>Seminaries Catching Anglican Studies Bug?
https://juicyecumenism.com/2021/01/19/anglican-studies/?fbclid=IwAR1N3jGMW6DuDCbbIbf3FkGVeQLOV291Sqvv2gp2R4M8n0Q2epXI82AEDtU
>Much has been written on the trend of non-denominational Evangelical Protestants finding their way into liturgical expressions of Christianity including Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy.
>For example, in 1989 Robert Webber wrote Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church and in 2019 Winfield Bevins released Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Allure of Liturgy for a New Generation. Despite being written 30 years apart both these books chronicle the same phenomenon: a genuine interest among young people in a different form of worship than the smoke and light filled Sunday morning Christian rock concerts that are expected.
>Articles with headlines like “Twentysomethings are flocking to Anglo-Catholic services for traditional worship with not a tambourine in sight” from The Times in 2019 or “Liturgy-hungry young Christians trade altar calls for Communion rails” in Religion News Service are also examples. Some who feel this pull towards a more traditional faith ultimately become Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic, like Rod Dreher of The Benedict Option fame, or Elizabeth Breunig of the New York Times.
>American seminaries align under familiar denominations: Methodist, Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran and non-denominational Evangelical. But across that spectrum of theological schools a new certificate is increasingly common: the Certificate in Anglican/Episcopal Studies (C.A.S.).
>Dozens of seminaries now offer certificates, concentrations or tracks in Anglicanism. All of the seminaries officially affiliated with the Anglican or Episcopal churches now have these certificates. But many notable non-Anglican/Episcopal schools like Asbury, Duke, Candler, Reformed Theological Seminary, Drew, Gordon-Conwell and Northern have also begun to offer them — and more are likely on the way.
>Another common phenomenon is students pursuing ministry, attending seminary and then during the course of their course work deciding to pursue Anglicanism academically. In order to make that education available at non-denominational or otherwise non-Anglican seminaries it’s become increasingly common to have an Anglican studies certificate or ‘track’ to go along with an MDiv.
>For students at Baptist, Methodist, Reformed and non-denominational seminaries, specializing in Anglican studies at their non-Anglican school enables them to study what they’re really interested in without changing schools. Schools are smartly noticing this trend; by equipping their seminaries with an Anglican certificate or track they can attract students who would otherwise pursue those studies at another institution.
>Dr. Jonathan Powers, a professor at Asbury, told me that the ACNA is in the unusual position of having “way more pastors than churches” as a result of an increased number of people interested in graduate education in Anglican theology.
>A shift in American Christianity towards a stronger sense of historicity as its means of preservation against modernism may very well be underway. But if this is so then it seems like the pastors who are more attuned to this future than the laypeople. Especially as the ACNA grows and more pastors seek to serve in it, there seems to be no reason why these certificate programs won’t continue growing more common. The question seems to be if the number of ACNA congregants can continue growing at the same rate as their clergy.