Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Piltdown Theological Institute
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Schism! Nonjurors of old
The Church has been here before. I am caused to read many texts by the so called nonjuring bishops who ran a perfectly respectable church of their own throughout the eighteenth century. In fact the Church on Seals Island is directly descended from these bishops, as is the Episcopal Church of Scotland. All the literature claims that they died out by the early nineteenth century. Scotland seems to prove otherwise.
The solace we should take from this is that the parallel church in England did indeed wither away (as my friend Karl would say). Actually it was at least three parallel churches eventually: Hard Usagers, Extreme Non-Usagers and the united Faithful Remnant of The Ancient Orthodox Britannic Church. So friends if all this hopping and bobbing about leads to schism watch them tear into each other about which side of the altar to hold communion on, which hymnal to authorise and the correct way to roll your trouser leg up!
Now it's back to the texts.
The solace we should take from this is that the parallel church in England did indeed wither away (as my friend Karl would say). Actually it was at least three parallel churches eventually: Hard Usagers, Extreme Non-Usagers and the united Faithful Remnant of The Ancient Orthodox Britannic Church. So friends if all this hopping and bobbing about leads to schism watch them tear into each other about which side of the altar to hold communion on, which hymnal to authorise and the correct way to roll your trouser leg up!
Now it's back to the texts.
Labels: schism
Saturday, July 19, 2008
George Herbert: The British Church
Here is a Podcast for Lambeth. A reading of George Herbert's The British Church. I suspect it was made some time in the fifties or sixties for religious broadcasting either in England or for the colonies. I am not sure it was ever actually aired. There is no video after the station ident. I have only managed to get this much scanned in. There is a brief introduction to the poem followed by a reading of it. Missing from this scan is his interpretation and (would you believe it?) another reading of the same poem. All this is accompanied by stills of churches in glorious black and white. This is the kind of crap telly I grew up with!
Hopefully I can get the full thing scanned in soon. Sorry about the limitations but I wanted it up for Lambeth.
Labels: anglican, church, episcopal, herbert, Lambeth, poetry, telly
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Non-Jurors' Cypher
I am reading the brand new book by Paul Deacon. It's a glorious page-turner! Literally begging for a high-court injunction against it.
The Non-Jurors' Cypher
by Paul Deacon
http://uk.geocities.com/seals_island/siup/cypher.html
A thousand eyes seem to be watching when the chaplain of a small, renowned church library in North Wales is found murdered in the creaking wooden upper balcony of the stacks, mysteriously holding a copy of Burgon's nineteenth-century Lives of Ten Good Men. What does the young investigating local Constable Rhys Campbell know of the connections between this library and the secret non-jurors, a society of underground bishops who hold the line of apostolic succession going back to the time of the exiled King James III? Will the theological mysteries of this secretive continuing Anglican sect be revealed? Are these men and women willing to kill for their beliefs regarding the hypostatic union? How have their mysterious consecrations been continued to this day? Who in the present Anglican hierarchy ranks amongst their number? PC Campbell teams up with the Rev. Dr. Daniel Lastrada, lecturer in Secret Church History at Piltdown Theological Institute as they race across the country-side on Connect Trains and a trusty Hillman Imp to unearth the challenging secrets left behind by one of the sect's secret bishops, the Co. Offaly postmaster and author, Anthony Trollope. Can this couple defeat the forces of evil ranged against them in the form of the conservative and rigid sect Forward in Faith that commands frighteningly unflinching allegiance from its adherents?
"Literally begging for a court case"
Jack Stortford, Former Bishop of Calais in Europe
The Non-Jurors' Cypher
by Paul Deacon
http://uk.geocities.com/seals_island/siup/cypher.html
A thousand eyes seem to be watching when the chaplain of a small, renowned church library in North Wales is found murdered in the creaking wooden upper balcony of the stacks, mysteriously holding a copy of Burgon's nineteenth-century Lives of Ten Good Men. What does the young investigating local Constable Rhys Campbell know of the connections between this library and the secret non-jurors, a society of underground bishops who hold the line of apostolic succession going back to the time of the exiled King James III? Will the theological mysteries of this secretive continuing Anglican sect be revealed? Are these men and women willing to kill for their beliefs regarding the hypostatic union? How have their mysterious consecrations been continued to this day? Who in the present Anglican hierarchy ranks amongst their number? PC Campbell teams up with the Rev. Dr. Daniel Lastrada, lecturer in Secret Church History at Piltdown Theological Institute as they race across the country-side on Connect Trains and a trusty Hillman Imp to unearth the challenging secrets left behind by one of the sect's secret bishops, the Co. Offaly postmaster and author, Anthony Trollope. Can this couple defeat the forces of evil ranged against them in the form of the conservative and rigid sect Forward in Faith that commands frighteningly unflinching allegiance from its adherents?
"Literally begging for a court case"
Jack Stortford, Former Bishop of Calais in Europe
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Simon Magus Campaign
Bishop Beaver College is pleased to announce the beginning of its profile enhancing public campaign named after St. Simon the Great, Bishop of Gitta. An early follower of Philip, there is an account of his baptism in Acts 8.
Simon Magus recognised the pressing need for funding in the early church, and having a good sense of viable marketing strategies, he suggested immediately upon his baptism that the Apostles put their minds to fund-raising activities. Since that early time internal fund-raising strategies associated with the granting of particular ecclesiastic positions have been unfailingly associated with Simon Magus. It is believed that Simon Magus was influential on the early theologians St. Valentinus and St. Marcion.
We at Bishop Beaver College and the nascent Diocese of Seals Island and the Goodwin Sands embrace the zeal for the spirit combined with financial acumen expressed by this early convert and launch our 2007 Campaign under the watchful eye of Simon Magus. We hope that the Simon Magus Campaign will prove a model for church groups around the world to raise Christian awareness and funds without the stifling apprehensions about money that Christian groups have characteristically expressed.
Archdeacon Dr. Edwin Puney has agreed to head this campaign, and he will shortly be announcing extensive plans to expand the number of Canons Peculiar at St. Marcion, the Chapel Royal in Diddlinghoe on Seals Island. By including our ecclesiastical friends from around the world as Honorary Canons Peculiar we hope that the Simon Magus Campaign will snowball into an ecclesiastical pyramid scheme unlike the penny-pinching Cathedral entrance fee schemes floated so far. I am sure that the Simon Magus Campaign will become a veritable paradigm of fund- and spirit-raising in an exchange worthy of its patron.
Prof. Rev. Vera Calico
Vice Chancellor of Bishop Beaver College and
Chair of the British Institute for Life Enhancement
Acts: 8:20. Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem quoniam donum Dei existimasti pecunia possideri
Simon Magus recognised the pressing need for funding in the early church, and having a good sense of viable marketing strategies, he suggested immediately upon his baptism that the Apostles put their minds to fund-raising activities. Since that early time internal fund-raising strategies associated with the granting of particular ecclesiastic positions have been unfailingly associated with Simon Magus. It is believed that Simon Magus was influential on the early theologians St. Valentinus and St. Marcion.
We at Bishop Beaver College and the nascent Diocese of Seals Island and the Goodwin Sands embrace the zeal for the spirit combined with financial acumen expressed by this early convert and launch our 2007 Campaign under the watchful eye of Simon Magus. We hope that the Simon Magus Campaign will prove a model for church groups around the world to raise Christian awareness and funds without the stifling apprehensions about money that Christian groups have characteristically expressed.
Archdeacon Dr. Edwin Puney has agreed to head this campaign, and he will shortly be announcing extensive plans to expand the number of Canons Peculiar at St. Marcion, the Chapel Royal in Diddlinghoe on Seals Island. By including our ecclesiastical friends from around the world as Honorary Canons Peculiar we hope that the Simon Magus Campaign will snowball into an ecclesiastical pyramid scheme unlike the penny-pinching Cathedral entrance fee schemes floated so far. I am sure that the Simon Magus Campaign will become a veritable paradigm of fund- and spirit-raising in an exchange worthy of its patron.
Prof. Rev. Vera Calico
Vice Chancellor of Bishop Beaver College and
Chair of the British Institute for Life Enhancement
Acts: 8:20. Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem quoniam donum Dei existimasti pecunia possideri
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Dr. Michael Walsh Appointed Lawn Chair in Outdoor Musical Performance
Bishop Beaver College is pleased to announce that Michael Walsh, DMus, (Prune) DLitt (Knightsbridge), ThD (Geneva Theological College), GTCL, FTCL, FCCM and Registrar of the Metropolitan College of Music has generously accepted appointment to the Lawn Chair in Outdoor Musical Performance. The announcement of this appointment has been delayed while the governing Abdominal Board of the College was overcome by the spirit of the Season. Now that we are able to write feria once again and that our minds once overwhelmed by the spirit, are now clear again we are happy to welcome our new colleague on board. This Professorship is one of the most prestigious musical chairs in the south of England and we are honoured that our distinguished colleague has accepted the appointment.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
A Conference?
The British Institute for Life Enhancement held a very animated meeting last week in which we all awarded ourselves fabulous awards. We did however decide to explore a much more beneficial scheme to co-sponsor a conference on Christian Mission and the Internet. It was actually my good idea to do that and it will help me enhance my profile as an academic to bring this conference together under the auspices of the two bodies I run: the British Institute for Life Enhancement and Bishop Beaver College. Oh, I am so fabulous and I have such fabulous ideas!
