What constitutes Anglican identity?

“There is no doubt that the sixteenth-century Reformation changed the world. From politics and social attitudes to things like work and family life. To the art of Michelangelo, the music of J.S. Bach and the literature of Shakespeare. To those on board the Mayflower and to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.

The face of Western culture and society over the past 500 years would have been very different without the likes of Martin Luther, John Calvin and many others.

This is certainly true of the Church of England and the way it has developed into the modern Anglican Communion. And yet today, there is great ambiguity about what constitutes true Anglican identity. Where can we turn to in order to start answering such a vexed question?

Let me suggest that we can begin our answer by turning to reconsider one of the foundational Anglican texts: The Book of Common Prayer, originally composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

But since the Anglican Church has a five-hundred-year history, which edition of the Prayer Book captures the true essence of Cranmer’s vision for the Church? Is it the 1549, 1552, 1559, 1604, 1662, 1928, or 1979 Prayer Book?

What I’d like to do over the next few minutes is to take us back to the historical roots of the Anglican movement. Right to the heart of the Reformation as it unfolded in England under Edward VI from 1547-1553. And with a particular focus on liturgical reform. …”

– “What constitutes Anglican identity?” In 2017, Dr Stephen Tong spoke on “Liturgy in the reign of Edward VI in 16th century England”at the Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas, Texas.

A current reminder of why this paper is very helpful:

– Two Anglican Leaders [Calvin Robinson and Chuck Collins] duke it out over what it means to be Anglican – VirtueOnline.

Portrait of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.

A missed golden opportunity

David Robertson takes a look at Archbishop Welby’s sermon at last week’s Coronation:

“In the grandeur of the setting and the glory of the occasion, it was easy to think that we were being told something profound, but if you stopped to think about it there was little challenge, little to stimulate and little to point us to Christ, rather than Charles. …”

– Read it all here.

Moore College Open Week 15-19 May 2023

Moore College’s Open Week begins on Monday 15th May.

Details and registration from the College.

A theological and missional review of the Coronation – with Mark Earngey, Brett Murphy and Sandy Grant

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“After Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla was probably the biggest reaching church service of our lifetimes.

We analyze the service theologically and missionally and compare it with the coronation service of Charles’ Mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Is it in any way better theologically and where is it worse?

– Watch or listen here.

See also:

The true significance of King Charles’ Coronation – Murray Campbell, who writes not only about the Coronation, but about Psalm 2, Nick Cave – and GAFCON.

Key issues in scholarship on 1 Timothy 2:8–15

“In the last few decades, there’s been an enormous amount of scholarship on the meaning and significance of 1 Timothy 2:8–15. The sheer range of interpretations can be bewildering, leading us to throw our arms in the air and declare that it’s all too hard, so we should all just do what is right in our own eyes.

This video is designed to help us to regain some clarity and perspective on the passage by giving a broad overview of the main issues. …”

– Lionel Windsor presented this seminar at the recent Priscilla & Aquila Centre conference at Moore College.

See also:

Claire Smith presented an elective on The household of God in 1 Timothy the next day at the inaugural P&A Research Conference, which is for women.

A brief guide to the Coronation Service

“The Coronation Service for each monarch is put together using set elements, some of which are legally required, and others that can modified or updated over time. The structure of the service draws on the Old Testament, and has developed over many centuries of use in England, and later the UK. The last significant overhaul, especially of the oaths, came for the coronation of William III and Mary II in 1689 …

At the coronation, he does not become king. Rather he is acknowledged as King, not by the state, but by the Church and in the eyes of God. The promises he makes are not that he will rule, but how he will rule. The service is a reminder throughout that he is only King by the will of God and with the consent of the people. He is not our ultimate authority, and he himself is subject to another king, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. …

It is notable that in the Proper Preface, Charles will be referred to as ‘the Defender of thy Faith’, not as he once hoped, ‘Defender of Faiths’.”

– At Church Society’s website, Ros Clarke provides some helpful background to the Coronation coming up this weekend.

See also the Liturgy to be used in the Coronation Service.

Image: Royal.uk.

David Livingstone brought the Gospel to my Country

“David Livingstone (1813–73) is known as a missionary, explorer, and abolitionist.

He was the first missionary to bring the gospel to my beloved country, Malawi, in 1859…”

– Confex Makhalira gives thanks to God for David Livingstone on the 150th anniversary of his death. (At The Gospel Coalition.)

Photo: David Livingstone by Thomas Annan, 1864.

Bible Time with Pre-schoolers

“I’m so thankful that my daughter is taught at pre-school by wonderfully experienced Christian teachers… so when a list of recommended Bible resources from one of those gifted and thoughtful teachers finds its way into your child’s book bag, it is something to be treasured!

I come back to this list every time I want to add to our library. Clearly, it’s far from exhaustive (there are so many good things out there) and seasoned pre-school teachers and parents will no doubt be familiar with a lot of these books, but I thought I’d share this treasured list here anyway, with a few of my own favourites added in along the way. …“

– Here’s some encouragement and practical help from Kirsten McKinlay at The Australian Church Record.

How the Original Languages can benefit the African Church

“It’s very important in our promotion of the original languages not to make people think that they cannot trust their translated versions. However, I have personally experienced the joy and value of reading the Bible in the original languages. This is something I wish for many more to experience for themselves. …”

– You don’t need to be a isiXhosa speaker ministering in Africa to appreciate reading the Greek and Hebrew texts.

Ikho Poswayo serves at George Whitefield College in Capetown.

A tale of two bishops: What happens when apostasy reigns?


“Go back half a century and the most established church of the Protestant establishment was, without question, the Episcopal Church. Never massive in numbers, that historic denomination sat atop the so-called ‘seven sisters’ of the old Protestant mainline (Episcopalians, Congregationalists [now United Church of Christ, UCC], Presbyterians [PCUSA], United Methodists, the Disciples of Christ, northern Baptists, and Lutherans [ELCA]). Those historic churches had outsize importance in shaping the culture. The word ‘mainline’ was not used inaccurately.

Fast forward to the present and all those denominations have been in precipitous decline for decades. The culture has been secularizing and those churches basically decided to secularize with it. …”

– In his latest article, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Dr Albert Mohler looks at the legacy of Bishop Frank Griswold and Bishop Gene Robinson.

Moore Theological College – then and now

Back in 1954 or 1955, this 26-minute film was made to promote Moore Theological College.

It’s a fascinating glimpse into College life in a more formal time.

The film features Bruce Smith as – er- John Smith – a student arriving on his first day at the college, and follows him through to graduation.

Many of Bruce’s contemporary students are seen in the film, as are the Principal, the Rev. Canon M. L. Loane, and the Vice Principal, the Rev. Dr. D. B. Knox. The film is narrated by college student Ron Herbert.

The film is available at both YouTube and Vimeo with thanks to Moore College’s Donald Robinson Library.

Since that film was made, Australian society has changed greatly, but the aim of Moore College – to train people to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) – remains at the centre.

In 2023, Moore College’s May Open Week is a great way to get a taste of college life.

“Visit our Newtown campus during May Open Week to experience a lecture, meet faculty and students, and get a campus tour from a student. Join us for a day or part of a day, and enjoy morning tea and lunch.

To register, please fill out the form [at the link] below …”

‘Vatican sends relic of true cross to Britain’s King Charles’

“As Britain’s King Charles III walks into Westminster Abbey for his coronation, he will walk behind a processional cross containing a relic of Christ’s cross given to the king by Pope Francis. …

Anglican Archbishop Andrew John of Wales blessed the cross during a service April 19.”

– Story from The National Catholic Reporter. Martin Luther

Possibly related:

Abandon the Reformation, Abandon the Gospel – Matthew Barrett at The Gospel Coalition:

“There they sat. Relics. Lots of them. There was a cut of fabric from the swaddling cloth of baby Jesus, 13 pieces from his crib, a strand of straw from the manger, a piece of gold from a Wise Man, three pieces of myrrh, a morsel of bread from the Last Supper, a thorn from the crown Jesus wore when crucified, and, to top it all off, a genuine piece of stone that Jesus stood on to ascend to the Father’s right hand. And in good Catholic fashion, the blessed Mary was not left out. There sat three pieces of cloth from her cloak, four from her girdle, four hairs from her head, and better yet, seven pieces from the veil that was sprinkled with the blood of Christ. These relics and countless others (19,000 bones from the saints!) stood ready to be viewed by pious pilgrims. These relics were the proud collection of Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, Martin Luther’s prince. And they sat in the Castle Church at Wittenberg, prepared and ready for showing on All Saints Day, November 1, 1517. …”

Also, Article XXII of The Thirty Nine Articles.

60 Days of Prayer for the Church

Church Society in the UK has been promoting “Sixty Days of Prayer for the Church“.

“Church Society is calling us to 60 days of prayer for the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion. The Church of England is teetering on the precipice of grave doctrinal error and pastoral disaster. The potential implications will be felt across the Anglican Communion, with many provinces having already made it clear that they cannot continue in fellowship with the Church of England. The situation is extremely serious, and what we most need is to call on the Lord.

For several years, at Church Society, we have made weekday posts throughout Lent on a number of theological, biblical and pastoral themes.

This year, however, it seemed appropriate to use this time to call the church to prayer. The collects of the Anglican church are intended to gather up the thoughts of the people into short, clear prayers, and so we will be using these as the basis for our prayers.

Each day we will be posting a selected collect along with some thoughts about its significance for the contemporary church, and we hope that these will prompt your own prayers.

The sixty days begin on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd, and finish at the end of the GAFCON meeting in Kigali, on April 21st.

Please join us for this important season of prayer.”

It’s not too late to join in prayer. You can see each of the daily posts at the Church Society website.

Today’s post: Withstand the world, the flesh and the devil, by Sandy Grant, is a reflection on the collect for the eighteenth Sunday after Trinity –

“Almighty God,
grant your people grace
to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.”

and Stephen Tong wrote this post on the collect for the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

ACR Journal Autumn 2023 now available

There’s much worthwhile reading in the just-released copy of the Autumn 2023 ACR Journal –

Editorial: Taste and see that the Lord is good – Mike Leite

The law of the Lord is perfect – Andrew Leslie

Created male and female: Reflections on Genesis 1-3 – Gav Perkins

God’s goodness in 1 Timothy – Lionel Windsor

Interview: William Taylor – Micky Mantle

How to preach truth yet teach falsely – Mike Leite

A God worth trembling before: Isaiah 66 – Craig Schafer

Preaching a good and powerful word – Paul Grimmond

Will we be teachers who tremble at His Word? – Phil Colgan

Reflections: An interview with Phillip Jensen – Ben George

Displaying God’s love daily: School chaplain interviews – Stephen Tong

This is the Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God – Mark Earngey

You are enough, and other lies we like to swallow – Jocelyn Loane

Richard Johnson: Chaplain under fire – Stephen Tong

From the vault: The evangelical heritage – Archbishop Howard Mowll

From the vault: The cross and the resurrection – John Stott

Book review: Eager to serve by Ray Galea – Ben Pfahlert

Book review: The Doctrine of Scripture: An Introduction by Mark Thompson – Andrew Leslie

Book review: The Life of Faith: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine by Peter Jensen – Sandy Grant

Book review: Biblical critical theory by Christopher Watkin – Rory Shiner.

Download your copy from The Australian Church Record.

Where did all this Expository Preaching come from?

“There’s no doubt that, at least within Reformed churches, this is an age of expository preaching – of preaching sequentially through books of the Bible while always ensuring that the point of the text is the point of the sermon.

Yet you do not need to look far into history to find that it was not always so and that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries such preaching was rare.

I was intrigued by Bob Fyall’s explanation of how expository preaching became not only accepted but expected. …”

– Tim Challies writes of key figures who promoted expository preaching in England and Scotland. Let us never take such preaching for granted.

Related: Sydney Church History – David Cook.

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