7 Reasons To Become Anglican (Episcopalian)

    So I have some reasons I obviously would have for wanting to shift from attending a Southern Baptist church to participating in an Episcopal Church now. Some ask what they are and I would to at least a few. Some have made videos from Michael Bird's 5 reasons to Young Anglican's 6 reasons. I wanted to aim for 7 just to see if I can help make it persuasive to some. I will give the reasons and then expound on each one. Plus the reasons will include some relating to Episcopalianism in addition as opposed to Anglicanism as a vague whole.

1. Traditional & Apostolic In Origins

    When we touch on this subject, we must consider the history of the church. The history is that Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory The Great to Britain on a mission to evangelize and establish the church there. So he became the first Archbishop of Canterbury there as an extension of the church of Rome. While it would eventually be affected by the Protestant Reformation, we can still say it has a historical tradition of going to churches that can be traced back to the apostles. While I do not affirm Apostolic Succession as a concept I would debate or put much confidence in fully, I do think Anglicans can put a pretty big case to affirm their church as being one rooted in historicity and apostolic tradition.

2. Real Presence in the Eucharist

    So in this, we affirm what is called the Real Presence of Christ in the bread and wine. Meaning that we believe that Christ is truly present in what we would call the "body and blood" of our Lord, but we do not affirm that the elements cease to be bread and wine. We are always affirming that the bread is bread and the wine is wine, but that there is something that comes about it which brings about the presence of Christ in these "divine mysteries." While the debate about the meaning can become a very divisive one (if one thinks too hard about it), the true beauty is in the celebration of this sacrament.

    I attended my first eucharist at my Episcopal Church home where I was hesitant at first, but it was something I sought for considering it was something done every Sunday in the early church period. Once I got up to the altar to participate in the sacrament, I found it very edifying as it was bringing about a reminder of the Gospel message. It is more than just a memorial of the gospel, but a participation in unity with the gospel.

3. Diversity Among Unity

    Many Christians exist out in the world with different beliefs. While the Via Media will probably be included in this view, there is much more that this extends to. The idea of certain beliefs being varied among the members of the church is an idea not just found in the early church, but is also found today with how many unique believers exist in the church today. Some denominations will be very much against certain ideas being permitted for agreement or mutual respect such as praying with a rosary, continuation of spiritual gifts, various creationism doctrines (Young Earth, Old Earth or Theistic Evolution), differing soteriology (Calvinism, Arminianism, Molinism & Provisionism), etc..

    The diversity among unity is there to help show we can disagree on several issues, some of which are controversial, yet still come to an agreement on the fundamental essentials of Christian fellowship, worship and prayer. This is because we can find unity in affirming the Apostle's, Nicene and Athanasian Creed while still disagreeing with respect towards other doctrines not covered or discussed in our early creedal statements. It allows us to display the idea of 2 Corinthians 13:11regarding full restoration and unity.

4. More Scriptural Readings on Sundays

    So I am somebody who has really been invested into the concept of making sure scripture is the primary focus of the Christian Faith as well as the subject of the sermon, I was incredibly shocked to learn about the liturgical practice of scripture readings. We normally read from the Old Testament, New Testament Epistles and from one of the Gospels. It's not just those three readings though, but it's also in utilizing the Psalms as the songs of singing and worship as well as our prayers coming from the Psalms. It is literally the source of the time where we read the scriptures as a strict routine of our service.

    Furthermore, it is even the sharing of the reading of scripture with those in the community as some will be called to read from the Old and New Testament while the deacon or priest will be then in charge of reading from the Gospel for the church to hear and listen. To me, this was such a big blessing to find something like this in the church.

5. The Daily Office

    The Daily Office, according to the Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, "is at the heart of Anglican spirituality. It is the proper form of daily public worship in the church." When we participate in the Daily Office for morning and evening prayer, what we are engaging in private prayer and corporate worship as this can be done with family at home or whenever we pray, we are likely as well praying that day with other Christians who follow in the same tradition of reading from the prayer book to show a sense of unity in the worship of our God.

    Prayer is done via the similar manners of the liturgical readings of scripture via the Daily Office Lectionary, while also being able to utilize one of my favorite parts of the Daily Office in using the Psalms. You can either choose to use the Psalms provided by the lectionary or you can do the plan laid out in the Psalter, where if you do morning and evening prayer everyday, you will have recited all 150 Psalms within a month. Even more of a benefit is being able to either read them or perform Anglican chant with the Psalms.

6. Anglican Rosaries & Increased Prayer Life

    While Lutherans and even Methodists might also use Protestant rosaries, Anglicans have their name attached to one of the more popular forms of the rosaries for the Protestants. Anglican rosaries aren't mandatory, but they are permitted and create a rich history. The Anglican Rosary was created by an Episcopalian study group in Texas during the 1980s who explored the various forms of prayer. Once it was created, it became popular among the Protestants. There are 33 beads on it in total which each set of the beads leading to several forms of symbolism in the rosary.

    The best benefit for us with the rosary is an increased prayer life that will enrich us with not just mere prayer, but it is also meditation prayer where we focus really hard on the words we pray as they bring us closer to God and grant us sanctification. There are online forms of prayers for this rosary that can be found online as well a couple of books with Anglican rosary prayers in them.

7. Via Media

    Finally, we come to the Via Media, which I have talked heavily about in the past. This is essentially the idea of the the mingling between that of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation. It is a recognition of the need for the Protestant Reformation while still appreciating the beauty and benefits of that which the Roman Catholic Church did practice. It isn't meaning that we affirm the dogmas of Mary or affirm Purgatory, but that we keep the liturgy and tradition found in Catholicism and affirm the five solas of the Protestant church. It is not meant to be a compromise of our beliefs, but to show the unity among all Christians in the center of worship.