On today’s Canterbury Trails, Jared Lovell and C. Jay Engel introduce a new series for the podcast: Anglicanism 101, tackling questions that those new to Anglicanism—or those who are just curious—might ask.

For this first installment in the series, we’ll talk about Worship and Liturgy. Why do Anglican (and other high worship) traditions seems so strange to modern Evangelicals?

Is Sunday morning just about fellowship and an inspirational talk?

Or is it intended to be something more?

Perhaps the most important difference between liturgical and evangelical worship is that liturgical worship is about enacting the story of Christ together. That’s why historic Christian worship begins with a call to worship, continues on with a confession of sins, assurance of pardon, and a proclamation of God’s word, concluding on the high note of Communion where we receive Christ’s body and blood, at His table.

C. Jay and Jared discuss such questions as, Why do I need to be reminded of forgiveness by the priest when I already know it from the Bible? What is the point of robes, and other elements of high liturgy? How often should we take Communion? Isn’t it inauthentic to kneel or do other things just because everybody else is doing it?

Join the conversation and discover the riches—and true emotional depth—of the Anglican liturgy.

Image of Anglo-Saxon map by Hel-hama - Own work using:InkscapeSource: England and Wales at the time of the Treaty of Chippenham (AD 878). From the Atlas of European History, Earle W Dowe (d. 1946), G Bell and Sons, London, 1910 (see: File:England-878ad.jpg), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19885072

The Dead are Not Gone. They are simply further ahead on the journey than you are.

In Episode 21 of Canterbury Trails, C. Jay Engel and Jared Lovell discuss Jared’s new article in The North American Anglican: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death: A Study of the Evangelical Decline of the Burial Rites in the English and American Prayer Books”.

Scripture speaks of the Great Cloud of Witnesses; Chesterton of the Democracy of the Dead; Burke of the Contract with the Living, Dead, and Unborn. We need to be reminded that Society consists of more than just our generation: those behind us and before us are connected to us in real and important ways.

And how we say goodbye to those who precede us in death matters profoundly.

Some superstition had crept into the burial rites of the Church by the late Middle Ages, and the theological changes brought about by the English Reformation had a significant effect on how such services would be performed in England from that point. Purgatory undermined the assurance and joy of the Church’s hope, but the earliestsurviving church liturgies contain prayers for the dead. What are we to make of this? And what did the language of “commending the soul to God” at burial services really mean?

A difficult but necessary conversation, our hosts tackle many important issues and questions on this vital but neglected subject. Join us and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Jared’s article in the North American Anglican: https://northamanglican.com/because-i-could-not-stop-for-death/

Image of Anglo-Saxon map by Hel-hama - Own work using:InkscapeSource: England and Wales at the time of the Treaty of Chippenham (AD 878). From the Atlas of European History, Earle W Dowe (d. 1946), G Bell and Sons, London, 1910 (see: File:England-878ad.jpg), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19885072

You can’t miss Christmas when you’re talking about English faith and culture! Despite the busy-ness of the past couple of months that has prevented the production of new episodes of the Canterbury Trails podcast, the boys are back in town, just in time for Christmas!

Join us as our hosts, C. Jay Engel and Jared Lovell, talk about why “The English do Christmas Best.” This fun and engaging episode tackles everything from Scrooge and Figgy Pudding to the economics of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, to the odd English tradition of Christmas Cracker Crowns.

Jared and C. Jay address the libertarian critique of Dickens’ classic work (and their unintentionally hilarious defense of pre-redemption Scrooge), and how “the Jacobin character of American style Capitalism” has affected the celebration of Christmas.

Our hosts ably defend Dickens, particularity, virtuous economics, and even the frivolities of cultural Christmas celebrations.

And they remind us that the frivolities are the point. That’s where the memories lie. You won’t remember the specific gifts you get each year, but you will remember the frivolous things, the patterns that are replicated from year to year. Those are the things that shape the soul.

And those are the things that Christmas can really bring to life.

So get ready to say, “Bah! Humbug!” to the free market absolutists (like Ben Shapiro) who think that Scrooge and Potter (from It’s a Wonderful Life) are the real heroes of their stories, and find a little room in your heart for Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and the people right in front of you this Christmas season.

And God bless us. Every one.