What is Anglican? Part 1: Ancient Roots

     The Anglican church has been built on ancient roots. We are a church that is shaped by Scripture as the word of God. In the Anglican church, we also value the past and the history of the church. We believe that wisdom and true faith has always existed in the church and that we are a part of a much larger picture that involves the whole history of the Church from the dawn of creation through time to the present day.
    We are shaped by the traditions and wisdom of the church both through time and throughout the world. We do not cling to our traditions for their own sake, but we believe that the traditions we follow express the Gospel of Christ. They allow people to submit themselves to something other than themselves and what they want.
     Following the traditions of the historical church can take many forms.  Some of these forms are visible in our worship, in the use of a liturgy, prayer book, and often icons in our worship.  Sometimes following the traditions is invisible in the Anglican church, such as the use of doctrines and prayers from the early church.  We seek to affirm and proclaim the gospel with the church through time to the present day world.

What do we mean by the "church through time"? 
Hebrews 12 says,"we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses ."
This means that those who have died and gone before us in the faith are alive in Christ and worshipping Him with us.  When we say the Sanctus during worship ["Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest"] we are proclaiming it with all of the heavenly realm.  During communion, we "join our voices with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven."  Many of our practices and beliefs were set into place long before us, and we continue to hold to those because of their truth in Christ.  When we say "church throughout time," we are affirming our place in a rich and complex history that has preceded us and will continue long after we are gone.