Why does the Church return to Jesusโ infancy every February 2 for the Feast of the Presentation, also called Candlemas? The reason is both chronological and theological.
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 strong case can be made that the Books of Homilies also serve this function. The Formularies provide both cohesiveness and clarity to the Church’s doctrine.
A Brief History of Anglicanism, Part 1
The Anglican tradition traces its roots back to the time of the Roman Empire when a Christian church first came to exist in the British Isles.
The Baptism of Our Lord: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Jesus began his public ministry with his baptism, administered by John the Baptist at the Jordan River. All four gospels narrate the baptism, which reveals Jesus as the Son of God and points to his work of new creation.
Halloween and the Victory of Christ
Halloween assures us of the ultimate comfort in our times of darkness. Taken together with the rest of Allhallowtide, it tells us that, though Satanโs forces still rage against us and this worldโs ills plague our frail bodies and minds, Christ preserves his people from generation to generation.
What is Lectio Divina?
How do we read Scripture? What happens when we sit down with our Bibles and begin to pore over the wisdom God has given us through its ancient authors? In our rationalistic world, we often find it easy to study the Bible but not as easy to meditate upon and absorb it. We’re tempted to…
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 by the Rule of St. Benedict. The Rule governs every element of a monkโs life: when they sleep, work, pray, and eat, as well as how they work out community issues, etc. Oblates of monasteriesโlay…
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, receive Communion. This ancient practice, called paedo-communion, has always been practiced in the Eastern Church but was only recently rediscovered and reincorporated in the West. It offers great spiritual benefit not only to the children who…
Morning Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
It’s very easy to wake up in the morning, get dressed, have a cup of coffee while we check the latest news, and immediately jump into our day. We often check our emails before we check in with our souls. What would happen if, instead, we started our day in praise and thanksgiving to God?…
St. Alban: First Martyr of Britain
Alban stands as a reminder of the radical change God can bring about in a personโs life and the way he may use even the most ordinary among us in a brief time.