In the middle ages (and in some places even until now) the parish was the centre of community life. There would be dances and celebrations in the church, as well as meetings of almost every kind. Some people stored valuables there, feeling that no one would dare rob such a sacred place. One Tradition I found out recently though was the brewing of beer for different feasts … [Read more...]
The Historic Monergism of W.H. Auden
This weekend I heard of the conversion story of W.H. Auden, one of - if not my favourite poet(s). He was raised in a High Church Anglican parish and apparently held the censer for the priest, enjoying the liturgies and 'magic' of the sacraments. Having walked away from his faith as a young adult, in 1939 Auden moved to the United States after attending Oxford (Christ … [Read more...]
Hymn History: Abide With Me
The first time I heard this hymn was at the funeral of a friend. It instantly became my favourite, to the point that when N.T. Wright criticized it in his "Surprised by Hope" I felt myself turned off from his theology forever (irrational though it might have been). Henry Francis Lyte, the author of this hymn had a fascinating biography. Having studied with the Anglo-Irish … [Read more...]
Hymn History: For All The Saints
William How was an Englishman born to a middle-upper class family in Shrewsbury. He attended Oxford in the heyday of the Tractarians and the Oxford Movement, of conservative Anglican churchmen professing the catholic faith in reaction to the growing Liberalism of Britain. How was ordained the year after Newman's defection to Rome, and no doubt was caught up in the midst of … [Read more...]
Augustinian Spirituality, Advent, and the English Civil War(s)
One of the Great Anglican divines, Jeremy Taylor, lived through the chaotic period of the English Civil War(s) (1642-1651). During this time period the Church of England had its bishops removed, the Peerage dissolved, and the King beheaded. Presbyterians effectively took over the established Church and began to dismantle the rich liturgical Tradition of the Ecclessia … [Read more...]