laudable Practice

And now that we have attended this very learned and pious Prelate, from his Birth to the last Period of his Life, let us endeavour in a few Words, to recapitulate the Excellencies of his Life; and in running over his Character, strive to copy the Example of those eminent Vertues, which in this Pattern shine brightest for our Imitation. Today we reach the conclusion of our readings from Robert Nelson's 1713 Life of Dr. George Bull . These readings commenced in mid-January 2025 : we have spent over a year and a half with Nelson's account of Bull. Over that time it has, I hope, become evident why Bull was both a formative influence on and exemplar of 18th century Anglicanism. As Nelson summarises Bull's ministry, we hear an ideal that was set forth before 18th century clergy and which shaped the aspirations of 18th century laity for their clergy: He so excelled in his Profession, that he was justly esteemed one of the greatest Divines of the Age in which he lived, and that at...

I have previously suggested that, contrary to many readings of the works of Jeremy Taylor, his 1647 The Liberty of Prophesying was no aberration but, rather, an introduction to a key enduring theme in his works - that of the influence of Remonstrant thought.  Thus, for example, Taylor's relativising of appeals to Augustine, evident in The Liberty of Prophesying , were, of course, also evident in his 1655 Unum Necessarium . At the root of this relativising of Augustine was Remonstrant thought, particularly as seen in the works of Episcopius. This is also the case with how Taylor regards the Apostles' Creed as a sufficient declaration of saving faith. This, of course, is a key theme in The Liberty of Prophesying : And according to the Rule and Reason of this Discourse (that it may appear that the Creed hath in it all Articles primo & per se, primely and universally necessary) the Creed is just such an explication of that Faith which the Apostles preached, viz. the Creed whi...

I am not a poet, nor have I any expertise in poetry. I read poetry, yes, but my tastes are very conventional. I dislike jarring poems. Sharp poems. Poems that delight in discomforting the reader (yes, I know the Mad Farmer would disapprove). I am unembarrassed about reading poetry that brings me to 'pass my time in rest and quietness'. I first read the poetry of Wendell Berry over fifteen years ago, during a time when I was receiving treatment for depression. The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry (1998) sat for over a year on my bedside table, dipped into on most days. The poems quietly, gently, slowly over that year aided a recovery of the habits and rhythms, pastimes and routines which bring coherence and provide a basis for gratitude. The words of Wendell Berry are, for me, meditations on the words of the hymn: "let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace". The years went by. The collections of Wendell Berry poems on my bookshelves increased. Sunday aftern...

Today starts a new series on Laudable Practice , as we turn to the Aberdeen Doctors, the group of eirenic thinkers centred around Patrick Forbes, Bishop of Aberdeen 1618-35. Under the leadership of Forbes, the Aberdeen Doctors offered to the Church of Scotland an alternative to the ideological certainties of both Carolinism (what others - mistakenly, I believe - call 'Laudianism') and the Covenanters: a moderate understanding of episcopacy, a modest account of the Reformed tradition, and a defence of peaceable conformity. One of this group, Robert Baron, 'doctor and professor of divinity',  preached at Forbes' funeral , praising him as an Athanasius of the church of the northern kingdom: For (as Gregorie Nazianzen reasoned concerning Athanasius his prayses) to prayse him, it is to prayse vertue; and to prayse vertue, it is to prayse God, who is the author and giver of it. I say, that to prayse him, is to prayse vertue; because, (as Nazianzen there sayeth of Athanas...

He pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel. Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance ... The absolution at Morning and Evening Prayer declares the precatory nature of absolution: the bishop or presbyter is praying that God's forgiveness would be known by the penitent. As we continue with readings from John Shepherd's discussion of absolution in A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Book of Common Prayer, Volume I (1796), we see how he points to patristic sources as confirming the precatory nature of absolution: the Absolution was not the act of the priest but of God. In the writings of the Fathers and the decrees of councils, to the efficacy of the prayers and intercessions of the priest, is the remission of sin often ascribed. The Prayer Book form of absolution at Morning and Evening Prayer, and at the Holy Communion, are therefore profoundly and deeply patristic: "The priests," says Chrysosto...

He was buried about a Week after his Death at Brecknock, and lies, as I am informed, between two of his Predecessors, Bishop Manwaring and Bishop Laucy, and his Funeral was attended with great Numbers of the Gentry and Clergy, both of the County of Caermarthen and Brecknock.  It was on 17th February 1710 that Bishop George Bull passed from this earthly life. In Robert Nelson -in his 1713 Life of Dr. George Bull - fittingly notes that Bull was laid to rest alongside two particular predecessors in the See of St Davids. Roger Maynwaring was bishop 1636-46, William Lucy 1660-1677 - the last bishop before the Parliament abolished episcopacy and the first bishop after the Restoration. Nelson's reference to Bull's mortal remains resting between two predecessors whose episcopates reflected "the late unhappy confusions" was hardly without significance: it was a reflection of Bull's own experiences during the Interregnum and of his Tory loyalties. Bull had initially reques...