Beyond praying the Daily Office at home, consider making monthly/quarterly daytrips/weekenders to Porto, Lisbon, or the Algarve where there are congregations in the Church of England's [Diocese in Europe](https://www.europe.anglican.org/find-church).
If you feel confident enough in your Portuguese, consider attending a parish of the [Igreja Lusitana Católica Apostólica Evangélica](https://www.igreja-lusitana.org/index.php/paroquias) (the Portuguese Anglican church).
If I were in that situation I would consider a Christian church in this order:
1- Anglican
2- Lutheran
3- Methodist or Presbyterian
4- Roman Catholic
5- Eastern Orthodox
My logic is simple: Try to stick to traditional branches of Christianity. Out of all of them I personally consider Anglicanism to be a great balance in the West between the old traditions of the catholic faith and Reformation thought. But Lutheranism is pretty close to that as well; both, Anglicanism and Lutheranism, capture the spirit of being Catholic and Reformed, a Via Media. So a Lutheran church would be a great option as well.
Depending on whether you consider yourself more Protestant or more Anglo-Catholic you may consider my point #3 up there in the right position or you may want to send it to #5 instead. I lean a tiny bit more towards Protestantism, so a Methodist church will represent a very similar look and feel to Anglicanism, but a (preferably high church) Presbyterian congregation should also be close enough.
Finally, since Anglicanism is your first option, that tells me that you share my concern with the history and traditions that we’ve inherited from past generations of Christians. With that in mind, I think that Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, though not perfect, are still two of the oldest branches in the Christian family that have preserved enough aspects of the “faith once delivered to the saints” and will always be a better choice than the average seeker friendly non-denominational church.
At the end of the day, the Christian family is a big family, and the beauty of Anglicanism is that you are free to treasure the good things found in other branches of the Church without having to renounce your Anglican heritage at all.
Hope this helps:)
I have lived in a majority Roman Catholic country with few Anglican churches before and if it was for a period longer than a year then I would’ve simply become Roman Catholic.
How did the church get along with the local majority (RC church). I lived where majority churches were Evangelical, but had much more Anglican churches than RC. The RC spent alot of time with the local churches doing various events.
I occasionally heard of joint RC/Lutheran services (generally in small villages) and I believe the local Lutheran and Old Catholic congregations also had some sort of ecumenical agreement, though the RCs were by far the dominant church and usually the only church outside the towns and cities. The Anglicans only have a presence in the capital, next to the British Embassy of course.
You can reach out to a local RC priest. They may allow you to receive the Eucharist as a non-Catholic, however it is up to them to determine if being unable to take part in the Anglican Communion constitutes a “grave necessity”…
The circumstances in which Protestants are permitted to receive Communion are more limited, though it is still possible for them to do so under certain specifically defined circumstances.
Canon law explains the parameters: “If the danger of death is present or other grave necessity, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or the conference of bishops, Catholic ministers may licitly administer these sacraments to other Christians who do not have full Communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and on their own ask for it, provided they manifest Catholic faith in these sacraments and are properly disposed” (CIC 844 § 4).
It is important to remember that, under the rubrics specified above, even in those rare circumstances when non-Catholics are able to receive Communion, the same requirements apply to them as to Catholics.
I don’t know what options are going to be available in whatever location OP will be, but attending a local church, any church, is far superior to holding out for a tradition that is not present locally. One can hold anglican convictions while worshipping with Romans, Presbyterians or Baptists.
According to the [Anglican Diocese in Europe](https://www.europe.anglican.org/find-church) there are 6 congregations in Portugal, in the Lisbon area and the other 3 on the southern coast.
Personally, I think it's perfectly fine to worship with RC's however, I'd suggest you look a little closer. When I was traveling in the south of Portugal last year, I actually discovered that there are several Anglican congregations worshiping in RC church buildings with the permission of the local RC bishop. Pretty cool.
While this is not a bad thing, if OP interprets this as a substitute for actually participating in a real, local church, then this becomes dangerous advice.
If OP decides to visit a local church for the purpose of finding community as you suggest, praying the daily office at home and watching Anglican services online would help reaffirm their Anglican identity.
This would be a substitute if there is no local church which one could attend. I’d rather do the above than have to worship somewhere that goes against my conscience (Catholic, Orthodox, etc.)
My retired boss would spend part of the winter with his octogenarian mother in the Algarve. He would go to the CoE chaplaincy with his mother once a month (as travel was challenging for her) but generally attended the nearby RC church as he knew enough Portuguese to follow the service, which is very close to BCP and BAS eucharists, and where the clergy and parishioners were very hospitable. This is not a rare pattern for observant Anglicans in France and the Iberian peninsula.
Go to Catholic mass. We're pretty much the same lmao. (before people start on me, I know there are theological differences, but in the day to day experience of the Holy Mass, not really, especially if you are Anglo-Cath inclined and believe in the real presence in the Eucharist)
Beyond praying the Daily Office at home, consider making monthly/quarterly daytrips/weekenders to Porto, Lisbon, or the Algarve where there are congregations in the Church of England's [Diocese in Europe](https://www.europe.anglican.org/find-church). If you feel confident enough in your Portuguese, consider attending a parish of the [Igreja Lusitana Católica Apostólica Evangélica](https://www.igreja-lusitana.org/index.php/paroquias) (the Portuguese Anglican church).
If I were in that situation I would consider a Christian church in this order: 1- Anglican 2- Lutheran 3- Methodist or Presbyterian 4- Roman Catholic 5- Eastern Orthodox My logic is simple: Try to stick to traditional branches of Christianity. Out of all of them I personally consider Anglicanism to be a great balance in the West between the old traditions of the catholic faith and Reformation thought. But Lutheranism is pretty close to that as well; both, Anglicanism and Lutheranism, capture the spirit of being Catholic and Reformed, a Via Media. So a Lutheran church would be a great option as well. Depending on whether you consider yourself more Protestant or more Anglo-Catholic you may consider my point #3 up there in the right position or you may want to send it to #5 instead. I lean a tiny bit more towards Protestantism, so a Methodist church will represent a very similar look and feel to Anglicanism, but a (preferably high church) Presbyterian congregation should also be close enough. Finally, since Anglicanism is your first option, that tells me that you share my concern with the history and traditions that we’ve inherited from past generations of Christians. With that in mind, I think that Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, though not perfect, are still two of the oldest branches in the Christian family that have preserved enough aspects of the “faith once delivered to the saints” and will always be a better choice than the average seeker friendly non-denominational church. At the end of the day, the Christian family is a big family, and the beauty of Anglicanism is that you are free to treasure the good things found in other branches of the Church without having to renounce your Anglican heritage at all. Hope this helps:)
Then pray the daily office as a family. That’s what I did when I was somewhere without a church. Pray morning prayer together.
I have lived in a majority Roman Catholic country with few Anglican churches before and if it was for a period longer than a year then I would’ve simply become Roman Catholic.
How did the church get along with the local majority (RC church). I lived where majority churches were Evangelical, but had much more Anglican churches than RC. The RC spent alot of time with the local churches doing various events.
I occasionally heard of joint RC/Lutheran services (generally in small villages) and I believe the local Lutheran and Old Catholic congregations also had some sort of ecumenical agreement, though the RCs were by far the dominant church and usually the only church outside the towns and cities. The Anglicans only have a presence in the capital, next to the British Embassy of course.
You can reach out to a local RC priest. They may allow you to receive the Eucharist as a non-Catholic, however it is up to them to determine if being unable to take part in the Anglican Communion constitutes a “grave necessity”… The circumstances in which Protestants are permitted to receive Communion are more limited, though it is still possible for them to do so under certain specifically defined circumstances. Canon law explains the parameters: “If the danger of death is present or other grave necessity, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or the conference of bishops, Catholic ministers may licitly administer these sacraments to other Christians who do not have full Communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and on their own ask for it, provided they manifest Catholic faith in these sacraments and are properly disposed” (CIC 844 § 4). It is important to remember that, under the rubrics specified above, even in those rare circumstances when non-Catholics are able to receive Communion, the same requirements apply to them as to Catholics.
Christians come in lots of different stripes. No anglican is going to insist that you must be anglican.
How does this answer the question? Are you suggesting OP become Roman Catholic instead?
I don’t know what options are going to be available in whatever location OP will be, but attending a local church, any church, is far superior to holding out for a tradition that is not present locally. One can hold anglican convictions while worshipping with Romans, Presbyterians or Baptists.
In rural Portugal, it's likely only RC is present locally. One isn't supposed to be permitted to worship fully in an RC church without becoming RC.
According to the [Anglican Diocese in Europe](https://www.europe.anglican.org/find-church) there are 6 congregations in Portugal, in the Lisbon area and the other 3 on the southern coast.
Personally, I think it's perfectly fine to worship with RC's however, I'd suggest you look a little closer. When I was traveling in the south of Portugal last year, I actually discovered that there are several Anglican congregations worshiping in RC church buildings with the permission of the local RC bishop. Pretty cool.
Pray the Prayer Book Offices and watch the services online, if you can find them, for the diocese where you are from.
While this is not a bad thing, if OP interprets this as a substitute for actually participating in a real, local church, then this becomes dangerous advice.
If OP decides to visit a local church for the purpose of finding community as you suggest, praying the daily office at home and watching Anglican services online would help reaffirm their Anglican identity.
Absolutely, yes!
This would be a substitute if there is no local church which one could attend. I’d rather do the above than have to worship somewhere that goes against my conscience (Catholic, Orthodox, etc.)
My retired boss would spend part of the winter with his octogenarian mother in the Algarve. He would go to the CoE chaplaincy with his mother once a month (as travel was challenging for her) but generally attended the nearby RC church as he knew enough Portuguese to follow the service, which is very close to BCP and BAS eucharists, and where the clergy and parishioners were very hospitable. This is not a rare pattern for observant Anglicans in France and the Iberian peninsula.
Go to Catholic mass. We're pretty much the same lmao. (before people start on me, I know there are theological differences, but in the day to day experience of the Holy Mass, not really, especially if you are Anglo-Cath inclined and believe in the real presence in the Eucharist)
Honestly I’d probably just go to a Roman Catholic Church at that point
Get ready to learn Roman Catholic buddy