Who Are Anglicans?
Welcome! So what kind of Christians are Anglicans? This page is meant to give visitors a sense of whom they would meet when attending St Michael's. Anglican history and dogmatics are, therefore, not its purpose.
Also, as with any large denomination (about 80 million), there is a range of practices. Think of this page as being the question, "Who are Angglicans?" answered by one parish in the Church.
The term "Anglican" implies that the parish derives its history, faith and practice from the Undivided Church of the first one thousand years A.D. as received by the Church in England. It is an ancient Church with some traditions dating to the time of Joseph of Arimathea to more verifiable histories recording British Bishops attending Church Councils as early as 314 A.D.
But the Anglican Church is not the Church of England, as the vast majority of Anglicans are outside of Britain and are finding less and less in common with the direction in which the once great Church of England is heading. Instead, it is a worldwide communion of churches realigning around the primacy of Jesus Christ, His Word and His Sacraments.
The unique Anglican expression of the faith lies in the Church's love of Holy Scriptures as divine revelation for all times, as well as a high regard for the sacraments (Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Unction).
It is often said that the Anglican Church is fully Catholic and fully Evangelical. Here you will find Bishops, Priests and Deacons preaching the Gospel and offering the sacraments. The faithful are able to live a sacramental life steeped in study and devotion to God's Holy Word. The fullness of the faith is practiced by Anglicans in order to be better soldiers for Christ, spreading with love the gospel message to a fallen world.