Hear the stories of Catholic converts from an Anglican/Episcopalian background and learn what led them to embrace the Catholic Church.
“C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian apologists, turned to Jesus because of a late-night conversation with his Catholic friend, J.R.R. Tolkien… Of course, Anglicans are quick to point out that Lewis chose the Anglican Communion and not the Catholic Church. If Anglicanism was good enough for Lewis, then why bother with the rules and regulations of Catholicism?”
– Emily Woodham
A FEW GREAT VIDEOS
Fr. Stephen Jones – Former Episcopalian Priest 56:09
Growing up in a high Anglican environment, Fr. Stephen Jones subscribed to “branch theory,” the idea that Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Anglicanism were all different but equally valid expressions of the one true Church. However, as he continued to pray and study while serving as a priest of the Anglo-Catholic Society of the Holy Cross, his yearning for unity and developing understanding of history led him closer to the Catholic Church. Fr. Stephen was accepted into the Catholic priesthood via the pastoral provision by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. Watch Fr. Jones’s story.
Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson – Former Episcopalian bishop 55:09
Marcus Grodi and Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson discuss the barriers that Anglicans and Episcopalians face on their way into the Catholic Church, as well as some of the aspects of Catholicism that are uniquely appealing to people from that background. Msgr. Steenson reflects a bit on his own background as an Episcopal bishop, and talks about how liturgy, history, authority, and several other questions play into the discernment process for Anglicans and Episcopalians as they consider the claims of the Catholic faith. Watch the full video.
Fr. John Lipscomb – Former Episcopalian Bishop 56:09
Fr. John Lipscomb was the son of a Baptist preacher, but felt drawn to the Episcopal Church, where he became a priest, and eventually bishop of Southwest Florida. As certain moral issues came to the forefront of discussion in his world, he was troubled by them, but didn’t see them as church-dividing issues. It was only when he began to feel that the Lordship of Jesus was being openly questioned by members of his denomination’s hierarchy that he decided to explore the Catholic Church formally, which he entered after retiring as an Episcopalian bishop. Watch Fr. Lipscomb’s story.
A FEW GREAT WRITTEN STORIES
Into the Half-Way House – The Story of an Episcopal Priest
Fr. Michael Rennier
“(I)n turning to the Catholic Church I do not turn to something foreign and alien to Anglicans or Evangelicals. I turned, rather, to the Catholic Church in order to become more fully what I already was… I have decided to give what I am to God, which means to take my place in his Body here on earth.” Read Fr. Rennier’s story.
Letters from Home – A Former Anglican Priest Shares
by Lucas Koach
“My purpose in this letter is not to give an argument for Catholicism over Anglicanism or some other Christian denomination. While that is certainly a critical conversation, my purpose is rather to offer a few words on my personal story that has led me to this decision.” Read Lucas’s story.
Lead, Kindly Light…in the footsteps of Blessed John Henry Newman
Fr. Anthony Aarons
“For close to fifty years I followed a spiritual path that was shaped in and through the Anglican Communion. Choirboy, altar boy, priest, secretary to the Diocesan Synod, Franciscan friar, confessor to bishops, and chaplain at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, I have seen it all in Anglicanism.” Read Fr. Aarons’s story.
More Inspiration for the Journey
Explore the full archive of conversion stories from former Anglicans & Episcopalians.
Explore Full Archive
RECOMMENDED BOOKS & OTHER RESOURCES FOR ANGLICANS & EPISCOPALIANS
Apologia pro Via Sua
by John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman, one of the towering figures of the early Victorian Church of England, caused shock and outrage in equal measure when he announced his espousal of Roman Catholicism in 1845. His Apologia, written nearly twenty years later in response to a scurrilous public attack by Charles Kingsley, is a superbly crafted response to those who criticized his actions and questioned his motives, and traces his spiritual development since boyhood, his close involvement in the high church Tractarian Movement and his agonizing decision to reject the church he had been born into.
Autobiography
by G.K. Chesterton
Chesterton was one of the most stimulating and well-loved writers of the 20th century. His 100 books, and hundreds of essays and columns on a great variety of themes have made G.K. Chesterton the most widely quoted writer of modern times. Here is Chesterton in his own words, in a book he preferred not to write, but did so near the end of his life after much insistence by friends and admirers. It is a stimulating, exciting, tremendously interesting book. It is a draught—indeed, several draughts one after the other—of human and literary champagne.”
Lead Kindly Light: My Journey to Rome
by Thomas Howard
Through his prolific and highly regarded writing, Thomas Howard’s name is familiar to Protestants and Catholics alike, but many have never heard the story of his conversion to Catholicism. With grace, charm, and wit, Dr. Howard describes his journey from Evangelicalism to Anglicanism, and finally, to the Church of Rome. In a world saturated with fashionable unbelief, Howard’s testimony inspires and informs. Fr. Richard Neuhaus calls it “a marvelously engaging remembrance.
