The first principle of the Ordinariate is then about Christian unity. St. Basil the Great, the Church’s greatest ecumenist, literally expended his life on the work of building bridges between orthodox brethren who shared a common faith, but who had become separated from one another in a Church badly fragmented by heresy and controversy. He taught that the work of Christian unity requires deliberate and ceaseless effort...St. Basil often talked with yearning about the archaia agape, the ancient love of the apostolic community, so rarely seen in the Church of his day. This love, he taught, is a visible sign that the Holy Spirit is indeed present and active, and it is absolutely essential for the health of the Church.

- Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Homily on the Occasion of his Formal Institution as Ordinary

Friday, October 23, 2009

The Papal Bull in the Anglican China Shop

by John Richardson
October 21, 2009

In his cleverly titled article posted on Virtue Online, "The Papal Bull in the Anglican China Shop", John Richardson considers the implications for "evangelical" Anglicans in the announcement of Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans who wish to enter full communion with the Catholic Church.
The headline Ruth Gledhill chose to describe yesterday's breaking news was 'Rome parks tanks on Rowan's lawn'. The phrase is both eye-catching and apt.
Nevertheless, I have adopted a headline of my own, first because Apostolic Constitutions are, apparently, issued in the form of a Papal Bull and, secondly, because the approach from Rome is to be made to Anglicans globally, not just -as some of the newspapers seem to be assuming -to those in England. But what exactly is on offer, why is it being offered and what does it mean for the future?


Read the rest of Richardson's post for his insights.
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