I emphasize and will always emphasize the importance of catholicity. Furthermore, I will also speak against those versions of Protestantism which have moved so far from their traditional heritage that they bear no marks of the true Church. The word is not faithfully preached, and the sacraments are not acknowledged at all.

However, despite my fierce opposition to this kind of Protestantism - if it can be called that - there are some reasons that as an Anglo-Catholic I would still be comfortable with the Protestant label.

1. As I’ve mentioned before, Protestants have a unique ability to grow and reform which I believe is an important part of the sanctification of the Church. Anything else is an overrealized eschatology.

2. This is really the aspect I want to focus on today, and that is the fact that Protestantism - when done well - refuses to develop allergies towards various traditions wholesale. As an Anglican, I can draw from the riches of Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Reformed thought without feeling as though it is an abandonment of my own tradition. Whereas Rome and the East often act allergic to one another, with the East at times (more than the west) denigrating western theology entirely, I can recognize all of these branches as containing truth and aspects of the faith once for all delivered. I am convinced that this is a uniquely Protestant reality that comes directly from our ecclesiology.

Some might push back and see me advocating “buffet theology,” as though you can pick and choose what you want on your plate with no real accountability or objectivity. Doesn’t this approach lead to a wholly subjective theological system? Quite the contrary. I would argue that we don’t have the option to pick and choose - we can only receive what Christ has handed down to us. The difference I am seeking to emphasize is simply that this reception does not exclude massive parts of that apostolic deposit. In the case of the East, for example, they claim to have the fullness of truth despite practically ignoring all of western theological development after the Great Schism. Can that truly be called Catholic? Can that truly be called Orthodox?

Protestant theology, when grounded in catholicity, is a reclaiming of the riches of Christ’s Church, rejecting the sectarian attitudes of the Roman and Eastern churches, and embracing the fullness of Christ’s Church as handed down through the ages. It is the recognition that Rome, the East, and other historic Protestant groups are one body and therefore our responsibility and heritage.