What does it mean to be an Anglican? Or even a Christian? The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, written and adopted by the Anglican Church in 1571, have a lot to say on the subject. But today, The Thirty-Nine Articles are regarded as more of a formulary, little more than an interesting historical document Anglicans use for reference. Thus this important confession has been relativized, diminished, and reduced from its original importance, when subscription to it was required for ministers of the Church of England.

On Today’s episode of Canterbury Trails, hosts C. Jay Engel and Jared Lovell discuss this important subject in Jared’s forthcoming article, “Toward a Confessional Anglicanism: The Importance of The Thirty-Nine Articles for Anglican Identity and Unity” (to be published in The North American Anglican).

To correct this downgrading trend that has been going on for 150–200 years, The Thirty-Nine Articles must take a more elevated position in the Anglican Church. Without a clear doctrinal standard, the “via media” of the Anglican Way becomes a mere negation: we’re neither this nor that. But what are we? What does it mean to be a Christian in an Anglican context?

Join Jared and C. Jay for a discussion that involves history, liturgy, doctrine, and even politics. The Thirty-Nine Articles were written in a political environment where a degree of compromise with other Christians—without forsaking the Gospel—and of preserving orthodoxy without excessive specificity—was badly needed.

Requiring subscription to this historic Anglican confession today will help but will not solve every problem. Given the many challenges to the Christian faith in our day—including the full spectrum of Wokeness—might there even be a need to add new Articles to the historic 39? And why is it so controversial in our day to suggest that The Thirty-Nine Articles should be the binding confessional document among Anglicans?

Doctrine is historical, rooted in the story of a people as they came to confess their beliefs in specific ways, and in specific contexts. Once we understand this, the church can be seen for what she is—not a dead church, but a living church, a church of history. The Thirty-Nine Articles, as you will soon discover, are steeped in 2000 years of Christian struggle and triumph.

Image of Anglo-Saxon map by Hel-hama - Own work using:InkscapeSource: England and Wales at the time of the Treaty of Chippenham (AD 878). From the Atlas of European History, Earle W Dowe (d. 1946), G Bell and Sons, London, 1910 (see: File:England-878ad.jpg), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19885072

What exactly are “The Stations of the Cross”? Is that a Roman Catholic thing, or does it have roots in the Protestant tradition as well? And if Protestant, what about Anglican?

Join Canterbury Trails hosts Jared Lovell and C. Jay Engel as they welcome Fr. Justin Clemente, associate priest at Holy Cross Cathedral, and author of the new book, At the Cross: Reflections on the Stations of the Cross. Learn about this biblical and Christian devotion and how it can help deepen your faith and your understanding of what happened on the first Good Friday.

The Rev. Justin Clemente serves as associate priest to the people at Holy Cross Cathedral in Loganville, Georgia, the cathedral church of the Anglican diocese of the South. He is the author of At the Cross: Reflections on the Stations of the Cross (Anglican Compass, 2025). Fr. Clemente is a core writer at Anglican Compass and a contributor at The North American Anglican. He earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies at Trinity College of Florida and a Master of Worship Studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. With his wife, Brooke, he has six beautiful children.

Get Fr. Clemente's book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZC9BHFH

Visit Holy Cross Cathedral here: https://hcanglican.org/

Image of Anglo-Saxon map by Hel-hama - Own work using:InkscapeSource: England and Wales at the time of the Treaty of Chippenham (AD 878). From the Atlas of European History, Earle W Dowe (d. 1946), G Bell and Sons, London, 1910 (see: File:England-878ad.jpg), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19885072

Today on Canterbury Trails, hosts Jared Lovell and C. Jay Engel welcome guest Dr. Tom Price to talk about St. Anselm, an Italian Benedictine monk who lived at the turn of the twelfth century, and served as the Archbishop of Canterbury in England.

Anselm’s time as archbishop was marked by controversy and even exile, as he often clashed with the kings of England over the extent of royal power into ecclesiastical affairs.

But Anselm’s greatest contributions to the church were in matters theological and philosophical. For Anselm, Faith and Reason served complementary rather than conflicting roles in arriving at truth. In contrast to the Enlightenment philosopher, Descartes, who said, “I think, therefore I am,” Anselm might have replied, “I believe, therefore I think.”

Anselm is considered the father of Scholasticism, but just what is that? Is it good or bad? What influence did it have on Medieval theology and even the early Protestant Reformers?

Join C. Jay, Jared, and Dr. Price as they discuss Anselm’s many insights into such theological and philosophical questions as the ontological argument for God’s existence, the purpose and place of covenant in our understanding of God and Men, and the substitutionary theory of the atonement.

Anselm is claimed and loved by Lutherans, Reformed, Anglicans, and Roman Catholics. He is in many ways the theologian of the Western Church. This episode of Canterbury Trails will inspire you to read St. Anselm and begin to retrieve his substantial insights to help you unpack your faith more fully in our troubled times.

Dr. Tom Price is Adjunct Professor of Christian Thought at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, where he teaches Theology, Christian Ethics, and Apologetics. He also teaches Theology, Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy at several other institutions. He is ordained and has served the church in a host of teaching, preaching, and equipping engagements. Dr. Price is also one of the co-hosts of The Theology Pugcast. He resides in Connecticut with his wife and two sons. Visit him online below:

Dr. Price at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary: https://www.gordonconwell.edu/faculty/adjunct/thomas-price

The Theology Pugcast: https://thetheologypugcast.com/

Image of Anglo-Saxon map by Hel-hama - Own work using:InkscapeSource: England and Wales at the time of the Treaty of Chippenham (AD 878). From the Atlas of European History, Earle W Dowe (d. 1946), G Bell and Sons, London, 1910 (see: File:England-878ad.jpg), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19885072