"Chosen and appointed periods in our annual course": A Hackney Phalanx Sermon for Saint Bartholomew's Day

From A Course of Sermons for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England (1821) by Joseph Holden Pott - associated with the Hackney Phalanx - a sermon for Saint Bartholomew's Day. Preaching on the Gospel of the Day (Luke 22:24-30), and pointing to the accounts given by "ancient writers" of the apostle's "labours and his martyrdom", Pott explains (in fine Old High fashion - and note the reference to Cranmer's wisdom) how this festival, together with the festivals of the other apostles, edifies and encourages us in the life of Faith:

In addition, therefore, to the stated Sabbaths which rank first in dignity and order, and make such indispensable and welcome claims upon the loan of time, the żeal and wisdom of the early ages have marked the Christian calendar with many profitable invitations to religious exercises and devotion; to public prayer and private recollections, as each one may be able. At such times the lives of those who stand distinguished in the page of Scripture claim from us a special application of the mind and thoughts. Such seasons, when they had exceeded all due bounds, and had been overrun with legends which have no place or record in the sacred Volume, were wisely and suitably retrenched in our own Church. The life and actions of our Blessed Lord, and those of such as stood nearest to him in connexion, and nearest too in love, now form the topics and examples to which the chosen and appointed periods in our annual course have been adapted. Such seasons are accompanied with many means which are well calculated to promote our spiritual welfare. What can be more persuasive than the known examples of the faithful who have gone before us in the paths of service. A consolatory assurance thus arises to us, reminding us that although we come late into the vineyard, and do not bear the heat and burden of the day in those raging persecutions and calamities which marked the lives of the first Confessors, yet we shall receive the recompence of every diligent endeavour in the same great cause of truth and righteousness.

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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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