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

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I love the Pope: Why the Apostolic Constitution is a Good Thing

Monday, November 2, 2009 • 7:53 am
Matt Kennedy

I've frankly been surprised by the reaction to Pope Benedict's recent Apostolic Constitution offering a Personal Ordinariate to Anglicans who wish to reunite with the Roman church. Some have accused the pope of "poaching". Others have been angered at a move they anticipate will weaken the orthodox witness in the Communion by pulling Anglo-Catholics away. Still others, apparently, just don't like the pope and leap at any excuse to criticize him.

Personally speaking, as a Calvinist Anglican, I love Pope Benedict. I am thankful for the Apostolic Constitution. I will never take up his offer but I think it good, generous, and were I not committed to the five solas of the reformation, as I am, I would be Roman in a heartbeat. There are so many things I admire and respect about the Roman Catholic Church in general and this pope in particular. Let me just list several right off the top of my head...

To read the rest of Rev. Kennedy's reflections, visit his blog Stand Firm.
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