Episode 22 - Anglicanism 101: Worship and Liturgy

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