About Us

Mission Statement:

The historic mission of The Living Church Foundation is to promote and support Catholic Anglicanism within the Episcopal Church.

When we speak of “Catholic Anglicanism” we mean:

1. an Anglicanism in full communion with the ancient See of Canterbury, whose core norms and practice are consistent on all levels — provincial, diocesan, parochial —with the teaching of the Anglican Communion worldwide, as expressed by the council of Anglican primates, archbishops, and diocesan bishops known as the Lambeth Conference;

2. an Anglicanism which upholds the historic teaching of the undivided Catholic Church

as defined by its seven General Councils:

- The Church on earth is a divinely instituted sacramental body established by Jesus Christ which will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit until Christ’s coming again at the end of the age.

- The Church on earth while not infallible is “indefectible,” i.e. it cannot remain in error; in the fullness of time the Holy Spirit will lead it into all truth.

- Christ gave the authority and power to interpret his revelation and apply it to the ongoing life of the Church (to “bind and loose”) to his apostles as a body (neither to any individual bishop alone or any local synod of bishops nor to every individual Christian), and therefore only a general council of all the bishops in the apostolic succession can authoritatively interpret matters of faith and morals (de fide) and alone constitutes the dominically established magisterium of the holy Catholic Church.

- The Church has three states: “militant” on earth, “expectant” in paradise, and “triumphant” in heaven.

- Salvation is a lifelong process or journey of justification (which comes through baptism) and sanctification (which comes principally, though not exclusively, through the other sacraments).

- Seven sacraments objectively convey salvific grace, including the sacrament of holy

orders: bishops, priests, and deacons in the apostolic succession.

We promote and support an understanding of Anglicanism which — in the words attributed to Archbishop of Canterbury (1945-1961) Geoffrey Francis Fisher — proclaims that “we have no doctrine of our own. We only possess the Catholic doctrine of the Catholic Church, enshrined in the Catholic Creeds, and those creeds we hold without addition or diminution.”

The Rev. Thomas A. Fraser

President, Board of Directors, the LivingChurch Foundation

History

The Living Church Foundation has a proud history of producing quality publications for members of the Episcopal Church. Now in its eighth decade, this independent, not-for-profit foundation is the publisher of The Living Church, a weekly magazine; The Episcopal Musician's Handbook, a resource for church musicians; and Illuminations, a lector's aid that also helps the congregation to more fully understand the readings from scripture they hear during the liturgy.

The Living Church, founded in 1878, is a weekly magazine that presents news and views of the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion, along with articles on spirituality, Anglican heritage, and the application of Christianity in daily life. There are commentaries on scripture, book reviews, editorials, letters to the editor, and special thematic issues. The Living Church upholds the Episcopal Church as part of a catholic, historic, and international tradition.

Because income from advertising and subscriptions has not kept pace with the ever-increasing costs of printing, production and mailing, the foundation has relied on the Living Church Fund to augment its working budget. Tax-deductible contributions to the foundation, of every amount, are always welcomed.