'There they will drink of his grace': sacramental life in the pre-1833 Church

In the second volume of his 1817 collection of sermons - Old Church of England Principles Opposed to "New Light" - Richard Warner describes what sacramental life could be like in the pre-1833 Church of England. Addressing how children should be nurtured in the sacramental life, he provides a rich account of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and of the Rite of Confirmation:

We should bring them to God in Baptism, at the time appointed for their introduction into our holy faith: we should present them to Him at Confirmation, that they may there enter into a solemn personal covenant with the Lord, to fulfil all that was promised for them, when they were baptized: and we should lead them to the Holy Sacrament, that they may know and feel what their Saviour has done and suffered for their sake; may be drawn closer to him by this solemn ordinance; and obtain, there, supplies of his grace, to furnish them with strength to keep his commandments. By doing thus for our children, we shall not only be doing our bounden duty, and making a proper return to God for the blessing of offspring; but we shall be introducing them to all those privileges and benefits which the holy ordinances of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Supper of the Lord, are intended to confer.

The language of "privileges and benefits" speaks of the grace bestowed in the two Sacraments and in Confirmation. Such was the regeneration bestowed in Holy Baptism:

It is the new birth, or being "born again", spoken of by our blessed Saviour in his conversation with Nicodemus; and the "regeneration" mentioned by St. Paul in his epistle to Titus; by which we are transplanted, as it were, from that state of sin and death eternal, into which we had been sown by Adam's transgression, and implanted into a new state, a state of pardon, acceptance, and favour; made subjects of God's kingdom in Christ; and heirs of all those mercies which are promised in the Gospel to those who keep the terms of the covenant, into which they have been received at Baptism; the conditions of repentance, faith, and obedience.

Warner repeats the well-established teaching on Confirmation, emphasising the "gifts and graces" granted in the rite:

the benefits conferred at Confirmation will be of high importance to the edification and peace of our children here, and their happiness hereafter. It is then they are brought openly, before the Church, "to confirm and ratify", with "their own mouth and consent", what "their godfathers and godmothers promised for them in Baptism"; ... But this is not all; for it is at Confirmation that our children receive, through the imposition of the hands of God's appointed minister, and his humble prayers, "the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; increase in the gifts of grace" ... gifts and graces that will remain with them for ever, provided they earnestly endeavour to perform that promise which they so solemnly engage in at the time of this sacred ordinance.

As for the Lord's Supper, it is here that the "privileges and benefits" of grace are tasted, seen, drunk:

the privileges and benefits vouchsafed to our children at the Supper of the Lord will be infinitely more valuable to them, than all the outward accomplishments which we can bestow upon them, or all the temporal advantages which the world can give then ... They will there "taste and see how gracious the Lord is"; and be refreshed "in the multitude of his mercies". They will there drink of his grace, as out of a river; and imbibe all holy thoughts, all pious dispositions, all charitable feelings, all just intentions, and all upright resolutions: and, finally, they will there obtain the succour and assistance of the Holy Ghost, to confirm in them all these good and righteous dispositions; and to give them power to honour God's holy name and his word, and to serve Him truly all the "days of their life".

Warner's words are another reminder that any notion - still all too evident in Anglican discourse, although long abandoned by serious historical studies - that pre-1833 Anglicanism was somehow deficient in terms of the sacramental life is a nonsense. It was self-evidently not the case that, before Tractarianism, Anglican life and piety was sacramentally deprived.

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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