You Believe What?!

Lex Orandi Lex Credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief)

One of Anglicanisms favorite sayings is that as we pray so we believe. If you want to understand the Anglican theology of baptism or Eucharist, start by reading through the baptismal and eucharistic liturgies. This principle is also seen in Anglicanism's approach toward the Saints.

Do you venerate the saints?

There is another good question that I get all the time. Anglicanism recognizes a lot of the "official" saints of the Church and even marks their feast days. We celebrate All Saints Day in November as one of the principle feasts of the Christian year. Yet, you claim to be Protestant?! Explain yourself. And so to answer lets take a look at the following prayer and see what it teaches us about Anglicanism's balanced approach toward the Saints.

"Leader: The righteous live forever more;

Response: Their reward also is with the Lord.

Leader: O God the King of Saints, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear, for the Blessed Virgin Mary, for the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs, and for all other thy righteous servants; and we beseech thee that, encouraged by their example, strengthened by their fellowship, and aided by their prayers, we may attain unto everlasting life; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." ~ From the Scottish Book of Common Prayer

Note a couple things right off: First, this prayer begins with Scripture, reminding us of the promises of Psalm 37 and the words of Jesus about our reward in Heaven. As always, Anglicanism holds Scripture as THE final authority in questions of belief. Note also that the prayer is not addressed directly to any saint, but rather to God the King of Saints. God is glorified in his people both living and dead and it is ultimately to Him that all our praise is due and to Him all our prayers addressed. He is the source of all good things and so we give Him all thanks for the gift of godly examples.

But then note how the prayer goes on from this foundation, it recognizes the reality of that very first statement, the righteous do live forevermore. They are in fact still living in the very Presence of God before his throne. And as such, we can look to their example of godly living. How many of us benefit from reading the writings and biographies of these great men and women of faith. We can also recognize that the Church is one Church comprised of both those who are here now as well as those who have gone before, one Church in Heaven and Earth. As such we know that when we bow our heads in prayer or when we join together in the words of a hymn or the liturgy, we are praying with all of the "Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven" (ie the Saints) who forever sing their hymns and pray their prayers before the Father. We really do have fellowship with these and that thought should inspire joy and hope in us. And finally we recognize that they are always praying and worshipping around the throne, so why should we not expect that the members of the Church at rest should not be praying for us the members who are still fighting the good fight here? I have often heard it said, if you go ahead and ask your brother or sister at church to pray for you, why wouldn't you want a brother or sister who has been fully sanctified and who stands face to face with the Father praying for you? In the Revelation we see the prayers of the saints going up from under the altar of God just like incense. Who are they praying for? Certainly not themselves. They have no needs. I believe it is more than reasonable to assert that they are in fact praying for the faithful who have not yet departed - you and me. And that is a very encouraging thought indeed. One which we should pray and thank God for.

And finally, we note once again that all this is done through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. All prayer is offered in Jesus' name because he is our Great High Priest. All the work of salvation that we and the saints in Glory have experienced comes to us because of him. Our prayers, and theirs are only acceptable because of Him. Even the saints themselves are only acceptable because of the work of Christ that has made them so.

So, there you have it. The Anglican approach toward the saints. They are there. They encourage us through example and through prayer. And their lives are lived only to the Glory of God the Father and His only Son Jesus Christ our Lord, through the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Why do you do that?

What's with the sign of the cross? Isn't that Catholic? What does it mean? These are questions I get frequently. So what better place to start our journey than right there with the sign of the cross.

Many Christians find it meaningful to cross themselves. It is a truly catholic (meaning universal) practice found in Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism and some branches of Lutheranism. This is a silent prayer that has several uses and is rich in meaning.

It is appropriate to cross oneself whenever the blessing occurs or at the mention of the Trinity as a symbol of our being blessed in God’s Holy Name and that this blessing comes to us through the cross. The oldest form for making the sign of the cross is to place the first two fingers and thumb of the right hand together as a sign of the Trinity, while placing the last two fingers together pressed into the palm as a sign of the mystery of the incarnation, that Christ was both fully God and fully man. This form is still used in Eastern Orthodoxy and is re-emerging in the West where the prescribed form had been long forgotten (some Western churches cross with all five fingers, while others only use one or two).

In the West we cross ourselves by touching this living symbol first to our head, then down to our stomach, to the left shoulder then to the right and coming to rest in the center over the heart. This is a silent prayer offering our whole being to God, loving Him with our heart, mind and strength as Scripture says.

At the reading of the gospel some Christians make a small cross with their thumb over their forehead, lips and heart. This is a quick prayer asking God to be in our minds, on our lips and in our hearts as we hear (and for the celebrant as he proclaims) the holy words of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As with many of the catholic (again, universal) traditions of the Church, Anglicanism can be at times ambivalent. While you will find this living symbol actively practiced in some "higher church" settings, traditionally "low church" evangelicals will eschew the practice. Thus in Anglicanism it is one more of those traditions that is available but by no means mandatory. If you find it meaningful and helpful by all means use this gestural prayer. If you stumble over it or have some of those hang ups about "Roman Catholic" things that some of us grew up with, perhaps it is more edifying to leave it for others to pursue.