In Appreciation of High Church Anglicanism

I spent ten years in the Anglican tradition and I thank the triune God for the time I spent in her midst. Looking back, I see that God used my time in Anglicanism as a time of preparation for the Orthodox Church and I do not regret a single moment that I spent in the Anglican Church. God brings individuals along many different paths to Orthodoxy and Anglicanism was a necessary part of my journey. There are some very good things in the Anglican Tradition. The one that sticks out in my mind is Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The BCP is one of the most beautiful compositions ever written in the English language. One can not help but have a deeper appreciation for beauty and reverence when worshiping the triune God using the BCP. The Anglo-Catholic and High Church Anglican traditions have a great appreciation for the tradition of the Church and the holy fathers that are part of Apostolic tradition. The importance of the church and sacraments are taken seriously and taught in many parts of Anglicanism. It is through the Anglo-Catholic and High Church traditions that I learned the importance of trying to maintain the faith of the church fathers and Holy Scripture and for this I am grateful. (My favorite summary of the Anglican High Church tradition is Vernon Staley's The Catholic Religion.) What this High Church Anglican tradition gave me was a sacramental worldview which really becomes the very point that drives me to the Orthodox Church. When I left the Anglican Church, I brought the best of the Anglican tradition with me. Now within the Orthodox Way, my sacramental worldview is whole or complete.