For more than 400 years, the Anglican tradition has played a central role in the development of the United States of America. The intellectual culture of recent decades has obscured this historical truth, both on account of revisionist historians who see America as a secular nation and also by the failure of Anglicans to tell…
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 carries with it a missionary hope.
Review Roundup: Deep Anglicanism
While not without criticism, our reviewers found McDermott’s volume to be both accessible and deep. It brings the richness of Anglicanism’s deep history, including its ancient pre-Reformation roots, to bear on our beliefs and practices.
Review: Deep Anglicanism by Gerald McDermott
Despite being a primarily theological text, Deep Anglicanism captivates the reader’s attention, making it a page-turner in the truest sense. It also has a devotional quality in its writing, being as much food for the heart as the mind.
The Bishop as Grandfather
Anglican Compass is proud to publish the Rev. Canon David Roseberry’s new book, The Rector, the Vestry, and the Bishop. It is already getting widespread acclaim from rectors, vestry members, and bishops throughout the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Below is an excerpt from the book’s chapter “The Bishop as Grandfather.” Bishops are chiefly pastors…
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 very early in my walk. I found liturgy especially helpful in giving me words and phrases to cling to when my own prayers felt “stuck.” Now, after 21 years as a Christian, having shifted into the…
10 Reasons for Anglican Optimism
When we observe the world—the sin and disbelief and conflict surrounding the church, together with the sin and disbelief and conflict within the church—it is easy to grow weary of the “changes and chances of this life” (BCP, 60). But take heart: our Lord Jesus Christ is on his throne, his Kingdom is at hand,…
Whatever Happened to the Anglican Via Media?
The via media stands as one of Anglicanism’s greatest gifts to the world: a middle way. However, in the North American context, much of Anglicanism has lost its via media in recent years. Too often, contemporary Anglicanism feels politicized and polarizing, leaving little room for those of us in the middle. Yet as we look to both the past and…
Is Anglicanism Catholic or Protestant?
Roman Catholic? Reformed? Protestant? Most American evangelicals experience a church world that is either protestant and Reformed or Roman Catholic. You have to be one or the other. For many, ‘catholic’ means “Roman Catholic”; ‘Reformed’ means “Calvinist.” “Protestant” means “Non-Roman Catholic.” The Eastern Orthodox churches in these discussions are largely unconcerned. Anglicanism, however, had a unique, rich history…
The Jewel of Anglicanism
John Jewel: What’s the Big Deal? John Jewel (1522-1571) is not the first person we think of when we think of the Reformation in England. We might more readily think of Thomas Cranmer, or Henry VIII, or Elizabeth I, or Richard Hooker. Jewel was an instrumental figure in articulating the vision of a Reformed Church…
Anglican Worship: The Object of Our Worship
Anglican Worship of the Holy Trinity Like other Christian churches, we worship God. This God is identified clearly and consistently in our liturgy as the Trinitarian Godhead taught in the Christian creeds. We gather to pray about, to sing about, and to meditate upon his character and attributes. We speak to him, thanking him, for the goodness…
