The Anglican "Notwork"

Andy at All Too Common has a wonderful open letter to the Anglican Network bishops relating to the recent statements from Network bishops hinting that they are staying with ECUSA no matter what. Please go read Andy's letter. I agree with Andy. The Network will not work, and that is why I'm calling it the Anglican "Notwork."

St Ambrose on Mary's Sinlessness (the Latin Text)

In seminary I wrote a paper that essentially divided the Fathers into two camps those that speak of Mary's sinlessness in positive terms and those that speak of her sinlessness in negavtive terms. An example of a positive formulation would be that Mary was "All-Holy." An example of a negative formulation would be that she is "without stain." The former describes Our Lady by ascribing an abundance of grace. The latter by ascribing the lacking of something sinful. The following is from a section on St Ambrose.

Ambrose of Milan, wrote in the fourth century that Mary was not only physically inviolate, but also free from every stain of sin. The grace of God accomplished both her perpetual virginity and status as sinless.

Mary, a Virgin not only incorrupt [incorrupta], but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free from every stain of sin [per gratiam ab omnia incorrupta labe peccati].

This is the first Latin articulation of what became the common assumption of the Western Church – that Mary is without stain [incorrupta] of sin. Ambrose does not speak of a generic stain but of “every stain” [omnia incorrupta]. It is also worth noting that Ambrose does not use the term macula, but incorrupta. The former is more properly a stain or blemish. The latter is obviously related to incorruptio, denoting an absence of rottenness. The Latin incorrupta corresponds to the Greek aphtharton. This can be observed in the Vulgate translation of 1 Corinthians 9:25 where aphtharton is translated as incorrupta, in the sense of the imperishable crown that awaits the saints of God.

Ambrose provides the fundamental negative statement concerning Mary’s moral status for the West. She is holy because she was preserved per gratiam from omnia incorrupta peccati. Mary is perceived in terms of what she does not have, i.e. every stain/corruption of sin. For Ambrose, sin indicates the inherited blemish of Adam and Eve’s rebellion. The inherited immaculist doctrine of the Latin Church belongs primarily to Ambrose and not to Augustine, as demonstrated below [i.e. in the rest of my paper on the subject].

The Necropolis under St Peter's Basilica

When in Rome, we went on the Scavi Tour underneath St Peter's Basilica. In the diagram above you can see the underground necropolis that existed prior to Constantine's construction of the original basilica.

I am firmly convinced that the skeleton of the 1st century man they found in the butress of St Peter's grave is indeed St Peter himself.

One of the greatest experiences of my life was going to Mass at Peter's tomb - number (1) on the diagram above.

Celebrating Mass Like You Are Alone

I've heard many a fine priest say that one should celebrate the Holy Mass as if you are alone before God. I have always tried to celebrate in this way and I have the privilige of being at a parish that is ad orientem only.

The only time I celebrate versus populi is when I go to a retirement center where the setting is rather makeshift. I feel the awkwardness because I immediately worry and wonder about how my face should look or how I look when celebrating. This is distracting. When you celebrate ad orientem, the thought never comes to mind. You are simply their to make an oblation and you don't have to look at anyone to do it.

So during this rather small versus populum Mass, I resolved to celebrate most solemnly and pretend that I was by myself.

I made no eye contact except when I address the communicants (e.g. at "The Lord be with you.") And essentially kept my eyes either toward Heaven or directly at the elements on the altar.

Afterward, I got only two comments. The first was, "Oh Father, you celebrate so wonderfully. It was just so beautiful today."

Another elderly lady said, "As you were celebrating it reminded me of Moses and how important it was to take delicate care with sacred things."

I take both comments to reveal that lay people don't want a priest gazing over the altar at them. If you do not or cannot celebrate the Mass ad orientem, simply celebrate as if only God were there. Look to the heavens or to the sacred Sacrament there before you. The priest celebrates with the people and not to the people.

St Augustine on Mary without "Sins"

The following quote explicitly states that Mary was excepted from committing sins on account of her privilege of being the Theotokos. Obviously, the doctrine of Original Sin comes to full fruition in the writings of St Augustine. And yet even at this source we find a very strong reluctance to explain Mary's moral status as anything but sinless.

"Having excepted the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins - for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear him in whom there was no sin?--so, I say, with the exception of the Virgin, if we could have gathered together all those holy men and women, when they were living here, and had asked them whether they were without sin, what do we suppose would have been their answer?"

(Nature and Grace 36:45)

There is one thing to be noted here. St Augustine, in this passage, refers to Our Lady as without "sins" in the plural. He is not talking about the inherited Original Sin, or so it seems. All that can be concluded is that she was without "sins," by which I understand him to be referring to actual sins and Original Sin. Am I right on this?

Compare this quote to St Ephrem and St Ambrose who explicit refer to Our Lady as being without "stain of sin."

"Thou alone and thy Mother are in all things fair, there is no flaw in thee and no stain in thy Mother."

(St Ephraem, Nisibene Hymns, 27:8)


"Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free of every stain of sin."

(St Ambrose, Sermon 22:30)

It seems that St Ambrose was much more explicit in his definition of Mary as without the stain of sin.

Anniversary of Elizabeth I's Excommunication

On this day (Feb 25) in 1570, St Pius V issued the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis declaring Elizabeth I to be a heretic and claimed to release all her subjects from any allegiance to her. It also declared any subject of Elizabeth who was loyal to her excommunicated from the Church of Rome. The name of the bull is taken from the first three words of its text, written in Latin and meaning "ruling from on high" (a reference to God).

While we're at it, can someone tell me the difference between a Bull and an Encyclical?

More from Wikipedia.

Does Peter Have Immediate Universal Jurisdiction?

Does Peter and his successors, the Bishops of Rome, have immediate and universal jurisdiction over the entire Church? The Roman Code of Canon Law says the Holy Father possesses "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power." (CIC 331).

Almost all Anglo-Catholics grant that the Holy Father is the Successor of St Peter and holds a special place of honor and primacy for global Christendom. As I understand them, the Eastern Orthodox still grant that Rome should and will hold the place of primacy if/when a reunification occurred in the future. Thus, it is safe to say that most Catholic-minded Christians outside the jurisdiction of Rome grant that the Petrine See holds the primacy of honor.

What Anglo-Catholics and Eastern Orthodox typically complain about is the doctrine teaching that the Petrine See possesses ""supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power." (CIC 331). I've even heard one Anglo-Catholic say that this canonical arrangement essentially strips all bishops of episcopal power and merely makes them auxiliary bishops within a single Romano-Global Archdiocese.

I'd like to examine the issue of Papal Supremecy with arguments for and against it.

Three arguments in favor of the Holy Father's "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power":

1. This universal jurisdiction was divinely instuted by God. Christ gave the "Keys of the Kingdom" only to Simon when he also changed Simon's name to Peter. The keys are a sign of jurisdiction. And the jurisdiction is clearly assigned - "Whatever you bind on earth." Thus, "the earth" is within the immediate jurisdiction of Peter. He shares this jurisdiction with the Apostles, but still he can bind and loose anywhare "on earth." This sounds rather "universal" to me. Christ didn't say, "Whatever you bind in Rome/Italy/Europe/the West [fill in the blank]. He said "on earth."

2. The Epistle of St Clement reveals that the Roman See and its author (universal tradition says it is St Clement) believed that it could indeed impose instructions to the far away Greek port-city of Corinth. This reveals a very early Patristic witness to Universal Jurisdiction. Nowadays, the bishop of Kansas City doesn't presume to write all the Christians of New Jersey and tell them what to do and how to do it. Only the Pope does that kind of thing.

3. As Cardinal Ratzinger (pre B16 days) said, the universal Church existed before the existence of local churches. The universal Church exists temporally and logically prior to the existence of local churches. If this is the case, there must be universal jurisdiction that gives rise to local jurisdictions. Another way of saying this is that the Church of Jesus Christ existed and was governed by Peter and the Apostles before any such thing as a local diocese or see existed. Local jurisdictions thus derive from the universal jurisdiction. When local jurisdictions reject universal jurisdiction, they are biting that hand that feeds them and protects them.

Three arguments against the Holy Father's "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power":

1. The Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 shows that Peter did not hold universal jurisdiction and that his authority was necessarily exercised in a conciliar structure. St Peter even received a heavenly apparition teaching that all the Gentiles were clean and able to receive the Kingdom of God. Still, it required the Apostolic assembly to confirm this truth and it consequences for the Gentiles.

2. We have not one example of St Peter using his "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power." It is neither contained in Scripture or in tradition. Surely, St Paul could have made a claim that St Peter regularized his Apostolic office in the face of much contention to the contrary. In debate, St Paul could have appealed to the Petrine position. But he never does. In fact, some of Paul's words indicate that he had to keep Peter in check (Gal 2).

3. The idea that the Petrine Office possesses "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power" obviously comes from its historic alignment with Imperial Rome. Ecclesiastical Rome's prestige and power arose for no other reason than the fact that it inherited Imperial Rome's "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power" over the entire Roman Empire. Roman Papal Supremecy is therefore not a divine mandate of Christ, but an accident of history.

I'd like to see some zealous non-Catholics try to debunk the first three pro-supremecy arguments and some good Catholics debunk the latter anti-supremecy arguments.

John Paul II of blessed memory encouraged us to do this type of thing in Ut Unum Sint. Let's see how it goes.

Canon of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer

This morning at breakfast after Mass, a friend said "I was looking at the 1549 Mass lately. Why didn't we ever go back to that?!" Well here is the canon in full. Take a look. I find it highly unlikely that Rome would ever allow an "Anglican Canon" but I imagine that the 1549 would come closest. I really like the fact that it has the so-called ascending epiclesis of the Roman Canon, where an Angel is asked to carry the oblation to Heaven. Notice how Cranmer changed it from the gifts of oblation to "prayers and supplications" so as not to be so sacrificial.

After the Sanctus, the 1549 Canon begins thus:

For the Church Militant
ALMIGHTIE and everlivyng GOD, whiche by thy holy Apostle haste taught us to make prayers and supplicacions, and to geve thankes for al menne: We humbly beseche thee moste mercyfully to receive these our praiers, which we offre unto thy divine Majestie, beseching thee to inspire continually the universal churche with the spirite of trueth, unitie, and concorde: And graunt that al they that do confesse thy holy name, maye agree in the trueth of thy holye worde, and live in unitie and godly love.

For the King
Speciallye we beseche thee to save and defende thy servaunt Edwarde our Kyng, that under hym we maye be Godly and quietly governed. And graunt unto his whole counsaile, and to all that he put in auctoritie under hym, that they maye truely and indifferently minister justice, to the punishemente of wickednesse and vice, and to the maintenaunce of Goddes true religion and vertue.

For the Clergy
Geve grace (O henvenly father) to all Bishoppes, Pastors, and Curates, that thei maie bothe by their life and doctrine set furthe thy true and lively worde, and rightely and duely administer thy holy Sacramentes:

For the People
and to al thy people geve thy heavenly grace, that with meke heart and due reverence they may heare and receive thy holy worde, truely servyng thee in holynes and righteousnes all the dayes of their life:

For Those in Need
And we most humbly beseche thee of thy goodnes (O Lorde) to coumfort and succour all them, whyche in thys transytory life be in trouble, sorowe, nede, syckenes, or any other adversitie.

For the Congregation at Present
And especially we commend unto thy mercifull goodnes, this congregacion which is here assembled in thy name, to celebrate the commemoracion of the most glorious death of thy sonne:

Commemoration of the Our Lady and the Saints
And here we do geve unto thee moste high praise, and heartie thankes, for the wonderfull grace and vertue, declared in all thy sainctes, from the begynning of the worlde: And chiefly in the glorious and moste blessed virgin Mary, mother of thy sonne Jesu Christe our Lorde and God, and in the holy Patriarches, Prophetes, Apostles and Martyrs, whose examples (O Lorde) and stedfastnes in thy fayth, and kepyng thy holy commaundementes, graunt us to folowe.

For the Departed
We commend unto thy mercye (O Lorde) all other thy servauntes, which are departed hence from us, with the signe of faith, and nowe do reste in the slepe of peace: Graunt unto them, we beseche thee, thy mercy, and everlasting peace, and that, at the day of the generall resurreccion, we and all they which bee of the misticall body of thy sonne, may altogether be set on his right hand, and heare that his most ioyfull voyce: Come unto me, O ye that be blessed of my father, and possesse the kingdom, whiche is prepared for you from the begynning of the worlde: Graunt this, O father, for Jesus Christes sake, our onely mediatour and advocate.

'Once-for-All' Preface to the Institution Narrative
O God heavenly father, which of thy tender mercie diddest geve thine only sonne Jesu Christ to suffre death upon the crosse for our redempcion, who made there (by his one oblacion once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifyce, oblacion, and satysfaccyon, for the sinnes of the whole worlde, and did institute, and in his holy Gospell commaund us, to celebrate a perpetuall memory of that his precious death, untyll his comming again:

Epiclesis
Heare us (O merciful father) we besech thee; and with thy holy spirite and worde, vouchsafe to blesse and sanctifie these thy gyftes, and creatures of bread and wyne, that they maie be unto us the bodye and bloude of thy moste derely beloved sonne Jesus Christe.

Consecration of Body
Who in the same nyght that he was betrayed: tooke breade, and when he had blessed, and geven thankes: he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saiyng: Take, eate, this is my bodye which is geven for you, do this in remembraunce of me.

Consecration of Blood
Likewyse after supper he toke the cuppe, and when he had geven thankes, he gave it to them, saiyng: drynk ye all of this, for this is my bloude of the newe Testament, whyche is shed for you and for many, for remission of synnes: do this as oft as you shall drinke it, in remembraunce of me.

Oblation of the Gifts
WHERFORE, O Lorde and heavenly father, accordyng to the Instytucyon of thy derely beloved sonne, our saviour Jesu Christ, we thy humble servauntes do celebrate, and make here before thy divine Majestie, with these thy holy giftes, the memoryall whyche thy sonne hath wylled us to make, havyng in remembraunce his blessed passion, mightie resurreccyon, and gloryous ascencion, renderyng unto thee most hartie thankes, for the innumerable benefites procured unto us by the same, entierely desiryng thy fatherly goodnes, mercifully to accepte this our Sacrifice of praise and thankesgeving: most humbly beseching thee to graunt, that by the merites and death of thy sonne Jesus Christ, and through faith in his bloud, we and al thy whole church, may obteigne remission of our sinnes, and all other benefites of hys passyon.

Oblation of Ourselves
And here wee offre and present unto thee (O Lorde) oure selfe, oure soules, and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto thee: humbly besechyng thee, that whosoever shalbee partakers of thys holy Communion, maye worthely receive the most precious body and bloude of thy sonne Jesus Christe: and bee fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediccion, and made one bodye with thy sonne Jesu Christe, that he maye dwell in them, and they in hym.

Ascending 'Epiclesis'
And although we be unworthy (through our manyfolde synnes) to offre unto thee any Sacryfice: Yet we beseche thee to accepte thys our bounden duetie and service, and commaunde these our prayers and supplicacions, by the Ministery of thy holy Angels, to be brought up into thy holy Tabernacle before the syght of thy dyvine majestie; not waiyng our merites, but pardonyng our offences,

Doxology
through Christe our Lorde, by whome, and with whome, in the unitie of the holy Ghost: all honour and glory, be unto thee, O father almightie, world without ende. Amen.

St Peter's Chair (in Antioch)

Yesterday was the Western commemoration of St Peter's Chair. This morning in the sacristry I noticed another calendar that noted yesterday as "The Chair of St Peter in Antioch."

Now of course, St Peter's See prior to that of Rome was at Antioch. This I understand. But why would this Anglican calendar read "The Chair of St Peter in Antioch"?

Is this a slight of hand to minimalize the authority of Rome as the Holy See or does it have a historical justification?

J.H. Newman on Anglicanism's Erastian Foundation

This is from J.H. Newman's Anglican Difficulties.

"They did not understand that the Established Religion [i.e. the Church of England] was set up in Erastianism, that Erastianism was its essence, and that to destroy Erastianism was to destroy the religion."

What think ye of this conclusion? Is the crumbling of the Anglican Communion merely the result of the evaporation of the British Empire which sustained it?

Newman's words are directly to Anglo-Catholics in England. One of his chief charges against Anglo-Catholicism is that the Movement of 1833 was a movement against the Erastian model of ecclesiology. You might remember that Keble and the Tractarians were originally alarmed by the State's dissolution bishoprics in Ireland. Newman believes that the only true fulfillment of Keble's 1833 Assize sermon is to utterly reject Erastianism altogether. If the Anglo-Catholic rejects Erastianism, he must either allow Anglo-Catholicism become a Protestant sect (like Methodism) or he must join the Roman Church.

It seems that the Erastian prop (aka the British Empire) of the Global Anglicanism has fallen away. Is this why Global Anglicanism is crumbling?

Anglicanism: What Should We Keep?

As you know, I greatly admire the post written by Al Kimel at Pontificator entitled Is the Anglican Communion Worth Saving? However, I think that we should be fair to the fact that there are many elements of Anglicanism that are worth saving and propogating. Below are five elements that I quickly jotted down.

1. Architecture
If you go to almost any city in America, there is a very likely chance that the Episcopal Church is stunning. There is a long tradition of building solid, beautiful buildings. Even smaller towns contain fantastic Episcopal Churches. It is widely known that Episcopalians take great joy in their places of worship.

2. Choral Tradition (in the Vernacular)
Anglianism has a wonderful choral tradition. Due the its history of vernacular liturgy, the Anglican tradition has had to recreate a choral tradition and it is quite spectacular. A sampling of the Anglican tradition can be seen from the following names:

Benjamin Britten
William Byrd
Orlando Gibbons
George Frideric Handel
Herbert Howells
John Marbeck
William Mathias
Frederick Ouseley
Osbert Parsley
Robert Parsons
Henry Purcell
John Rutter
Martin Shaw
Thomas Tallis
John Tavener
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Healey Willan
3. Lay Appreciation for the Divine Office
Anglicanism has a deep love and reverence for the Divine Office. Many lay people pray Morning and Evening Prayer at home or at their parish on a regular if not daily basis. In some Anglican African regions, entire families begin their days at the parish church with Morning Prayer and meet again for Evening Prayer before returning to their homes. Evensong (Choral Vespers) maintains a a cherished place in the hearts of traditional Anglicans.

4. Educated Clergy and Laity
This is somewhat hit or miss these days. In fact the academic nature of the the clergy may have contributed to its "brilliant heresies" of the latter days. Regardless, it is a noble thing to encourage the continued education of priests and bishops. Anglicanism has a long tradition of highly trained academic men in the priesthood, even at the parochial level. The poetic priest George Herbert explained that the parish priest is to be the physician, educator, counselor, and pastor to his cure.

An educated laity is witnessed by the profound influence Anglicans have had in our country. The Founding Fathers and a great majority of our leaders have come from the Anglican tradition. Also, the witness of the laymen like C.S. Lewis demonstrates that Anglicanism promoted (at least at one time) a culture of study and theological literacy.

5. Liturgial Discernment
From a combination of domestic contraversy surrounding the Book of Common Prayer and from Roman critique abroad, Anglicans have a precise understanding of how liturgy communicates idealogy. The Ritualist movement of the late 19th century reveals the deep Anglican awareness for liturgical form, regardless of ecclesiastical party affiliation (e.g. 'high' or 'low'). Anglicans understand that liturgy always communicates theology. This is one reason why Anglo-Catholics have a hard time accepting the present Roman Catholic Church - their liturgy doesn't seem to communicate a transcendent God-oriented sacrifice, and thus they have concerns about where Roman theology truly stands.

It is no secret that while traditional Roman Catholics are disgusted by Anglicanism, they typically love it when an Anglican crosses the Tiber, usually for no other reason than that such converts usually have liturgical sense about them.

So there are five things. I'd be interested to hear from others. What other precious resources does traditional Anglicanism possess?

St Augustine on Saints and Relics

The "Augustine" theme began because of the popular Calvinist claim (a la RC Sproul) that St Augustine was essentially a proto-Calvinist and that St Augustine is the greatest Patristic witness to Reformational principles. This new batch of quotes reveals St Augustine's belief in the invocation of saints and the power of relics:

"A Christian people celebrates together in religious solemnity the memorials of the martyrs, both to encourage their being imitated and so that it can share in their merits and be aided by their prayers." (Against Faustus the Manichean [A.D. 400])

"At the Lord's table we do not commemorate martyrs in the same way that we do others who rest in peace so as to pray for them, but rather that they may pray for us that we may follow in their footsteps." (Homilies on John 84 [A.D. 416])

"For even now miracles are wrought in the name of Christ, whether by his sacraments or by the prayers or relics of his saints . . . The miracle which was wrought at Milan when I was there. . . [and when people] had gathered to the bodies of the martyrs Protasius and Gervasius, which had long lain concealed and unknown but where now made known to the bishop Ambrose in a dream and discovered by him." (City of God 22:8 [A.D. 419])

Although St Augustine of Hippo affirmed the doctrine of predestination, I doubt he would have been admitted to membership status in most Reformed bodies. I should add that St Augustine sees all miracles and prayers as becoming effectual through Christ. However, he believes that Christ uses the means of grace to bring these things to pass. And for St Augustine, the intercessions of saints and the presence of their remains (i.e. relics) qualify as "the means of grace."

Something to Think About

Every Sunday of the year, the average of 700 people leave the Episcopal Church of the United States never to return again.

Is St Uriel a Biblical Archangel?

There are three angels who are identified by name in the Sacred Scriptures. St Michael is Prince of the Heavenly Host. Michael means "Who is like God?" St Gabriel is the Messenger of God who announed the Incarnation of Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Gabriel means "Mighty Man of God." The third is found in the deutrocanonical book of Tobit and his name is St Raphael. Raphael means "Healing of God." Tradition has it that he is the angel who stirs up the waters of the healing pool in St John's Gospel.

John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

But there is a fourth who is not mentioned by name. However, 1 Enoch, 4 Esdras, and the Apocalypse of St Peter mention the fourth angel as St Uriel. Uriel means "fire of God," and tradition associates him with the "angel of fire" in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 14:18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."

Given that both St Gregory the Great and Dionysius list Uriel as an Archangel, it seems that St Uriel does have a place in the Christian tradition. Perhaps it is he who is the "angel who had charge of the fire" in the canonical Apocalypse of St John.

For more information see the Wikipedia article: Uriel the Archangel.

Must the Eastern Orthodox Believe in Original Sin?

Council of Ephesus in 431

I know that this is a very ecumenically incorrect thing to say, since we are accustomed to accepting that the Eastern Orthodox have their own valid way of expressing the fall of Adam and its effects on humanity.

We all know that the Eastern Orthodox are stalwart defenders of the first Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Church. However, two of these Ecumenical Councils (Ephesus in 430 and Nicea II in 787) received the explicitly Augustinian conciliar canons of the Council of Carthage in AD 418.

This Council of Carthage canonized nine beliefs to be received by the Church. These nine statements were put forth to deny the errors of Pelagius. They are as follows:

1. Death came from sin, not man's physical nature.
2. Infants must be baptized to be cleansed from original sin.
3. Justifying grace covers past sins and helps avoid future sins.
4. The grace of Christ imparts strength and will to act out God's commandments.
5. No good works can come without God's grace.
6. We confess we are sinners because it is true, not from humility.
7. The saints ask for forgiveness for their own sins.
8. The saints also confess to be sinners because they are.
9. Children dying without baptism are excluded from both the Kingdom of heaven and eternal life.

Every canon was accepted as a universal belief of the Church and banished all Pelagians from Italy. These Carthaginian canons were accepted by the Church at the Ecumenical Council in AD 431. There were received yet again at the Seventh Ecumenical Council (the Second Council of Nicea) in AD 787.

This occurred when the Seventh Council ratified the Canons of Trullo (also called the Quinsext Council), which had received the Canons of the African Code which include those of the Carthaginian conciliar condemnations of AD 418.

Sooooo...it looks to me that the Eastern Orthodox are bound to accept the nine beliefs put forward by the Council of Carthage of 418, which states that infants much be baptized and "cleansed from original sin."

I am looking for some solid Orthodox theologians out there to prove me wrong. I'd be happily corrected. But it seems that the Augustinian tradition is not something peculiar to the West, but something canonized by the Conciliar tradition.

Attack on Bishop Kwashi's Family

I had the pleasure to spend a morning with Bishop Kwashi and serve with him liturgically last year. I am terribly saddened by this attack. Bishop Kwashi is a very godly Anglican bishop in Nigeria. Please pray for his safety and pray for his wife and children who have suffered for the sake of Christ. The following is from TitusOneNine:

Attack on Kwashi family, home and office
February 18th, 2006 at 11:16 am
Via email:

…Last night (night of February 17), a group of men armed with clubs, knives and guns descended on the Bishopscourt in Jos. They injured Morris, the gatekeeper, broke down the door and burst in. Demanding to know where Bishop Kwashi was, they overpowered his sons- Rinji (who was knocked unconscious) and young Nanminen (who is in hospital now for injuries suffered to his mouth). They then took Mama Gloria and tortured her for information on the Bishop’s whereabouts. Unable to find him, they then proceeded to humiliate her and violate her personally, causing much damage to her head, back, hips, and other areas (she is currently in intensive care at Jos University Teaching Hospital).

They then robbed the house and marched Gloria by foot some 3km to the Diocesean offices, where staff including Miss Susan Essam, Administrative Chaplain to the Bishop, suffered minor injuries as well. After some theft there, they departed and Deaconess Susan was able to rally help. At this time, it is not known who the attackers were.

Many blog readers will know Bishop Benjamin Kwashi of Jos, Nigeria, who is a friend to the diocese of South Carolina where I serve, as well as to many other Anglicans and Christians worldwide. I ask your prayers for him, his family, his diocese, and for those responsible. If you wish to email the Bishop, please email me privately for his email. The Bishop was out of the country of Nigeria when this occurred and was hurrying home at the last word I had–KSH.

Pontificator: Is the Anglican Communion Worth Saving?

This article by Al Kimel at Pontifications should be carefully read by every serious Anglican. Don't skim it. Read it. I believe that Al Kimel puts his finger on some essential problems.

But if you're not going to read it, here are two sections that I thought were golden. Maybe they convince you to read it.

And here is his problem. Anglicans simply do not know what to do with heresy. If only we could sit down together around a bottle of sherry, surely we could reason our way into theological agreement. But theological disputation has rarely been so dispassionate, and no matter how many bottles of sherry have been drunk, disputants continue to disagree on fundamental matters.

Why maintain an Anglican Communion? Anglican parishes already admit all and sundry to the Table. When Anglican Churches abandoned the practice of closed communion, they abandoned any pretence to distinct ecclesial, as opposed to sociological and political, identity. The long-held myth that Anglicanism represents a third-way of being catholic is now largely recognized as vainglorious and theologically untenable.

The latter is a very good point. "Open-Communion" is not Patristic, Catholic, Orthodox, or Biblical. If we really do believe that Christ is present in that little Host, why do we freely give it to the Baptist and Methodist who openly say, "It's only bread"?

Pontificator: Is the Anglican Communion Worth Saving?

St Augustine's Teaching on Baptismal Regeneration

St Ambrose Baptizing St Augustine
It has been alleged in the comments that St Augustine thought of regeneration in two ways: sacramental and actual. This is not the case. He had no such bifurcated view of regeneration as the quotes below suggest:

"But the sacrament of baptism is undoubtedly the sacrament of regenation: Wherefore, as the man who has never lived cannot die, and he who has never died cannot rise again, so he who has never been born cannot be born again. From which the conclusion arises, that no one who has not been born could possibly have been born again in his father. Born again, however, a man must be, after he has been born; because, 'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God' Even an infant, therefore, must be imbued with the sacrament of regeneration, lest without it his would be an unhappy exit out of this life; and this baptism is not administered except for the remission of sins. And so much does Christ show us in this very passage; for when asked, How could such things be? He reminded His questioner of what Moses did when he lifted up the serpent. Inasmuch, then, as infants are by the sacrament of baptism conformed to the death of Christ, it must be admitted that they are also freed from the serpent's poisonous bite, unless we willfully wander from the rule of the Christian faith. This bite, however, they did not receive in their own actual life, but in him on whom the wound was primarily inflicted."
(On Forgiveness of Sin, and Baptism, 43:27)

To continue our previous conversation on the loss of salvation, here again St Augustine teaches, "they are also freed from the serpent's poisonous bite, unless we willfully wander from the rule of the Christian faith." Sorry, I had to throw that in.

"Moreover, from the time when He said, 'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven;' and again, 'He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it; ' no one becomes a member of Christ except it be either by baptism in Christ, or death for Christ."
(On the Soul and its Origin, 1:10:9)

We see that St Augustine does indeed allow for "baptism of blood," i.e. martyrdom for Christ prior to baptism as in the case of catechumen martyr.

"One generation and another generation; the generation by which we are made the faithful, and are born again by baptism; the generation by which we shall rise again from the dead, and shall live with the Angels for ever."
(Psalms, 135:11)

Unless someone is willing to grant baptismal regeneration, he can not honestly say that he holds to an Augustinian soteriology. How can a Calvinist say he is an "Augustinian" (e.g. RC Sproul) when he denies the most basic Augustinian teaching about regeneration?

St Augustine on Losing Faith & Righteousness

The quote below, once again demonstrates that St Augustine believed that a person could fall from grace, faith, and righteousness. While it is true that St Augustine believed that the predestinate would infallibly die in a state of grace, he held that no one knew if they were of that number since such a person had not yet actually perservered until death. Thus assurance depended on the act of final perseverence in Christ at the moment of death.

For if any one have continence, and fall away from that virtue and become incontinent,--or, in like manner, if he have righteousness, if patience, if even faith, and fall away, he is rightly said to have had these virtues and to have them no longer; for he was continent, or he was righteous, or he was patient, or he was believing, as long as he was so; but when he ceased to be so, he no longer is what he was.

On the Gift of the Predestination of the Saints Chapter 1

The quotes, when I am able, will be linked so you can go and read them yourself.

Seven Sacraments Instituted by Christ Our Lord

1. Baptism
Matthew 28:19 "Go...baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirt."

2. Confirmation
John 16:7 "If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you."

3. Eucharist
Luke 22:19-20 "This is my Body...This is my Blood...Do this in remembrance of Me."

4. Matrimony
Mark 19:6 "They are no longer two but one flesh...what God has joined together let no man put asunder."

5. Holy Orders
Luke 22:19-20 "This is my Body...This is my Blood...Do this in remembrance of Me."
John 20:22-23 "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any their sins are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

6. Confession
John 20:22-23 "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any their sins are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

7. Unction of the Sick
Mark 6:13 "And they anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them."

The Works of St Augustine (by Date)

386 Against the Academics
386 On the Blessed Life
386 On Order
386/387 The Soliloquies
386/387 On the Immortality of the Soul
386-429 Letters
387/391 On Music
387/389 On the Catholic and the Manichaean Way of Life
387/388 On Magnitude of the Soul
388/389 On Genesis, Against the Manichees
388-395 On Free Choice
388/395 Eighty three Different Questions
389 The Teacher
389/391 On True Religion

391 On the Usefulness of Believing
392 Debate with Fortunatus the Manichee
392/393 On the Two Souls, Against the Manichees
393 On Faith and Creed
393/394 Alphabetical Psalm Against the Donatists
393/394 On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis (unfinished)
393/394 On the Sermon of the Mount
394 Against Adimantus
394/395 Explanation: Epistle to the Galatians
394/395 Incomplete Explanation: Epistle to the Romans
395 On Continence
395 On Lying
396 To Simplicianus, On Different Questions
396 On the Christian Struggle
396-420 Expositions on the Psalms
397 On Christian Doctrine (first three books, fourth book in 426)
397 Against the Basic Letter of the Manichees
397-398 Against Faustus the Manichee
397/398 Against Felix the Manichee
398 Sermon on Christian Discipline
399 On the Nature of the Good
399 Against Secundinus the Manichee
399 Questions on the Gospels

400 On Faith in Invisible Realities
400 Consensus of the Evangelists
400 Against the Letter of Parmenian
400 On the Work of Monks
400 On Catechizing Beginners
400 Comments on Job
400 On the Inquiries of Januarius (Letters 54-55)
400/401 On Baptism Against the Donatists
397-401 Confessions
401 On the Good of Marriage
401 On Holy Virginity
401/405 Against the Letters of Petilianus
401-415 On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis
401 Against Cresconius the Grammarian
405 On the Unity of the Church
406 On the Divination of Demons
406/412 Exposition on Six Questions - Raised by Pagans
407/409 Tractates on the First Epistle of John

410 On the Destruction of the City of Rome
411 Concerning the One Baptism, Against Petilian
412 On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins and on Infant Baptism
412/413 On Faith and Works
412 On the Spirit and the Letter
412 Brief Meeting with the Donatists
412 On the Grace of the New Testament (Letter 140)
413 On Seeing God (Letter 147)
414 On the Good of Widowhood
415 On Nature and Grace
415 Against the Priscillianist and the Origenists
415 To Jerome (Letters 166-167)
415/416 On the Perfection of Righteousness
417 On the Proceedings concerning Pelagius
417 On the Presence of God (Letter 187)
418 On the Grace of Christ and Original Sin
418 On Patience
418 Proceedings with Emeritus
418 Reply to the Caesarians
418/419 Against an Arian Sermon
399-419 The Trinity
419 Eight Questions on the Old Testament
419 Questions on the Heptateuch
419/420 On Marriage and Concupiscence
419/420 On Adulterous Marriages
419/420 Against Adversaries of the Law and the Prophets
419-420 Against Gaudentius a Donatist Bishop
419-421 On the Soul and Its Origin
420 Against Two Letters of the Pelagians
420 Against Lying
420-422 On the Care of the Dead
421 Against Julian
421-422 Enchiridion (Faith, Hope, & Love)
422-425 On the Eight Questions, from Dulcitius
425 On the Creed, to the Catechumens
426 The fourth and final book of On Christian Doctrine
426/427 On Grace and Free Choice
426/427 On Admonition and Grace
426/427 Retractions
413-427 City of God
427/428 Discussion with Maximus the Arian Bishop
428 Against Maximinus
428/429 On Heresies
428/429 On the Predestination of the Saints
428/429 On the Gift of Perseverance
406-430 Tractates on the Gospel of John
429/430 On the Usefulness of Fasting
393-430 Sermons
429-430 Incomplete Works Against Julian

Biretta tip: augnet.

St Augustine Believed the Mass to be a Sacrifice

"In the sacrament he is immolated for the people not only on every Paschal Solemnity but on every day; and a man would not be lying if, when asked, he were to reply that Christ is being immolated. For if sacraments had not a likeness to those things of which they are sacraments, they would not be sacraments at all; and they generally take the names of those same things by reason of this likeness."

Letters 98:9 [A.D. 412])


"For when he says in another book, which is called Ecclesiastes, 'There is no good for a man except that he should eat and drink' [Eccl. 2:24], what can he be more credibly understood to say [prophetically] than what belongs to the participation of this table which the Mediator of the New Testament himself, the priest after the order of Melchizedek, furnishes with his own body and blood? For that sacrifice has succeeded all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which were slain as a shadow of what was to come. . . . Because, instead of all these sacrifices and oblations, his Body is offered and is served up to the partakers of it."

The City of God 17:20 [A.D. 419]

Chasing Down the Luther Quotes about James

Many have asked for the reference for Luther's quote, which states that St Paul and St James stand in contradiction with one another on the doctrine of justification. You can find it in:

Preserved Smith's The Life and Letters of Martin Luther on page 269. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 1911.

Yes the man's first name is "Preserved."

For your awareness, I provide a few more authentic quotes from Luther:

Therefore St James' epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.
(Luther's Works 35, 362)

The epistle of James gives us much trouble, for the Papists embrace it alone and leave out all the rest...Accordingly, if they will not admit my interpretations, then I shall make rubble also of it. I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove, as the priest in Kalenberg did.
(Luther's Works 34, 317)

We should throw the epistle of James out of this school [i.e. Wittenburg], for it doesn't amount to much. It contains not a syllable about Christ. Not once does it mention Christ, except at the beginning. I maintain that some Jew wrote it who probably heard about Christian people but never encountered any. Since he heard that Christians place great weight on faith in Christ, he thought, 'Wait a moment! I'll oppose them and urge works alone.' This he did.
(Luther's Works 54, 424)

Now let me ask any devout Bible-believing Christian whether these words honor the infallible and Holy Spirit inspired words of the canonical Epistle of St James.

St Augustine Taught the Doctrine of Purgatory

"That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some more slowly and some more quickly in the greater or lesser degree in which they loved the good things that perish, through a certain purgatorial fire."

Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Charity 18:69 [A.D. 421]


"We read in the books of the Maccabees [2 Macc. 12:43] that sacrifice was offered for the dead. But even if it were found nowhere in the Old Testament writings, the authority of the Catholic Church which is clear on this point is of no small weight, where in the prayers of the priest poured forth to the Lord God at his altar the commendation of the dead has its place."

The Care to be Had for the Dead 1:3 [A.D. 421]

St Augustine in Context

The Calvinist blogger by the name of "Jean Chauvin" has accused me of quoting St Augustine out of context. However, if you actually read St Augustine's book On Rebuke and Grace it is obvious that St Augustine does not believe in "eternal security." I'd encourage Chauvin to read it in full. For everyone else, here's the key quote again:

If, however, being already regenerate and justified, he relapses of his own will into an evil life, assuredly he cannot say, "I have not received," because of his own free choice to evil he has lost the grace of God, that he had received. And if, stung with compunction by rebuke, he wholesomely bewails, and returns to similar good works, or even better, certainly here most manifestly appears the advantage of rebuke. But yet for rebuke by the agency of man to avail, whether it be of love or not, depends only upon God.

Augustine says that so-in-so is "already regenerate and justifed" and yet "has lost the grace of God, that he had received." Because of his previous standing in the grace of God, the apostate can not say, "I have not received" regeneration, justification, and grace. Augustine explicitly says, "he has lost the grace of God, that he had received."

How much clearer does Augustine have to be? He states so clearly that the regenerate and justified person can lose the grace of God.

My suspicion is that "Jean Chauvin" will eventually one day become Catholic. Why? Two reasons. First, he protesteth too much. Second, he has started to read the Fathers of the Church. To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.

I once was an Calvinist who thought that he was merely being "Augustinian." However, when I started to read Augustine, I found that Augustine was a Catholic. I will soon publish some key quotes from Augustine's works that display his belief in Purgatory, the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and even the propriety of praying to saints.

I hope that "Jean Chauvin" will stay tuned and see that St Augustine was a full out "Romish" priest, and not the Patristic Calvinist that he has been previously led to believe.

Godly Disobedience?

There is a puzzling aspect to last week's Gospel. Our Lord heals the leper and commands him:

"See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

But we are never told whether the leper actually fulfills this domincal command to make sacrifice. Rather we are told:

But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Ironically, Christ is no longer able to proclaim openly - a leper does that for him. In a sense Christ and the leper switch places. Christ is isolated from society and not free to proclaim the Kingdom among the people. The leper, on the other hand, is no longer isolated form society and thus begins to proclaim the kingdom.

The problem is that the leper disobeys the Lord and yet does something seemingly good with his disobedience. He proclaims Christ, which seems to be a noble thing. How are we to understand the leper's disobedience?

Father Nelson on Erastianism

Father Lee Nelson has written an amazing post on the function of Erastian theology in Anglican thinking. For those wondering, Erastianism is the theological doctrine that the civil State governs the religious Church. The Church of England has been and is now an Erastian church. I thought this part of Fr Nelson's post was golden:

Fast forward to our current battles and disputes. Parishes in California entering into civil suits against their dioceses. Bishops ignoring the courts' decisions. Parishes and clergy in Connecticut embroiled in legal-battles. Parishes in the Diocese of Pennsylvania entrenched against their Bishop, again in civil courts. Though Anglicanism in the United States is de facto in a state of separation from the State, it appears that the Erastian tendencies of it merely continue.

In these sad days, it seems more expedient to sue the sinner than to deny him table fellowship. In essence, most Anglicans believe quite strongly that their governments should thank them for their "reasonability."

I hope you'll take time and read his whole post.

I Have a Critic

I have a critic.

He is upset about my post in which I quoted Martin Luther's claim that St Paul and St James say opposite things and are truly irreconcilable.

As I understand it, Luther confesses a great blasphemy because his statement teaches that the Holy Spirit contradicts Himself and thus is a deceiver and liar.

I'd rather stand with the most sacred, infallibe, inspired, written Word of God than with Luther's obvious derision for Scripture.

Can One Forfeit Regeneration and Justification?

According to St Augustine, yes. A person may be truly regenerate and justified and yet lose the grace he has received.

If, however, being already regenerate and justified, he relapses of his own will into an evil life, assuredly he cannot say, 'I have not received,' because of his own free choice to evil he has lost the grace of God, that he had received.

St Augustine of Hippo
On Rebuke and Grace, Chap. 6:9
ML 44, 921
NPNF V, 475

How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel

I just had the best shoe shine of my life. I've become rather particular of my shoes ever since I saw Fr Richard John Neuhaus on CNN with super shiny shoes. Shiny shoes communicate that you have regard for the particulars of life. Sometimes I shine them myself, sometime I walk downtown to my friend Winder.

But my normal shiner Winder was gone. I was introduced to Theo. "Ya know dat 'theo' mean 'one God,' yes sir." Theo is an old black man. Picture the Gospel-singing grave diggers from O Brother Where Art Thou and you know the man. I sat down and Theo said, "I learned how to do this from my older brotha, that is when he sat down and washed the Twelve Men feet." Looking at my clerical suit he said, "You see, me an' you in the same business."

Then he took off my shoes and started scrubbing them, quoting Scripture the whole time, "When you do it to the least of these, you do it unto me."

He started talking about how he is so blessed and how he shines shoes for the Lord. I was like, are you in Opus Dei or something? Seriously, this guy was into sanctifying the labor of shoe shining. Then he starting singing Gospel music. Meanwhile he put my shoes back on my feet and starting getting at it. He worked up a sweat on my shoes. He was really going working furiously. Meanwhile he was singing Gospel:

Is my home churcha
Is my home churcha
Day tryin' to burn my churcha

Day try to burna Shadrach
Day try to burna Mischach
Day try to burna Abednego

But day cant burn my churcha

Is da churcha

Sunday school at nine
Worship at eleven
In the evenin

Is my home churcha

Is gettin hard
If we just keep prayin
If we just hold on

Is my home churcha

In the revelations
Comin out of trials and tribulations
Hundred foty fo' thousan'
Is my home churcha

Blood of the Lamb!
Is my home churcha
We need an Evangelist
Is my home churcha

With the laces out, on and on he went. I felt like he was buffing the shoes of Christ himself. He repeated until they were shining like I have never seen a shoe shine. It was amazing.

Then he tapped the shoes and said, "That's what Jesus does to our souls!"

And I said, "Makes them shine."

And he said, "That's right brotha!"

He refused any pay but I gave him a ten and told him that he had blessed me by shining my shoes. Theo. A lesser known saint.

A Possible Anglican Uniat Church - I Doubt It

There is quite a collection of comments over at Pontifications concerning a possible Anglican Uniat Church in communion with Rome.

My prophecy is that it will not come to pass. Anglo-Catholicism seems to be chiefly a clerical movement and from my experience there is not a potent Anglo-Catholic laity out there squirming for union with the Holy See. I know, I know - you can talk about the slum Anglo-Catholic parishes in England that were built for and by the people. But for the most part, Anglican laity are, well, Protestant.

If you stood outside the door of almost any Anglican church in the world and asked those leaving if they were "Protestant," you would get a majority response in the affirmative. One of the unending questions from Rome in the 70s and 80s during ecumenical discussions was, "Where are your laity? A true work of the Spirit is sustained in the laity."

Even with the TAC, I don't think the folks in the pews are ready to say that contraception is sinful and that they need to pursue an annulment for their first (second/third/fourth?) marriages.

Rome's experience in the past indicates that it is very difficult to even have an entire parish convert together - even when the priest is an enthused Anglo-Papalist. Of course, all things are possible through the Holy Spirit, but the possibility of an entire jurisdiction converting together is even more unlikely.

The future of ecumenism is not corporate reunion. I think we will see ecumenical success based around moral issues. You already see this with Evangelicals and Roman Catholics working together on pro-life ministries. I think this might be the locus of dialogue. It's one of the reasons I'm involved in NOEL.

My wife and I just got home from a pro-life dinner at which were represented several denominations. We were united together about something without having to pretend that we really did agree about everything doctrinal. There is no need to hide behind agreements, joint-statements, etc. At the end of the day, I think these sort of things are more helpful than an ARCIC document that nobody reads. I sometimes think these ARCIC statements are produced solely to give the impression that we are "making more progress," despite the increasingly embarassing Anglican deviations from the historic Christian faith.

Vatican Monument to the Royal Stuarts

While in St Peter's Basilica, I noticed a great monument near the south door, which was erected to honor the last three members of the Royal House of Stuart: James Francis Edward Stuart, his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, and his younger son, Henry Benedict Stuart. The Jacobites and Non-Juroring Clergy recognised these three princes as the true and rightful kings of England and Scotland. Its inscription reads:

To James III, son of King James II of Great Britain, to Charles Edward and to Henry, Dean of the Cardinal Fathers, sons of James III, the last of the Royal House of Stuart. 1819

Under the inscription are two weeping angels, symbolising the lost hopes of the exiled Stuarts.

The three Stuarts are honorably buried in the papal crypt below. Opposite the monument to the Royal Stuarts in St. Peter's Basilica is a monument to Maria Klementyna Sobieska, wife of James Francis Edward Stuart and mother of Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart.

Queen Christina of Sweden, the only monarch with a memorial in the church, lies entombed in the opposite pillar, across the nave. She abdicated in 1654 to convert to Catholicism.

Source and more information, Wikipedia: Monument to the Royal Stuarts.

Tagged

I've been tagged by a couple of folks so here goes:

4 jobs you have had in your life:

Landscaper
UPS Box Loader
Assistant at Pipe and Hose Store
Priest

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:

The Cardinal
Lord of the Rings I, II, III
Napoleon Dynamite
Cinderella Man

4 Places You Have Lived:

College Station, Texas
Philly
Nashotah, Wisconsin
Fort Worth, Texas

4 TV Shows You Love To Watch:

Food Channel
Olympics
EWTN
College Football

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:

Singapore
Greece
England
Italy

4 Websites You Visit Daily:

Holy Whapping
Dappled Things
Pontifications
Whispers in the Loggia

4 Of Your Favorite Foods:

Anything Italian
Pork Chops and Onion Gravy (and Peas)
Anything Mexican
Steak

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

Having a Capaccino with the Pope on the Papal Loggia overlooking St Peter's Square
At the zoo with my kids
At Del Friscos with my wife
At a Mass without distractions

4 Bloggers You Are Tagging:

Worker in the Vineyard
Andrew Cussack
Whispers in the Loggia
Holy Whapping

Was John Calvin "Validly" Baptized?

Over at All Too Common, there is a discussion about a growing trend in the Presbyterian Church in America (the conservative split off of the mainline PCUSA) to reckon Roman Catholic baptisms as invalid on account of the PCA position that Roman priests are not duly ordained ministers of the Gospel.

This is interesting. I can remember a PCA minister once telling me that he thought "Catholics should be rebaptized." I thought this was merely the view of one ignorant minister. But apparently not.

The real crux of the position is that it necessarily "unchurches" John Calvin himself. John Calvin, of course, received a Roman Catholic baptism. By these new standards, it seems that Calvin wasn't really a member of the visible church, because he never received a "valid" Reformed baptism. This seems to be the logical conclusion.

The Catholic position is that any Trinitarian baptism is valid, regardless of who administers it. There must only be an implicit desire to "do what the Church does" when administering baptism. See Catechism of the Catholic Church #1256.

Writings of St Josemaria Escriva

The works of St Josemaria are online. I've added them to my links section. I thoroughly recommend his book of proverbs: The Way.

Aristotle, Drugs, & Alcohol

I'm doing a series in Sunday school with high school students about the philosophy of Christian ethics. We're looking at why certain actions are wrong based on teleology.

Today we discussed drugs and alcohol. We began by defining a human being with Aristotle's definition, "Man is a rational animal." I asked the students what makes man different from animals. They gave great answers:

free will
creativity
language
morality
religiousity
etc.

The problem with drunkeness and "getting high" is that it reduces our ability to engage in those functions unique to humanity. When we're drunk go from being a "rational animal" to being merely an "animal." Our freedom of will is handicapped (especially with drug addiction), we lose our skills, we slur our speech, our inhibitions fall away, etc. The imago Dei falls under a shadow and we sink not heavenward but back to the earth from which we sprung.

This technique is rather potent with teenagers. Sin is not merely wrong because God arbitrarily decided to proscribe certain acts that appear to be really cool and fun. Rather, they are wrong because they destroy His purpose for us to be truly beatified and sacred.

Pius V vs. Elizabeth I

Did St Pius V do the right thing by excommunicating Queen Elizabeth I of England and declaring her to be the unlawful heir of the throne?

I always thought that this was a bad move on Pius' part. After all, the action confirmed in Englishmen's minds that the Pope was primarily a political manipulator and not a spiritual leader. Also, it led to worse persecution of the recusant population in England.

However, I recently learned that Elizabeth was not truly a rightful heir by both English and Roman standards. Either way, she was technically an illegitimate child of Henry VIII. If King Henry VIII did have a sacramental marriage with Catherine of Aragon, then obviously Elizabeth was illegitimate. Elizabeth's mother Anne Boleyn could not have held a valid marriage with King Henry VIII because Henry had for quite some time had sexual relations with Anne's sister and thus the laws of consanguinity and affinity prevented a union between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Thus, any child of Henry VIII and Anne would have been illegitimate.

Also, apparently Elizabeth's coronation had been fully Roman and thus she had solemnly vowed to uphold the Roman Faith. I might be incorrect on this point and I'd love a correction if I'm wrong. But if that was the case, her imprimatur of the 1559 BCP revealed her as a royal perjuror.

What do you think? Did Pope Pius V do the right thing at the right time?

Roman Liturgical Items

If you get to Rome, be sure to go down beneath St Mary Major to see the Museum. It is amazing. I met a cool priest from Philly down there. He went to Charles Borromeo Seminary and we both were glad to see a stole and maniple in this museum that belonged to the saint.

There are some great monstrances and relics down there. Not to mention great vestments.

POD Guide to Rome

Okay folks. I know you well enough. Let's just be honest. You don't want to hear about great food or what a great time I had with my wife. You want relics, churches, POD sightings, cassocks, shrines, Roman intrigue, fiddlebacks, Latin Masses, and other provocative subjects.

Very well. I'm going to start hitting you with some POD stuff. That's me above in my cassock in St Peter's Square.


The obelisk is located by St John Latern. It looks basic, but the inscription is interesting. It reads, "Constantine, the Victor through the Cross having been baptized here by Sylvester proclaimed the glory of the Cross." My Latin obviously isn't perfect but this seems like a stretch since I don't believe Constantine was baptized in Rome. Anybody got some info on this?


This is the shrine above the papal altar at St John Lateran that encloses the skulls of St Peter and St Paul. Apparently only the Pope may celebrate Mass on this altar.


This is the Santa Santorum or the Holy of Holies by St John Lateran. After you ascend the 28 wood covered steps of Pilate's sacred praetorian staircase (which Our Lord ascended), you see this small chapel. The inscription reads in Latin, "No place on earth is more holy than this place." That's a pretty bold claim, especially since most of its prize relics have been removed since that inscription was engraved.


This is me standing by the tomb of Leo XIII. He was the Pontif tha declared Anglican Orders "utterly null and void."


The Holy Father saluting us and hundreds of others at the papal audience.


Pretty sweet statue of Pope Pius IX adoring Christ from the confessio in St Mary Major.


This is the relic of Christ' Creche. If you look close you can actually see the wood of the creche. Pretty amazing if true. It resides under the altar at St Mary Major and can be accessed by the Confessio. The statue of Pope Pius IX (above) stands before it.


And last for this segment, the full relics of St Pius V - the Pontif who excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England. An amazing relic. Yeah, I osculated him. Can you blame me?

Stay tuned. Next up is POD vestments and liturgical wares from Rome.

Images of Mohamed

Apparently there is a history of depicting Mohamed by Muslims.

This site shows a collection of such images, including some odder images of Mohamed with his face covered.

Danish Cartoon of Mohamed

Has anybody seen the infamous cartoon? This whole thing is crazy. I googled it and couldn't find the original cartoon. Anybody know where I can see it?

The Missing Feet of Saint Peter

My wife and I took the "Scavi Tour" under the Vatican. To make a long story short, the bones of St Peter are down there. The dirt samples, the dating, the age of the skeleton, the location, and the evidence of purple fibers suggests that this is the Apostle.

One interesting thing about the bones is that the feet are missing! However, when we consider that sacred tradition teaches that St Peter was crucified head down. It is likely that the Romans merely hacked off the feet in order to remove the upside down body. And thus the feet never made it to the burial site.

Also, a piece of plaster from the repository in which the bones were found reads in Greek: PETROS ENI or "Peter in here." If you go to Rome, be sure to get the Scavi Tour. It is the worth the cost of the airfare.

Rome Trip Part 2 - Vatican Visit

The second day we arrived in Rome. We were delighted with our hotel room at Hotel Alimandi. This is the view out of our window. Pretty sweet. That's the gate for the Vatican Museum.


We went to the St Peter's and just took it all in. The creche scene was still up because it is technically Christmas until Feb 2, the Feast of the Presentation, the 40th day after Dec 25th. My lovely wife poses in front of it. The obelisk in the center of St Peter's was orginally to the southwest of where it is now. It was apparently erected by Nero in his circus below the Vatican hill. According to tradition, St Peter was crucified next to this obelisk. It is therefore a perenial witness of the Apostle's holy martyrdom.


In the evening we went to the Trevi fountain and had nice dinner. We strolled over to the Spanish steps and took some pictures by the Column of the Imaculate, erected in honor of Pope Pius IX proclamationn of the Our Lady's Immaculate Conception.