Anglican Rites

 

QUICK FACTS

•  Yes, Pope Leo XII called Anglican orders 'null' and 'void'.
• No, Old Catholicism does not consider Anglican orders null or void. 
• No, this does not mean Protestant churches like Lutherans or Methodists also possess valid orders.
• No, this does not mean there are no rules. 

 

It may be a surprise to note that some of the last centuries greatest Catholic historians disagreed with Pope Leo XII's position on the nullity of Anglican orders. The universally recognized and world renowned  Catholic scholar (and unofficial founder of Old Catholicism), Ignaz von Dollinger, argued that Anglican orders were still valid despite minor changes made to their ordination rubrics. 

To be clear, the Roman Catholic church accepted the validity of the Anglican apostolic succession up until the Church of England made slight modifications to their ordination formulae. After this, Pope Leo XII made a rather political ruling on Anglican orders which the Roman Church is forced to accept as infallible because of the ruling of Vatican I.

In many other cases Rome has made large concessions and has affirmed apostolic succession in cases it shouldn't have if it were consistent with its position on Anglicanism. In regards to an oriental orthodox church whose liturgy lacked an arguably essential and traditional element of the Roman mass,  Rome ruled that the context and intent of the service was clear enough to be a valid mass. 

Clearly Rome is tied to its position on Anglican orders because of Pope Leo XII's statement and not because of any character of Anglican orders themselves.

Old Catholicism affirms that the basic ingredients of a valid mass (and valid ordination) are present in the Anglican rites. Old Catholicism is not Protestant. We affirm Catholic teaching in the belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, along with the need for following the tradition in regards to liturgy.