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

Sunday, January 3, 2010

UK: You don't know what you've got till it's gone

THE recent announcement of an Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans, Anglicanorum Coetibus, raises the question what exactly constitutes the "Anglican patrimony" that those who decide to accept the papal invitation might be able to carry with them into their new life and ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Anglican liturgical tradition was at the forefront of the pastoral provision that was made by the late Pope John Paul II for former Anglican parishes in the United States, resulting in the publication in 2003 of The Book of Divine Worship, based on the American Prayer Books of 1928 and 1979...

Read the rest on Virtue Online.

Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller

Also, read Fr. Chadwick's response to Fr. Trott's essay in "Reflections about another kind of Anglican patrimony" at The Anglo-Catholic.

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