What is the foundation of being a Progressive Anglican? Short answer-Jesus! Progressive Anglicanism is the enacted expression of the early church after its " Great Church Councils" regarding the nature of Jesus.
The four great councils were:
- 1.1 First Council of Nicaea (325) 1.1.1 Constantine commissions Bibles.
- 1.2 First Council of Constantinople (381)
- 1.3 First Council of Ephesus (431)
- 1.4 Council of Chalcedon (451) ... Together they tarried to understand the nature of Jesus and after Spirit led deliberation that Jesus was "fully human and fully Divine".
The church for almost 1,500 years has not allowed itself to implement this revelation. The Calvinist Reformed Churches at the Reformation disavowed these findings with the catholic churches (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Orthodox never really living out the implication of these findings.
The essence is that God resides fully in all human beings and further, God resides in all of God's Creation. We have not, up until now lived out this reality. The Emergent or Progressive Anglican Church is living out this result. This includes accepting divorce, LGBTQ people, people who are not Christian as all equal; worthy and included in God's love. It also underscores the wisdom of First Nations in their Spiritual practice that all the earth is sacred and connected together and to the Creator. Progressive Anglicans and other progressive emergent churches are now recognizing their maturity and wisdom.
In short, Progressive Anglicanism is centered not in the Bible but in the Love and Practice of Jesus. We are fully human like Jesus and also fully Divine. It gives a whole new focus for us as we live and act in this life and upon the earth.
