By Ted Schroder When Jesus instructed the disciples to pray to "Our Father in heaven", (Matthew 6:9) he was introducing a new way of approaching God. We are to speak to God as little children to a parent who loves and cares for us, and who, at the same time, is to be respected and honored, and not taken for granted, because of who he is and where he dwells.   The Lord's Prayer begins with a revelation of the nature of God: God's personal parenthood expressed as Father, with all that membership in his family as sons and daughters implies; and God's dwelling place in heaven, as other than earth. Intimacy and infinity are combined in this introductory address to God.   C.S. Lewis wrote, "I fully agree that the relationship between God and a man is more private and intimate than any possible relation between two fellow creatures. Yes, but at the same time there is, in another way, a greater distance between the participants. ... We ought to be - sometimes I hope one is - simultaneously aware of closest proximity and infinite distance." (Letters to Malcolm Chiefly on Prayer, p.23) That distance is as small or great as the distance of earth from heaven, and our attitude to it determines how we feel about our communication with God.   What do you believe about heaven: its existence, its location, and its characteristics? Colleen McDannell & Bernhard Lang have written a review of the beliefs over the centuries in Heaven: A History. They survey a variety of approaches including the Swedenborgians and the Mormons, who, it seems, have a more elaborate idea about heaven than the average Christian.   The views of heaven over the centuries seem to reflect the culture and arts of the time. We tend to project onto heaven our own longings. Many are fantastic and something with which we would find it hard to identify, so that heaven can appear to be a merely a figment of our imagination rather than an eternal reality. Belief in heaven accompanies our belief in God. What we believe about God, transfers to what we believe about heaven. Since we need to believe in God to make sense of this world, we need also to believe in heaven.   Miguel de Unamuno, the philosopher, wrote, "We must needs believe in the other life, in the eternal life beyond the grave, and in an individual and personal life, in a life in which each one of us may feel his consciousness, and feel that it is united, without being confounded, with all other consciousnesses in the Supreme Consciousness, in God; we must needs believe in that other life in order that we may live this life, and endure it, and give it meaning and finality." (The Tragic Sense of Life, p.258)   Prayer connects us with that other life in the present and so assists us in giving our lives meaning. Scripture warns us to be careful in our attempt to draw near to God. He is as close as our breath and yet as distant as infinity. "God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." (Ecclesiastes 5:2) Therefore we approach our heavenly Father with awe, and not with a disrespectful familiarity.   We remember that he is on a different level of reality than us. "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live out your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17) Heaven is a mysterious place to us. It is in another dimension. Some call it another plane rather than another place. Science fiction owes a great deal to the biblical teaching about heaven.   The popularity of science fiction that describes parallel universes and the ability or danger of entering and leaving them, taps human aspiration to believe in another world. From Star Trek, with its ability to transport mortals into all sorts of environments, to Stargate, with its portals through which one can explore a variety of different time/space continuums, we have learned to imagine different dimensions from our own. The Bible posited this reality at the beginning of human history in the stories of the patriarchs and the prophets.   At Bethel, Jacob dreamt about a ladder or stairway which rested on the earth and reached to heaven. "The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD.... When Jacob awoke from his sleep he thought, 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.' He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'" (Genesis 28:12-16) When God is present on earth, even when we are not aware of it, that place is the gate of heaven. God can come and go, and we call it heaven, for heaven is where God is. Jacob's response is fear or reverent awe.   Later in human history we read that, at the end of his life, God was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. As he and Elisha were walking along and talking together, "Suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." (2 Kings 2:11) The chariot and horses of fire symbolized strong protection as well as the forces of God's spiritual presence as Elijah was taken. It attempts to describe the indescribable departure of Elijah from earth and his entry into heaven. Elisha's reaction is worship and grief at the loss of his spiritual father.   When Jesus ascended to the Father he was taken up from before the very eyes of the apostles, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Two men dressed in white, reminiscent of the two angels at the empty tomb, address the apostles, who are looking into the sky: "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11) Again the imagery is consistent: Jesus was taken into another dimension, from which he will return. This dimension was identified as heaven.   Stephen confirmed this reality when he experienced a vision at his trial before he was martyred. Being full of the Holy Spirit he, "looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 'Look,' he said, 'I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'" (Acts 7:55,56) The Holy Spirit enabled Stephen to see the other two members of the Holy Trinity in heaven to strengthen him for his suffering and death.   St. John is given another vision to share with the church that was being persecuted so that it too would be strengthened to persevere. "After this I looked and there before me was a door standing open in heaven.... At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.... Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders... In the center around the throne, were four living creatures." (Revelation 4:1-8)   In the heavenly realms the Presence of God on the throne is central, indicated by much imagery from the Old Testament: jewels, the rainbow, thunder and lightning. The elders represent the people of God, and the creatures represent the world of nature. These representatives of creation fall down before God and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns, their accomplishments, before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Revelation 4:11)   In heaven there is worship, the acknowledgement of the worth of God, and our dependence on him. When we come to God in prayer, we begin with that awareness, with the awe and respect we have for our heavenly Father. Jesus makes it possible for us to come to the Father as little children, to enter the kingdom of heaven as children.   When we arrive we fall down before him and worship. Prayer begins with adoration, not with one request after another, like a shopping list in which we ask God to bless us and our loved ones. Worship requires reverence, respect, honor, and humility.   Worship does not come naturally to our self-centeredness. Prayer begins with God, not with us.   "People who do not worship live in a vast shopping mall where they go from shop to shop expending enormous sums of energy and making endless trips to meet first this need and then that appetite, this whim and that fancy. Life lurches from one partial satisfaction to another, interrupted by ditches of disappointment. Motion is fuelled by the successive illusions that purchasing this wardrobe, driving that car, eating this meal, drinking that beverage will center life and give it coherence." (Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder, p.60)   Worship helps a person to center his life on its source of being and consciousness, God the Father, creator of heaven and earth. We enter heaven by means of worship. Worship is the portal through which we open the door to heaven. Unless we are willing to fall down on our faces before him who sits on the throne and worship him who is eternal, we cannot experience the life of heaven.   Since we must physically die before we can enter heaven, we must also spiritually die to our pride and self-sufficiency in order to communicate with our Father in heaven. We have access to heaven through the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is our gate to heaven. Jesus said, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved." (John 10:9)   We can enter into the kingdom of heaven here on earth, not by taking a journey to the next dimension, not by taking a journey from this world through the cosmos, but by taking a journey of faith from a state of mind which is disrespectful to God, to that of humble, loyal, loving obedience to Christ.   Heaven can come to us when it begins in us. The beginning of heaven is not only at that hour when the eye grows dim, and the sound of voices becomes silent in death, but at that hour when God draws near and the eyes of the spiritual understanding are opened. We see how beautiful Christ is, and how hateful sin is. It is the hour when self-will is crucified, and God's will and grace is embraced. Then heaven has begun, and will continue.   It is pitiful to hear people talk lightly about heaven, whose lives on earth have no trace of the love, humility, purity and self-sacrifice of which heaven consists. They assume that they will join God in heaven. But they would be miserable there even if they could get there. They would be entirely out of their element, like a fish sent to live on the grass of a lovely lawn. Those who will join the people of God around the throne in heaven are they who have entered the kingdom of heaven on earth. They who are able to worship in the other life, are those who are doing it in this life. Recognizing our Father in heaven, requires acquainting ourselves with him right now.   The Rev. Schroder is pastor of the Plantation Island parish in Florida

By Ted Schroder April 4, 2004 It is hard enough to be forsaken by those you love: a husband or wife, a parent or child, a partner or friend. But what would it be like to be forsaken by your alter ego, your second self, your inseparable companion, the other members of the Holy Trinity? Jesus experienced this in an infinite way on the Cross.   Taking upon himself the sin of the world that separated a man from God, that created a barrier, the dividing wall of hostility between heaven and hell, that formed the great chasm between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world, Jesus fulfilled the role of the scapegoat who bore the disgrace of sinners. As he assumed this terrible burden for us Jesus cried out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)   This is known as the prayer of dereliction. Dereliction means being abandoned. It evokes the sense of a building that is uninhabited, long deserted by its former owners, fallen into disrepair. Jesus, the Son of God, experienced real abandonment by his Father. There is a tear in the heart of the Trinity that reflects the alienation in the universe between a holy God and a sinful human race.   It is a cry of despair. Jesus plumbs the depths of human sin and suffering and descends into the abyss that is often the experience of despairing and condemned souls. He asked the question that is asked by so many human beings when they are faced with punishment and suffering that overwhelms them in its seemingly senseless cruelty. Jesus suffered in every way that we do.   All the questions that we can ask of God, about hellfire and judgment, all the bitterness we can feel at the arbitrary and undeserved suffering in the world, are summed up in this prayer of Jesus. God descended from heaven to earth to experience the consequences of the total depravity of sin, death and the devil. He endured the sickness unto death, and the blackest of judgments. In that darkness he experienced extreme loneliness and called out for help. There is no verbal and audible reply. Jesus is called to bear his suffering, to endure it, without a reassuring word from God. God is perfect love, yet on the Cross God is torn apart.   The judgment of God is taken upon himself. The Son of God experienced the wages of sin, death, as being abandoned by God. It is a moment of utter darkness. For three hours there is darkness in the middle of the day as hell is experienced on earth in the person of Jesus. Light is extinguished. The light of the world does not shine forth. "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" (Mark 15:39)   At the moment at which God seemed to be most absent, the presence of God was affirmed. The centurion saw the presence of God when that presence was questioned. He recognized that Jesus was the Son of God at the point of his death. Christianity teaches that God reveals himself to us primarily through the Cross of Christ. It is in the moment of abandonment that God identifies with the weak and the suffering. Edward Shillito wrote about the "Jesus of the scars": The other gods were strong, but thou wast weak; They rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but thou alone.   The presence of God is to be found in weakness not in might. God hides himself from the powerful and the proud and reveals himself to those in pain and suffering. Elie Wiesel in his famous book Night, where he wrote about his experience of the evils of the Holocaust, expressed that he lost his faith in God when he observed the undeserved suffering of so many innocent children and their parents. Their deaths represented the death of his faith. God to him is dead. But in Jesus death reveals God. So many of our prayers are cries of dereliction. We ask Where are you, Lord? Why, Lord? Don't you care, Lord? Why are you letting this happen, Lord?   What have we done to deserve this, Lord? Why have you forsaken me, Lord? These cries are part of the story of Jesus. God identifies with us in our feelings of despair and abandonment. He takes our place on the cross and feels the full effects of our alienation from Himself. When we experience this alienation we echo the very words Jesus used on the cross. In his sense of forsakenness, Jesus revealed the presence of God. Jesus revealed the God of love, compassion and mercy.   When we experience abandonment by God we know that God has experienced this in himself before us. If Jesus could pray this prayer, and still be in the center of God's will, so can you and me. In his suffering Jesus unites us with a God who loves us enough to be willing to experience the ultimate in painful dislocation. John Stott, in The Cross of Christ, wrote: "I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as 'God on the cross'. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?   I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged into God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain.   He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of this. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it, we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering."   There is no suffering, no sin, that Jesus has not borne for us. There is no loneliness, no abandonment, no rejection, no condemnation, no alienation, no despair, that God in Christ has not endured for you and for me. The Cross gives the lie to those who would fault or blame God for the evils of human existence. Jesus endured it all so that we might have hope and peace.   If he has done so much for us why would we not want to do everything for him and his kingdom?   A Prayer: Lord Christ. By the nails through your hands and feet, give comfort to the suffering. By the crown of thorns upon your head, give hope to the despairing. By the spear that pierced your side, give courage to the heart-broken. By your being scorned and rejected of men, give love to the lonely. By your time of desolation, lift up all who are down. By your death on the cross, give us life which is eternal. O my Lord, lead me safe through all the tests, the darknesses, the pains. Help me hold fast the beginning of my confidence firm unto the end. My God, my God, stretch forth your wounded hands to strengthen mine. Never will you forsake me, never let me forsake you, my living, only God.

By Ted Schroder April 11, 2004 Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Easter is about Jesus overcoming the thief of death so that he might give us life to the fullest. You would think that anyone who lived on Amelia Island or who visited here was experiencing life to the fullest. Most of you are enjoying the good life. You have most everything that anyone would want in the world: good homes, good families, good jobs, good incomes, good looks, good health. You've got the worldly goods. The rest of the world looking at us this morning would think that we have life to the fullest. But what if there was something more than just a material description of the good life? What if there was a fuller life beyond material prosperity? What if you were missing out on something that you didn't even know about? What if God intended more than just a good life for you but intended a fuller life? Wouldn't you want to experience it? Of course you would, and so would I. We often settle for less because we don't know that there's anything better. We often settle just for this earthly life because we think that there is nothing else. I was born and raised in New Zealand. When Europeans first came to New Zealand, the native Maori people were cannibals. Apart from birds, the only meat they ate was human. It took Captain Cook letting loose some pigs into the country in 1769 to help them to see that there was a better diet. It took missionaries preaching the Gospel of Christ to change their minds about the sacredness of the human body. I have a framed portion of Ezekiel 37:1-14 in my office that was printed in the Maori language in 1840 to persuade the Maoris against practicing cannibalism: "Son of man, can these bones live?" The Spirit entered the bones and made them live again. There is something better than earthly extinction that God has in store for us. He wants us to experience the resurrection of the body to eternal life. I believe that God brought you here today to Amelia Island on Easter Sunday so that he could let you in on a secret. There is something better. There is much more than the good, material life. You were made for more than just the good, material life - looking good, feeling good, having the goods. God wants you to have life to the fullest forever. Beneath the image of the good life there are things nobody likes to talk about. There are thieves. The thief of materialism, (living for this world only), comes to steal and kill and destroy. No matter how hard you try to satisfy yourself that the life you live is worthwhile through constant activities, never-ending shopping, daily maintenance of your bodies and your possessions, preoccupation with career, business and the news, or finding escape through leisure, entertainment or travel, the enjoyment is temporary, momentary, fleeting. The rush of happiness is succeeded by the need to repeat it until you feel that you are on a treadmill that requires more and more effort to maintain the illusion of happiness. We feel trapped by our circumstances. When tragedy strikes: accidents or sicknesses, we find that the material, good life does not provide us with the resources we need to cope and to have hope. The material, good life steals hope from us. The material good life kills contentment. The material good life destroys lasting fulfillment. Sofia Coppola's recent movie, Lost In Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson, explores the banality, and the emptiness of modern, multicultural materialism. Everything is glitz, marketing a product, game shows, video arcades. The two main characters are bored, can't sleep, and long for intimacy and the warmth of genuine, authentic, personal relationships. Their marriages and families promise so much and yet fail to deliver when needed. I've got good news for you today. There's an antidote to such a view of life. It's called having life to the fullest. The reason God brought you here today is so you can learn about having life to the fullest. St. Paul said that if you knew the resurrection love of Christ you would "be filled to the measure of the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19) What does this life offer us? 1. Life with meaning and purpose. The greatest tragedy in life is not death. It's to go through life without knowing your purpose. Americans have indicated their need for having purpose in their lives by making Rick Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Life, a best seller. It has sold millions of copies. He and his readers recognize that the material good life is not enough. Looking good, feeling good, having the goods is not enough to make you happy. If that were true Amelia Island would be the happiest place in the world, but it's not. It takes more than money to have life with meaning and purpose. To have life to the fullest, you need meaning and purpose. So we search for meaning in all kinds of different ways. There's nothing wrong with the things we fill our life with. It's just that they don't last, and they are often self-centered. We need something that gives us eternal meaning. Where do we get that? There's only one place - from the God that raises Jesus Christ from the dead and gives eternal life to those who come to him in faith. God gave you life, and he wants to give you life in all its fullness. You didn't make yourself. Your life is completely dependent on God's will. In him we live and move and have our being. Until you understand that you were made by God to fulfill his purpose, life is not going to make sense. And until you understand what is God's will for your life, you can't have life in all its fullness. St. Peter said this: "Because Jesus was raised from the dead [that's what Easter is all about] we've been given a brand new life. We have everything to live for including a future in heaven and that future starts now." (1 Peter 1:3,4) This fullness of life is connected to what Jesus did at Easter. His overcoming the thief of death that steals, kills, and destroys, with a new life enables us, who follow him, to have life to the fullest. This fullness of life is not just an addition to your old life, something you just tack on. It's a whole, new deal. It's brand new. God says to us at Easter, "I want to give you a chance to start over. I want to give you a chance to begin again. I want to give you a new kind of life - a full life." Golfers love Mulligans. When they take their first shot off the tee, and it gets lost in a terrible slice or hook - your partner may give you a Mulligan - a free, second shot. They don't count the first one against you. God came in Jesus to give you a free, second shot at life. All the dumb things that you've done in the past and you regret, and wish that you had done or said differently: dumb decisions, dumb mistakes, sins, faults, failures, whatever you want to call them - God says, I will erase them through the Cross, and you can start over again. Why don't you begin a brand new life - why don't you have life to the fullest? I will take your guilt upon me, and wipe it out. Begin again. Start over. How do you get this brand new life? God gives it to us as a gift of grace - undeserved yet freely given because he loves us and wants us to find our way to him and to what he wants us to become. Living for yourself doesn't bring happiness to either you, or the people you live and work with. You weren't made by God to live for yourself. You were made to live for God. When you start following Christ, and living for him, you discover real happiness, real meaning, real significance, real purpose, real value to your life. When you live for Christ, you're plugged in to God. That gives you meaning, that gives you significance, that gives you purpose, that gives you wealth that lasts. Life to the fullest is priceless in value. 2. Life that is full of energy. Jon Gordon of Jacksonville has written "Become an Energy Addict". It includes over 100 simple, powerful ways to increase your mental, physical, and emotional energy. He operates a website in which he recommends a variety of exercises to increase your energy, including prayers. It is a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle. Recently he has been suggesting ways that will increase happiness, compassion, removal of worry and anger, and enhancement of trust. He provides diets that will fuel energy, and physical exercises that will renew energy. We know that a proper balance of good food, exercise, spiritual meditation and work will provide us with a positive mental attitude. Physical fitness is part of the good life today. Fitness clubs are booming throughout the country. Millions either begin or end their working day at one of the gyms or in their own exercise room. Exercise affects the body and alters our attitude to life. But we need more than physical energy to live life to the fullest. We need energy for healthy relationships. We need power to love people, to forgive people, to trust people, to care for people. We need spiritual energy to handle cancer, and other diseases. We need energy to deal with business and family problems. We need divine energy to deal with aging. We can't run on our own batteries all the time. The New Testament talks about God's "incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead." (Ephesians 1:19,20) The power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us. It is for us. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrated that the thief that steals, kills and destroys our life energy has been defeated, and we can have that incomparably great power if we believe. Incomparably means extraordinary, outstanding, surpassing - there is no comparison: "endless energy, boundless strength! All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from the dead and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule." (Ephesians 1:19-21 Peterson) That power is available to you for all your life. It is the power of faith, hope and love. Each of us has a choice in life. We can go through the rest of our lives, living the good, material life, disconnected from this resurrection power, or we can live life to the fullest plugged into God's power. It's our choice. Whichever we choose we are still going to have problems, because life is a series of problems and challenges. This difference is that with the resurrection power of Christ in your life, you will have energy which you would not have on your own power. Christ gives you this power of faith, hope and love on a day to day basis as you connect with him. What is your need this Easter? Are you tired and worn out? Are you on edge? Do you feel discouraged? Do you feel like giving up on your marriage, your job, your school, your health, your family, your goals, your dreams, and your ambitions? Don't give up. Look up to the risen Christ and say, "Lord, I need to start living for you and not just for me. I need your resurrection energy to do what you have put me on earth to do, to fulfill your purpose for my life. I need your gift of life to the fullest." (Acknowledgments to Rick Warren for material from "Living the Better Life.")

By Ted Schroder April 25, 2004 A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) pastured the Southside Alliance Church in Chicago from 1928 to 1959, and the Peoples' Church in Toronto, the last four years of his life. His sermons confronted his listeners with these questions: Is God real to you? Is your Christian experience a set of definitions, a list of orthodox doctrines, or a living relationship with God? Do you have a first-hand experience with God, or a second-hand experience through others? Is your heart hungering and thirsting after personal holiness? He was editor of The Alliance Witness for many years, and his editorials were collected into a number of books. In his classic, The Knowledge of the Holy, he wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us... For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God... Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, 'What comes into your mind when you think about God?' we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man." (p.9) That may be why Jesus tells us to pray using the name of God, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." He wants us to know to whom we are praying, where God is, and why we should pray. When we pray: "Hallowed be your name", we are asking that our understanding of God's character would be worthy, and that our lives would honor him in every way, by reflecting that character. Implicit in this prayer is the spelling out of God's purpose for our lives. We may have some idea about what we want to do with our lives, but Jesus is concerned to direct us to finding out God's purpose for our lives. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) By praying this prayer we are aligning our plans with God's purpose, so that our lives will run according to the Spirit's direction. What comes into your mind when you think about God? What is your mental image of God? What in your deep heart do you conceive God to be like? We receive our impressions of God from all sorts of sources. Some are good and others are bad. When terrorists torture and murder innocent civilians while chanting, "God is great", I wonder where they received their understanding of the character of God? We are all tempted to project onto God our own prejudices, and desecrate, instead of hallow, the name of God. Do we move toward our mental image of God or is our mental image of God determined by us? What is your conscious impression of the character, the name, of God? When Moses stood before the burning bush, and was told to remove his shoes, because it was holy ground, God revealed himself as the "God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Exodus 3:6) He wasn't yet the God of Moses because God had still to reveal himself to his prophet. Later the people of Israel would know God as the God of Moses. At this point Moses still needed to know more about God. "What shall I tell the people? What is your name?" God's reply was, "I AM WHO I AM." (Exodus 3:14) "I am eternally present, I will be with you in all that you do according to my will." God's character is revealed in his actions in history as he works out his purposes through his people. God cannot be known and hallowed in the abstract or the universal, but in the particular and the specific. In the fullness of time the name by which God revealed his character was Jesus. It is Jesus who takes this name for himself: "I AM the bread of life, I AM the light of the world, I AM the gate, I AM the good shepherd, I AM the resurrection and the life, I AM the way, the truth, and the life, I AM the true vine." He has been given "the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) Therefore when I echo the words of Psalm 103: "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name," I am seeing God through Jesus spectacles. What comes into my mind when I think about God, is not just abstract, theological, philosophical, or New Age thought that God is Spirit, that God is Love, that God is Almighty, but that God has loved me through the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. It is Jesus who shows us the truth, love and mercy of God through his feeding the hungry, healing the sick, raising the dead, comforting the bereaved, suffering and dying on the Cross. The character, the name of God, is seen in what Christ did. He hallowed God's name by his actions, by humbling himself and becoming obedient to death. We can be sure of hallowing God's name when we receive our understanding of God in terms of Jesus. Jesus reveals the name, the character of God to us. "I have revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.....I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:6,26) The more we get to know Jesus, his character and his teaching, the more our understanding of God is hallowed, is worthy of God. Jesus came to reveal God to the world through us. A general belief in God is no guarantee that we will hallow God's name. The conception some people have of God is hideous. John Wesley once said of one who promoted a depraved view of God: "Your God is my devil." That is why the world needs Jesus. So much of our thinking about God can be unworthy. So much of the church's teaching about God has been unworthy. So much of institutional Christianity has been unworthy of the name of God. When we pray "hallowed be your name", we are praying that our lives would glorify God in every way, that everything we do would be honoring to God, and consistent with his character. We need to pray for this because there is a tendency in us to dishonor God by our lives, and to bring his name into disrepute. Paul criticizes the hypocrites of his faith: "if you know God's will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth - you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? ... You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: 'God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'" (Romans 2:18-24) For good or ill Christian believers represent Christ to the world. If we are living an immoral, selfish, and unloving life, then others will take note and blame our faith. Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) Gregory of Nyssa wrote that when he prays this petition, what he is really praying is: "May I become through your help blameless, just and spiritual, may I abstain from every evil, speak the truth, and do justice. May I walk in the straight path, shining with moderation, dressed with purity, beautiful through wisdom and prudence. May I meditate upon the things that are eternal and despise what is temporal, showing the heavenly way of life.... For a man can glorify God in no other way save by the virtue of his life which bears witness that the power of God is the cause of his goodness." The Gospel is spread by the witness of the lives of believers. We are called to witness to Jesus and his revelation of the name of God. That means that we are called to live such lives of beauty, goodness and truth that others will want to share it. The reason the Gospel fails to be persuasive, and the Christian faith and life is brought into disrepute, is because our lives do not bring glory to God's name. We live in a society in which there is much competition for the allegiance of people. There are many alternative lifestyles, and many different beliefs about God. The church is often seen to be just one option among many. If Christians are just as weak and despairing as their non-Christian neighbors when confronted with suffering and tragedy, illness and pain; if we are just as restless, frustrated and dissatisfied; if we are just as worried and fearful; just as anxious, and guilty, and materialistic, as those who do not believe, then no one is going to want to be a Christian, because it obviously makes no difference when the chips are down. Nietzsche challenged Christians: "Show me that you are redeemed, and then I will believe in your redeemer." Jesus tells us to pray that God may show us how to be redeemed, so that in our behavior he may be glorified, and that through us others may come to him. In other words, we pray that we may be able to show others Christ, so that they may want to follow him. "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens." (Psalm 148:13) A Prayer: THE HOLY NAME O LORD GOD, whose gifts are beyond count or measure or price, and every gift, high honor; of all, this would be the chief, that you, Lord, would write your Name and grave it on my inmost soul unknown, unseen, unfelt by me, yet readable, for your sole glory, by the eyes of men: so that it testify in quietness to the lowly devotion of my heart, the dedication of my whole being, the pure joy of faith. To your Name, Lord Jesus, help me bow the knee and all its worshipping, bow the head and all its thinking, bow the will and all its choosing, bow the heart and all its loving. But chiefest, O my God, write your Name upon me, in me, your holiness, your lordship, your love, in shining letters, indelible, for ever. — Eric Milner-White

By Gavin Ashenden. March 13, 2026 Halfway Down the Nave I have just seen a photograph that stopped me in my tracks and wounded my heart. It shows Muslims sitting on the floor inside Bristol Cathedral, eating their Ramadan Iftar meal. For most people this will look like a gesture of hospitality — a moment of interfaith goodwill. For me it is something else entirely. At the entrance to this cathedral the call to prayer was sounded. You may not know what the prayer consists of? You should know. “Allah is the greatest… I testify there is no god but Allah… I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah… Come to prayer.” Historically and culturally, the adhan functions as: · A proclamation of Islamic faith · A claim that a place has become a place of Muslim prayer · A signal that an area belongs to the “realm of Islam” (dar al-Islam) That is why historically the adhan was used to mark the establishment of Islam in a city. Fifty years ago, in that very building, my life changed forever. And in the photograph they are sitting almost exactly where it happened. Halfway down the nave. On the right-hand side. That is where I gave my life to Christ. Bristol Cathedral is therefore a precious place for me. My life changed there at 8:30 on March 3rd, 1975. It is a long time since I have spoken publicly about my evangelical conversion story, and I do not want to try the patience of my readers. But a small amount of context is necessary to explain why this photograph troubles me so deeply. When I was eighteen I spent a year in Canada between school and university. The most dramatic moment of that year came shortly before I returned to England. At a party in September 1973 I carelessly and irresponsibly drank nearly a litre of vodka. I passed out. My medical friends suggest that the amount of alcohol paralysed my respiratory system. In such cases with such a quantity of alcohol, death follows. What followed was what I can only describe as a classic near-death experience. My soul left my body and entered a place of judgement. The most striking feature of the experience was the presence of light — but not ordinary light. Even at eighteen I somehow knew I was encountering something different: not created light, but something behind light itself. It was ‘uncreated light.’ I had never heard the term. But that is what ‘it’ or ‘Who’ it was. It was as if light had its source there. Words strain to describe it, but the distinction felt unmistakable. I knew I was to be judged. The thought occurred to me that I might be sent to hell. And yet another thought immediately followed: that even if that were the outcome, it would still mean that the universe was structured around justice — that good and evil were real, the ‘universe’ knew how to tell the difference between good and evil. It didn’t matter so much as to which side of the divide my life fell, what mattered was that the universe was configured to tell the difference and that mean that Justice lay at the heart of all that had been made. and that good and evil would ultimately be separated. If I was condemned, that would be terrible for me — but very good for all else - the universe would prove to be a safe moral place. Very strangely, a phrase from the Book of Revelation came to mind: “And there was silence in heaven for half an hour.” And although in the Apocalypse it describes the fight between St Michael and the rebellious angels, there was silence at this moment in my being presented there for judgement. Why? I don’t know. There just was. That’s what happened It was exactly like that. There was a long silence while my judgement was considered. The Presence before me was both singular and plural at the same time. I cannot explain how I knew this. But it seemed simply obvious. Eventually the judgement was delivered. I was forgiven. And I was sent back. I wasn’t told why - but ‘There were things I had to do.’ When I ‘regained consciousness’ came to myself, found that I was after all alive, just after dawn that morning, I was astonished by how I felt. Normally getting drunk, having too much alcohol makes me really quite unwell. The quantity I had consumed should have left me deeply unwell, perhaps terminally so. Yet five hours later I felt physically, mentally and spiritually clean — better than I had ever felt in my life. But I did nothing with this experience. It simply happened to me. It was so far beyond my understanding that I had no way of integrating it into my life. It remained a memory without interpretation. I both understood it — and did not understand it at all. Eighteen months later everything changed. I was in the middle of my law degree and facing a crisis I did not know how to cope with. My live-in girlfriend suffered from severe manic depression and was repeatedly talking about ending her life. I felt completely helpless. I had hit a brick wall. And then a curious thought came into my mind. Have you ever been in a desperate situation before? Yes, I had. And what had happened then? ‘God’ had happened to me. ‘God’ rescued me. Why had I forgotten Him? How could I have ignored Him? I realised, almost with embarrassment, that I had forgotten Him entirely. I needed to find Him again. This time the stakes were life and death. I went to the local Anglican parish church. The service itself left me rather underwhelmed. But the vicar — a perceptive and kind man — noticed me and struck up a conversation. When I told him my story, he mentioned that a university mission was taking place that very week. “If you are serious,” he said, “you should go and listen to a man called David Watson speaking about God.” The title of the mission was: My God Is Real. I told my girlfriend we had to go. It felt like the only possibility of hope in what had become a very dark situation. Walking to the Cathedral that evening felt almost like an episode from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Every few hundred yards we ran into friends. The first group were heading to a twenty-first birthday party. “It’s Ginny’s 21st. You must come, -youcan’t not come - she’ll be upset.” they insisted. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to the Cathedral to hear a man talk about God.” They looked at me as if I had lost my mind. Having failed to persuade me they left laughing, singing, boisterous and jolly. Several hundred yards later another group appeared — musicians I knew. We all played in the university symphony orchestra together. The Chilingirian Quartet were performing late Beethoven for free. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Come with us,” they urged. No one interprets late Beethoven like these people do. It’s free. It’s not going to happen again. “I’m going to the Cathedral to hear a man talk about God.” The same conversation repeated itself twice more over the next 500 yards as I walked down Park Street. By the fourth time I realised something strange was happening. I had never before encountered such a series of interruptions pulling me away from one destination. Even in my youthful naïveté I began to suspect there might be some kind of struggle going on — something connected with my soul. Eventually we reached Bristol Cathedral. I sat halfway down the nave on the right-hand side. And there I listened as David Watson spoke about Jesus Christ. He described Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As he spoke, something extraordinary happened. The experience I had had eighteen months earlier suddenly began to make sense. I had encountered light. Jesus said, “I am the light.” I had lost my way. Jesus said, “I am the way.” I was searching for truth. Jesus said, “I am the truth.” And I had been forgiven — completely and inexplicably forgiven. Jesus said he had came to bring the forgiveness of sins. Only Christ claimed authority to forgive sins. As I tried to construct a kind of photo-fit of the God I had encountered, it began to take on the face of Jesus. Being a law student, I wondered if criteria we were used to in the law would help. On the balance of probability, Jesus was who He said He was. ‘Beyond reasonable doubt?” I was beginning to think so. And so, halfway down the nave of Bristol Cathedral, I surrendered my life to Him. Which is why the photograph I saw today is so troubling. In that photograph a group of Muslims sit on the floor of the Cathedral eating their Ramadan meal. Almost exactly where I had knelt. I had been persuaded that Jesus is the Son of God who died for the sins of the world. The faith represented by those gathered in the photograph teaches that this belief is false — even blasphemous. They teach that either Jesus did not say those things and was misreported or that it was a case of self-deception on his part, or a lie. There may not have been a burning bush, but I had met God here in the form of His Son, and he had, beginning with that night, turned my life round. He had freed me from my disorders, replaced confusion with the presence of his Holy Spirit; he had seen me through every crisis and cross roads for the fifty years since. He had never let me down, not even in the worst moments of unsupportable pain, despair and anxiety, and there have been many of those. The Cathedral that once hosted a mission proclaiming Christ as Lord is now hosting a religious gathering that explicitly denies Jesus is Lord. They deny he is the Way truth and the life. They deny he is the Son of God, incarnate to take our human condition on himself to free us and carry us to heaven. They have taken over a building that was created to be a tabernacle for the miraculous host in the miraculous mass and claimed it for a warlord who demands surrender or death? It was once captured by Protestants who banned the mass and replaced it with a meal of remembrance - an act which denied the concept of the stones shaped around the tabernacle set on the altar; and now it had been captured again for a meal that was so much worse in concept and practice, a meal celebrating Mohammed.

By Abbie Llewelyn newsbreak.com March 13, 2026 The Iranian regime is “in its death throes”, an Anglican bishop who left the country after the revolution has said. The Rt Rev Guli Francis-Dehqani warned the regime “shouldn’t be underestimated” and that it is doing everything it can to survive another day. Speaking to the Press Association, the Bishop of Chelmsford said she “weeps what for could be coming” and that she is not currently able to contact anyone she knows in Iran. The bishop, who sits in the House of Lords, added that she thinks it was right the UK stood by international law and refused to join in with the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Bishop Francis-Dehqani, 59, was born in Iran in 1966 and her father was Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, the Anglican Bishop in Iran and presiding bishop of the Episcopal church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. In the wake of the revolution in 1979, there were raids on their house, her father was imprisoned and there was an assassination attempt on her father’s life in which her mother Margaret was injured. Then, while her father was on duties elsewhere in the Middle East, her brother Bahram was murdered. After the funeral, Guli, her mother and her sister Shirin joined her father abroad and they eventually settled in the UK as refugees when Bishop Francis-Dehqani was 14 years old. Reflecting on the current situation in Iran, the bishop told PA: “I think that this regime is in its death throes, I genuinely do. “But death throes can last for a very, very long time. I don’t have any clear sense of when it will end, but I believe it will end, and so I think they feel a sort of existential threat. “I don’t think they really have a plan for how to properly reassert themselves financially, for example… “I think everything they’re doing is about surviving another day, hence the brutality of the crackdown we saw at the end of last year into the beginning of this. I mean, it was utterly, utterly barbaric. “I think everything they’re doing is about trying to survive another day and that shouldn’t be underestimated.” Iran “constantly seems to surprise the West”, Bishop Francis-Dehqani said, adding: “I’m not a politician, but I imagine that President Trump is probably quite surprised at the response of Iran to these latest attacks. “So, I think people underestimate their ability to have planned for this event – they probably knew it was coming.” Asked about the UK Government’s decision not to be involved in the initial strikes on Iran, she said: “I personally happen to agree that Britain should not have joined in the attack. “I think he (Sir Keir Starmer) was right to say this does not seem to have legal status under international law. “And, frankly, I know international law is virtually now in shreds, and this seems to be another nail in its coffin, but I think it’s right that we stood by that and refused to join the attack.” Bishop Francis-Dehqani said her fear is that Iran will descend into a civil war and the bloodshed that comes with that. She said: “There is no credible opposition around which people will coalesce. “If the regime does kind of collapse in some form of chaos, I really worry that there will be civil war. “There are factions who are seeking change, wanting change. Some of them are no better, if not worse, than what we have at the minute. “And I really fear civil war and massive bloodshed.” Bishop Francis-Dehqani added that any regime change will have to come from within Iran. Sir Keir Starmer declined a US request to join initial strikes on Iran, but has allowed the use of UK bases for specified defensive strikes. She said: “The West has intervened so often in the politics of Iran, the people almost have lost the ability to to work out their future for themselves. “So, I think the West, yes, give support to dissident groups, help the Iranian people, but they have to have agency in working out what comes next. “And, certainly, democracy is a far-off dream. Democracy doesn’t come to a nation overnight, it has to be learned. And Iran has never been democratic.” As she discussed her concerns, the bishop recalled a message she received from someone in Iran during the protests in January, who told her that there are terrorist dissident groups making use of the unrest. She said: “They are killing government agents and, he said, beheading them, literally on the streets. “And then the government isn’t discerning between the terrorist groups and innocent protesters, so I fear we would have more of that kind of thing.” She said that while there were some reports of celebrations in Iran at the death of the Ayatollah, her worry is that, as time goes on and “the reality kicks in that this is not going to be over quickly”, that the elation “will turn to real fear”. She said: “I really weep for what could be coming in the coming days and weeks.” The bishop reported that she is “not getting anything out of Iran at the minute, my messages aren’t getting through and nothing’s coming out”. She said: “I know that people who have close family and a lot of ties in Iran, this is a very, very difficult time, because obviously we have no news or information about friends, family, loved ones and so on.” END

Trophimus Center at Trinity Anglican Seminary By Jesse Nigro ANGLICAN COMPASS March 13, 2026 Trinity Anglican Seminary occupies a unique place in the life of the Anglican Church in North America. For nearly five decades, it has stood at the crossroads of renewal, reform, and formation within North American Anglicanism. Today, under the leadership of Dean and President Dr. Bryan Hollon, Trinity is clarifying its mission in a new season of the ACNA’s life: to form clergy and leaders who are deeply rooted in Scripture, grounded in the Anglican tradition, and equipped to serve a province that is still coming into its own. I recently spoke with Dr. Hollon about his journey into Anglicanism, Trinity’s history and theological commitments, and the seminary’s vision for serving the ACNA in the decades ahead. What emerged from our conversation was not simply an institutional profile, but a portrait of a seminary that understands itself as part of a larger ecclesial story. A Scholar on the Canterbury Trail Bryan Hollon did not grow up Anglican. He was raised in the Disciples of Christ, attending “a wonderful little church in the small town of Weslaco, Texas.” His early church experience was earnest and faithful, but Anglicanism was not on his radar. His turning point came at Baylor University. During his undergraduate years, Hollon experienced a conversion to Christ while enrolled in a theology class. The serious study of theology awakened in him an interest that had remained mostly dormant in his mainline upbringing and distracted, early college years. “I decided when I was 19 years old that I wanted to be a professor of theology,” Hollon told me. “I wanted to communicate the faith in a way that was compelling to others.” Encountering Radical Orthodoxy That conviction led him to pursue doctoral work on medieval exegesis, particularly the nouvelle théologie of Henri de Lubac and the ressourcement movement. This research led Hollon to engage directly with Anglican scholars associated with Radical Orthodoxy, and he debated John Milbank (the movement’s founder) on the proper interpretation of de Lubac. At the heart of these studies was a simple but profound conviction: theology must be rooted in Scripture, and Scripture must be read within the great tradition of the Church. For de Lubac, Hollon explained, engagement with culture is always mediated through exegesis. “I won that one,” he chuckled, recalling crossing swords with Milbank. Scripture stands at the center. That emphasis on figural interpretation and theological depth would later resonate strongly with Anglicanism’s own classical commitments. Encountering Anglicanism Hollon first encountered Anglican worship at a small 1928 Prayer Book church plant, All Saints, in Canton, Ohio. Hollon helped start the church, and although it was small and short-lived, he was able to attend an Anglican church founded shortly after ACNA’s creation. The experience left a deep impression. “We sang the whole liturgy,” he recalled. “It was beautiful. It shaped our family.” Though that particular congregation eventually closed, the seed had been planted. Anglicanism was no longer merely an intellectual curiosity. It had become home. Catechesis and the Hunger for Depth Hollon spent years teaching theology at Malone University while also engaging in lay formation through the C. S. Lewis Institute. During that time, he grew increasingly concerned about the thinness of catechesis in many churches. “I had always been frustrated by what seemed to me to be a lack of substance,” he said. “From the pulpit and in the classroom.” In 2017, Hollon planted St. John’s Anglican Church in Canton. The parish grew steadily, shaped by intentional catechesis and liturgical life. One of his former students, a Trinity grad, now serves as its rector. For Hollon, this was yet another avenue through which he could pursue his conviction of going deep into theology at the congregational level. “I believed very sincerely that churches could be built upon real substance,” he reflected, “that people were craving it.” For many years, Hollon assumed his vocation would remain squarely in the academy. Ordination was not part of his original plan. “It was never my intention to become ordained,” he admitted, “and certainly not to be an administrator.” His youthful ambition had been straightforward: become a productive scholar and communicate the faith compellingly. Called to be Dean As St. John’s in Canton grew, Hollon’s role shifted. Catechesis no longer existed only in lecture halls or lay institutes. It was embodied in the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and the patient work of shepherding a congregation. The same theological depth he had cultivated in the classroom proved pastorally fruitful in parish life. At the same time, his involvement with Trinity deepened. He had been sending students there for years, and he knew the faculty. He had also participated in broader conversations about catechesis and Anglican formation within the ACNA. When Bishop Roger Ames gathered ordinands in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes, Hollon found himself drawn more fully into the province’s life and received his ordination. The transition to Trinity’s presidency came during a season of institutional and personal change. Malone University, where Hollon had served for many years, had taken a decisive turn on issues of sexuality that placed it at odds with historic Christian teaching. Hollon had already begun discerning a departure. Meanwhile, he had stepped down from leadership at St. John’s after ensuring the parish was stable and able to call a full-time rector. When Trinity’s then-dean announced his retirement in 2022, Hollon’s name surfaced quickly. He knew the faculty. He understood the seminary’s history. More importantly, he shared its theological instincts and its commitment to serving the ACNA. What began as a short list of candidates soon became a clear vocational summons. “When the offer came,” he said, “it felt like a genuine call.” A Seminary Born of Renewal To understand Trinity Anglican Seminary, one must situate it within the renewal movements of the late twentieth century. Founded as Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in 1976 following a Fellowship of Witness gathering, Trinity became a powerful center of evangelical Anglican renewal within The Episcopal Church. Leaders such as John Guest and Peter Moore helped shape its early direction. Bishop Al Stanway became its first dean and president. John H. Rodgers, Jr., who would later play a significant role in AMiA and Gafcon, was among its early faculty. In those early years, Trinity served as a gathering place for Anglicans committed to orthodox theology and evangelical vitality. Long before the formation of the ACNA in 2009, Trinity was forming leaders who would later shape the province. “Many of the senior bishops will tell you,” Hollon noted, “that there would be no ACNA without Trinity.” Movements such as New Wineskins and SAMS found fertile ground at Trinity. The seminary became a hub where theological clarity and missionary zeal met. Yet the institutional landscape has changed dramatically since those days. The ACNA is a gradually maturing province. Many of its clergy and bishops did not personally experience the conflicts that gave rise to it. Trinity’s task is no longer simply renewal within a mainline context. It is formation for a new ecclesial reality. Clarifying Identity in a New Season One of the most significant recent developments in Trinity’s history was its formal disaffiliation from The Episcopal Church in 2021. While the ACNA was established in 2009, Trinity remained affiliated with The Episcopal Church for more than a decade afterward. The decision to disaffiliate clarified Trinity’s mission but came at a cost. Approximately 30 percent of its donor base was lost in the transition. The seminary had to navigate both financial and relational challenges. Yet for Hollon, the move was necessary. “There is really no point in us existing if we cannot serve the ACNA,” he said. In 2024, the seminary formally adopted the name Trinity Anglican Seminary. The change signaled publicly what had already become clear in practice. Trinity’s future is bound up with the Anglican Church in North America. This is what we call “skin in the game.” Reformed Catholicity At the heart of Trinity’s theological vision is a phrase coined by John H. Rogers, Jr.: “We are Catholic because we are Reformed”. Hollon explains that this means holding Reformation doctrines and historic catholicity together in a unique way. Trinity does not treat the English Reformation as a rupture from the great tradition but as a renewal within it. It interprets Scripture within the communion of saints, not isolated from it. This commitment shapes the classroom. The faculty and curriculum introduce students to the Church Fathers, medieval theology, and the Reformers, not as museum pieces but as living interlocutors. Figural interpretation of Scripture receives emphasis, inviting students to read the Bible in a way that is both historically grounded and theologically rich. Such formation resists the fragmentation that often characterizes modern theological education. It calls students into a larger, coherent vision of the faith. Formed by Common Prayer One of the practical concerns Hollon heard from bishops upon assuming leadership was the need for stronger liturgical formation. The ACNA now includes many clergy who come from non-Anglican backgrounds. Rather than simply providing a revivalist outpost within TEC, where seminarians primarily came from traditional worship settings, prayer book worship cannot be assumed. “There is a major need for training in the Prayer Book, the rubrics, and our musical tradition,” Hollon observed. In response, Trinity has renewed its emphasis on chapel formation. Students participate regularly in morning and evening prayer and in weekly Eucharist. They receive training to lead worship with confidence and care, attentive to the details of Anglican liturgy. The goal is not rigid uniformity but faithful competence. A priest should know his way around the altar. He should understand why the liturgy unfolds as it does. He should be able to lead worship that is reverent, beautiful, and pastorally sensitive. Formation happens not only in lectures but in the steady rhythm of common prayer. The Trophimus Center A visible expression of Trinity’s broader engagement is the Trophimus Center, a historic church building the seminary now uses for worship, lectures, and provincial gatherings. Located near the main campus, the Center provides a space where the ACNA can gather for events such as provincial councils and synods, reinforcing Trinity’s role as a hub for wider Anglican life. “It’s important to have Anglican spaces to conduct Anglican business,” Hollon said, “and we’re glad to be part of that.” The Trophimus Center also serves as a teaching and community hub. It functions alongside the seminary’s primary chapel, providing an additional local for student formation and offering a stunning visible witness to the richness of Anglican worship. I have not yet visited the center, but photos online show an impressive setting for Anglican study and worship. The Anglican Formation Network Looking ahead, Trinity’s next ambitious initiative is the Anglican Formation Network. The ACNA’s constitution and canons outline nine standards for theological education. Yet over time, the consortium tasked with overseeing those standards has lost cohesion. Trinity Anglican Seminary prides itself as a seminary that tethers its entire curriculum directly to those nine standards. The Anglican Formation Network seeks to encourage collaboration among Anglican faculty, study centers, and seminarians across the province. Rather than attempting to centralize everything under one institutional umbrella “we don’t want to own everything” says Hollon, the aim is to cultivate relationships and shared commitments. In a geographically dispersed province without a unified campus ministry structure, such coordination can provide a necessary pipeline for future ordinands. Trinity envisions gathering teachers and preachers from across the ACNA to think together about cultural engagement, catechesis, and evangelism in a rapidly shifting society. A Province in Need of Unity The ACNA contains a range of churchmanships and theological emphases. Questions surrounding women’s orders, diocesan structures, and other issues continue to shape provincial conversations. In that context, seminaries play a quiet but crucial role. When students from different backgrounds live, study, and pray together for three years, they form friendships that outlast institutional debates. They learn to listen, to sharpen one another, and to remain committed to the shared life of the Church. Institutions like Trinity provide a space where that kind of relational unity can take root. TAS Exists to Serve the ACNA Hollon speaks about Trinity Anglican Seminary’s future with both conviction and humility. “We serve at the pleasure of the bishops,” he said. “Our role is not to change the ACNA from the outside. It is to instill virtue and the classic Prayer Book tradition in our students.” That posture reflects a maturing vision of theological education. A seminary exists for the Church. It receives its mission from the Church and returns its gifts to the Church through well-formed leaders. As the Anglican Church in North America continues to grow and define its identity, Trinity Anglican Seminary stands ready to serve. Rooted in Scripture, attentive to the great tradition, committed to Anglican worship, and invested in provincial unity, it seeks to form leaders who can preach Christ faithfully in this generation and the next. For those discerning a call to ministry, Trinity offers not merely a degree program but a community shaped by common prayer, serious study, and a clear commitment to the future of Anglicanism in North America. Disclaimer: Trinity Anglican Seminary is a Sponsoring Partner of Anglican Compass; however, this article has undergone our normal editorial process. Image: The Trophimus Center at Trinity Anglican Seminary, courtesy of TAS. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.

By Richard Eden, Diary Editor THE DAILY MAIL 14 March 2026   For more than 30 years he devoted himself to preaching the gospel and praying for peace and goodwill on earth. But, in the aftermath of his resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury in difficult circumstances last year, Justin Welby was always likely to find life a little less serene – although he might not have expected that one of his first, and fiercest, battles would be at the £1,700-a-year Travellers Club.   That’s the same gentlemen’s club in St James’s, London, from which Welby resigned in 2014 – a year after he became Archbishop of Canterbury – when the Travellers voted conclusively against allowing women members.   Only days earlier, the Church of England had approved legislation which allowed women to become bishops. But last year Welby, 70, decided that, spared the burdens of office, he would allow chums to re-enter his name in the candidates’ book for prospective members. ‘He felt he could swallow his DEI [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion] objections to the Travellers remaining a male bastion, after all,’ reflects a St James’s boulevardier.   But if Welby, who officiated at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018, thought that after, as it were, straying like a lost sheep, he’d be rapturously welcomed back, he has been brutally disabused. Though he’s attracted plenty of signatures in support of his candidacy, he has also inspired a barrage of opposition – scrawled furiously under his name and also, I’m told, communicated by other means.   The club chairman, [former MI6 officer] Adrian Stones, has been swamped with letters of objection,’ I’m told. Causing still greater disquiet is the candour with which some of Welby’s critics are expressing themselves in the candidates’ book. ‘They’ve been writing “NO” all over it,’ a member tells me, adding that their fury stems from the publication of the Makin Review – into abuse perpetrated at Christian camps – which effectively ended Welby’s time as Archbishop.   That report concluded that it was ‘unlikely’ that Welby had been unaware of concerns being voiced about the abuser, John Smyth, while Smyth continued to run the camps. ‘Someone’s signed Welby’s page “Jimmy Savile”,’ a Travellers stalwart tells me, adding that the description of Welby as ‘company director’ has been crossed out. ‘“Clerk in Holy Orders” has been written in instead.’ END

By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org March 12, 2026 The Rt. Rev. Ashley Null, Anglican Bishop of North Africa and a leading Cranmer scholar, addressed more than 400 conferees at GAFCON (G26) in Abuja, arguing that assent to the Jerusalem Declaration is a return to the ancient truths Anglicans have always held. At the heart of that return, he contended, lies the foundational Reformation principle of the pervasive nature of human sinfulness—and with it, the hope of the gospel for personal transformation. Cranmer’s Diagnosis of the Human Condition A fundamental principle of Reformation Anglicanism is that human sinfulness is the greatest hindrance to human flourishing—and to God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Thomas Cranmer’s General Confession, prayed at every daily office, gives this principle its most enduring liturgical expression: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways, like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. Each phrase repays careful attention: • Almighty and most merciful Father— God is all-powerful, yet his redeeming love has the last word. Because he is so abundantly merciful, he works even our sinfulness toward his good purposes in his good time. • We have erred and strayed from thy ways, like lost sheep— As Isaiah 53:6 teaches, every one of us has gone our own way. • We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts— We have served the false gods of our own imagination, chasing what we wrongly believed would make us happy. • We have offended against thy holy laws— The result is that we have wronged God, one another, and ourselves. • We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and done those things which we ought not to have done— Our lives are filled with activity, yet that activity only keeps us running in place—a hamster wheel of effort without effectiveness, wrong choices leading nowhere we wish to go. • And there is no health in us— Cut off from God and our true selves, the soul is sick unto death. Humanity does not need a teacher to show us how to make better choices; we need a Redeemer to deliver us from the numbing guilt and destructive power of our bondage to sin. The Comfortable Words: Scripture’s Answer to Human Need To this searching diagnosis of the human condition, Cranmer appended the Comfortable Words—four promises from Scripture that answer each element of our need: • Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you— Wearied by our endless, misdirected efforts, we are invited to rest. • So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son— In his great love, God takes the initiative to solve the problem we have created but cannot fix. • This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners— He came to reveal our sins and to be the way, the truth, and the life that restores us to God’s presence now and forever. • If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins— In the glorious exchange of the cross, the immortal One dies so that mortal humanity might live forever. “This, then, is the Gospel on which Anglicanism was founded. Because of our sinfulness, we cannot find our own way home to God. He must come to us. He must rescue us from ourselves,” said Null. The Reformers’ Return to Scripture “At this conference we have heard repeatedly that Christian unity is not rooted in shared human values, inherited institutions, or a common commitment to mission. Worthy as those things are, they are the fruit of Christian unity, not its source.” “Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, and their colleagues understood that the Gospel revealed in Scripture is the source of the church’s life now and of our eternal life together in the age to come. They looked afresh at the Bible and found much to cherish in the inherited tradition: the ancient creeds accurately summarized biblical truth, and Augustine’s sober view of human nature matched what Scripture taught.” Null explained that the reformers adopted Augustine’s hermeneutical principle that Scripture interprets Scripture, with clearer passages illuminating more obscure ones. Mindful of the sin principle, they were suspicious of novelty and always read the Bible in conversation with the generations who had gone before. Cranmer, Jewel, and Hooker consistently tested their sola Scriptura conclusions against patristic precedent. The reformers identified doctrines and practices contrary to Scripture when they saw the church drifting toward relying on human good intentions rather than divine revelation. “The medieval insistence that perfect, personal righteousness was required for salvation struck them as a supreme example of such error—and an utter pastoral disaster.” “Their response was thoroughgoing reform. The Articles of Religion enshrined biblical authority as Anglicanism’s doctrinal plumb line. The Book of Common Prayer restored the systematic, congregational reading of Scripture and wove its very words into the fabric of corporate prayer. The Book of Homilies proclaimed salvation and discipleship from its pages. The result was a church that was, at one and the same time, authentically catholic and biblically reformed.” The Anglican Communion Today Null observed that by the twenty-first century a growing number of Anglican churches had severed their values, structures, and mission from their Scriptural roots. Human good intentions had displaced divine Gospel revelation, and cultural capitulation began to masquerade as cultural accommodation. Predictably, the true knowledge of God eroded, and Anglican unity fractured as a result. The Jerusalem Declaration was written to address this pastoral and missional crisis. The logic is inexorable, he argued: “If Anglicans cannot agree about the human condition, they cannot agree about salvation. If they cannot agree about salvation, they cannot agree about pastoral care. If they cannot agree about pastoral care, they cannot agree about the church’s mission. And if they cannot agree about pastoral care and mission, genuine communion becomes impossible.” The Jerusalem Declaration therefore calls Anglicans back to their first love—to historic faith and morals, to founding formularies and ancient creeds, to the only enduring basis for Anglican identity. “We have come full circle. We began with the Reformation Anglican conviction that human sinfulness pervades all of life and that only God can rescue us from it. We end with the hope of Philippians 1:6—that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.” copyright 2026 John Ashley Null, used by permission for educational purposes only. END

ANiE Seeks Provincial Status with GAFCON QUOTES OF THE DAY "Here's how to determine God's will for your life: Go wherever your gifts will be exploited the most." — John Stott "Be very sure of this — people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it only too well. They understand that it condemns their own behavior, that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment." — J. C. Ryle "The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. The communion is a fellowship of churches who submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, whose life and teaching is revealed in the Scriptures. … True communion is confessional, rather than defined by a shared history or institutional structures." — GAFCON G26 Abuja Statement "Do you know the rules in Iran? Carrying the Gospel or changing your religion: execution, brother, execution. You cannot go to a bookshop and ask for a Gospel or Bible. It is like asking for drugs." — Ali Rezaei Majd, Christian convert in Iran "Almost 400 million Christians worldwide face persecution or violence, making them the most persecuted religious community in the world — one in seven Christians. Almost 5,000 were killed for their faith in 2025, an average of 13 per day." — Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, Vatican Permanent Observer to the United Nations Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org March 13, 2026 RAYS OF LIGHT IN A DARKENING WORLD Despite all the bad news — and there is plenty of it — here is some worth holding onto: religious people consistently self-identify as happier than non-religious people. Ryan Burge, a foremost expert on religion and politics in the U.S., puts it plainly: happier people tend to be more religious. Those with no religious affiliation are measurably less happy than those who identify with a faith tradition. In a world increasingly darkened by war, rising prices, fear, contempt, and growing unbelief, there are still shafts of light that tell another story. Recently, I was forced to stop my car over serious de-icing issues on a road not known for its friendliness. Within minutes, standing in freezing rain and trying to address the problem, two cars stopped. Both drivers asked if I was okay. I said I was; they smiled and drove off. I have no doubt that had I said otherwise, they would have called 911 and stayed with me until help arrived. Last year, when faced with heart issues, I nearly collapsed at Walmart. Within seconds I was surrounded by people wanting to help — and spontaneously, a couple prayed over me. What do we make of the dichotomy between what we see on TV, TikTok, YouTube, and the news — mostly shootings, hard luck stories, despair, poverty, and war — and these quiet human moments? Were these people Trump supporters, Democrats, Republicans, libertarians, believers, or skeptics? Who knows. But in one brief, shining moment, they stopped what they were doing, noticed my plight, and came to help. Amazing grace, common grace — whatever it was, a human moment prevailed. Burge notes that for any given relationship between two variables, a majority of studies may confirm a positive link — but about 30% find no relationship or even a negative one. Still, the preponderance of evidence holds: those of us who believe are happier than agnostics, atheists, or the indifferent, no matter what life throws at us. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2–4) GAFCON ABUJA: THE DAY AFTER Repercussions — both positive and negative — continue to roll out from the GAFCON (G26) gathering in Abuja, Nigeria. For many, it was definitive: a clear declaration of what Anglicans truly believe, have always believed, and why we remain Anglicans today. For others, it was a disappointment. "What, another committee?" some critics asked. "Why didn't they declare formal schism with Canterbury?" That is a fair question. What GAFCON did was establish a new council to lead its churches, formally accusing the Church of England of straying from biblical faithfulness. Rebranded as the Global Anglican Communion, the group appointed Rwandan Archbishop Laurent Mbanda as its chairman — replacing the Archbishop of Canterbury in that role. Formal schism did not happen, and new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally rests somewhat more comfortably at Lambeth Palace knowing her institutional position is secure. But she is not out of the woods. She will not be welcome in most Global South provinces, which remain orthodox in faith and morals. She has bent to the winds of modernity on gay marriage and women priests, and has focused more on reparations and safeguarding than gospel proclamation. The primates of the Global South will not visit her at Lambeth Palace or at Canterbury Cathedral. Those days are done. Who Attended? Many have asked which primates attended this significant gathering. Here is the count: eight Anglican primates attended in person, and one participated via Zoom. Note: Due to the outbreak of the Iran war, several primates in the region were unable to travel because of immediate logistical difficulties caused by the conflict. Three GAFCON Province Primates recognized by Canterbury: Nigeria: Henry Ndukuba Uganda: Stephen Kaziimba Rwanda: Laurent Mbanda Three GAFCON Province Primates not recognized by Canterbury: ACNA: Julian Dobbs REACH-South Africa: Siegfried Ngubane Brazil: Miguel Uchôa Two primates not part of GAFCON: Indian Ocean: Gilbert Rakotondravelo South America: Brian Williams One GAFCON Primate via Zoom: Chile: Enrique Zugandi Six GAFCON Provinces represented by bishops (not their Primate): Alexandria, Myanmar, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Congo Some of these primates also overlap with the GSFA. "THE JERUSALEM DECLARATION IS OUR CONFESSION" One of the highlights of the Abuja gathering was a lecture by North African Bishop the Rt. Rev. Ashley Null. Null, a Cranmer scholar, boldly declared that assent to the Jerusalem Declaration is a return to the ancient truths Anglicans have always held — and told more than 400 conferees why. At the heart of his argument lies the foundational Reformation principle of the pervasive nature of human sinfulness — and with it, the hope of the gospel for personal transformation. His full lecture is available here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/north-african-anglican-bishop-the-jerusalem-declaration-is-our-confession IASCUFO VS. THE GLOBAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION Anglican liberals, however, refuse to abandon their vision of unity. The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) has issued a Lent 2026 supplement to its Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, confirming plans to revise the Communion's self-definition and diversify its leadership — this despite deep opposition from the newly formed Global Anglican Council, recently established in Abuja, where some 400 bishops, clergy, and laity assembled to signal that they have "reset" and reformed the Communion, and that IASCUFO's proposals are unwelcome. The central sleight of hand lies in IASCUFO's first proposal: replacing the 1930 Lambeth language of churches being "in communion with the See of Canterbury" with a description of provinces as sharing an inheritance of faith and order, mutual service, common counsel, and a historic connection with Canterbury. The problem is that GAFCON and the Global South have already "reset" the communion. They no longer share even common ground with IASCUFO, and an appeal to "a historic connection with Canterbury" is dead on arrival. Liberal Anglican provinces may talk among themselves, but no one in the Global South will pay serious attention. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/up-the-anglican-creek-without-a-paddle Church of England evangelical scholar M. Barratt Davie assesses two competing visions for the Communion's future here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/assessing-two-different-visions-for-the-future-of-the-anglican-communion And as TEC declines, a growing number of Anglicans are quietly migrating to other traditions — Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and beyond. The Rev. Dr. Ronald H. Moore writes about that trend here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/the-quiet-anglican-migration-why-serious-christianity-is-growing-even-as-denominations-decline TEC: DENIAL, DECLINE, AND SCANDAL "A Lie Straight from the Pit of Hell" When I first saw the headline, I thought it was satire. But Episcopal Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe really said it — to more than 850 Episcopal Church leaders gathered in Charlotte to discuss the denomination's future. Bishop Rowe declared that the belief that the mainline Protestant denomination is dying amid considerable attendance decline is "a lie straight from the pit of Hell." Apparently, the Presiding Bishop is tired of hearing that his church is doomed and would like to change the narrative. But the numbers do not lie. The denomination has lost roughly half its baptized membership since the 1960s, declining to approximately 1.5 million adherents today. Congregations continue to shrink and demographics continue to age. Top-level trends confirm TEC's ongoing decline: the number of parishes and missions dropped from 6,754 in 2023 to 6,707 in 2024 — a 0.7 percent decline. Median in-person attendance stands at just 38, and the average Episcopalian is now in their 60s. No younger generation appears poised to fill the pews. Despite passage of the gay marriage canon, gay and lesbian couples have not joined the church in significant numbers. The racial demographics are equally stark. Despite making anti-racism training a priority, the Episcopal Church remains 95 percent white — compared to 59.3 percent white for the United States as a whole. Only 4 percent of Episcopalians are Black, versus 13.4 percent of the U.S. population. The denomination has consecrated approximately 50 Black bishops, a number wildly disproportionate to its actual Black membership. Meanwhile, the average Episcopalian age of 60-plus stands in sharp contrast to the U.S. median age of 38.7, as Anglican Watch notes. For the first time in its history, the Episcopal Church posted a churchwide budget deficit. Average pledge size dropped from $3,658 to $3,093 — a 16.3 percent decline. Today, TEC functions largely as a progressive advocacy organization with liturgical trappings. Its trajectory is set, and no amount of institutional optimism will restore it to former prominence. Bishop Rowe will preside over its continued diminishment; the forces at work are well beyond his power to reverse. The Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an Episcopal priest and professor, has put it starkly: the overall picture is one not merely of decline but of demise within a generation, unless trends change significantly. Researcher Brandon Showalter estimates that the Episcopal Church will be functionally dead within 20 years — with no one in worship by around 2050. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/episcopal-leaders-push-back-on-rumors-of-fatal-decline Scandal in Pittsburgh As TEC descends slowly into the abyss, it finds itself increasingly riddled with scandal. The latest: the Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh has been accused of stealing baseball cards from Walmart. The Very Rev. Aidan Smith was arrested with 27 packs of baseball cards concealed under his clothing and in a cardboard box, according to court records. Smith, 42, was charged with receiving stolen property and retail theft. Walmart valued the stolen cards at $1,099.99. Smith had been on administrative leave since late January; the diocese offered no explanation. For more on TEC's ongoing scandals, visit Anglican Watch — the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church: https://www.anglicanwatch.com/ As the culture goes, so go the churches not rooted in Scripture. If sodomy is no longer a sin, why should stealing be? It all filters down. UPCOMING: FUTURE OF GLOBAL ANGLICANISM SYMPOSIUM If you want to engage seriously with the future of global Anglicanism, consider attending a spring symposium at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Oreland, PA. Featured speakers include former Egyptian Archbishop Mouneer Anis, the Rev. Dr. Gerald McDermott, Dr. Alice Linsley, Ben Jefferies, and Dr. George Westhaver — among the brightest theological minds in the communion today. Your scribe will also be present. Date: April 24, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Cost: Free (lunch provided) Reserve your spot here: https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/2vKja7mHKdvBZ8fW2Gx5y ATHERSTONE ON MULLALLY Andrew Atherstone, biographer of England's archbishops — with two volumes on Justin Welby to his credit — has turned his pen to Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, producing a biography in remarkably short time. He sent a copy to evangelical theologian Dr. Ian Paul, whose review is here: https://www.psephizo.com/reviews/what-is-the-story-of-sarah-mullaly/ The biography arrives just in time for her enthronement in two weeks and clearly raises the issues that will define her tenure. Mullally has promised no grand schemes or big ideas — a sharp contrast to Justin Welby. Unlike her predecessor, she is committed to due process, working collaboratively, and building teams. But questions remain: How will this sit with her "inclusive" agenda and commitment to a "broad" church? Is "agreeing to disagree" enough to hold things together? And what happens when due process and her inclusive commitments pull in opposite directions? Which will win? Perhaps most fundamentally: how will the Church fare being led by someone who is a doer rather than a thinker — someone who understands the Church almost solely in terms of action rather than theology? We will soon find out. But one thing is already clear: the majority of Global South bishops and archbishops want nothing to do with her. That day is done. ANiE SEEKS PROVINCIAL STATUS WITH GAFCON The Bishops of the Anglican Network in Europe met recently at the AMC Cathedral Church of Restoration in Wythenshawe, Manchester, to discuss the future relationship between ANiE and GAFCON. ANiE and the Church of Uganda recommitted to a mission partnership, with the aim of recruiting and sending gospel workers from Uganda to the spiritually dark continent of Europe — including the British Isles. Uganda will begin selection, training, and fundraising immediately; ANiE will identify host congregations and suitable mission projects. "Our dream is Europe renewed by the gospel — as Spirit-filled Anglican communities, diverse but united, shine the light of Christ into places of darkness; where new churches are planted, new leaders nurtured, and new dioceses formed, as God displays his multi-variegated wisdom through the renewed Global Anglican Communion (Ephesians 3:10)," said ANiE Bishop Andy Lines. The bishops of ANiE have resolved to: Request that GAFCON/the GAC move toward recognizing ANiE as a province: the Anglican Church of Europe. Affirm that Presiding Bishop Andy Lines has the full support of all ANiE bishops and leaders. Request that at least one member of the GAFCON Global charity (GFCA) be drawn from ANiE. Continue planning to multiply missionary dioceses in Europe. Begin planning for a full ANiE Assembly before the major G28 GAFCON Conference in Athens. The reset, renewal, and reforming of the Anglican Communion is truly underway — and nothing will stop it. Liberals, progressives, and revisionists can only watch as the communion forges ahead without them. Their day is done. PEACE, PEACE — WHEN THERE IS NO PEACE Everybody is crying out for peace in the Middle East, even as bombs and rockets fly in all directions. The UN wants the United States and Israel to stop bombing Iran. The Pope wants peace. Pope Leo has repeatedly appealed for calm in the region since the February 28 American and Israeli strikes and Iran's ongoing retaliation. China's Defense Ministry has issued similar warnings, cautioning that prolonging or escalating the conflict "would produce no winners" and could push the Middle East into a "dangerous abyss." But George Weigel, a prominent American Catholic theologian and public intellectual, has pointed out that Pope Leo's condemnation of all "violence" repeats his predecessor's pacifism and ignores the Catholic Church's just war tradition — which holds that violent conflict is sometimes necessary to stop egregious evil. The Augustinian pope ought to know that his namesake taught precisely this in The City of God. My take on what a false peace looks like is here: https://davidvirtue2.substack.com/p/peace-peace-when-there-is-no-peace-3f9 SUPPORT VOL Please consider a tax-deductible donation to VOL to keep the news coming. This work is a labor of love, but we still have bills to pay. There are no salaries, but writing continues 6.5 days a week — and a webmaster, researcher, and overseas journalists must be supported. I take nothing. VOL has brought on new writers in 2026 with clear insights into Scripture and culture. We have no mega-donors and no grants — only faithful readers like you who believe in what we do. Tens of thousands of readers trust us to cover the most pressing issues facing Anglicanism today, yet only a small percentage contribute. We have proven ourselves over more than 35 years and remain committed to this mission. How to Give: Online: PayPal donation at https://www.virtueonline.org/donate By check (tax-deductible): VIRTUEONLINE, P.O. Box 111, Shohola, PA 18458 Thank you for your support. All blessings, David

Special Report   By David W. Virtue   Ponce, PR (8/5/2004)   An Anglo-Catholic priest and hospital chaplain in the Diocese of Puerto Rico of The Episcopal Church, has been fired by the bishop for holding to orthodox biblical views on the issue of homosexual practice.   The Rev Luis Morales, 55, a Forward in Faith priest in the Diocese, has been terminated by revisionist Bishop David A. Alvarez and relieved of his job as a chaplain to St Luke's II Episcopal Hospital in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. He has not been immediately inhibited or deposed but expects the bishop to proceed in that direction.   "I am not surprised at what this bishop has done. He is no lover of the gospel, and he hates people who are orthodox," he told Virtuosity. "I rejoice in my martyrdom." The priest said he was fired on July 23 and is now on vacation but will not return September 1.   Fr. Morales said the problems began after the Minneapolis General Convention and later with the Robinson consecration. "I met with Bishop Alvarez in private and told him I was going to distance myself from his positions on sexuality. I held a press conference with the knowledge of the bishop to state my position. We corresponded back and forth."   The priest was rector of Holy Trinity in Ponce, the island's first and oldest Episcopal Church. The parish church was built in 1869.   "I, along with the vestry resigned after one year because the bishop made a decision regarding the parochial school contrary to what the parish and vestry agreed upon with him. The bishop then offered me a position as hospital chaplain at St. Luke's Memorial Hospital 2."   Fr. Morales said that some 30 parishioners from Holy Trinity followed him and started attending the chapel at the hospital, but the bishop would not recognize them, so fearing they would have no spiritual oversight the priest decided to ask for spiritual help from the Anglican Mission in America.   "I have not personally joined the AMIA but when Bishop Alvarez found out that the group wanted to become part of the Anglican Mission, he sent two letters telling them they could not worship in the chapel. When I shared that information with the people they stopped going to the chapel and came together as a more structured group. I saw it as my pastoral responsibility to turn them over to a priest who would take care of them," he told Virtuosity.   Holy Trinity which once had about 100 members has since dropped to less than 35 active members, said Morales.   "The bishop is painting it all as personal and wants to portray himself as the victim and we are persecuting him, but it is not true."   Fr. Morales turned to his old friend the Rev. Dr. Dennis Paris and Dean Humberto Nieves. Dr. Paris had already been stripped of his priesthood and deposed by Bishop Alvarez for writing a book condemning the revisionist arguments supporting the ordination of practicing homosexuals.   The priest said that Dean Nieves had resigned to be part of the AMIA, but the bishop would not accept his resignation, but he decided to join and worship under the protection of the Anglican Mission anyway.   "I wrote to the bishop and told him that I had turned the 30 worshippers over to the AMIA and if you want to get rid of me you can get rid of me from the hospital."   "I had earlier asked the bishop for DEPO but he flatly refused and said these people could not apply because they were not an official congregation. He then said they could not use the Chapel anymore. I was devastated by the bishop's action. It was unnecessarily vindictive."   Fr. Morales said the group decided to leave and join the AMIA and made a formal request to Bishop Alexander M. Greene, who oversees their mission which is run by the Rev. Dr. Dennis Paris in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr Paris who was forcibly deposed is now with the Anglican Mission.   Bishop Greene then delegated the pastoral oversight of the group in Ponce to the Rev Paris, who is now pastoring the new Anglican Mission of St Peter & St Paul, with the Deacon Humberto Nieves.   "Bishop Alvarez has stated in meetings with his clergy that sexual intercourse between men and men and women with women must not be viewed as a sin. One of his more recent arguments for his revisionist positions is that no Ecumenical Council has ever censured homosexual practice."   Bishop Alvarez has also been very vocal through the media in Puerto Rico, promoting support for homosexual practices and has lobbied the local legislature to promote laws that will favor gay couples and civil unions, Paris told Virtuosity.   "To date he has deposed three priests, inhibited another, and will fire from work and pay any priest that does not bend to his 'hermeneutics'. In a nutshell his pastoral program can be described as promotion of the gay agenda and a heavy hand against the orthodox in his diocese," said Paris in a phone call to Virtuosity.   Bishop Alvarez was the only bishop in ECUSA's Province IX that voted in favor of the V. Gene Robinson consecration and confirmation.   Interviewed on the Morales firing, Dr. Paris, who is also a Psychologist and Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, told Virtuosity: "This is a clear picture of what is really going on in the ECUSA. On one side you have Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and his assistants working hard to project an image of the Church that is struggling to promote reconciliation and understanding amongst its different groups; on the other hand, revisionists in ECUSA are discreetly suffocating any and all dissident points of view that tries to promote orthodox positions or any type of faith founded on Scripture."   Dr. Paris said there were many in the Anglican Communion, especially in Puerto Rico who are sincerely waiting on the Lambeth Commission to provide alternative communion structures to resolving their problem. "St. Paul addressed the issues when he talked about light and darkness not having fellowship with one other," said Paris.   The situation in The Episcopal Church cannot go on forever, there will be a day of reckoning, he said.   In October 2003, three priests including the Rev. Dr. Dennis Paris, the Rev. Dr. Manuel A. Rivera assistant priest of the Spanish speaking congregation at the cathedral church of St. John Baptist and the Rev. Pedro Balleste, a senior cleric in the diocese were all inhibited by the bishop. Dr. Paris and Rev. Balleste were deposed. Fr. Balleste is currently assisting Dr. Paris with the two AMIA missions.

By Stanley Kurtz NRO Contributing Editor   The Federal Marriage Amendment can win. Anyone who believes it can't simply hasn't thought through the complicated chess game that is the battle over gay marriage. I'm not saying the FMA is bound to pass. Marshaling the super majorities required to ratify a constitutional amendment is always an uphill battle.   But the FMA has a vastly greater chance of passage than most folks realize. We're only past stage one of the process. And the overwhelming victory in Missouri this week of a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman has ushered in stage two.   A federal constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress, and must be ratified by three quarters of the states. Impossible? Well, the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) received well over two thirds of the vote in both houses, and three quarters of the states now have DOMAs of their own. (The number of state DOMAs recently expanded from 37 to 38.)   Some say the country is more liberal on gay marriage than it was in 1996. And the public is always reluctant to amend the federal constitution. Yet Americans oppose gay marriage by large margins, and that opposition is easily enlarged by events. Above all, much of the sentiment against an amendment rests on the conviction that federal and state DOMAs will hold. Once the DOMAs come under attack, everything is going to change.   The gay-marriage contest is not like other political battles. It has its own rather peculiar political dynamic. Gay marriage is an issue most people prefer to avoid. The public may oppose gay marriage, but what it really wants is to avoid having to talk about it. This creates a false impression of apathy. Yet when court-imposed gay marriage looks inevitable, the public's stance flips. Once people decide that gay marriage is about to be forced on them against their will, they are galvanized into action.   It's happened again and again. Back in 1998, Hawaiians amended their state constitution to prevent their supreme court from imposing gay marriage. In 2000, Vermont's formerly quiescent conservatives were pushed into full rebellion by civil unions. The Republicans managed to take back the lower house of the Vermont state legislature for the first time in 14 years — this in a state won in a walk by Gore (with a huge vote for Nader to boot).   For those with eyes to see, it was clear in the last session of the Massachusetts state legislature that the state's Supreme Judicial Court was about to legalize gay marriage. Yet given public reluctance to deal with the issue, the Democratic leadership managed to squelch an effort to call a constitutional convention.   After Goodridge, though, Massachusetts was turned upside down for months at a time, as session after deadlocked session of a constitutional convention bitterly debated gay marriage. There were angry public demonstrations, and the media was filled with the issue for weeks on end. Finally, a constitutional convention passed an amendment that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman — and provided for civil unions.   Delaying the Inevitable   If all this can happen in one of the most liberal states in the union, we can expect an even greater battle once it becomes clear that gay marriage is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. The public is reluctant to act on this issue until they absolutely have to, precisely because people fear the polarizing debate that inevitably follows. Yet time and again, when pushed to the wall by the courts, the public has been galvanized into action.   Sometime between now and the moment the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take a gay-marriage case, the American public is going experience its own galvanic moment. At that point, all illusions that federal or state DOMAs can hold will be swept aside, and the battle over the Federal Marriage Amendment will be well and truly joined. I can't tell you whether the FMA will pass at that moment, but I can tell you that it's going to get a whole lot more votes than it received in the Senate a few weeks ago.   Right now, the national battle over gay marriage is at the stage the state battle was in when the leaders of the Massachusetts legislature squelched concerted calls for a constitutional convention. While plenty of people are girding for the inevitable showdown, many others are doing what they can to delay and deny.   Yet the truth is, a major national showdown is inevitable. And when that moment comes, the FMA is going to get a whole lot closer to passage than anyone now realizes. A two-thirds vote in Congress is by no means out of the question.   Looking at the recent Senate FMA debate, you can see the signs. It was next to impossible to find a Democrat willing to defend gay marriage. Instead, the Democrats claimed that DOMA would hold, and dismissed the drive for an amendment as a distraction. Most Republicans, on the other hand, argued vigorously in favor of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.   There were plenty of references to the critical importance of marriage for children, and to Europe's experience of gay marriage. There was a time when gay-marriage advocates claimed that Republicans were afraid of this issue, and bereft of substantive arguments. Yet in the Senate, it was the Democrats who awkwardly ran from substantive debate. When the progress of this issue though the courts makes it clear that an up or down vote on substance is required, what are the Democrats going to do?   A couple of weeks ago, the House passed a bill that would strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over gay marriage. That vote was a shot across the bow of every court in the country. The House put the judiciary on notice that their usurpation of the legislative role puts their powers at risk. Still, the vote on court stripping was prelude to a later showdown over the Federal Marriage Amendment. Even stripping the federal courts of their authority to rule on the constitutionality of DOMA would not prevent them from imposing gay marriage on equal protection or due-process grounds. Only a constitutional amendment can do that. But the House vote was clearly a warning to the courts that a major battle looms.   There is simply no issue on which media bias is greater than gay marriage. The New York Times buried news of the House's court-stripping vote on page 19. Yet after the Senate vote, the press played up the Republicans' failure to get close to a two-thirds vote, and touted the supposed split within Republican ranks. And of course, gay-marriage advocates did their best to portray the FMA campaign as nothing but an attempt to cater to religious conservatives.   Democratic Indecision   On just about every point, the truth is the reverse of the media's line. It's not just that the recent FMA vote was merely a prelude to what will surely be a more serious and closely fought showdown in the future. The truth is, it's the Democrats who are divided on gay marriage. Republicans oppose gay marriage by large margins. Democrats are almost evenly split.   That's why some Senate Democrats support the amendment. And that's why virtually no Senate Democrats dare argue in favor of gay marriage. The truth is, there simply aren't enough religious conservatives in the country to account for substantial majority of the public that opposes gay marriage. It wasn't conservative Southern Baptists who prevented Senate Democrats from making an open defense of gay marriage. It was the many independents and moderate Democrats who think gay marriage is a bad idea.   If you want to get a truer picture of what's happening in the gay-marriage battle, look at Oregon. Oregon is a battleground state that could easily be tipped into the president's column by the issue of gay marriage.   Activist judges have been issuing marriage licenses in an Oregon county. And elected officials in Oregon have taken some truly outrageous actions to circumvent democratic procedures and impose gay marriage on the public. Outrage over all this has kicked off intense public debate. Petitions to place an amendment to the state constitution on the November ballot received more signatures than any other ballot measure in Oregon's history.   Oregon senator Gordon Smith's speech on the Senate floor did not fit the stereotype purveyed by gay-marriage advocates of those who support FMA. Smith spoke eloquently for the many Americans who happily approve of greater social tolerance for gays, yet who also believe that gay marriage would weaken the institution of marriage.   But the big news this week was the runaway victory of a state marriage amendment in Missouri. The measure passed with 71 percent of the vote.   That is a strikingly high number — substantially higher than pre-vote polling. A pre-election poll by the Kansas City Star had found that 62 percent would favor the amendment, with 20 percent opposed and 8 percent undecided.   A St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll conducted a week before the vote had 56 percent of voters in support of the amendment, with 38 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided. While the final 71-percent margin might have indicated a last-minute surge, it's more likely that some voters were reluctant to tell pollsters that they favored the amendment. On this issue, polls often underplay voter support for one-man, one-woman marriage. This suggests that current polling substantially underestimates public support for a Federal Marriage Amendment as well.   Ah, but perhaps recognizing the depth of public sentiment on this issue, gay-marriage advocates and liberal judges alike will hold off on further attempts to transform the meaning of marriage. Don't bet on it. Just yesterday, a judge in Washington state ruled to legalize gay marriage. (The decision has been stayed pending final resolution by the Washington state Supreme Court.)   Since Washington is one of the 38 states with their own DOMA laws, explicitly defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, it's evident that neither fear of, nor respect for, democratically expressed public opinion have called this process to a halt. In his decision (which never truly confronted the key arguments against same-sex marriage), Judge William Downing explicitly stated that he could not allow the political ramifications of the issue to stop him from rendering a decision.   This, again, reflects the unique legal-political dynamic of the gay-marriage question. Although the analogy is seriously flawed, gay-marriage advocates see this issue as one of fundamental civil rights.   They cannot and will not hold back from moving gay marriage through the courts. Once faced with the issue, liberal judges recoil in horror from the prospect of going down in history as an opponent of civil rights. So despite the political risks of pressing forward, the process moves on of its own ineluctable weight. This is truly a case where an irresistible force is hurtling swiftly toward an immovable object. And when the clash comes, the political calculations in this dispute are going to change.   The media have continually stressed the supposed apathy of the American people on this issue. Yet the arousing of the public in Missouri, Oregon — and a series of other states — belies those claims. As soon as people believe that elites are about to impose gay marriage on them, they spring into action, however reluctantly. The electoral fate of senators who voted not to consider the FMA will give an early indication of how this campaign is going.   But the recent votes in the House and Senate are just the beginning of the dawning realization that, in the end, this is a national issue that requires a national solution. Sooner or later, the inevitable raft of lawsuits, the chaos of marriages that fall apart on the Interstate, and the untiring efforts of gay-marriage advocates and liberal judges to circumvent the democratic process, will force the issue nationally. When the final showdown comes — and it will come — victory for the FMA is a very real possibility.