Today the Episcopal Church remembers the life and ministry of Richard Hooker (1554-1600), priest and theologian, and perhaps one of the greatest Anglican theologians in the Reformation period. Hooker called our Anglican tradition the via media, Latin for the “middle way,” between Roman Catholics and Protestants, and therefore, a bridge between both, integrating Scripture, tradition and reason. He argued that the English Puritans claimed too much in proposing that Scripture provided the only source of knowledge (neglecting tradition), including knowledge about all matters of Church order and discipline, and on the other hand, that the Roman Catholic Church claimed too much in believing that the Church had an infallible understanding of faith as given by the Pope.
Let us pray: O God of truth and peace, who raised up your servant Richard Hooker in a day of bitter controversy to defend with sound reasoning and great middle way, not as a compromise for the sake of peace, but as a comprehension for the sake of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Adult Christian Education, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, meets on Sunday at 11 AM to discuss the book and its relation to contemporary issues.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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