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Lent Day 34: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXIII

...wn of the liturgy spoken in the church service when they are about to receive communion. I couldn’t help but get a little excited when I read this lecture as it reminded me so much of my Anglican upbringing: the liturgy used in some parts, is word-for-word, which just goes to show how well preserved this has been down through the centuries. For example, in the Anglican order of service, the liturgy of the Sacrament has these phrases: The Lord be with you and also with you Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give thanks and praise. Holy, holy, holy Lord… These are word-for-word wha...

I am one with the Force; the Force is with me – A Star Wars theology

...imes even liturgy!). But is it vain? In this case, ‘vain’ means something that is pointless or futile (as opposed to meaning ‘self centred or narcissistic’, which is the more common understanding these days). If we look a couple of verses earlier, there’s a link with not being like “the hypocrites” who stand in the street making themselves seen when praying (and thus get their reward). With that in mind, I'd argue that liturgy and set prayers are not vain in the slightest because when you are praying to God, and how can that ever be futile? What makes it futile, and the reason Jesus spoke against it, was because they were praying to idols or if t...

Lent Day 30: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XIX

...me of the liturgy which you have to say during a Christening. That in itself shows an interesting link to how this tradition and practice has been preserved in certain churches. I’ll contrast the two just to show the similarities, I’m using the Anglican liturgy since that’s what I’m most familiar with from memory: Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God? I reject them.   Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil? I renounce them.   Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour? I repent of them.   Do you turn to Christ as Saviour? I turn to Christ.   Do you submit to Christ as Lord? I submit t...

Implications Of The Frankfurt Silver Amulet: Insights Into Early Christian Practice And Belief

...Christian liturgy and devotion. The explicit use of Holy Scripture highlights the centrality of Christ’s lordship in early Christian belief, even before the formal canonisation of the New Testament. 4. A Sacred Object for Protection and Proclamation The amulet, containing sacred text, was likely carried as a personal object of devotion and spiritual protection. Such items underscore the blend of Christian faith with ancient traditions of carrying protective talismans. This use of the amulet illustrates how early Christians adapted existing cultural practices to express their faith, consecrating these objects for divine purposes rather than superstition. 5....

Creedal Christians: Introduction

...the daily liturgy and worship of the Church as part of baptisms and hymns, and were also expected to be committed to memory by new converts to the faith. Another well-known example of what could be arguably a creed of sorts, is found in Galatians 3:28 which, upon further inspection, appears to contradict and oppose the more popular expressions and "blessings" that were used by Greeks and Jews of his day. Contrast Paul's wording to the Galatians... "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Apostle Paul, Gal 3:28) With that of the Greek and Jewish sayin...

Did a Roman Catholic priest perform 'invalid' baptisms for years?

...y recited liturgy correctly. But the similarities are there, I think we can agree. Augustine argued that a sacrament was from God and ex opere operato, Latin for “from the work carried out”, or “by the very fact of the actions being performed” — meaning that it is the act itself that makes it effective, not the person doing the act. For example, a priest or bishop in a state of sin could continue to administer valid sacraments and have them be effective because the power within the sacrament is tied to God, and not the administrator. Now, I don’t think (or know) that the Rev. Arango was in any state of sin when giving these baptisms using the w...