Questions about the Anglican Church of Canada
GuiltyOfDust
Shipmate Posts: 23
Hello all,
I am an American Episcopalian, but my partner is a Canadian, so I spend about half of my weekends in the GTA. I attend the local ACC parish when I am there.
I am looking to learn a bit more about the flavor of the ACC, and particularly to learn more about the prayer book they use. I am a bit confused by the BAS: is it an official prayer book?
What are the similarities and differences between the ACC and TEC?
Any insight or resources for an American looking to learn more would be greatly appreciated.
I am an American Episcopalian, but my partner is a Canadian, so I spend about half of my weekends in the GTA. I attend the local ACC parish when I am there.
I am looking to learn a bit more about the flavor of the ACC, and particularly to learn more about the prayer book they use. I am a bit confused by the BAS: is it an official prayer book?
What are the similarities and differences between the ACC and TEC?
Any insight or resources for an American looking to learn more would be greatly appreciated.
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Comments
The ACC in light of the split in the US over the 1979 Prayer Book decided to authorize a modern Prayer Book under the name Book of Alternative Services. The traditional 1962 Prayer Book is still fully authorized. It's a fudge to keep everyone happy.
Canadian churches in general and the Anglican, United and Presyterian churches in particular tend to look and act much more like their English and Scottish parents rather than their American sisters. The ACC isn't especially Low but it isn't especially High either. But as the ACC has a much larger share of the population than TEC has proportionately it retains more of a middle-of-the-road Church of England feel.
Some of the things TEC did very early on to distinguish itself from the Church of England never applied in Canada. This is one of the many ecclesiastical effects of the American Revolution.
You're probably in a better position to speak to that than we are. :-)
Basically the prayer book situation is, as SPK said, a fudge - think about an alternate history in which TEC had brought in the 1979 BCP while allowing the 1928 to co-exist with it, and parishes today used one or the other, or a combination of both, as they chose.
In terms of the books themselves: as a norm, until more or less the mid-20th C, global Anglican churches published prayer books that were gently edited adaptations of Cranmer's 1662 BCP. The TEC 1928 BCP is one of many examples. The Canadian 1962 was either the last of these internationally, or close to the last. The BAS, though it includes a Cranmer-lite Communion service, is mostly modern-language.
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer drew on earlier Cramnerian English though.
That rather understates the case. The language of the 1662 book is very substantially that of Cranmer’s 1549 and 1552 books. The changes are relatively minor and mostly not about the language used.