Prayer for Rulers

Based on the "Collect for the Queen" in the 1662 BCP


O LORD our heavenly Father, the high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of rulers, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour to behold our Ruler on earth, ________; and so replenish him with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that he may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way. Endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts; grant him in health and wealth long to live; strengthen him that he may overcome all his enemies; and finally, after this life, he may attain everlasting joy and felicity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rethinking Sunday Services

Some thoughts on Sunday worship...

Most of you will be familiar with the sort of liturgy found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.  Along with most modern liturgies, it is based upon Dix's idea of liturgical shape.  There is an introductory rite, Gloria, collect of the day, readings, sermon, creed, prayers of the people, peace, offertory, prayer of consecration, communion, post-communion prayer, dismissal, roughly, with some local variations, etc.  This shape has been adopted by most Christian denominations, the exception being churches like the Reformed Episcopal Church, who have resisted the "liturgical peer pressure" on most Protestant denominations.  In addition to this modern liturgical shape, the Anglican Communion has had a major shift from being a Word-based faith to a symbol-based faith in the last two hundred years.  As you may or may not be aware, the typical Anglican service before the 1860's was Morning Prayer, followed by the Litany, and the Ante-Communion Service (Communion was celebrated at most once a month).  There was little ceremonial action other than perscribed by the Prayer Book (which in these services was mostly sitting, standing, etc.).  The meat of the service was the reading of the Scripture and the expounding of the same in the sermon.  In those times, there could have been up to nine readings from the Scriptures during a service.  There were the two readings from the Table of Lessons for the Daily Office, usually a chapter each, the Psalms from the Psalter, from one to five depending on the day and length of each, and the Epistle and Gospel of the day, usually shorter than the Office readings.  In addition to the readings, the Liturgy is saturated with Scripture; most of the versicles and responses are taken from Scripture. 


I've come to realize that, we, Episcopalians, are very much versed in the art of liturgy and the "mechanics" of public worship.  Only an Episcopalian would know what an aspergillum is or that the liturgical color for Gaudete Sunday is rose.  However, if you ask him to recite the Scriptures, you will find that he is not thoroughly familiar with God's Word.  Perhaps it is time to reconsider the ceremonial complexity of our services in modern Anglicanism.  Perhaps it is time to shed our rituals for a simpler service in accordance with the simplicity of the Prayer Book.  The Lord says, "Thy Word is truth," yet we know not the Words of life as they are contained in the Scriptures.  It is time for the Episcopalian to know and love the Word of God.

An (Episcopal) Evangelical Eucharistic Prayer?

Phillip Wainwright at the Barnabas Project has revealed a "loophole" in the 1979 BCP which might allow for a more Evangelical Eucharistic Prayer to be used in the Sunday Liturgy.  Essentially, the Evangelical complaint with the main Eucharistic prayers is their wording which implies a notion of Eucharistic Sacrifice.  While I am not opposed to a mild commemorative sacrifice in the Eucharist, I know that Evangelicals are opposed to this.  Phillip offers advice on how to write your own Eucharistic prayers.  I wanted to work the 1662 liturgy into this structure in the 1979 BCP, albeit a bit of a stretch of the rubrics.


Phillip describes his interpretation the rubrics:


"For those willing to be thoughtful in their encounter with the rubrics, here’s something I’ve done pretty consistently over the last fifteen years or so: use the eucharistic prayer on p 402 of the Prayer Book. This prayer is designed for use when using the Order for Communion on p 400, but there’s no rubric that prohibits its use in a regular service. The rubric concerning the eucharistic prayer in Rite II says ‘Alternative forms will be found on page 367 and following’ and this prayer follows p 367, even if at a distance."


First, let me quote Phillip, who offers a rationale for using this prayer:


"First, it uses the word ‘bring’ instead of ‘offer’ when indicating the elements. To say that the elements are brought can hardly mislead anyone. It’s true that they are described as ‘gifts’, but since the prayer immediately preceding these words is left to the discretion of the celebrant, they can easily be referred to in that prayer as God’s gifts, which will remove any ambiguity... Second, it refers to I Corinthians 11.26 in saying that in doing this ‘we show forth the sacrifice of His death’. Third, the language of sacrifice is firmly linked to our offering of ourselves rather than our observing the rite: ‘Make us a living sacrifice of praise’."


As I mentioned earlier in the post, after reading Phillip's post, I got the idea to see if the rubrics would permit substitution from other texts.  While they don't specifically permit this, they always say something to the effect of, "using these or similar words," thus allowing the celebrant some freedom in the choice of language. The text does perscribe that the Sursum Corda and Sanctus be used in their 1979 forms thus obligating the use of the Benedictus qui venit.  Likewise, the rubrics provide (and do not allow alternative wording) the forms for the Words of Institution and some material after it.  


A note on the format, everything in brackets is taken from Common Worship Order Two, the contemporary language edition of the 1662 BCP.  It doesn't work perfectly but it's a start, maybe someone else can improve on it.

In making Eucharist, the Celebrant uses one of the Eucharistic Prayers from Rite One or Rite Two, or one of the following forms

Celebrant    The Lord be with you.

People        And also with you.

Celebrant    Lift up your hearts.

People        We lift them to the Lord.

Celebrant    Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People        It is right to give him thanks and praise.

[It is indeed right, it is our duty and our joy, at all times and in all places to give you thanks and praise, holy Father, heavenly King, almighty and eternal God]

The Celebrant gives thanks to God the Father for his work in creation and his revelation of himself to his people;

Recalls before God, when appropriate, the particular occasion being celebrated;

Incorporates or adapts the Proper Preface of the Day, if desired.

If the Sanctus is to be included, it is introduced with these or similar words

And so we join the saints and angels in proclaiming your glory, as we sing (say),

[Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you, and saying/singing:]

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who, in your tender mercy, gave your only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption; who made there by his one oblation of himself once offered a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; he instituted, and in his holy gospel commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death until he comes again.]

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts. Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.

On the night he was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, he took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. By means of this holy bread and cup, we show forth the sacrifice of his death, and proclaims his resurrection, until he comes again.

Gather us by this Holy Communion into one body in your Son Jesus Christ. Make us a living sacrifice of praise.

By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever.

AMEN.

The Third Sunday of Advent

[This starts a new series here.  I will be posting the lectionary texts from the Revised Common Lectionary, highlighting the portions of the Bible which are omitted and offering the texts from the 1928 BCP for comparison.]

BCP 1979

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

 3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

 4And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

 5And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

 6But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

 7For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

 8For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

 9And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.

 10I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

 11For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

 16Rejoice evermore.

 17Pray without ceasing.

 18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

 19Quench not the Spirit.

 20Despise not prophesyings.

 21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

 22Abstain from all appearance of evil.

 23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

John 1:6-8,19-28

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 15John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

 16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

 18No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

 19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

 20And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

 21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

 22Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

 23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

 24And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

 25And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

 26John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

 27He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

 28These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Collect

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

BCP 1928

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

LET a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgement: yea, I judge not mine own self.  For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the Lord.  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.

S. Matthew 11. 2-10

NOW when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?  Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind?  But what went ye out for to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what went ye out for to see? a prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he, of whom it is written,

     Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,

     Which shall prepare thy way before thee.

THE COLLECT

O LORD Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare the way before thee: Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.  Amen.

The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today the Church celebrates the Conception of the Blessed Virgin  Mary.  It is a "black letter" day in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, meaning that it has no proper Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, as a "red letter" day would get.  The American 1928 BCP did not retain the black letter days so it does not occur in the Protestant Episcopal Church calendar.

In contrast with the Church of Rome, our Church does not celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  It is important to note that our Church maintains the original title and spirit of the feast over the medieval accretions included in the Roman Liturgy for this feast.  It is also interesting to note that many notable Roman theologians denied the Immaculate Conception, such as Thomas Aquinas and the Dominican Order, yet that opinion has been made dogma by the Roman Church.  The Immaculate Conception intends to distort true Marian veneration, which our Church plainly rejects.  The true spirit of Marian veneration is the veneration of Christ.  To worship the Virgin is to insult the Virgin in an attempt to rob her Son of the worship due to Him.  Our Lady does not accept invocations in her name but instead points us to the blessed Name of Christ.  We should not fumble with beads in order to gain the favor of Mary but devote ourselves in prayer and the Scriptures to glorify God in Christ.  It is a slap in the face of the "pure Virgin" as the BCP titles her to invoke her in prayer or sing praises to her name.  Humble Mary prefers that we lift our eyes to the Lord in prayer and fasting in imitation of her holy example.  How did the woman who uttered these words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word, (St. Luke 1:38)" come to be called the "Queen of Heaven"?

A theology of Mary which centers on Mary is not a Marian theology at all.  The Blessed Virgin Mary, through her life and witness, exhorts us to worship Christ alone as our Lord and Savior of our souls.

Why Catholics Should Become Anglicans

This post was written in response to reading the following article by Fr. Lucie-Smith for the Catholic Herald:  http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2011/11/30/why-do-catholics-become-anglicans/.  It deals with the subject of why Catholics become Anglicans.  After reading this article, I feel that Mr. Lucie-Smith has presented a realistic picture of why many Roman Catholics choose to become Anglicans.  The problem with these reasons is that they are poor reasons for choosing any religion, not just Anglicanism, and show the complete lack of knowledge of our rich theological and liturgical heritage as contained in the Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer.


In this post, I will comment briefly on Mr. Lucie-Smith's observations and offer what I think are better reasons that Roman Catholics should join the Anglican Churches.


Firstly, Mr. Lucie-Smith presents his first observation:


"Firstly, marriage, and in recent times, civil partnerships: Because the Anglican church will often bless unions the Catholic Church does not recognise, some people have gone to the vicar for weddings or services of blessing and then stayed with the vicar’s community."


The laxity of discipline in Anglican churches is well-known in the Christian world and many people like to take advantage of it.  Historically, the Church of England held very strict standards in marital discipline. Divorce was not allowed in most cases.  The only case in which divorce was tolerated in Protestant orthodoxy is in cases of adultery (based off the passage in Matthew's Gospel).  Over time, many churches have adopted the "no-fault" divorce policy of American culture, lamentably, the Episcopal Church has done just that, even though the Canons direct that remarriage should not occur unless the previous marriage has been annulled.  


His second observation is that,


"Secondly, aesthetic reasons: I know of some who have decided that their pretty village church with its warm-hearted community is the place where they want to be. Many of these people, in my experience, have not been particularly religious. While they may consider themselves parishioners, they would but infrequently go to the Anglican Church."


Even though he intends this as an insult to Anglicans and, while it should not be the only reason for joining the Anglican church, there is a nugget of truth in this statement.  The Church of England is the catholic Church of the English people, just as the Protestant Episcopal Church is the national, catholic Church in the United States.  It is decent and right and proper that all citizens should be part of their national, Catholic Church and not one that is foreign and centered in Rome.  However, one should not be a part of a Church to which they do not adhere creedally.  Anglican churches are reformed catholic Churches which teach the Protestant and catholic faith of the early Church.  


His third reason is,


"Thirdly, church politics: usually when people have a blazing row with the parish priest over the positioning of the hymn board or some other cutting edge matter, they vamoose to another parish. Sometimes, though I have heard of only one case, they storm off “to join the other lot”, as they put it."


I hardly think that church politics is unique to Anglican-Roman conversions.  Practically speaking, this is probably the most common reason given for changing denominations.  


And lastly,


"Fourthly, female ordination: some Catholic women have left the Church to join the Anglicans so that they can be ordained. Some lay people may have joined the Anglicans because they support female ordination."


Regrettably, the Anglican Communion has opened the can of worms known as women's ordination.  Although we are technically still in "dialogue" about this issue, it seems that the Church at large is going to normalize the ordination of women in the Anglican Communion.  While many Romans might be supportive of the ordination of women, they should know that the issue is still not normalized in all of the Churches of the Anglican Communion.  For instance, the Church of England still does not ordain women to the episcopate.  Some African Churches do not ordain women at all.  The Province of the Southern Cone ordains women only to the diaconate.  The Protestant Episcopal Church ordains women to all three orders of ministry, unfortunately.  


He admits that these are small and insignificant in comparison to the greatest reason of them all,


"The above would all be significant but relatively small groups of people. The single largest phalanx of ex-Catholics, as far as I can gather, as those lukewarm Catholics who have been evangelised by Anglicans and have joined a thriving and lively evangelical congregation. My evidence for this is anecdotal, but my guess is that a place like Holy Trinity Brompton contains a significant number of people who were baptised Catholics, but who have now come to Jesus through the Alpha course."


This seems to be the most emotionally-charged of his claims.  He seems to be implying that evangelical Anglicans are "preying" on ignorant Catholics to fill their pews.  


Under what circumstances should a Roman Catholic join the Anglican Church?


As we see from the comments made by this gentleman, the Anglican Church has lost credibility among the other denominations, especially Rome.  This is entirely our own fault, for we have not upheld our own standards, either of doctrine or of worship.  If we were true to our own standards, we would have Morning and Evening Prayer every day, Holy Communion on every Sunday and Holy Day, we would have a rigorous fasting regimen, and a robust reformed catholicism backed by Scripture and the early Church Fathers.  Instead, due to generations of theological liberalism and Romanzing tendencies among Anglo-Catholics, we are known for moral and liturgical laxity, doctrinal confusion and even the lack of doctrine entirely, and generally, a mock of Christian denominations.  The reasons for this complex but I think, principally, it is the loss of confidence in our own formularies as standard-bearers of catholicity.  In order to regain our sense as a tradition, we have to recover our confidence in the catholicity of our formularies.  


Regaining this confidence in our own standards logically reveals the only circumstances in which Roman Catholics  should be admitted as communicants in our parishes.  


First, have they been convinced that, "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation" (Article VI)?  If not, send them to the library and give them a list of patristic fathers to read in conjunction with the Sacred Writ and the writings of the Reformers.  If they are so persuaded after reading the evidence, then they should be admitted to our Church, if not, humbly explain to them that this is the doctrine of our Church.


Second, have they been convinced by the Spirit that "We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings" (Article XI)?  If not, again, provide them with an explanation of the teaching of our Church and if they cannot accept it, humbly admit that they are not ready for communion with our Church.


Third, have they been convinced that, "the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith" (Article XIX)?  If not, explain to them the errors of the Roman Church and if they cannot yet accept the common errors of the Church of Rome, humbly admit that they should consider this decision in constant prayer and come back after consulting the Sacred Scriptures.


Fourth, have they been convinced that, "The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relics, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God" (Article XXII)?  If not, explain to them the error of these superstitions to the corporate body of Christ and to their own soul.  If they are still yet unconvinced, commit them to prayer and dedicate your time to explaining the gravity of these errors.


Fifth, have they been convinced that there are two Sacraments of the Gospel and that, "Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel" (Article XXV)?  If not, explain to them the nature of the Christian Sacraments and where the Church of Rome "hath erred" in this matter.


Sixth, have they been convinced that, "Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions," and that "The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped" (Article XXVIII)?  


Seventh, most importantly, have they been convinced that, "The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits" (Article XXXI)?  If they are not yet convinced of this truth of the Gospel, remind them of Christ's, "full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world," which cannot be repeated or added to by human priests.  Exhort them to trust in Christ alone for salvation but if they cannot accept this truth of the Gospel, they are not yet ready for communion with our Church.


Eighth, are they convinced that all the clergy may marry freely according to the Articles?  Will they cease in using superstitious forms of prayer in public and private?  


Only if they can submit to these teachings, should Roman Catholics be admitted to communion with our Church.  To admit someone to our Church who, either knowingly or unknowingly, disregards our doctrine, does help either them or the whole body of Christ.  If they are admitted to our Church without properly being instructed in our doctrine, what is to stop them from spreading false rumours about our Church?  The fault is not theirs but ours, for we cannot blame the ignorant.  The Gospel is not served by lowering our expectations to fill the pews.  

A Few Notes about this Blog

For new readers or confused readers,

The title of this blog is a play on words from the early 19th century group known as the "Hackney Phalanx" which centered in Hackney, which is now a suburb of London.

The inspiration for this blog really is a personal quest which I have made public (as I take notes on everything I read, I thought it would be beneficial to other people to read my "notes" so to speak).  I read Peter Nockle's, "The Oxford Movement in Context" and was fascinated by this subject of Anglo-Catholicism in comparison to .  I have since collected books and articles to read about this subject, mostly for my own private enjoyment and to share with anyone who is interested in the subject.

Also note, that I do not "filter" anything I say or think about this (or any) subject.  So, for instance, you might see something a few months ago which contradicts what something else I've written here.  This is an intellectual curiosity of mine and I do want to make it clear that I am not a trained scholar in this field so please do not accept anything I write as fact.  I encourage debate (and enjoy it), if you have a contrary opinion, please opine!

I really enjoy reading and discussing Anglican history and if you think I should write about something please send me an e-mail, I would love to learn more.  Likewise, if you have a book suggestion or solely want to discuss something, please also send an e-mail.

"To know the past is to know the present"