Why Would Anyone Become Anglican?

The Episcopal Church has come in for more than its share of bad press over the past few years/decades, and the Anglican Communion is quickly becoming a synonym for entropy. But there are still bastions of orthodoxy that unabashedly hoist the flag of traditional 39-Article Anglicanism as it reaches out to the unchurched and the unbelieving in the big city.

So, as a break from the usual TEC/Anglican needling, I thought it would be nice to light a candle rather than curse the darkness. To which end I give you Christ Church NYC .

Back in 2001, John Mason, then rector of a robust evangelical Anglican congregation in Sydney, was called to Manhattan to plant a church in the Anglican tradition. It so happened that he was living downtown on September 11—which triggered renewed interest in, shall we say, the permanent things. And Christ Church NYC was born.

Click on its About Us page and you will find links to the Ten Historic Elements of Anglicanism as composed by Dr. Paul Barnett, former bishop of North Sydney, Australia. These elements are guiding principles for Christ Church—and evangelical Anglicanism in general—and provide an extensive and straightforward reply to the question asked in my headline.

So if you’re in the NYC area and interested in learning about the Christian faith as read through an Anglican lens, or are already an Episcopalian/Anglican looking for a congregation that preaches the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, not the Times , the Guardian , the Voice , and the Jesus Seminar, Christ Church may be just what you’re looking for.