Talking about images and icons in the early church

I had been planning to continue my series on the Lord's Supper but this weekend I was invited by an Eastern Orthodox Youtube channel to outline my own understanding of the use of imagery in the early church. It'd been awhile since I'd thought much about the subject but I brushed off my notes and …

The Lord’s Supper. Part One: Introduction and Scripture

What follows will be a post, or posts, on the Lord’s Supper in scripture and the early church. It’s something I’ve been meaning to write for awhile but to be honest I’ve found it, as a subject, in many ways much more complicated than baptism. The first ever ‘long’ post I did early on was …

The Radical Reformation and Medieval Piety through the lens of Balthasar Hubmaier

I was out walking today and praying as I went. As I did I felt prompted to reflect on the fact that despite being raised in the Church of England I distinctly remember feeling the pull towards the radical reformation from a young age. Now that interest has varied over time but there was something …

The Impact of How Newman and Manning Read the Past on Their Tradition

Anyone who has spent any time at the intersection of various Christian traditions on Church History will likely have encountered Newman’s “To be deep into history is to cease to be Protestant.” and I’m adding nothing new really by reminding the reader that Newman’s own position here was actually quite innovative for the time. Despite …

A Confession of the Catholic Faith of Pope Damasus

A Confession of the Catholic Faith which Pope Damasus Sent to Bishop Paulinus in Macedonia when He was at Thessalonica. After the Council of Nicæa there sprung up this error. Certain men ventured with profane mouths to say that the Holy Spirit is made through the Son. We, therefore, anathematize those who do not with …

Brief Thoughts on Ten Conservative Principles by Russell Kirk

As part of an online reading group I’ve joined we’re starting out by reading the essay ‘Ten Conservative Principles’ by Russell Kirk which you can read for yourself online here. It’s fairly lengthy but the essay opens with a rather illuminating statement: Being neither a religion nor an ideology, the body of opinion termed conservatism …

In Praise of the Ostiarius, the Door Keeper

I’ve been reading a few texts recently from the English church in the Middle Ages and was interested in how one Anglo-Saxon Bishop of York believed there are seven ‘degrees’ or offices in the church. I’d heard about this in a general sense but I’ll quote the section I read so you can see it …

The Body of Christ

In my last post I wrote up a reflection I had on the Nicene Creed and I've been continuing to have a think about what it is I believe and attempting to put this in writing. I've since gone away and had a go at writing up my views on the church as it stands. …

Reflection on the Nicene Creed

Over the last while I've been feeling challenged to try and articulate what it is I believe in writing. This isn't because it's necessarily changed but because I'm trying to figure out how to articulate it in a robust way and the act of writing can help make my thinking clearer. What I've found tricky …

The need for society within society. A culture within a culture.

Throughout lockdown, and even a little before, I’ve been fortunate enough to connect with a range of different people either through this blog or other watering holes and gathering points of a sort. The people and contexts are all different but we often end up talking about our faith, what is happening in our societies …