Rookie Anglican
These articles offer accessible and enlightening introductions to various aspects of Anglican life and faith, such as the Bible, theology, liturgy, and history. Itโs no secret that even seasoned Anglicans, including clergy members, frequently revisit these articles to renew their understanding.
Top Content
Our Most Essential Introductions to the Anglican Tradition
Getting Started with the Daily Office: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Letโs face it: to the modern ear, โDaily Officeโ sounds more like your workplace than your prayer routine. However, while…
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP): A Rookie Anglican Guide to the Prayer Book
This article was written in 2018 by Joshua Steele. It was heavily updated in 2023 by Jacob Davis. For a…
What is Lectio Divina?
How do we read Scripture? What happens when we sit down with our Bibles and begin to pore over the…
GAFCON: A Rookie Anglican Guide
GAFCON is back in the news, with 1300 Anglican leaders gathering in Kigali in April 2023. But what is GAFCON,…
The Lambeth Conference: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Every ten years, Anglican bishops from around the globe gather in England for the Lambeth Conference. The conference takes its…
Confession: A Rookie Anglican Guide to the Reconcilation of Penitents
When I first explored Anglicanism, I was surprised when I came across the Reconciliation of Penitents in my Book of…
The Anglican Ordination Process: A Rookie Anglican Guide
So youโre thinking about ordained ministry in this or that Anglican community. (If you need guidance on the question, check…
Holy Communion: A Rookie Anglican Guide to the Eucharist
This article was originally written in 2018 using the 1979 BCP and updated for the 2019 BCP in 2023. Important:…
Nine Lessons and Carols: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Each December, we ask our readers to give to our TRUE NORTH campaign. We invite you to join us as we point…
Episcopal Polity: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Authority isnโt a bad word Protestants, especially Western Protestants from democratic countries, who look at the Anglican Church from the…
A Rule of Life: What It Is and How to Make One
What is a Rule of Life? Monks living in community live by a common Rule. Benedictine monks, for instance, live…
Provincial Assembly: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Provincial Assembly is a gathering of Anglicans from across the province. Its purpose is to conduct business under the…
The Bishops’ Conclave: A Rookie Anglican Guide
What is a conclave? Put simply, a conclave is a private meeting of bishops gathered to select a new archbishop…
The Annual Meeting: A Rookie Anglican Guide
If the Super Bowl is within sight, it is usually time for congregations to have their Annual Meeting. It is…
Book of Common Prayer
Guides to Navigating the Prayer Book Liturgies
Beyond Lent: Spiritual Disciplines for the Whole Year
For Anglicans and other liturgical Christians, Lent is the time we set aside each year to focus on the spiritual…
How Anglican Liturgy Stewards Our Emotions
As someone raised within the charismatic tradition, I grew up believing that emotions played an important role in Christian worship…
The Formularies: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Anglican Formularies are the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal (the service for ordaining clergy)…
A Brief History of Anglicanism, Part 2
With more than fifteen hundred years of rich history, this ancient tradition still has the power to speak to our…
The Lord’s Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Lordโs Prayer is one of the most well-known features of Christian worship. Many Christian denominations, even ones that donโt…
The General Thanksgiving: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The General Thanksgiving is an extended prayer of thanks to God and one of the riches of our Anglican tradition.
Infant Baptism in the Bible: A Promise For You and Your Children
The Biblical record on infant baptism should give us confidence to present our children and to receive God’s promise.
The Decalogue: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Decalogue is a responsive paraphrase of the Ten Commandments, used (sometimes) in the Sunday Communion service. Each commandment is…
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Do you want to pray with the church and immerse yourself in the Bible? Then the Book of Common Prayer…
Church Calendar
The Seasons, Feasts, and Fasts of the Christian Year
Holy Week at Anglican Cathedrals
Holy Week is almost upon us. This is a time when Christians mark the end of Lent with a series…
The Liturgical Home: The Conversion of St. Paul
The story of Paul’s conversion is a powerful testimony to the transformative power of God and the incredible truth that…
The History of the Christmas Collects
We expect the Christmas Collects to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and they do. But they also surprise us by…
The Liturgical Home: What is the Season of Christmas?
Christmas is the time set aside to celebrate and reflect on the miracle of Jesus’ birth and its significance in…
Holy Sovereigns Day: The Feast of the Church in Hawaii
At the end of November, we will make a big-to-do at All Saints Honolulu. A large, light-strung canopy will be…
10 Ways to Preach the Advent Sunday Sermon
Here, I offer ten sermon prompts for the first Sunday of Advent, or Advent Sunday, which can also apply to…
Praise for 10 Ways to Preach the Church Year
10 Ways to Preach the Church Yearย is already getting widespread acclaim from pastors, writers, and ministry leaders throughout the Anglican…
10 Ways to Preach the Christ the King Sermon
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings…
Waiting & Wonder: Reclaiming the Beauty of Advent and Christmas
What if we reclaimed the seasons of Advent and Christmas as two distinct but deeply connected times of preparation and…
Anglican Theology
Guides to Anglican Christian Beliefs
Faithfulness in Contentious Times: The 12th Homily in the Digital Age
It is no secret that we live in contentious times. Strife and dissension are part of the air we breathe…
The Annunciation: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Annunciation refers to the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary and the announcement of…
The Nicene Creed: A Rookie Anglican Guide
First drafted by bishops gathered at the Council of Nicaea in 325, the Nicene Creed is now affirmed by all…
The Presentation of Our Lord: The Message of Candlemas
Why does the Church return to Jesusโ infancy every February 2 for the Feast of the Presentation, also called Candlemas?…
Review: Re-Formed Catholic Anglicanism
This book is a much-needed compilation of thoughtful engagement with the Anglican traditionโfrom the broadest foundational theological questions to the…
The Formularies: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Anglican Formularies are the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal (the service for ordaining clergy)…
Think on These Things: The Compass Writing Ethos
Amid the often contentious online discourse among Christians, we at Anglican Compass want to strike a different tone.
The Abolition of Man: C.S. Lewis’s Most Prophetic Work of Nonfiction
Published as The Abolition of Man, Lewis’s lectures offered a stark warning: Western civilization was abandoning its commitment to objective…
United in Christ: The Reformation Renewal of an Ancient Faith
Anglicanism’s ties to the Reformation are a necessary reorientation towards the catholic and apostolic faith.ย
Anglican History
The Rich History of the Anglican Tradition
Faithfulness in Contentious Times: The 12th Homily in the Digital Age
It is no secret that we live in contentious times. Strife and dissension are part of the air we breathe…
The Liturgical Home: The Feast of St. Joseph
Though the Gospels record no words from Joseph, his actions speak volumes, his unwavering faith, obedience to Godโs call, and…
Man, Myth, Missionary: Reconnecting with the Real St. Patrick
I owe St. Patrick an apology. Despite him being my countryโs patron saint and having celebrated more St. Patrickโs Days…
The Liturgical Home: St. Matthias, the Apostle Who Replaced Judas
The Church commemorates St. Matthias on February 24th, recognizing him as the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. A devoted…
Polycarp: A Martyr Who Bore Much Fruit
In the providence of God, a person’s name sometimes accurately reflects the meaning of his life. Such is the case…
Martin Luther and the Christian Life
Luther’s concern didn’t remain in the ivory tower of abstract theology. Indeed, in many ways, Luther’s aim was a robust…
Review: Re-Formed Catholic Anglicanism
This book is a much-needed compilation of thoughtful engagement with the Anglican traditionโfrom the broadest foundational theological questions to the…
The Formularies: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The Anglican Formularies are the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal (the service for ordaining clergy)…
A Brief History of Anglicanism, Part 2
With more than fifteen hundred years of rich history, this ancient tradition still has the power to speak to our…
Anglican Journeys
Stories of Journeys into Anglicanism
Ministry Spotlight: Young Anglican, A Gen Z Voice in the Digital Wilderness
Among the rising Gen Z voices in the search for meaning is Joe Colletti, known online as “Young Anglican.”
My Anchor Holds: Recollections of a Retired Priest
(This is the first part of David Wilson’s ministry story. Check out the second installment here.) Changes and Chances Be…
Mystic Hunger and an Anglican Feast
I was a young child the first time I encountered the sign of the cross. It must have been on…
Full Circle and Across the Globe: An Anglican Journey
Growing up in Northern Ireland, Anglicanism often felt more like a gang than a religion. It wasnโt just about where…
Encountering the Mystery of Anglicanism
A Bright Morning I grew up the son of a Southern Baptist pastor. My entire young life was spent in…
From One Jesus Revolution to Another: An Anglican Journey
The Faith Once Delivered to Me I grew up in a church affiliated with Calvary Chapel, a denomination that directly…
The Liturgy Will Pray for You: A Journey Through Grief with the Book of Common Prayer
I did not become a Christian in a liturgical tradition, but I was introduced to liturgical prayer and worship early…
Full Circle with Anglican Compass: The Editor’s Story
Becoming the editor of Anglican Compass is a full-circle experience. Itโs possible that I wouldnโt be an Anglican without Anglican…
Why I Became Anglican (And You Should, Too!)
After nearly four years of prayer, discernment, and hard discussions with friends and mentors, I officially left the Southern Baptist…