Significant numbers of American evangelicals have come to find ancient liturgical forms meaningful, a welcome alternative to the folksy informality typical of many Protestant churches today, especially ‘big-box’ nondenominational congregations. In liturgical churches, these seekers find a stronger historical consciousness and a reverence that contrasts with the irreverent style of their tradition-less ‘tradition.’
They may also discover a better balance of word and sacrament with, for example, a more frequent celebration of holy communion. And traditional hymnody can appeal to those looking for something more doctrinally meaty than many contemporary praise choruses. The solemnity, formality, and reverence that characterizes such worship constitutes an attractive antidote for the pop-culture atmosphere that prevails in many evangelical Sunday services.
Though liturgical, the liberal theology of the Episcopal Church discouraged many evangelicals from considering the Anglican tradition. Recently, the creation of the more conservative Anglican Church in North America in 2010 has provided an attractive option. This new-found love for all things liturgical may overlook, however, an important question: how much of what today’s pilgrims associate with Anglicanism is actually Anglican? The answer may surprise many of the faithful traveling on the Canterbury Trail. Careful historical investigation paints a different picture from what many have come to assume. Read more»
Gillis Harp | “Against Aesthetic Medievalism In Anglican Worship” | August 1, 2025
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In many instances, the baby is thrown out with the bath water. Very unfortunate. A big one in my view is the discontinuation of kneeling in prayer in the sanctuary.
“It is truly lamentable to observe how many young men and women, of whom better things might have been expected, fall away into semi-Romanism in the present day, under the attraction of a highly ornamental and sensuous ceremonial. Flowers, crucifixes, processions, banners, incense, gorgeous vestments, and the like never fail to draw such young persons together, just as honey attracts flies. I will not insult the common sense of those who find these things attractive by asking them whether they really believe they get any food from them for heart, and conscience, and soul. But I should like them to consider seriously what these things mean. Do they really know that the doctrines of the mass and transubstantiation are the root of the whole system? Are they prepared to swallow these awful heresies? I suspect many are playing with ritualism without the least idea what it covers over. They see an attractive bait, but they do not see the hook.”
– J. C. Ryle, “The Lord’s Supper” in Knots Untied