OUR BELIEFS
In the Sacred Scriptures, we see as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, founded a single Church (Mt 16: 18-19), and according to the Nicene Creed, this is: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. This One and only Church, subsists and becomes present in the world through different branches - Churches - that although independent of each other, maintain essentially the same Faith and Order. And they come to be like the branches of the same tree, united to the same common trunk; Christ Jesus, by whom they are sanctified. (John 15: 1-6, 1 Cor 12: 12-27, Rom 11: 16, 1 Cor 1: 9).
We recognize the Church of Rome as a Catholic Church, but not as the only expression of the Universal Church; Since we have other Churches totally independent of it and that in the main we profess the same faith, the same Sacraments and we have preserved the Apostolic Succession in its entirety, and being part of the Mystical Body of Christ by the same Baptism, is that we call ourselves and We are true Catholic Christians.
The Church of England traces its history to the first centuries of Christianity, the archaeological evidence, demonstrate a very early Christian faith, brought to the British Isles by Christians carried there during the persecutions of the Roman Empire and by merchants who traveled everywhere carrying His products and also his faith, as well as Roman soldiers baptized in the Christian faith.
The first reliable information about the introduction of Christianity in Brittany comes from Tertullian, who in the third century wrote that Christianity had penetrated regions of Brittany inaccessible to the Romans (Adv. Jude VI), and this is also demonstrated by the cult of St. Alban, First Martyr of England in 304 AD As Saint Beda the venerable attests in his Ecclesiastical History Book I Caps. VII, VIII. Ancient popular traditions say that St. Joseph of Arimathea brought the Gospel to England and settled in what is now Glastonbury. The Church of England existed autonomously and independent of the rest of Europe, like other national Churches of the time (Spain with the Hispano-Visigodo rite, later called: Mozárabe, Portugal with its rite of Braga, France with the Galician rite etc). Historical records point to the active presence of three British bishops at the Council of Arles, France in 314 AD. Their names: Eborius of York, Restitute of London, and Adelfio of Caerlon-on-Usk (Lincoln), in addition to a Presbyter and a Deacon who assisted them during the Council, which demonstrates the existence of a flourishing properly organized and hierarchical national Church; In fact the diocese of London, was established in 180 AD. By the ministry of Saints FAGAN and DERUVIAN, missionary bishops and FIRST APOSTLES AND EVANGELIZERS OF ENGLAND, who were sent there by Pope Eleutherius (174-189) in response to a request from King Lucius of Britain.
The Roman Church, arrived in England until the sixth century, in the person of St. Augustine; First Archbishop of Canterbury, and for more than a century, the Church of Rome and the Church of England worked together until the 7th century, when the Roman Church absorbed the Anglican, and it was not until the sixteenth century that it recovered Its independence, which had already been established in the "Statute of Praemuniere" (1392 A.D.), and since then it has continued as a living and legitimate branch of the holy Catholic Church of Christ. (Eph 4: 3-6, 1 John 1: 3, Rom 16: 16).
For reasons of doctrine, discipline and worship, we are independent (Rev. 18: 4) of the Anglican Communion (Canterbury). We recognize the Primate of Honor of the Historical See of St. Augustine of Canterbury; We recognize it as the Mother Church in Faith, since it derives our Sacred Orders from it, and we pray to God so that it may soon be restored to orthodoxy in the faith, and be freed from the error of liberalism and modernism that have invaded it , And be as in the past sign and instrument of communion for all his children in the world.
We have a special affection for the See of St. Augustine of Canterbury; Since 2009 in Mexico we are the only Anglican Continuing Church in its strictest sense, that is to say, a Church whose origins are derived from a Church member of the Anglican Communion. Our Bishop was ordained a Presbyter in 1997 by Bishop Germán Martínez Márquez of the Diocese of Northern Mexico, a Diocese of the Anglican Province of Mexico.
The Christian and Catholic faith, as received, accepted and practiced by this Church, is that which is found in the Sacred Scriptures, expressed in the Catholic Creeds (the Nicene Creed, of the Apostles and of St Athanasius), and declared by The Seven First Ecumenical Councils of the Indivisa Church. This means that we have preserved in full the traditional (traditional) Catholic and apostolic faith, that is: The Bible with its 73 Books, Catholic Creeds, the Seven Sacraments and the historical and traditional Priesthood, in direct, continuous and unbroken succession From the Apostles and through them to Christ himself.
Our Church is liturgical, we have preserved all the wealth of Christian and Catholic worship: Altars, Ceremonies, liturgical ornaments, devotions, priestly vestments, religious images, etc. And all this is recognized by the Second Vatican Council in the decree Unitatis Redintegratio Chapter III # 13, which reads as follows: "We look at the two main classes of divisions that affect the seamless robe of Christ.The first occurred in the East, By the negation of the dogmatic formulas of the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and later by the rupture of ecclesiastical communion between the Eastern Patriarchates and the Roman See.In the West, the others took place, after more than four centuries, because of the Which are commonly known as the Reformation.Thereafter many Communions, whether national or already confessional, were separated from the Roman See, among which the Anglican Communion deserves special mention, because in it the Catholic Structures and Traditions still linger " . [DOCUMENTS OF VATICAN II, Library of Christian Authors, 6th edition, 1969, Catholic Publishing, S.A., Madrid]
Our liturgy is found in the Book of Common Prayer, which contains the Order for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Mass), the Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church. As a Mexican Church, we have our own Book of Common Prayer, adapted to our discipline and tradition, the Book of Common Prayer is a strong sign of communion and identity in churches of Anglican tradition around the world.
It is stated in the Sacred Scriptures that Christ instituted the Seven Sacraments, and entrusted them to His Church in order that they might be properly administered to His holy People, the Church is not the owner of the Sacraments, but their faithful Administrator and Custody of them until The Second Coming of His Lord. (Luke 12: 42-43)
The Sacraments are divided into MAYORES: Baptism and the Eucharist, because they are necessary for salvation by mandate of the Lord Himself (Mark 16: 16, John 6: 53-56); And in Minors: Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of the sick, Priestly Order and Marriage, are called so because they are not administered equally to all people, but are necessary to strengthen our life in Christ.
Baptism, Confirmation and Priestly Ordination are administered only once in our lives and should not be repeated unless there is reasonable doubt because they imprint on our soul a spiritual and indelible mark of our belonging to Christ, called Character.
Among the sacraments, the Most Holy Eucharist occupies the central place of the life and work of the Church, for in it Christ associates us with his Sacrifice on the cross offered to the heavenly Father. All the Sacraments and sacramentals are directed to her.
The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, in which, under the appearances of consecrated bread and wine, Jesus Christ is TRUE, REALLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY PRESENT, with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is given by the Holy Spirit (EPÍCLESIS), immediately after the words of the Institution in the Eucharistic Prayer uttered by the Priest at the moment of the Consecration of the Sacred Species in the Holy Mass.
The Presence of Christ in the consecrated Host that we receive in the communion, happens in a heavenly way, that we can not understand and much less define, but by faith, we know that it is TRUE. (Mark 14: 22-24, 1Co 11: 23-32). The Eucharist is a pledge of eternal life, forgives our sins, unites us to the sacrifice of the cross and fosters the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Eucharist is MEMORIAL (ANAMNESIS), that is to say, the continuous bloodless renewal, by the ministry of the priests, of that unique Sacrifice of Christ on the cross; That is, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, the grace of the salvation that Christ gave us on Calvary is made present and renewed. To communion is to receive God himself offered by us, our Church, in obedience to the command of Jesus, always administers to his faithful the Holy Communion under the two species: Body and Blood of Christ; Bread of Life and Chalice of Salvation. We must receive communion as often as possible, especially on Sunday, Lord's Day, to communion, we must be in grace, charity and love with our neighbor, have reverence, faith and have the firm intention to be better every day. Before communion we must examine our conscience. (1Cor. 11. 28)
No one should communion without having confessed. In this Church confession is obligatory, but the way to do it is optional: Within the Holy Mass, reciting with faith, sincerity and repentance the prayer of confession of sin found in the liturgy of the Eucharist, at the end of which , We receive the absolution of the priest, which has the same value as that received privately in the confessional. Another way is privately, before a priest or bishop, especially when we have committed mortal sin, in confession the priest will give us comfort, advice and the grace of absolution. Every priest who hears confessions, is obliged to keep the SACRAMENTAL SECRET, that is, an ABSOLUTE SECRET on confessed sins.
Anglican Catholics, we also feel a great love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary; Since she was chosen by the heavenly Father to collaborate in her plan of salvation drawn from ancient times (Gen. 3:15), in the Mystery of the Incarnation and Birth among us of Jesus Christ, God and Man. That's why we call it Graceful, Blessed among women, blessed by all generations (Luke 1: 26-56). She is the Mother of God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity (John 1: 1), but she is also our tender and loving Mother, Jesus gave her as such before she died on the cross, in the person of the Apostle San John (John 19: 26-27). For this Church, she is also:
- Always Virgin, before, during and after the Childbirth (Isaiah 7:14)
- Immaculate in her Conception (Luke 1:28)
-Assumpt to heaven in body and soul (Psalm 45: 10, Rev. 12: 1, Psa. 16: 10, Lk 2: 46-49)
- Intercessor and mediator of graces before her Divine Son Jesus Christ (John 2: 1-12), this without taking away anything from Christ's sole Mediation before the heavenly Father (1Tim.2: 5). We believe this about the blessed Virgin Mary, not because someone has told her to believe, but because all this is contained in the Holy Scriptures, in the Teaching of the Fathers and in the Tradition. For God, nothing is impossible (Lk 2:37).
In the Liturgical Year, we have several days in which we venerate (hiperdulía) the Blessed Virgin Mary, in addition to the Holy Rosary, the Angelus, the Regina Caeli (Easter), and other devotions.
We also feel devotion and reverence for the Saints, who have been vessels chosen by God to give the world a testimony of His Love, Power and Grace. The intercession of the Saints is always subject to the Sovereign will of God - what God does not want, there is no saint to achieve it - as St Cyprian of Carthage explains in his work: De lapsis # 19. The Church, primarily Presents the Saints as SUBJECTS OF IMITATION, that is, we must know their lives, to imitate their virtues and so on the last day to share with them the glory of Christ in heaven. In the Saints we must see what the Power of God does in human frailty (Acts 9: 1-31). There are special days in which we venerate (DULÍA) the memory of the Saints.
The Church, with faith in the resurrection, entrusts the faithful departed to the mercy of God, and offers them prayers, sacrifices, alms to the poor, and especially celebrates and applies the Holy Mass in their suffrage, so that From Christ, just Judge (John 5: 22-23), forgiveness, peace and eternal rest, and that on the last day, at the Last Judgment, be counted among the elect of God. (2Mac 12: 38-45, Mt 12: 32).
Our Church is hierarchical: Bishops, Priests and Deacons constitute the Priestly Order, because they exercise in the name of Christ and by the grace of the Holy Spirit the special mission of ruling, teaching and sanctifying the People of God entrusted to them .
In our Rite, married men can be ordained as priests, since there is no divine law to prohibit this (Gen 2: 18, 1 Timothy 3: 1-13, Tit 1: 5-9); As the common practice of the Early Church demonstrates, the continuing tradition of the Orthodox Churches to ordain married men and the praxis of the Roman Church itself by receiving and ordaining priests and deacons to married clergymen from churches Anglican, Lutheran and veteran Catholics who join it (the Pastoral Provision of SS John Paul II and the Anglicanorum Coetibus of SS Benedict XVI). We recognize the value of celibacy, but NOT as a mandatory imposition or condition for ordination; But as a special vocation of free, voluntary and generous surrender to Christ and his Church (Matt. 19: 11-12).
Our Church does NOT practice women's ordination in any degree of the Sacrament of Order, since it is contrary to the teachings of Sacred Scripture and to the Tradition of the Church of God, since it completely destroys the essence of the Priesthood and the Eucharist (Ex. 18:21, Mt 10: 1-4, Mark 3: 13, Tit 1: 6, Heb 13:17). We believe that women are also called by God our Lord to work so that their Kingdom of Truth, Love, Peace, Justice and Forgiveness may be established in all the earth, but not in the priesthood, but in a specific apostolate to their brothers and sisters. By them to Christ and his Church; In the image of the pious women who accompanied Jesus in his ministry and served Him. (Luke 8: 1-3).
In short: What do we believe Anglicans? "We have no doctrine of our own, we have only the Catholic doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church of Christ, as it is found in the Catholic Creeds, and to these Creeds we cling without additions or decreases. His Grace Geoffrey Fisher 99th Archbishop of Canterbury).
The Symbols of Faith:
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
As the sufficient statement of our Christian faith:
We believe in one God,
Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
Of everything visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
The only Son of God,
Born of the Father before all ages:
God of God, Light of Light,
True God of true God,
Begotten, not created,
Of the same nature as the Father,
By whom all was made;
That for us
And for our salvation
It came down from the sky
By the Holy Spirit
Was incarnated of Mary, the Virgin,
And became man.
For our sake he was crucified
In the time of Pontius Pilate:
Suffered and was buried.
He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures,
Climbed up to heaven
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Will come again with glory
To judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom shall have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
Lord and giver of life,
Which proceeds from the Father, *
That with the Father and the Son
Receives the same adoration and glory,
And that he spoke by the prophets.
We believe in the Church,
Which is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
We acknowledge one baptism
For the forgiveness of sins.
We wait for the resurrection of the dead
And the life of the future world. Amen.
* We omit the clause of the filioque [and of the Son] because it does not appear in the original Creed written at the Council of Constantinople (AD 381) but was added later, at the III Council of Toledo in 589, which Was only local and non-ecumenical.
It was not until the year 1014 that it was first used in the Roman Church, on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Henry II. In fact, in the Roman Church there are two totally valid ways of praying the Creed: One, with the Clause Filioque for Catholics of Latin Rite and another without the Clause of the Filioque for Eastern Catholic Rite Churches.
The Creed of the Apostles,
As our Baptismal Symbol:
I believe in God the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
It was conceived by work and grace
Holy Spirit
And was born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under the power of Pontius Pilate.
He was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose from the dead.
He ascended into the heavens,
And is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
From there he must come to judge
Alive and dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy Catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the dead,
And eternal life. Amen.
The Creed of St. Athanasius,
As the correct expression of our Catholic faith according to the early Church:
Everyone who wants to be saved must, above all, maintain the Catholic Faith.
He who does not keep that pure and pure Faith will undoubtedly perish forever.
And the Catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity,
Without confusing the Persons, nor dividing the Substance;
Because it is one the Person of the Father, another the one of the Son and another one of the Holy Spirit;
But the Divinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is one, equal to Glory,
Coeternal Majesty.
As the Father is, so is the Son, so the Holy Spirit
Uncreated is the Father, uncreated the Son, uncreated the Holy Spirit.
The Father is incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
Eternal is the Father, eternal the Son, eternal the Holy Spirit.
And yet they are not three eternal, but one eternal;
Nor are three incomprehensible, not three uncreated, but one
Only uncreated and a single incomprehensible.
Likewise, the Almighty is the Father, the Almighty is the Son, and the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.
And yet they are not three omnipotent, but one omnipotent.
Likewise, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God.
And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So also, Lord is the Father, Lord the Son, Lord the Holy Spirit.
And yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord;
For just as Christian truth compels us to recognize that each of the Persons
Of itself is God and Lord,
So the Catholic Religion forbids us to say that there are three Gods or three Lords.
The Father is made by no one, nor created, nor begotten.
The Son is only of the Father, not made, nor created, but begotten.
The Holy Spirit is only of the Father, not made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
There is therefore a Father, not three Fathers; A Son, not three Sons; A Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And in this Trinity no one is first or last, no one greater nor less;
But all three Persons are coeternal together and coequal.
So that in everything, as has been said, the Unity in Trinidad must be worshiped, and the
Trinidad in Unity.
Therefore, he who desires to be saved must think thus of the Trinity.
In addition, it is necessary for eternal salvation that also creates correctly in the
Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because the true Faith, which we believe and confess, is that our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
It is God and Man;
God, of the Substance of the Father, begotten before all ages; And Man of the
Substance of his Mother, born in the world;
Perfect God and perfect Man, subsistent of rational soul and human flesh;
Equal to the Father according to his Divinity, inferior to the Father according to his Humanity.
Who, although God and Man, nevertheless it is not two, but only one Christ;
One, not by conversion of the Divine in the flesh, but by the assumption of Humanity in God;
One totally, not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person.
For as the rational soul and the flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ;
He who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, resurrected on the third day from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, Almighty God, whence he is to come
To judge the living and the dead.
At whose coming all men will rise with their bodies and give account of their own works.
And those who have done right will go to eternal life; And those who have done evil, to the eternal fire.
This is the Catholic Faith, and whoever does not faithfully create it can not be saved.
Definition of the Union of Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ
Council of Chalcedon, 451 A.D., Act V
Therefore, following the holy fathers, all of us, in common agreement, teach men to confess the same and unique Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, both perfect in Divinity and perfect in humanity, true God and true man, consistent Also of a rational soul and body, of the same substance (homoousios) with the Father as to his Divinity and, at the same time, of the same substance with us in regard to his humanity; Like us in every respect, except in sin; As to his Divinity, begotten of the Father before all ages; However, in regard to his humanity, born for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, Mother of God (Theotokos); One and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, recognized in two natures, unmistakable, immutable, indivisible, inseparable; Without being annulled in any way the distinction of the natures by the union, rather being conserved and concurrent the characteristics of each nature to form a single person and subsistence, not divided or separated in two people, but one and the same Son and Only Begotten God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; As from the earliest times, the prophets spoke of him, and as our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and as the creed of the holy fathers has conveyed to us.
Saint Irenaeus Bishop of Lyon, attests to the existence of a Celtic Church at a very early age in his letter adversus haereses (against heretics):
"The Church, though scattered throughout the whole world to the ends of the earth, received from the Apostles and their disciples faith in one God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is In them, and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation, and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the "economy," the double coming, the virgin birth, the Passion and resurrection from the dead, the bodily ascension into heaven of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, and his Parousia from heaven in the glory of the Father to recapitulate all things in themselves and resurrect the flesh of all mankind. Things in heaven and on earth and under it will bend their knees before Christ Jesus our Lord and God, our Savior and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, and every tongue will confess Him. To the Spirits of wickedness and the transgressing and apostate angels, and likewise to ungodly, wicked, blasphemous men, will send them into everlasting fire. Instead, those who have kept their commandments and have remained in their love, either from the beginning of life, or from their conversion, will grant them the life and reward of eternal incorruption and glory.
This is the doctrine, and this is the faith of the Church, though scattered all over the world, she guarded jealously, as if she were all gathered in one house, and believed all this as though she had but one mind and one heart ; His preaching, his teaching, his tradition conform to this faith, as if he had but one mouth. And although there are many languages in the world, the force of tradition is everywhere the same.
Because the Churches established in Germania profess and teach the same faith and tradition as the churches of the Iberians, the Celts, the East, Egypt, and Libya, and those established in the middle of the world in Palestine. And just as the sun, the creature of God, is the same in all the world, so the light of preaching shines everywhere in the same way and enlightens all those who wish to come to the knowledge of the truth "(Adv. 1,10,1-2)
OUR POSITION ON THE FEMALE PRIESTHOOD:
The claim that the woman, crown of creation, can receive the Priestly Order is WRONG.
The Bible says that only the Twelve were with Jesus at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:20, Mark 14:17, Luke 22:14). When the Magdalene wanted to touch the risen Lord, he did not allow it, he said: "NOLI ME TANGERE", that is, DO NOT TOUCH ME (John 20:17). While with St. Thomas it was different, he not only touched it, but even his hand thrust into his side (John 20: 24-29). Why was this? Because St. Thomas unlike Mary Magdalene, had already received from Christ himself the power to touch and consecrate his Body and Blood (Luke 22:19).
At the Last Supper only his closest disciples, the Twelve, were present.
The Eternal Priesthood of Christ has a double dimension: The Common Priesthood of Christ in ALL the faithful, men and women, derived from his Baptism, and the Ministerial Priesthood by which Christ chooses SOME of the faithful and unites them His only everlasting Priesthood.
The Priesthood of Christ is unique and untransferable (Hebrews 7:24), it is not like that of Aaron who was passed down from father to son when the father died (Exodus 40:15). As Christ is alive for ever, his Priesthood can not be transferred to others, therefore it is he who adds to his only eternal Priesthood those he wants to call, that is, makes them partakers of his salvific mission, so that they are alter Christus-another Christ- Therefore, to speak of a female priesthood in the Church is to go against the Word of God, which in no way mentions diacons, presbyters and much less bishops, provided that the requirements for receiving one of these Trades are given , Men are always spoken of (Acts 1: 15-26, 6: 1-7, 1 Timothy 3: 1-13, Titus 1: 5-9).
Some to favor his heterodox position, twist the passage of Romans 16: 1-2, to say that in the Early Church there were clerical deaconesses, to those, I remind you that the New Testament is written in Greek, and in Greek there is only one word To designate a server or servant, and this word is: Diakonos, which referred either to a ordained minister as deacon (Acts 6: 1-7, 1 Tim. 3: 8) or to a SECULAR person serving in the church Romans 16: 3, 6, 12, Luke 8: 2).
According to the Holy Scriptures no woman was present when Christ converted his disciples into Apostles: "" ALL AUTHORITY HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH. THEREFORE, GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES IN ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, TEACHING THEM TO KEEP THEMSELVES THAT I HAVE COMMANDED HIM .... "(Matthew 28: 16-20) And also: "YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT IS COMING ABOUT YOU, AND WILL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM, IN ALL JUDEA, SAMARIA, AND EVEN THE ETERNAL OF THE EARTH" (Acts 1: 8) and it is confirmed that there were only males By the words of the angels who appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "GALILEAN MALES WHY ARE THEY LOOKING AT HEAVEN? (Acts 1: 11).
The term Diakonisa, feminine of Diakonos, was not formed until centuries later. The women St. Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 3: 11 are the wives of the deacons and bishops mentioned in that same chapter.
Once baptized, all the baptized and baptized are RADICALLY EQUAL; Have the same rights and obligations, BUT NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME FUNCTIONS, THE SAME MINISTRIES. (1 Corinthians 12: 13, 28-30; Galatians 3: 28)
Women are also called by God to work for the extension of their Kingdom, but NOT in the Priestly Order, but as laymen, in the image of the women who followed Jesus and helped Him and the Apostles, even with their resources ( Luke 8: 1-3).
There are many areas of the lay apostolate where a woman can serve and sanctify herself: Catechesis, Music, visits to the sick, works of charity and assistance, prayer, pre-sacramental talks, etc.
No man or woman has a right to the ministerial priesthood, it is not a personal aspiration, only those men whom Christ calls as, when and where he will, just as he called his Apostles.
No one can take this honor for himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was (Hebrews 5: 4).
Not even Christ Himself was named as High Priest, but was declared as such by the heavenly Father. (Hebrews 5: 10)
Quoting the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1994: "Reserving priestly ordination to men does not discriminate against women, since the Priesthood is not a power but a service, it is the sovereign will of Christ in his Church." And so he must continue until his second Coming.
The Church does not have the authority to change what is essential to the Sacraments (Article XX of the 39 articles of Religion). When a Church changes, modifies or alters the Sacraments to suit the new "needs of the world" they are teaching a different gospel (Galatians 1: 6-10), they cease to be Christian and apostolic churches, for they do not follow the teaching of Christ and The Apostles (Acts 2: 42).
They forget that the disciples and apostles of Christ today are in the world, but we are not of the world (John 17: 15-16). Therefore, we must not change the DEPOSIT OF FAITH, as it was given to us by Christ Himself through his Apostles (2 Timothy 1: 13-14), to follow the fashions or criteria of this passing world.
Five requirements are needed for a Sacrament to be valid:
-YOU: The person who is capable of receiving a sacrament, for example: In order to receive baptism it is necessary that the candidate has not been baptized previously, the same for Confirmation that the person has not been confirmed before; Or, according to Sacred Scripture and Tradition, the Candidate for Sacred Orders is male.
-MATERIAL: Visible element with which a sacrament is administered, for example: water for baptism, bread and wine for the Eucharist or the laying on of hands in the Priestly Order.
-FORM: Words that accompany the Matter to the moment of the administration, example: I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
-MINISTRO: One who administers a Sacrament in a valid way, for example: the Bishop for Sacred Orders or Confirmation, a Presbyter to Celebrate the Eucharist or Confess the penitents. In Baptism, the deacon, the bishop, and the priest are ordinary ministers; In case of necessity, any person can and should baptize, pouring clean water on the head of the neophyte, while saying the words of the sacramental form, with the proper intention. In marriage, the ministers are the same contractors, since they give each other the Sacrament through the union of their hands and the exchange of the marriage promises; The priest is only a qualified witness on the part of the Church, that is to say, it must be delegated by the Bishop to attend the Marriage; But its presence is not necessary for its validity; Hence, in case of necessity, marriages concluded before only two witnesses attesting to the act are valid. NOTE: IN CASE OF NECESSITY; That is, that by some unknown invincible circumstance can not give the normal Celebration of Marriage.
- INTENTION: Intention is an act of the will by which that faculty effectively wants to reach a certain purpose using certain means. It is the deliberate will to effectively carry out a Sacrament; That is, at the time of Celebrating a Sacrament to do what the Church of Christ has done, does and will do. This internal intention becomes external "when someone to administer and confer a Sacrament has seriously and properly employed the required Matter and Form, precisely for this reason it is considered that he has certainly attempted to do what the Church does" (SS, Leo XIII Bula Apostolicae Curae , 1896)
When any of these requirements is missing, the sacrament received is null and void.
In the Female Priestly Order, the SUBJECT is missing precisely because, according to the Sacred Scriptures and the millennial Tradition of the Church of Christ, women are not called to the ministerial priesthood; As well as due INTENTION, since it is something totally new in the Body of Christ, there have never been presbyters or bishops, only in the pagan religions we find priestesses, that is to say, in this subject we do not do what the Church of Christ does to the Order ministers.
This is totally anti-Catholic. St. Vincent de Lerins, the father of the fifth-century church, teaches us to do when the Church introduces an error: "In the Church of God we must put the greatest care to maintain what has been Believed everywhere, always and for all; This is the true and properly Catholic.
The three guiding criteria of orthodoxy, according to St. Vincent de Lerins, are:
The antiquity, the universality and the unanimous consent - that is to say, the Councils -
The female priesthood does not possess these characteristics because it has not been received everywhere, nor at all times has been practiced until recently (1944) and is not accepted by all, that is to say it does not enjoy unanimous approval; So we can not accept it as something truly Catholic and apostolic.
To say that Jesus did not choose women as part of his disciples and apostles, because of the mentality of the time, and that now the mentality is another, is an argument without foundation; It is enough to see in the Gospels the treatment that Jesus dispensed to women: a cordial, kind, respectful and above all with dignity. The Lord Jesus, as God who is (John 1: 1), was no respecter of persons (Romans 2: 11; 1 Peter 1: 17), He came to save all mankind, men and women (John 4: 42 ). Let us see some passages that reveal the treatment of Jesus to the woman, treatment diametrically opposed to the customs of the time:
"He calls the daughter a healthy daughter." (Matthew 9:22) and that it was impure permanently according to the Jewish religion (Leviticus 15:25).
He pitied and comforted the widow of Nain and raised his dead son. (Luke 7: 11-17)
-Values the faith of the Canaanite woman and heals her daughter possessed (Mark 7: 24-30)
-San woman stooped, even on Sabbath, day of rest for the Jewish religion. (Luke 13: 10-13)
"He was a close friend of Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary. (Luke 10: 38-42), often stayed at his home in Bethany (John 12: 1-3).
-He did not reject the prostitute's anointing, but forgave her sins and praised her faith (Luke 7: 36-50)
-Defended the adulterous woman who was to be stoned according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 20: 10, John 8: 1-11)
"Talk freely with the Samaritan woman, when at that time Samaritans and Jews were not treated; And as a result of that talk, she becomes a missionary of Jesus (John 4: 1-42)
"Turn Mary Magdalene and other pious women into apostles of his resurrection.
(Matthew 28:10, Mark 16: 9-11, Luke 24: 1-12, John 20: 16-18).
-And finally, the group of women accompanying Jesus and his disciples (Luke 8: 1-3), in those days the Jewish rabbis did not accept women among their students, they said: "It would be much better if the Law were to disappear between The flames, rather than be given to women. " Did Jesus share this thought? We have seen that NO.
Some Churches or Provinces of the Anglican Communion ordain women as deaconesses, presbyters or bishops; With this practice they have lost their Catholic identity and their Bishops all Jurisdiction because they have not been faithful to their vows of ordination, they have not kept the faith, unity and discipline of the Church (B. C. P. 1979). He has not kept the faith given once to the saints (Jude 3-4), they have not kept the unity of the Church, because by their acts they have caused division and confusion among the faithful (Jude 17-19), they have not kept the Mandate (1 Timothy 6:14), the discipline of the Universal Church. They have not banished and rejected from the Church any erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to the Word of God (B. C. P. 1662 and 1928)
Other Anglican Churches that call themselves Traditionalists or Followers, ordain women as deaconesses and presbyters, but not as bishops. This situation is worse, because with what argument, you deny the episcopate to a person whom you deem fit for the priest. While it is true that not all the presbyters in the Church become bishops, if they all have the same opportunity, everything depends on God and his choice; In the case mentioned, the presbyters are denied this opportunity, that is, their rights as a cleric are not respected.
Those Anglican Churches that call themselves traditionalists but are not, do not have a reason or reason to be outside the Anglican Communion or the Episcopal Church because they do not seek to preserve sound doctrine (2 Timothy 1: 13-14, 4: 3 -4), but gradually they are equated with them and in the end there will be no way to distinguish one from the other.
To conclude, St. Paul tells us in his Letter to the Galatians: "I am astonished that as soon as you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ to follow a different gospel. It is not that there is another, but there are some who disturb them and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be cursed "(Galatians 1: 6-8).
And to St. Timothy says: "... For a time will come when men will no longer endure sound doctrine, but will seek masters to their liking, able to catch their attention; They will close their ears to the truth and turn to pure tales. " (2 Timothy 4: 3-4)
As the Independent Anglican Church in Mexico, with the help of God and His Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1: 13-14), we preserve Apostolic Faith, Tradition and Order, all of the above is our position on the so-called priesthood female.
Rt. Revd. + Sergio Martínez; Bishop. "Upholding the Faith and Order of the Undividided Church"
In the words of His Holiness Benedict XVI during a meeting with journalists on the plane, on his trip to England in 2010:
"The Church does not seek to be attractive but transparent to show Jesus Christ, so we Anglicans and Catholics are going in the same direction: to be instruments of Christ, to be friends of the Lord, the priority of Christ brings us together and with it we cease to be competition" And added "the important thing is not the numbers nor the power but the announcement of Jesus Christ and his message of reconciliation."
A letter of St. Athanasius to his faithfuls on the ocassion of the arian heresy:
May God comfort you! ... what grieves you ... is the fact that others have occupied the churches by violence, while you remain outside them. It is a fact that they have the buildings, but you have the apostolic faith. They may occupy our temples, but they are outside the true faith. You remain outside the places of worship, but the faith dwells in you. Consider, then, what is more important, the place or the faith? True faith, obviously. Who has lost and who has won in this battle: who occupies the buildings or who keeps the faith?
It is true, temples are good when the apostolic faith there is preached; Are sacred if everything there is done is done in a sacred way ...
You are the happy ones; You who remain within the Church for your faith, who stand firm to the foundations of the faith that has come to you through the apostolic tradition. And if an execrable envy has tried to shake it several times, it has not succeeded. They are the ones who have separated from it in the current crisis.
No one will ever prevail against your faith, dear brothers, and we believe that God will return our churches someday.
Thus, the more violently they try to occupy the places of worship, the more they are separated from the Church. They claim that they represent the Church; But in reality, it is they who are expelled and diverted from it.
Even if the Cristhians faithful to the Apostolic Tradition are reduced to a handful, they will be the true Church of Christ. -Coll. Select SS. Eccl. Patrum, Caillae and Guillou, vol. 32, pp. 411-412.
Although written more than 1700 years ago, it seems as if the saint had written it just yesterday, due to the great apostasy in the Church today, in which the Word of God has been marginalized to give way to human ideologies that have nothing to see with faith given once to the saints. Jude 3. However, the foundation of God is firm, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are his. 2 Timothy 2:19