From James Kiefer at the The Lectionary:
W R Huntington, although never a bishop, had more influence on the Episcopal Church than most bishops....In each of the thirteen General Conventions...of the Episcopal Church that met between 1870 and his death,he was a member, and indeed the most prominent member, of the House of Deputies. In 1871 he moved for the restoration of the ancient Order of Deaconesses, which was finally officially authorized in 1889. His parish became a center for the training of deaconesses.
....
In his book "The Church Idea" (1870), Huntington undertook to discuss the basis of Christian unity, and he formulated the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, a statement adopted first by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in 1886 and then, with slight modifications, by the Bishops of the world-wide Anglican Communion assembled at Lambeth in 1888. The statement set forth four principles which Anglicans regard as essential, and offer as a basis for discussion of union with other Christian bodies.
From the Vauxhall Society:
Lambeth Quadrilateral
The Lambeth Quadrilateral is the name given to the four key principles that form the basis for the union of various churches that make up the Anglican faith:
* acceptance of the Holy Scripture as the rule of faith;
* the Apostles' and the Nicene creeds;
* the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper;
* and the principle of church government based on bishops.
The quadrilateral was first declared by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Chicago in 1886 and were amended and adopted at the 1888 Lambeth Conference.
Why is this document no longer sufficient as the basis of unity for the Anglican Communion? Why do we need Windsor Reports and covenants beyond what's covered in the the Creeds and the Lambeth Quadrilateral?
PRAYER
O Lord our God, we thank you for instilling in the heart of your servant William Reed Huntington a fervent love for your Church and its mission in the world; and we pray that, with unflagging faith in your promises, we may make known to all peoples your blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
READINGS:
Psalm 133
Job 22:21-28
Ephesians 1:3-10
John 17:20-26
When I was in seminary and first learned of William Reed Huntington, it was kind of neat realizing the impact he had on our church. He would be a distant cousin of my father, (who is descended from the female line of the Huntingtons which means we don't count on the family tree which only follows male descent - not going there with a feminist rant) and this kind of gave me a connection with the whole thing which made it even more real.
ReplyDeleteLove and Prayers,
Ann Marie
Ann Marie, female or male, you come from the saintly line of Huntingtons.
ReplyDelete...there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Sorry, Mimi. The devil made me do it.
ReplyDeleteClumber, that's wicked, just wicked.
ReplyDeleteI was taught in the Methodist Church that the four factors of the Lambeth Quadrilateral (which I'd never heard of until right now) were the "Wesley Quadrilateral." Since John Wesley founded the Methodist sect, without ever leaving the Anglican Church, I can see why he talked about the quadrilateral. Especially since I've returned to the Episcopal Church, it is nice to know the origin of the quadrilateral. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteJan, you're quite welcome. Wesley had no intention to found another denomination, remaining an Anglican throughout his life. It was those who came after, on both sides who led to division.
ReplyDeleteThat's true of Henry VIII, too, who always thought of himself as a Catholic. Folks forget that the English church had a good deal of autonomy - more or less, depending on the period - because of its distance from Rome.
Mimi ... have you ever come across THIS list of feast days?
ReplyDeleteWell, I never, Mike.
ReplyDeleteSan Sebastiano? When I was in Florence, Italy, I wondered why I saw so many gruesome depictions of the saint with arrows protruding from all over his body, until I learned that San Sebastiano was the patron saint of the city of Florence.
St. Felicitas and Perpetua?
Ruth and Naomi? I gotta say that's a stretch. I don't know about the others, but do know their story, and it doesn't seem likely.
Well, I never. I use the Lectionary, and they don't disclose that information.
Interesting site, though.
it also used to be the feast of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus observed as saints among RCs until the modern reforms of the calendar. It is a grand mythopoetic image that appears also in the Qur'an and reappears as Rip van Winkle, among others.
ReplyDeleteQuite the Jungian image, too. (7 mythic types, the perfect number, who sleep deep within, to come forth at the right time in a resurrection image and tells us of our true self.)
Dennis, thanks for that. It's fascinating. I have a vague memory of hearing the story before.
ReplyDeleteI find the legendary saints intriguing. There was a reason why the legends arose - perhaps to answer a question or to explain a mystery or just because there was a need for a saint with that story at the time.
I wonder if there would be enough evidence againt me to be "accused of Christianity", as the article says of the Seven Sleepers.