Two small Anglican churches in Omaha — both fed up with the direction of the U.S. Episcopal Church — took notice last month when the Vatican extended a special invitation to heal the rift that England’s King Henry VIII set in motion five centuries ago amid Protestantism’s birth throes.
But their opposite reactions, as described by their pastors, illustrate that whatever historical currents may be carrying Christians closer to reunification, the trip isn’t likely to be a smooth cruise.
The 125 people of St. Barnabas Parish, in a historic church at 129 N. 40th St., “are kind of excited about the possibilities” of the Vatican’s document, said their leader, the Rev. Robert Scheiblhofer.
Though many details are yet to be revealed, he said, about 100 U.S. congregations like St. Barnabas, which broke from the Episcopal Church in 2007, look forward to a day when they can be formally recognized as a branch of the Roman Catholic Church in full communion with the pope.
“I think this pope,” Scheibl- hofer said of Benedict XVI, “is really reaching out to try to pull people together.”
On the other hand, the second Omaha congregation, Holy Cross Anglican Church, sees little chance of joining with Catholics, said the leader of its 40 members, the Rev. Victor Novak.
Until a few years ago, Novak said, he was a participant in the Anglican-Catholic talks that led to last month’s papal invitation.
“This dialogue has been going on with Rome for some time,” he said. “However, I gave up on it,” convinced that the Vatican would not bend sufficiently on longstanding disputes over things such as papal infallibility, indulgences, purgatory and celibacy for priests.
Although press accounts of the Vatican’s offer, called an apostolic constitution, have described it as an easing of rules for Anglicans who wish to “convert,” Scheiblhofer said churches like his already see themselves as Catholic. They approached the Vatican two years ago, “as Catholic to Catholic,” to request recognition of the unity, while still being allowed to keep their style of worship and their priests who are married, he said.
“It looks like we’ll function a lot like the Eastern (Rite) churches,” branches of Catholicism that have long had their own distinct liturgies and ethnic traditions, he said, though he cautioned that until specifics of the apostolic constitution are spelled out — perhaps within weeks — he could only speculate.
To understand the present moment requires some history:
Henry VIII, frustrated that he couldn’t get his first marriage annulled, broke with papal authority in 1534, in the throes of the Reformation. Five more wives and the Church of England ensued.
The British Empire spread churches around the world, all of them joined in a loose grouping called the Anglican Communion, nominally led by the archbishop of Canterbury. (The American Revolution made English-flavored words — such as “Anglican” — unpopular, so the church here named itself “Episcopal” while remaining in the fold.)
Starting in the 1830s, in what was called the Oxford Movement, a faction within the Church of England sought to move it closer to Roman Catholicism. Elsewhere in the Anglican world, some churches embraced the idea: In Omaha, St. Barnabas was founded in 1869 as part of the Oxford Movement.
By the late 20th century, like many Protestant denominations, Anglicans found themselves dividing over issues such as whether to ordain women and homosexuals and whether their faith had drifted away from its traditions. Many U.S. parishes departed after the Episcopal Church ordained its first openly gay bishop, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Some, like Holy Cross, now seek to remain part of the Anglican Communion while also reforming it. Others, like St. Barnabas, look to Rome. The complex upheaval is what religion scholars call — in understatement — “the Anglican realignment.”
“It’s an exciting time to be an Anglican,” said Novak, adding that orthodox Christians across many denominations are finding they have more in common with each other than with liberal members of their own flocks.
Still, he said, having participated in the dialogue with Vatican officials, he doubts it will stir many individual Anglicans to “swim the Tiber,” as scholars call such conversions, referring to the river that flows through Rome. He sees Benedict retreating from a more welcoming stance by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who once predicted such dialogues would turn the 21st century into “a new springtime for Christianity.”
Meanwhile, local Catholic and Episcopal leaders say they aren’t expecting immediate, dramatic change and don’t foresee either mass conversions or a round of sheep stealing, or aggressive wooing of each other’s members. In fact, they speak warmly of their relationship.
“I’ve been very, very appreciative,” Nebraska Episcopal Bishop Joe Burnett said of his dealings with Catholic leaders. “We do what we can together, and they are very gracious.”
The Rev. Joseph Taphorn, chancellor of the Omaha Archdiocese, said the relations are “very strong” partly because of a shared pioneer history in the area. “I don’t see that in any way being lessened.”
Individual conversions, Taphorn noted, have taken place long before the pope’s latest offer.
“You follow your heart, and this is another way to do that,” he said.
Burnett added that “there has always been traffic the other way as well. ... We have always been open to anyone who’s conscientiously led to our church.”
One issue that could become “a matter of concern,” Burnett said, is if the Catholic Church becomes a party to property disputes around the country between the Episcopal Church and its breakaway parishes. One such lawsuit, in which the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the St. Barnabas congregation are contesting ownership of the church building at 40th and Davenport Streets, is still pending.
Contact the writer:
444-1140, roger.buddenberg@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
