Anglican Heroes: Richard Sibbes — Church Society podcast
From Church Society:
“In the next instalment of our podcast mini-series featuring great Anglican theologians and reformers of the past, Emily Lucas tells Ros Clarke why the work of Richard Sibbes is so important to her personally and pastorally, as well as why he remains significant for the Church of England.”
– Listen here – with links to resources from Mark Dever.
Church of Uganda celebrates Archbishop Janani Luwum’s legacy
From NTV Uganda –
“Forty-eight years ago, Archbishop Janani Luwum was reportedly assassinated on the orders of the former President Iddi Amin Dada.
Luwum was at the time the leader of the Church of Uganda. But his legacy lives on after Uganda declared the 16 of February a public holiday to celebrate the life of Luwum. Daniel Kibet brings us the tales from the Northern Uganda Diocese of the Anglican Church, where Luwum once served as the bishop, and how people there remember him.”
– The 5 minute report includes comments from Moore College graduate Bishop Alfred Olwa.
Discussing The Nicene Creed
Mark Gilbert and Leonardo Di Chirico chat about their new book The Nicene Creed – The nature of Christian unity and the meaning of gospel words, published this month by Matthias Media.
This 17 minute video is a terrific introduction to understanding the key differences between Romans Catholics and Protestants, so that we can love our Catholic friends from a position of better understanding.
It may also make you want to get the book! (If so, click the image for details.)
Towards the end of the video, Mark mentions The Reformanda Initiative. where there are additional resources.
Anglican Heroes: Richard Hooker — Church Society podcast
In the latest Church Society podcast, Dr Ros Clarke speaks with Nigel Atkinson about Richard Hooker (1554 – 1600).
Why should we know about Richard Hooker today – and how has he been misrepresented (by Cardinal Newman, for example)?
Did he really turn his back on the Reformation? (Answer: No.)
This may be a revelation to many Anglicans.
More interesting than any Dan Brown novel — The Council of Nicaea
“This year, in May to be specific, marks 1700 years since the start of the Council of Nicaea. The town is now known as Iznik, in modern Turkey. From this Council’s determinations sprang the core content of what Christians now know, and regularly recite, as the Nicene Creed.
Why does the anniversary of such an old statement matter? It’s not ultimately about philosophical theology, or winning a debate, let alone the intersection of religion and politics, as some suggest.
Ultimately, it’s about worshipping God properly, as he truly is, and not just as we imagine or find convenient.
In particular, it was about honouring Jesus not just as perfect man, but truly as God.…”
– At the Cathedral website, Sandy Grant, Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, explains the significance of the Council of Nicaea.
He reminds us, “the background story is more interesting than any Dan Brown novel conspiracy theory. And the theology is more important” – so take the time to read (and also see the resources he links).
Celebrating Nicaea
From Moore College:
“Today Moore College celebrates the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a landmark event in the history of the Christian church that reaffirmed the perfect equality in being, honour, and power, of God the Father and God the Son.
Though the Father and the Son are distinct persons in asymmetrical and non-reciprocal relationship (the Father is always the Father and the Son is always the Son, so they are not interchangeable), they are entirely and absolutely one in being.
This great truth has always been taught and held unequivocally at Moore College. There is only one true and living God, and the Son is as much God as the Father is (something that is true of the Holy Spirit as well). The creed formulated by the Council of Nicaea used one little Greek word to express this truth, homoousion, which in English becomes the phrase ‘of one being with’ or ‘of the same being as’. It also insisted repeatedly that the Son was ‘begotten not made’. …”
Anglican Heroes: Thomas Cranmer — Church Society podcast
From Church Society:
“In the first of a new miniseries on the podcast, Lee Gatiss talks to Ros Clarke about Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, his life, work and legacy for the Church of England today.”
Learn about Cranmer’s aim to reform the Church, and how his ideas and methods are very relevant to us today.
– Listen here.
Portrait of Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.
Related: Dr. Ashley Null on Thomas Cranmer – from an interview with ACL News in 2001.
‘Not so fast my friend’ – 1700 years since Nicaea – with Rachel Ciano and Leonardo De Chirico
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“It is 1700 years since the Council of Nicaea and the publication of the Nicene Creed – but what are we to make of it?
It was the twentieth of May in the year 325 that the Council of Nicaea first met. Pope Francis said ‘The Nicene Creed is a powerful sign of unity among Christians.’
The 17 hundredth anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is being used by the Roman Catholic Church to push the idea that ‘All Christians are Nicene Christians.’
However the difficulty is that while we say the same words, Roman Catholics and Protestants mean vastly different things, and any unity is a fake unity at best.
Leonardo De Chirico is pastor of the Church Brecha di Roma and director of the Reformanda Initiative.
Rachel Ciano lectures in Christianity and History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College. She is a faculty member at the Rome Scholars and Leaders Network, hosted by The Reformanda Initiative.”
Related:
The Nicene Creed – The nature of Christian unity and the meaning of gospel words – Edited by Mark Gilbert and Leonardo De Chirico. Matthias Media.
“The Diversity of Religions is the Will of God”. A Window into Pope Francis’s Theology of Religions – Leonardo De Chirico at Vatican Files.
Albert Mohler on the new Pope
In his The Briefing broadcast of 09 May 2025, Dr Albert shares his thoughts on the new Pope and what his election might mean for the Roman Catholic Church.
– Listen here.
See also:
9 Things You Should Know About Pope Leo XIV – How Carter at The Gospel Coalition.
The Woman Who Saved Capitol Hill Baptist Church
“In 1944 America was in the throes of an existential crisis. With World War II still raging, the nation’s future felt uncertain. But amid the global turmoil, another crisis – less dramatic but no less significant – was unfolding in a church just a mile from the US Capitol.
After forty-one years as pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church (later renamed Capitol Hill Baptist Church), Dr. John Compton Ball had finally decided to retire. …”
– Crossway has published this excerpt from Caleb Morell’s book, A Light on the Hill: The Surprising Story of How a Local Church in the Nation’s Capital Influenced Evangelicalism.
(The book was reviewed by Tim Challies last month.)
Photo: The U.S. Capitol in Washington.
From Obscurity to Influence: The Legacy of A. W. Pink
“Few figures in modern Reformed history are as paradoxical – or as vital – as Arthur W. Pink. During his lifetime (1886–1952), Pink lived largely in obscurity, often isolated and out of step with the ecclesiastical landscape of his day. Yet after his death, his writings sparked a widespread retrieval of historic Calvinism across the English-speaking world. His works, particularly The Sovereignty of God, still nourish those who hunger for robust, God-centred theology.
One hundred years ago this year, in 1925, Pink arrived in Australia, pastoring briefly in Sydney before retreating into the quieter, itinerant years of his life. His sojourn here, though short, lasting only three years, reminds us that his theological voice was already crossing continents long before it found wider acclaim.
Pink’s theological influence is hard to overstate. …”
– At AP, the Presbyterian journal, Brett Lee-Price has this reminder of A. W. Pink.
Photo via The Banner of Truth.
Remembering Anzac Day — What is it we’re remembering?
From Phillip Jensen:
“For Australians, Anzac Day is the great national day. But what is it we’re remembering? And should we celebrate Anzac Day? In particular, should Christians be remembering or celebrating a military battle of the First World War? Does Anzac Day glorify war? Is it an alternative religion for Australians?
I hope you will enjoy our discussion as Peter and I try and grapple with the history and purpose of Anzac Day observances.”
– Listen to the latest Two Ways News podcast with Peter and Phillip Jensen.
A hymn for Easter Day 1775
Two hundred and fifty years ago, John Newton wrote this hymn for Easter Day 1775 –
Glorious things of thee are spoken – See the details at JohnNewton.org.
For more, see this article by Marylynn Rouse, CEO of The John Newton Project:
“The River Ouse meanders peacefully behind the church of St Peter and St Paul in Olney, Buckinghamshire. It bids a pleasant walk along its river banks as swans glide gracefully by while a watchful heron keeps an eye on a troop of Canada geese on the opposite side of the bank. This tranquil scene was the refuge of the local minister, newly ordained, who fled there in a state of panic.
Before coming to Olney the Reverend John Newton had published six sermons. He had just preached from the last one! A friend explained many years later, ‘he thought he had told them his whole stock, and was considerably depressed.’
Newton himself recalled: ‘I was walking one afternoon by the side of the River Ouse. I asked myself, How long has this river run? Many hundred years before I was born, and will certainly run many years after I am gone. Who supplies the fountain from whence this river comes? God. Is not the fund for my sermons equally inexhaustible?—the word of God. Yes, surely. I have never been afraid of running out since that time.’…”
– Published at Evangelicals Now (requires a free subscription).
Images with thanks to Marylynn Rouse.
Theology in the Margins – Donald Robinson Library Lecture with Mark Earngey
A fascinating and fun Donald Robinson Library Lecture from Moore College a few weeks ago:
“In Theology in the Margins, Mark Earngey, Head of Church History, will be considering how the notes and drawings in the margins of the personal Bibles of the English Reformers can encourage us today to grow our understanding and outworking of God’s word.
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s prayer for the second Sunday in Advent asks God to help us read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the holy Scriptures.
Christians today may be familiar with reading the Bible and learning from God’s Word. But what was the significance of physically marking God’s Word?
This lecture will illuminate how and why some of the English Reformers engaged with their own personal Bibles and will draw some conclusions for modern readers of the Bible who may want to learn from the models provided by our sixteenth-century forebears.”
“We can have confidence as we read these accounts” — Easter message from Tyndale House
Peter Williams, Principal of Tyndale House in Cambridge, shares this Easter message.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…