Church Polity

    Folded hands of a bishop wearing a pectoral cross.

    Episcopal Polity: A Rookie Anglican Guide

    Posted on February 21, 2017
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    Authority isn’t a bad word Protestants, especially Western Protestants from democratic countries, who look at the Anglican Church from the outside will find a method of leadership that is quite foreign and perhaps distasteful. If we have been set free by Christ, they may think, why should we let some man in a pointy hat…

    The Rector: A Rookie Anglican Guide

    Posted on April 27, 2016
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    Over the years, I have experienced numerous periods of growth and development as the Rector and Senior Pastor of Christ Church. I have made mistakes along the way; I’ve also had some blessed moments.  Many of both. And, fortunately, for all but a few years, I have had a great relationship with our vestry.  We have developed a…

    English Parish Church

    Why the Parish?

    Posted on October 1, 2015
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    It surprises many people entering Anglicanism from other Christian traditions that we use the term ‘parish’. They had always referred to their church as simply “church” or “congregation,” but now they hear the word “parish.” What is a parish? How is it different, and why? Let’s lay out two understandings of what defines a parish. The first is a canonical designation, or how…

    Classic Compass archive image

    Michael Ramsey, Conversion, and Christian Reunion

    Posted on July 7, 2014
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    Introducing Michael Ramsey One feature of Anglican church history I am especially interested to highlight in these essays is the role that the Archbishop of Canterbury has played in crafting the temper and character of Anglicanism as a theological and spiritual tradition. For Anglicans, bishops are the chief symbol of Christian unity, and no episcopal…