 17:11, 22-23]
Historically, the Anglo-Catholic tradition within Anglicanism has
always sought to bear witness to that truth. We have come out of
that tradition.
Secondly, we have watched with sadness and concern, the
growing distance (especially in the last twenty or thirty years)
between official Anglicanism and what might be termed the
"mainstream" of Christian faith and order.
Historically, Anglicanism has sought to include within itself
both the Catholic and Evangelical ways of understanding the
Gospel. Today, increasingly, unorthodox belief and practice is
being added. We could no longer have any part in this. We know
that many faithful Anglicans share the same concern; we differ
with them only in our response to the crisis. We believe that a
further fragmentation and division was not the solution to which
we were being led by the Holy Ghost.
Thirdly, we have come to believe that the present disarray of
Anglicanism is, in itself, clear evidence of the need for a
defined focus of authority in the life of the Church on earth,
and that such a magisterium is, by Divine Providence, to
be found in the person of Peter and his successors in the Holy
See.
Finally, we give great thanks to God for all that we have
received for good in the loveliness of the Anglican liturgical
and pastoral tradition, and we long to bring all that is best in
it to the life of the Universal Church. But, as Anglicanism
itself decays around us, we have come to feel that it can best
and most safely be preserved within the household of the Roman
Catholic Church.
What is an Anglican Use Chaplaincy?
Unlike a normal geographical parish, which exists for those
who live in a particular location, "Anglican Use" exits
for particular kind of persons who live throughout an area:
former Anglicans and other non-Catholic Christians, and those who
come new to the Catholic Church through this congregation. Of
course ALL Roman Catholics are welcome to share the life of the
congregation.
Saint Athanasius has been designated a "chaplaincy"
recognizing its newness, its size, and the non-geographic nature
of its membership. In time, and as God gives the increase, the
congregation may become a personal parish of the Archdiocese of
Boston.
The Reverend Richard S. Bradford is chaplain of the
congregation, having been officially appointed to this position
following his ordination to the priesthood on May 30, 1998.
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