Welcome to the First Issue of The Anglican Tradition
This journal is devoted to advancing a distinctively Episcopal approach to the study of Scripture, Church history, theology, worship, and cultural issues. The editors of this journal are committed to a conservative, Anglican interpretation of Scripture and approach to Church teaching as summarized in the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. We especially hope to emphasize the importance and necessity of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
One of the primary goals of this journal will be to revive an interest in true churchmanship.
Since there were several articles and excerpts with a Lenten theme available from Project Canterbury (www.anglicanhistory.org), we decided that in this first issue we would make some of that information available in this hard copy format for ease of reading and meditation purposes. We hope this edition will help you to observe a Holy Lent, and that you find good resources within our journal.As you think about the observation of Lent, remember the words of the Prayer Book on page li that Lent is one of those times classified as “Other days of fasting, on which the church requires such a measure of abstinence as is more especially suited to extraordinary acts and exercises of devotion.”
It is important to rea
lize that throughout the Church year, throughout our very lives, we are called upon to exercise abstinence. The Christian is to abstain from every appearance of evil. The Christian is called upon daily to deny himself, take up the cross and follow Christ. Lent is not the only time that we deny ourselves. The very mark of the disciple of Jesus Christ is that he denies himself. But during Lent, we practice extraordinary acts and exercises of devotion. Our typical acts of devotion seem a little trifling when we think of the word “extraordinary.” We give up something like chocolate or soft drinks, and while such sacrifices may be extraordinary acts of devotion for some of us, I doubt that form of self-denial is what our forefathers had in mind for this season of the year. All of the Christian life is to be characterized by self-denial, but during Lent, we make the extra effort to go above and beyond the call of duty.
The kind of Christianity that we live now is a stranger to extraordinary acts and exercises of devotion, because our lives are not characterized by even ordinary acts of abstinence and devotion. Maybe during this Lent, we should spend the 40 days repenting of our lack of the normal, every day discipline of the Christian life. This year, when you make a minor sacrifice in order that you might focus your mind on repentance and the sufferings of Jesus Christ, remember, that these actions are just a small token of the total, self-denying discipline required of the disciple of Jesus Christ.It is our prayer that this journal may help you in that quest for a disciplined Christian life.
Father Toms
