Theology
The Via Media in Action
The Word of God and the Words of Man: Books II and III of Hooker’s Laws: a Modernization. By Richard Hooker. Edited/translated by Bradford Littlejohn, Brian Marr, Bradley Belschner, and Sean Duncan. Moscow, ID: The Davenant Institute, 2018. 142pp. $11.95 (paper). Due to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, I have heard…
A Pastoral Letter from Thomas Ken
THE time of Lent now approaching, which has been anciently and very Christianly set apart, for penitential humiliation of Soul and Body, for Fasting and Weeping and Praying, all which you know are very frequently inculcated in Holy Scripture, as the most effectual means we can use, to avert those Judgments our sins have deserv’d;…
Holding the Center, or Moving Goalposts?
Dr. Winfield Bevins, in his recent post at Anglican Pastor entitled, “Whatever happened to the Anglican Via Media?” issues a call for Anglicans to unite at the “center.” His thesis that the center of Anglicanism is rooted in several of her formularies, namely the Thirty-Nine Articles, the three ecumenical creeds, and adding the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral…
Reflections and the Rest of the Story
Last month, I wrote “Saints, Structures, and Salvation,” a response to some questions posed to Anglicans on Quad Cities Anglican Radio (QCAR) by a Western Rite Orthodox priest, himself a former Anglican. At that time, several people expressed to me wonder at how the hosts of the show did not adequately answer the questions from…
Saints, Structures, and Salvation, Part 2
In my previous post, I discussed the first two questions for Anglicans from Fr. Mark Rowe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). In this post, I will answer the final two questions. Question 3: Why would you risk your salvation? In the context of the interview, Fr. Rowe indicated that when he…
Saints, Structures, and Salvation, Part 1
A few weeks ago, some of the hosts from the Anglo-Catholic podcast, Quad Cities Anglican Radio (QCAR), were visiting a Western Rite Orthodox conference hosted by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). One of the QCAR episodes recorded at the conference was an interview with Fr. Mark Rowe, a former Anglican priest. In the…
Reformation, Authority, Anglicanism, and the Home
In the wake of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses, we face the same question the Augustinian monk faced: authority. Be it a pope in the Vatican or a Baptist pronouncing truth as though he were pope, Christians face the same question as to who or what is authoritative in the Christian life. The…
Lenten Treasure Hunting
Since I first began to observe the season of Lent, one of my favorite disciplines has been to find an edifying book or collection of writings from Church history to read as part of my devotions. Most years, I revisit a forty-day reading plan of the Church Fathers. That was one of my first introductions…
Whether to Bless a Ring or its Wearer
The 1928 Book of Common Prayer for the United States, like all the traditional editions of the Book of Common Prayer, has the man put a ring on the woman’s hand. Unlike all its ancestor BCP editions, including the 1662, the 1928 explicitly adds the detail that the priest may say, before delivering the ring…
A Trusted Tool for Studying the Scriptures
Methods of Bible Study. By W.H. Griffith Thomas. Dallas, TX: Gideon House Books, 2016. 89 pp. $6.99 (paper). One of my favorite aspects of Anglicanism is our emphasis on the Scriptures. The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion insist on the Bible as our ultimate authority. The Book of Homilies begin with an exhortation to the importance of…