Congress of St. Louis

The September 14–16, 1977 Congress of St. Louis was an international gathering of nearly 2,000 Anglicans in St. Louis, Missouri, united in their rejection of theological changes introduced by the Anglican Church of Canada and by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (then known as Protestant Episcopal Church USA) in its General Convention of 1976.[1] Anglicans who attended this congress felt that these changes amounted to foundational alterations in the American and Canadian provinces of the Anglican Communion and meant that they had "departed from Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church."[2] Theological liberalism,[3] financial support for political action groups,[4] participation in the Consultation on Church Union (COCU),[5] revisions to the Book of Common Prayer,[6][7] and the ordination of women priests were not the only reasons for the split, but they were seen by these churches as evidence of the mainline church's departure from Anglican orthodoxy.[8][9] The idea for a congress originated with the Reverend Canon Albert J. duBois in 1973 in preparation for the Louisville General Convention of the Episcopal Church.[10] Canon duBois and the group called "Anglicans United" toured parishes in advance of the Congress to garner support.[11] This congress was sponsored by the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, an organization founded in 1973 as a coordinating agent for laypeople and clergy concerned about the breakdown of faith and order within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.[12][13][14]

  1. ^ Sullins, D. Paul (2017). "The History of the 1980 Anglican Pastoral Provision" (PDF). The Catholic Historical Review. 103 (3): 537–538. ISSN 0008-8080. JSTOR 45178727.
  2. ^ Excerpt from the Affirmation of St. Louis as printed in an ACC brochure, “Who we are” Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Episcopal News Service: Press Release # 77004". episcopalarchives.org. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  4. ^ Kinsolving, Lester (August 6, 1977). "Column". The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina). p. 5.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Ben L. (September 22, 1977). "Can Dissenting U.S. Episcopal Church Succeed?". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 64.
  6. ^ Anglicancatholicliturgyandtheology (2022-05-03). "'The Affirmation of Saint Louis' and Continuing Anglicanism". Anglican Catholic Liturgy and Theology. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  7. ^ Read, Francis (July–August 1981). "How Episcopalians Were Deceived". episcopalnet.org. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  8. ^ "The Path of the Episcopal Church : Walking Apart". Archived from the original on 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  9. ^ Seabury, Paul (1978-10-01). "Trendier than thou". Harper’s Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2023-05-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ Laukhuff, Perry. "THE MAKING OF THE AFFIRMATION OF ST. LOUIS: Magna Carta of Continuing Anglicans" (PDF).
  11. ^ Speed, Billie (August 20, 1977). "Episcopal Separatism Movement Is Forming". The Atlanta Journal. p. 20.
  12. ^ "Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen – Promoting Unity Among Traditional Anglican and Episcopal Churches". anglicanchurches.net. Archived from the original on 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  13. ^ Slocum, Robert Boak; Armentrout, Don S. (2000-01-01). An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-89869-701-8.
  14. ^ "Episcopal News Service: Press Release # 80156". www.episcopalarchives.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.