clarification needed

LegacyUser

Hi all, I have a few questions that came up in a recent conversation and to my embarrassment I had no answers.

Is there adifference between Church of Ireland and Church of England and if so what are the differences?
Why are Church of Ireland people here not referred to as Protestants?

Who does the term Protestant refer to?

Are presbyterian much different that Church o Ireland?

What are the main differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics?

I have herad they do not worship Our Lady.

Any answers would be great.

PDN

I think some Church of Ireland people would be happy to be described as Protestants (Jakkass might be a better person to answer that one).

The term Protestant refers to those who protest against the Roman Catholic's claim to be the only genuine Christian church. Many non-Catholics such as myself reject the label of 'Protestant' because in Ireland it often carries political connotations (ie Unionist or pro-British). Also, I feel to be referred to as a 'Protestant' defines my faith by saying that I am 'against' something - whereas my faith is primarily 'for' what the Bible teaches.

Presbyterian beliefs are mainly similar to Church of Ireland, but their systems of church government are different. CoI has Bishops and Archbishops whereas Presbyterians have an elected body of presbyters.

The main differences between Protestant and Roman Catholics are that Protestants believe:
a) That true Christianity is made up of many denominations and kinds of church, not just Catholicism.
b) That we are saved by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, not by being baptised as a baby.
c) That the pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, but not of all Christians everywhere.
d) That our beliefs should be determined by the Bible alone, not by the traditions of the Church.

According to Catholic posters on this board, Roman Catholics do not worship "our lady" either.

philologos

I'm of the Church of Ireland, and basically the question depends on who you ask in the Anglican tradition. Some prefer to refer to themselves as Anglo-Catholics meaning they lean towards Catholicism but prefer the Anglican Church at the same time. Others are (like myself) are more Protestant leaning. The Anglican Church is considered the closest Reformed faith to Catholicism.

jungdreamer wrote:

Is there adifference between Church of Ireland and Church of England and if so what are the differences?
Why are Church of Ireland people here not referred to as Protestants?

The only real difference between the Church of Ireland and the Church of England is that both churches have seperate decision making centres on topics. The General Synod is called each year in Dublin to discuss and vote in changes to the Church. The UK do theirs in Westminster and York. And each of the Anglican churches across the world has a similar decision making process centre. Apart from that no, there are no differences between the Church of Ireland and the Church of England, that is why I prefer Anglicanism as the title.

The word Protestant only really refers to the protesting against the Catholic Church that took place during the Reformation. The religious groupings that came out of these reformations were known as Protestants. I don't think I like the term Protestant because I don't oppose Catholicism as such, I just find that the dogma of Anglicanism better suits me.

jungdreamer wrote:

Are presbyterian much different that Church o Ireland?

I'm not sure my mother was a Presbyterian and I've only been in a Presbyterian church a few times. In terms of beliefs I don't think there is major differences it's just in the system of elders and in the church service itself. Anglicans have the Eucharist (communion) every 2 weeks, the Presbyterians have it less frequently.

jungdreamer wrote:

What are the main differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics?

I think the best way for you to research this is to look to the 39 Categories of Faith in the Anglican Church and compare them to what you know of Catholicism. However there isn't too much but some reasonably significant differences that define us from Catholics. It's a reasonably easy document to read. This was written in the 17th century but has been refined on a few occasions.

http://ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=worship&id=14

Oh and the leader of the Anglican Church worldwide is the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, we do not honour the Pope. However we don't view the Archbishop of Canterbury as the "Christian representative on earth" he is merely the figurehead of the Church.

jungdreamer wrote:

I have herad they do not worship Our Lady.

We recognise that Mary had a significant part in the divine plan and that she was a saint. However we do not feel it necessary to pray to her, we pray to the Father through Christ. No middle men / saints etc.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the information. I am in a situation where my husband is of no particular religion but was reared as Church of Ireland rather than RC {never baptised into either} our children are Church of Ireland (both baptised) and I am a lapsed RC. If I attend a service it is CoI. I am not particularly religious, rather that I have inner faith but I am unsure as to how I should be instructing my children. Any advice is gratefully accepted.

philologos

I suppose if you do want your children to be a part of Christianity (in general, denomination doesn't matter too much), you should get them a childrens Bible and allow them to read it for themselves. I don't think you should push too much if you do not believe to persuade them if it is true or false. The most effective way to bring your children up Christian in my opinion, would be to look towards faith and belief yourself.