Sunday, January 29, 2017

Saint Charles Stuart I of England, King and Martyr


O most mighty God, terrible in thy judgements, and wonderful in thy doings toward the children of men, who in thy heavy displeasure didst suffer the life of our gracious Sovereign King Charles the First, to be, as this day, taken away by the hands of cruel and bloody men: we thy sinful creatures here assembled before thee, do, in the behalf of all the people of this land, humbly confess, that they were the crying sins of this nation, which brought down this heavy judgement upon us. But, O gracious God, when thou makest inquisition for blood, lay not the guilt of this innocent blood, the shedding whereof nothing but the Blood of thy Son can expiate, lay it not to the charge of the people of this land: nor let it ever be required of us, or our posterity. Be merciful, O Lord, be merciful unto thy people whom thou hast redeemed; and be not angry with us forever: but pardon us for thy mercies sake, through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (1662 English Prayer Book)

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The Anglican Joint Synods 2017



The leaders of four Continuing Anglican Churches have announced plans for Joint Synods to meet in Atlanta, Georgia, the week of October 2nd to 6th.  At the conclusion of the week it is the intention of the Churches to sign an agreement establishing full communion (communio in sacris) among the four bodies as well as a pledge to pursue in a determined and deliberate fashion increasingly full unity.  The Churches also will discuss common plans for mission and evangelism.  Each Church will hold its own mandatory business meetings and Synods, but the four will join together throughout for common worship and social occasions.
 
The four Churches and their episcopal leaders are the Anglican Church in America (Brian Marsh), the Anglican Catholic Church (Mark Haverland), the Anglican Province of America (Walter Grundorf), and the Diocese of the Holy Cross (Paul Hewett).  The Joint Synods will meet at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia in north Atlanta.
 
The four Churches have grown increasingly close in recent years, and look to the Congress of Saint Louis (1977) and The Affirmation of St. Louis as common historical and theological touchstones.  The Churches are united by commitments to credal orthodoxy; to traditional Anglican worship, rooted in the historic Books of Common Prayer; to the three-fold Apostolic ministry of male bishops, priests, and deacons; and to traditional morality in issues affecting the sanctity of life and human sexuality.  
 
While all four Churches seek closer relations with other ecclesial bodies with Anglican backgrounds, they differ from most of them in a firm belief that innovations since the mid-1970s such as modernist liturgies and the purported ordination of women to Holy Orders constitute unacceptable developments that remove Anglicans from the central tradition of the Undivided Church of the first millennium.  
 
The four Churches have about 300 congregations in the United States as well as larger memberships in Africa, South America, Oceania, Asia, and England.

Wednesday, January 04, 2017

Two Splendid Quotes...

... from the bishop who ordained me to the priesthood.

'The genius of Anglicanism is that it is the Biblical Faith revealed in Catholic Order.'

and

'Anglicanism is evangelical, but not Calvinist; it is Catholic, but not Romish.'

2024 Christmas Message of the Presiding Bishop

  The 2024 Christmas Message of the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America.