laudable Practice

Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us ... Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms - Ecclesiasticus 44:1&3. Yesterday's funeral of President George H.W. Bush has led to some online discussion amongst Episcopalians concerning the historical 'quasi-established' status of TEC.  Unease regarding this status - a status clearly on display yesterday - perhaps chiefly derives from an 'anti-Constantinian' theology, the Hauerwas-like denunciation of establishment as compromising the Church's mission and witness. This theology is based around a rejection of political power, national identity, and military service as incompatible with the vocation of the baptised.  In doing so, however, it privileges one period in the Church's history (the time before the peace of the Church granted by Constantine) and rejects Christian practice over very many centuries.  We might also add that it ignores the logic of the Church of the martyrs, as O'...

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light ... that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal - from the Advent collect. ... and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law - the Epistle reading for the First Sunday in Advent . For of all that a man hath, there is nothing that shall accompany him to the tribunal of the great Judge of the quick and the dead but peccata et bona opera , 'sins and good works;' and then it will appear that the voice of a few good works, done for Christ's sake, will speak louder, and plead harder and more effectually for us, than all our glorious words and professions - from the sermon preached at...

Some are put away, because the great excess and multitude of them hath so increased in these latter days, that the burden of them was intolerable - from ' Of Ceremonies, why some be abolished, and some retained '. Pray Tell has a good piece on the Advent Wreath by Episcopal priest and Nashotah House assistant professor of Liturgics and Pastoral Theology Matthew S. C. Olver.  I confess to having something of the zeal of the convert on this matter.  Once a fan of the Advent Wreath, experience in the parish has increasingly convinced me that it can become a hindrance to the meaningful observance of Advent. Referring to the various themes associated with each of the candles, Olver states: The principal problem with these themes is they bare only a slight relationships to the lectionary readings and collects for the day and thus serve only to clutter the liturgy, not enrich its celebration. Furthermore, many of the narrative “explanations” are not very well written ...

Advent, we are told, is counter-cultural.  While the rest of society is already celebrating Christmas, devout liturgical Christians are properly observing Advent - restoring its penitential character, avoiding Christmas carols, being a community of exiles amidst prevailing consumerism and excess. Strangely, however, the liturgical event which marks the beginning of the season - the Advent Procession - is remarkably popular.  Take, for example, these statements regarding the Advent Procession: This service will be full to capacity so please arrive early (doors open at 4.15pm). Seats are unreserved and are on a first come first serve basis - Yorkminster . As these are very popular services, members of the congregation are advised to arrive in good time - Durham Cathedral . Please arrive in good time to be sure of getting in before the permitted capacity is reached - Salisbury Cathedral . One of the most popular services of the Abbey’s year - Bath Abbey . This...

Advent Sunday is always the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St Andrew, whether before or after - from ' Tables and Rules for the Moveable and Immoveable Feasts ' in the BCP 1662. Where does St Andrew's Day appear in the sanctoral?  In most contemporary Anglican calendars it is the last feast of the Christian year.  But not so in the Prayer Book tradition.  Here St Andrew's Day is the first feast of the Christian year, the first collect, epistle and gospel we find when we turn to the saints' days. This little practice has meaning and significance as we prepare to enter into Advent (or, in some years, when we are in the first days of Advent). St Andrew is the one who in the Gospel of St John heeds the witness of the Baptist to the Advent of the Lord, "Behold the Lamb of God!". In the synoptic tradition - and Matthew provides the Gospel reading for St Andrew's Day at the Holy Communion - Andrew, with Peter, James and John, "straightway...

This year Advent is very short. It begins on the evening of Saturday, 1 December, and lasts barely three weeks, so we must make the most of it. Here in the monastery, Advent is eagerly anticipated. We relish the simplicities of the season. These words from Digitalnun are a quite beautiful reminder of the gift of Advent simplicity.  There is a temptation to crowd the liturgy in Advent - to make it 'fussy', filling it with additional devotions or practices.  Amidst the busy social and commercial demands of these weeks, however, it is the simplicities of the liturgy which can be most compelling This is what we see in a Prayer Book Advent.  Apart from the daily praying of the Advent collect, no additional devotions or practices crowd the liturgy.  By contrast, consider the extensive provision and multiple options provided by the CofE's Times and Seasons for Advent.  The concern here is not 'only' with aesthetics.  The concern is also theological....

There is a comprehensiveness to the time-tried Anglican path that engages the larger cultural, political and public spheres, hence the magisterial-kingdom aspect of Anglicanism - if this element of Anglicanism is ignored or marginalized, a serious domesticating and thinning out of the Anglican heritage occurs. Ron Dart The North American High Tory Tradition , p.229. (The picture is of a stained glass window in the Church of the Ascension, Hamilton, Ontario - one of a series of windows celebrating Canadian Anglican pioneers.  This window shows Loyalists settling in Canada after the Revolutionary War.  Bishops Charles Inglis and James Stewart look on, symbolising their role in the establishment of Anglicanism in British North America, shaping culture and polity.)