The "peculiar benefit" of High Church Receptionism

Another example of the piety of High Church Receptionism, associated with the Hackney Phalanx, from George D'Oyly, Sermon V 'On the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper' in Sermons, chiefly doctrinal, with notes (1827), on the Words of Institution:

Surely here are important words, which would be altogether superfluous, if a mere commemorative rite had been intended. Had such only been the meaning, our Lord would, no doubt, have commanded His disciples to eat bread and to drink wine in remembrance of Him. He would not have told them that the bread was His body broken for them; that the wine was His blood shed for them; words, which can only be verified by the fact that, in some sense, the bread and wine in the Eucharist do become the body and blood of Christ. That they do not become so in a literal sense, is shewn by the plainest evidence of our senses. It remains, therefore, that they must become so in a symbolical or in a spiritual sense; in the sense that to the worthy receiver they are the signs and symbols of His body and blood. Hence, assuredly, there must be designed in this holy institution some thing more than a mere memorial; there must be, in addition, some sort of partaking of the body and blood of Christ, some peculiar benefit derived from that body, and from that blood of the New Testament, which has been shed for all men for the remission of sins.

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Why I support the ordination of women: a High Church reflection

A number of commenters on this blog have asked about my occasional expressions of support for the ordination of women to all three orders. With some hesitation, I have decided to post a summary of my own views on this matter. The hesitation is because I have sought on this blog to focus on issues and themes which can unify those who identify with or have respect (grudging or otherwise!) for what we might term 'classical' Anglicanism (the Anglicanism of the Formularies and - yes - of the Old High Church tradition). Some oppose the ordination of women (and I have friends and colleagues who do so, Anglo-Catholic, High Church, and Reformed Evangelical). Some of us support it (again, friends and colleagues covering a wide range of theological traditions). Below, I have organised my thinking around 5 points (needless to say, no reference to Dort is implied). 1. The Declaration for Subscription required of clergy in the Church of Ireland states: (6) I promise to submit ...

How the Old High tradition continued

Charles Gore's 1914 letter to the clergy of his diocese, ' The Basis of Anglican Fellowship ', can be regarded as a classical expression of the Prayer Book Catholic tradition. A key part of the letter - entitled 'Romanizing in the Church of England' - addressed the "Catholic movement", questioning beliefs and practices within it which tended to "a position which makes it very difficult for its extremer representatives to give an intelligible reason why they are not Roman Catholics". Gore provides the outlines of an alternative account and experience of catholicity within Anglicanism, defined by three characteristics. What is particularly interesting about these characteristics is their continuity with the older High Church tradition. Indeed, the central characteristic as set out by Gore was integral to High Church claims over centuries: To accept the Anglican position as valid, in any sense, is to appeal behind the Pope and the authority of t...

Pride, progressive sectarianism, and TEC on Facebook

Let me begin this post with an assumption that will be rejected by some readers of laudable Practice , but affirmed by other readers. Observing Pride is an understandable aspect of the public ministry of TEC. On previous occasions , I have rather robustly called for TEC to be much more aware and respectful of the social conservatism of the Red states and regions in which it ministers. A failure to do so risks TEC declining yet further into the irrelevance of progressive sectarianism. At the same time, TEC also obviously ministers in deep Blue states and metropolitan areas - and is the only Mainline Protestant tradition in which a majority of its members vote Democrat .* With Pride now an established civic commemoration, particularly in such contexts, there is a case for TEC affirming those aspects of Pride - the dignity of gay men and lesbian women, their contribution to civic life, and their place in the church's life - which cohere with a Christian moral vision. (I will n...

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