Anglican Essentials Canada
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Anglican Essentials Canada is a conservative group within the Anglican Church of Canada created by the coalition of three ministries within the Anglican Church of Canada:
- Barnabas Anglican Ministries (British-style Evangelical Anglicans)
- Anglican Renewal Ministries Canada (Charismatic Anglicans); and
- The Prayer Book Society of Canada (opponents of the Book of Alternative Services)
Formed in 1994 to represent conservative Anglicanism within the Anglican Church of Canada (see the Montreal Declaration), Anglican Essentials Canada has become chiefly known as being opposed to the blessing of same-sex unions. Although one of the constituent groups is the Prayer Book Society, the Montreal Declaration states that "Book of Alternative Services meets a widely-felt need for contemporary liturgy, and brings life and joy to many Anglican worshippers". They are neutral on the matter of the ordination of women and include women priests among their ranks. The Windsor Report of 2004 showed strong bias towards Essentials' position.
There are two constituent parts of Essentials. The Essentials Federation is dedicated to working for the Essentials cause within the Anglican Church of Canada. The Anglican Network in Canada, or Essentials Network, is preparing a separate Canadian Anglican jurisdiction in the event of a schism in the Anglican Communion.
Discomfort with the Prayer Book Society's involvement in Essentials led some gay and lesbian Prayer Book Anglicans to found Propitiation (Toronto).
