While the Articles only mention the concept of merit de congruo by name in Article XIII, Browne explains the term earlier in his commentary on Article X: [The school-authors] thought…that some degree of goodness was attributable to unassisted efforts on the part of man towards the attainment of holiness; and, though they did not hold…
Political theology is the order of the day, and my, does it make people emotional. Different tribes of Protestants denounce each other for being un-American, or theocratic, or giving away the gospel in search of power. The war is not even between denominations; even within Calvinist churches and their Baptist adjutants in the United States,…
As a son of Chinese immigrants in America, I read with interest an article by David Choi at Mere Orthodoxy, “Becoming an Asian-American Church.” Anglicanism is an international family of autocephalous national churches, and our post-Reformation experience of adaptation to local, non-English cultures goes as far back as the 17th century, with successes and failures….
Why Believe? A Reasoned Approach to Christianity. By Neil Shenvi. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022. 272 pp. $19.99 (paper). “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31‒32 (ESV) We live in a world and an age where no…
The necessity of good works for Christians is clearly established in Article XII: good works “do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith,” we are told, “insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the fruit.” The necessity spoken of here is a logical…
Every time an Anglican converts to Catholicism or Orthodoxy, from lowly American deacons to English bishops, a story is told by way of explanation: Anglicanism, once a proud bastion of purely Protestant doctrines and practices, was hijacked by sacerdotal pretenders beginning in the Oxford Movement, and now, downstream from sham midcentury liturgical reforms, Anglicans have…
Glow, gentle canticle, in the endless ether— ring radiant across the radius of curse, flow faster than lashes, ride with rigid grasp. The hollows gape and holler as you flash in the shallows, a holy sheen holding steady— they didn’t know about you and the new brine we breathe.
As I have noted previously, Cranmer’s Eucharistic liturgy of 1552 had a distinctive shape – Law-Gospel-Repentance-Supper-Thanksgiving – which was retained for most Anglican rites down to the middle of the twentieth century. The main, and for almost two hundred years the only, exception was that of the Scottish Episcopal Church, which was a hybrid of…
Practical Application Having discussed the reasons for infant baptism, as well as notable arguments against it, and the orthodox responses to those arguments, it remains to be seen why such a work as this treatise is necessary, or at least expedient, and how its content applies to our current ecclesial context. Our practical applications for…
This week the virtual studio is FULL with all three Miserable Offenders present to discuss a recent article by Gillis Harp appearing at The Gospel Coalition. Dr. Harp urges Anglicans to stay true to their confessions, and while we all agreed with this premise we had plenty to discuss regarding Harp’s particular way of applying…