Fr. Richard Cornish Martin was a giant in American Anglo-Catholicsm in the 20th century. When he died in 2015, the Episcopal Church lost a luminary that helped light the path for many priests. I came to know him in the final years of his life, when he retired to North Carolina. He was generous and kind and gave me great counsel over lunch and even more comfort in the confessional.
At his Requiem at St Paul’s, K Street, another Anglo-Catholic luminary, Fr. Andrew Mead, preached. Fr. Mead compared Fr. Martin to St. Paul in Acts 16:28. When the earthquake shook the foundations of the prison and the doors opened, the jailor assumed Paul, Silas, and the other prisoners had escaped. He drew his sword to kill himself, only to be stopped by the words of St. Paul: “Do thyself no harm; for we are all here.” Fr. Martin helped many priests, in the midst of isolation and frustration, to remember they were not alone. Do thyself no harm, do not be foolish. Do not quit or leave the Church. We are all here.
Anglo-Catholics often find ourselves isolated, and many times it is our own doing. Sometimes we have been arrogant and insufferable in our isolation, to the discredit of our movement. Other times, withdrawal is a demonstration of prudence, preferring to persevere than to raise one’s head above the parapet. To be fair, it’s easier this way. Keep your head down, love your people, and live out the priestly life as faithfully as you can.
The Anglo-Catholic ambition in today’s church will not extend beyond the parish boundaries. The possibility for the episcopacy or cathedral deanery are but memories from Fr. Martin’s time. Anxieties over theological misunderstandings and disciplinary procedures are more than enough motivation for many Anglo-Catholics to sit quietly on the sideline.
This isolation has hurt Anglo-Catholics and the church. I have recently found myself particularly convicted at my self-imposed isolation and cowardice. I have endeavored to re-engage in diocesan life — not to be a thorn in anyone’s side, but to be, God willing, a sprinkling of salt or leaven that might help the whole. To that end, I want to also use this platform to encourage all others who are drawn to following Jesus Christ, in the words of Bishop Frank Weston, “along the old Catholic path,” that you are not alone. Do not leave or give up on the Episcopal Church. We are still here.
I am still here because I remain convinced that I was ordained a catholic priest in this Church. If I believed anything to the contrary, I would have to leave immediately, terrified at the prospect of deceiving my parishioners that they are receiving the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. I am convinced that my priesthood is valid not for sentimental or practical reasons, but primarily for theological reasons. I have not found Pope Leo XIII’s rejection of Anglican orders in Apostolicae Curae convincing, and I think the Anglican response, Saepius Officio, is. I freely acknowledge there are complications to this, but for me, I must agree with John Henry Newman and remain obedient to my conscience. If I left the Episcopal Church for another communion, I would have to affirm that I was not a catholic priest. That I cannot do.
I am still here because this is where I was called. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” If I left the Episcopal Church for another communion, I may very well be happier in some areas and freer in most. But I would exchange one set of problems for another. I know we have problems in the Episcopal Church, and many of those problems have significant moral, theological, and political implications. I’m not sure I will find the purity for which we all long in any one place.
I am still here because the Episcopal Church needs the Anglo-Catholic witness. The last report I read from the Church Pension Group reported that the average age of ordination is 50. By my count, of all episcopal elections in 2024, only one bishop-elect was ordained to the priesthood before 2003. This means a large percentage of the church’s leadership, including the House of Bishops, were ordained after the seismic shift in the church beginning in 2003. There is a potential loss of institutional memory of a time that included more theological diversity.
I am 45, which I don’t think is all that old. I was ordained in 2005, two years after Bishop Gene Robinson’s election, and I remember the Windsor Report, and the Anglican Covenant. It was a different church. In 2005, according to the Church Pension Fund, a plurality of churches (43%) self-identified as somewhat or predominantly conservative.
A lot of people have left, and perhaps most of them were those with conservative or traditionalist views. This has hurt our theological diversity and ability to have robust and legitimate theological dialogue. We are weaker for it. Our witness will help our bishops and our dioceses to have a deeper understanding of the church’s breadth of teaching and practice.
When he was serving as Archbishop of York, John Sentamu said at Synod that the best expression of dialogue is when you can summarize your interlocutor’s position in such a way that they recognize it as their own. I am a traditionalist catholic, but when I see the traditionalist and catholic positions summarized in the Episcopal Church, they are often dismissed as homophobic, misogynist, elitist, or clericalist. I don’t recognize them as my own.
I once heard a priest and scholar in the Church of England remark that his Anglo-Catholic identity is not tribalism, but a well-thought-out theology. To be sure, along with arrogance, Anglo-Catholics have often hurt our witness by behaviors and statements that are homophobic, misogynist, elitist, and clericalist, instead of loving and patiently presenting a well-thought-out theology. We need to do better.
I am still here because I love the Episcopal Church, with all of her flaws, mistakes, and complexities. I have learned so much from those with whom I disagree, and when fellowship is dared to flourish, it is life-giving. I am here because the Episcopal Church has said it welcomes me. I want to help her keep that promise.
The Rev. Steve Rice is the rector of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, an Anglo-Catholic parish in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is the founder of the Society of St. Joseph of Arimathea.