Quote:
Originally Posted by Drolefille
But RC's believe that communion is only valid at a RC Church (or an Orthodox church but that's not reciprocal). There are certainly strong similarities but if you truly believe the dogma then there is no substitution.
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Actually, that might be drawing the line a bit too restrictively. The (RC) Church recognizes the validity of the sacraments if the celebrant is in recognized Holy Orders. This would include all of the Oriental Rites of the Church which are in Communion with Rome. Also recognized (but not reciprocal) are Western rite churches not in communion with Rome such as Old Catholic, Polish National Catholic, and other break away sects which have been careful to preserve the validity of their Holy Orders through Apostolic Succession. Anglican orders are somewhat difficult in that many Curch of England Bishops and Priests were influenced by the Oxford Movement of the nineteenth century and arranged to be "re-ordained and re-consecrated" by Bishops of Orthodox and valid but schismatic churches. Anglican clergy tracing their orders to these Oxford Movement re-consecrated bishops are viewed as being in valid holy orders but not in communion with Rome.
It is interesting to note that the late Pope John Paul II invited Anglicans to receive RC Communion when in areas where it was not reasonably convenient to attend Anglican services. In the case of recognized Anglican clergy it would appear that this is a major move towards inter-communion.
Thoughts?