Category Archives: Ecclesiastical History

Pentecost: What Language Shall I Borrow?

Today is the Day of Pentecost, which most Christians throughout the world recognize as the birthday of the Church. It’s a celebration of the disciples of Jesus – then and now – receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and taking the universal language of love into the streets and into the public square.

Here is how the second chapter of the Book of Acts tells the story of that love:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. . . .

You can read the rest of it here.

The Royal Wedding: Silly and Serious Highlights

The first highlight is a reflection on the theological presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who solemnized the marriage. The second one is another reflection that also tackles the cynicism and snarkiness of so many about this event and that includes this memorable photograph from Buckingham Palace of a three-year-old bridesmaid on the balcony as the newlyweds kissed.

There were what-some-have-described-as-hats adorning the heads of dozens of the invited guests, who heard a thoughtful sermon by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. His remarks included these words that were addressed not merely to the bride and groom or those seated in Westminster Abbey but also to everyone watching the royal wedding far beyond London or the British Isles:

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

Last but certainly not least comes this video of a verger, taken after the ceremony had ended, showing a kind of joy and delight that’s too often lacking in the world:

The Royal Wedding: Silly and Serious Business

Earlier this month I posted exclusive footage of the royal wedding rehearsal that was leaked to the BBC by an unnamed source inside Buckingham Palace. On the eve of the “big day,” however, its seems appropriate to share a couple of serious reflections, one the marriage itself by the Archbishop of Canterbury and another on it’s setting by the Dean of Westminster Abbey. Also, the Official Programme, including the full Order of Service, can be downloaded here as a PDF document.

Speaking of Eamon Duffy and English History . . .

Sometimes the renewal of faith is ignited like a fire at the grassroots level and brings warmth to the institutions that surround it like a fireplace. There are also examples, however, of leaders and organizations that have charted a course for such a renewal by channeling the direction of popular piety. That’s what happened during the English Reformation, a top-down movement to bring the liturgy and the scriptures into the language of the people and, through the Book of Common Prayer, to refocus theologically on the work of God’s grace. Whether viewed as a violent disruption of traditional faith or a necessary correction to enliven faith, that’s the transformation that took place in the English Church during the 16th century.

Those who are interested in this shift from traditional to reformed worship in England might want to explore these books by Cambridge Professor Eamon Duffy:

The Stripping of the Altars

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This is Eamon Duffy’s award-winning history of traditional religion in England from 1400-1580. He demonstrates that popular Christian piety was robust throughout the 15th century and that the English Reformation that would follow was very much an imperial, top-down reshaping of the theological and ecclesiastical landscape.

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The Voices of Morebath

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In this award-winning book, Eamon Duffy takes a closer look at how the English Reformation affected the real lives of people in the small village of Morebath from 1530-1580. During those years, England was transformed into a Protestant nation. Throughout most of the drama, the same priest served this village and recorded the events.

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Don’t Know Much About [Church] History?

During my time at Yale Divinity School, it was my great privilege to take courses in Historical Theology and English Church History with Patristics scholar – and Episcopal priest – Rowan Greer. I was also honored to study Biblical Theology with Brevard Childs, a legendary scholar of the Old Testament who had a remarkable command of the history of biblical interpretation and theological reflection. These were the professors who taught me to look at biblical studies, church history, and theology in an integrated way, to see how those streams flow into the river of Christian faith. Both of them were connected, in different ways, to the rich tradition of Anglican Christianity. Both followed in, and encouraged others along, the way of Jesus.

Another voice that can be heard from the outside edge of Anglican Christianity, a “candid friend” raised on the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, is Oxford Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch. Although he now stands outside the circle of Christian faith, he has stood within that circle and writes about its history neither as an enemy nor as a neutral party but as someone who genuinely cares about it. Eamon Duffy, an esteemed church historian and devout Roman Catholic, recently called Diarmaid MacCulloch “one of the best historians writing in English.” Those who want to explore the history of Christian faith and/or certain facets of Anglican Christianity might be interested in one or more of the following three books:

Thomas Cranmer.

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Here is Diarmaid MacCulloch’s award-winning biography of Thomas Cranmer, who was Archbishop of Canterbury, architect of the 16th-century English Reformation, and principal author of the Book of Common Prayer. This thorough and long narrative honors the life of a complex, imperfect, and inspiring witness to the Christian faith.

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The Reformation

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This wonderful tome is Diarmaid MacCulloch’s award-winning history of the Reformation. It will appeal to those who want to learn about the entire scope of the 16th-century reshaping of Western Christianity – Protestant and Roman Catholic – and to many others who might want to keep it on hand as a reference work.

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Christianity- The First Three Thousand Years.

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Diarmaid MacCulloch’s yet-to-receive-an-award history of Christianity was recently published in the United Kingdom and will be released in the United States next spring. It has received glowing reviews from Eamon Duffy in The Telegraph and from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in The Guardian. Those are impressive fans.

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