Pope Offers “Personal Prelature” for the TAC. Who’d Have Thunk It?

Not me, for one.  But Damian Thompson obviously does: The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has decided to recommend the Traditional Anglican Communion be accorded a personal prelature akin to Opus Dei, if talks between the TAC and the Vatican aimed at unity succeed, it is understood. The TAC is a growing …

A Reminder of the Real Meaning of “Separation of Church and State”

Baby Blue's nice little article on the role of the local church vis à vis the beginnings of the Episcopal Church in Virginia are interesting for the current history of TEC, but they have a broader application: James Madison and Thomas Jefferson did not think so highly of the former established church's assertions either. And …

V. Gene Robinson’s Prayers Should Be Consistent

Now that he's on tap for Barack Obama's inaguration festivities, Robinson complains about the prayers that went before him: Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was "horrified" at how "specifically and aggressively Christian they were." "I am very clear," he said, "that this will not be a Christian prayer, …

Jesus’ Method in Forming Disciples

From Abu Daoud: 1) He taught them with authority--We have the same Word, the same Spirit and the same authority. 2) He lived with them--he had daily contact. Discipling Muslims demand our daily time and togetherness. 3) He discipled in small groups or 3, 6, or 12. We make a mistake if we look for …

A Thought on Episcopal and Anglican Churches Leaving

Something just hit me about this topic. During my first visit to the UK, I went to Westminster Cathedral (the central cathedral for the Roman Catholic Church in the UK.)  I think it was there I read the lists of the main archbishops who presided over the "holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" in England, at …

Losing the Church Property, or Why the Romanians Don’t Tithe

The fallout (and for the true Anglicans, the agony) of the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold trusts based on the Dennis Canon--and thus facilitate the retention of parish property by the Diocese of Los Angeles and TEC--has generated a lot of comment, some of which has linked back to this site (thanks!) One of …

The Two-Edged Sword of Central Property Ownership of Churches

Tomorrow the California Supreme Court will render its decision on a series of cases regarding the secession of several parishes from TEC.  Needless to say, it's a nail-biter for everyone. Anglican Cumudgeon has been covering this saga in detail (he doesn't do it any other way) but what interested me was a comment from the …

Reply to Kevin Walker on Salvation, the Nature of the Church and N.T. Wright

Kevin Walker had an excellent post on The Language of Salvation, which dealt with a passage from N.T. Wright.  His response to my comments was as follows: Thanks for commenting Don. I just started reading N.T. Wright, and I'm enjoying his work. My only beef is, like you said in your comment, that he almost …

Anglican Calendar Script Updated

It's been a while, but the Anglican Calendar Script--a popular feature of the site--has been updated.  Two changes have been made: A bug which prevented the correct reporting of the First Sunday in Christmas has been fixed.  The whole series of celebrations around the turn of the year (Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany) is the trickiest part …

The Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent

From the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: O LORD, raise up (we pray thee) thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily …

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