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. It’s 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
Let’s face it: to the modern ear, “Daily Office” 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 you’re 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 isn’t 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
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…
You Visited Me: Prison Chaplaincy in the ACNA
“I was in prison, and you visited me.” Those are the words of Jesus to His disciples, to His body,…
Getting Started with the Daily Office: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Let’s face it: to the modern ear, “Daily Office” sounds more like your workplace than your prayer routine. However, while…
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…
When Two or Three Are Gathered: A Commentary on the Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
Introduction Few preachers in the Patristic Church are as admired and enduring as John Chrysostom.[1] Born in A.D. 349, John…
Church Calendar
The Seasons, Feasts, and Fasts of the Christian Year
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 Year 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…
10 Ways to Preach the All Saints Sermon
the Feast of All Saints gives the Church a way to celebrate and honor all known and unknown saints who…
10 Ways to Preach the Holy Cross Sermon
There is power in the proclamation of the cross. The Feast of the Holy Cross is observed on September 14th…
Book Review: The Soul’s Pilgrimage – Volume 1: From Advent to Pentecost by Robert D. Crouse
This collect of Father Robert Crouse’s homilies illuminate the transcendent meaning of each week of the liturgical year.
Today in the Spirit: Proper 6B
The goodness our Lord seeks to work in us is that which serves his purpose to redeem the world and…
Anglican Theology
Guides to Anglican Christian Beliefs
The Abolition of Man: C.S. Lewis’s Most Prophetic Work of Non-Fiction
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.
William Tyndale: A Translator Tested By Fire
William Tyndale was the father of the English Bible and the first to translate the text from its Hebrew and…
What is the ANGELican Church?
The confusion of Anglican and ANGELican goes back to a play-on-words first coined by Pope Gregory the Great, but it…
Andrewes’ Principle for Anglicans High and Low
Andrewes’ principle of what determines the boundaries of Anglican Christianity can help us navigate divides within our 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.
Fulfilling our First Commission: The Anglican Creation Care Network
The Church has an opportunity to lead the way in stewarding creation and, in doing so, point others to their…
Communion for Children: A Rookie Anglican Guide to Paedocommunion
If you are new to the Anglican way, you might be surprised to see children, including toddlers and even babies,…
Three Creeds, Four Councils, Five Centuries (Andrewes’ Principle Pt. 2)
We continue with our second in a series on Lancelot Andrewes’ principle of Anglican belief (read the first installment here):…
Anglican History
The Rich History of the Anglican Tradition
The Celtic Heritage of Anglicanism
Anglicanism has origins beyond just the English Church, including luminaries who have contributed through the Celtic traditions.
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.
The Liturgical Home: The Feast of St. Andrew
Each year on November 30, Christians worldwide honor the life and legacy of a devoted disciple and father of the…
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…
Charles Simeon: A Life of Long Obedience
After a long and faithful life of preaching, teaching, and pastoring in Cambridge, England, Charles Simeon died on November 13,…
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.
William Tyndale: A Translator Tested By Fire
William Tyndale was the father of the English Bible and the first to translate the text from its Hebrew and…
The Liturgical Home: The Feast of St. Francis
On October 4th, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the most beloved and well-known…
What is the ANGELican Church?
The confusion of Anglican and ANGELican goes back to a play-on-words first coined by Pope Gregory the Great, but it…
Anglican Journeys
Stories of Journeys into Anglicanism
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 wasn’t 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. It’s possible that I wouldn’t 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…
From Methodist to Anglican: Returning to the Church of the Wesleys
In 2022, I left my spiritual home of over 23 years. God was calling me from the United Methodist Church…
