The Nicene Creed teaches not only who God is but also what God has done for his people. After confessing that the church is “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic,” we then say, “and we acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” This part of the creed—“one baptism for the forgiveness”—can’t be separated from everything…
Dr. Alex Fogleman is Associate Dean for Special Programs and Assistant Professor of Theology at Trinity Anglican Seminary. He holds a PhD in Patristics and Historical Theology from Baylor University, an MDiv from Regent College (Vancouver, BC), and a BS from North Carolina State University.
Catechesis in the Digital Age: The ACNA Catechism App
In 2020, after a decade of planning and testing, the ACNA produced To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism, a companion to the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, which was published the year before. To be a Christian was itself an extraordinary achievement: a comprehensive introduction to what it means to think, to pray, and…
Manipulating Catechesis: A Note of Caution
As one who thinks and writes a lot about catechesis, I was delighted to read Zachary Jones’ recent article, “Catechesis as a Weapon against Racism.” In it, Jones makes the salient but easily neglected point that racism is a cosmic as well as terrestrial force, a battle over what it means to be human as…
Why Do We Baptize Babies If They Cannot Make a Profession of Faith?
Many people coming to Anglicanism stumble over infant baptism. They come for the beauty of the liturgy, the appreciation of both Word and Sacrament, of Scripture and Tradition. But for many, whether Baptist or not, infant baptism is a hang-up. There are many good reasons for such worries and many good answers—including on this site…
Why do Anglicans Say the Creeds?
Confessing Creeds in the Contemporary World Anyone new to Anglicanism will soon realize the importance of creeds. The two most common are the Apostles’ Creed, said at Morning and Evening Prayer, and the Nicene Creed, which is said during the Sunday liturgy and on major feast days. The former is shorter and earlier in origin,…
Confirmation: A Rookie Anglican Guide
What is Confirmation? Confirmation is a church practice that falls into the category of what the Anglican Catechism calls “rites and institutions commonly called sacraments.” Along with Confirmation, there are four others like it: Absolution (confessing one’s sins and receiving forgiveness in the presence of a priest), Ordination, Marriage, and Anointing the Sick. These practices,…
What is Catechesis?
The Ancient Roots of Catechesis The word catechesis comes from the Greek word katēcheō, which means simply to teach or instruct. It appears some eight times in the New Testament—four by Luke (Luke 1:4; Acts 18:25; 21:21, 24) and four by Paul (Rom. 2:18, 1 Cor. 14:19; Gal. 6:6, where it occurs twice)—usually to refer…
