Well, I did some research over the weekend about transubstantiation and the Episcopal Church and I have to say......I was completely wrong. According to the Articles of Religion, my church does NOT believe in transubstantiation which is what so many of you were telling me. Instead, I was focusing on the liturgy of the service, not the Articles of Religion. As you can see, they both clash. I spoke with my priests about this and some close friends about this complete conflict.

I am in a parish in New York probably unlike any other parish in the Episcopal Church. We are truly Anglo-Catholic and that we are probably more in line with the Roman Catholic Church than with the Episcopal Church itself. Our priests do in fact preach that the Holy Communion IS IN FACT the body and blood of Christ. The clergy in my church think our denomination is WAY too protestant and that the diocese is completely wrong about transubstantiation. Sooooo, this is why I have been so head strong about the Holy Mysteries and why I was amazed that the RC Church would not allow me to take Holy Communion. Finally, I now understand why. I still disagree with them because only God knows what is in our hearts, but I do understand their reasoning.

I'm a stubborn person and like to think that I've got the answer for everything (the # of posts I have in FT might give that away ). Yet when I'm wrong, I admit it and on this thread I was wrong about the offical stance my denomination takes about transubstantiation. I completely disagree with them. Maybe I'm now a "Cafeteria Episcopalian" because I lean toward Roman Catholicism and willfully disregard my church's stance on transubstantiation. I think they are wrong. If I were to leave New York permanently, I'm not sure if I could find an Anglo-Catholic parish like mine in New York. In that case, I'd rather go to a Catholic Mass than to an Episcopal mass which does not recognize the bread and wine as the Body and Blood of the Lord.

Ok.........you all can say "I told you so!"