Reddit reviews Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life
We found 2 Reddit comments about Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
We found 2 Reddit comments about Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
So Anglican theology is deeply liturgical - i.e. we see our theology as being expressed, experienced, and enforced in our worship - "lex orandi, lex credendi." This principle comes to a zenith in our theology behind the sacraments, which has often relied on liturgical texts and actions in a way unique among other Christian churches. This makes our theology as much of an experience as it is a set of intellectual commitments (not to artificially split the two though). However, it means that Anglicans, especially today's Anglicans, often have an implicit theology behind the sacraments, a theology relying on liturgy more than explicit explanations, which can make expressing a coherent theology difficult.
Regardless, the first place you should go if you want a taste of Episcopal "sacramentality" today is our current worship, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Our service for Baptism begins on p.298 (be sure to look at the Baptismal Covenant on p.304). We have two rites for the Eucharist, Rite I on p.323 and Rite II on p.355. As an example of Episcopal sacramental theology, it is very significant that Baptism and Eucharist are considered important enough to warrant their own liturgies.
But don't just read the texts - attend worship to understand! Theology is practiced and trained by worship.
Two other documents in the Prayer Book are of note: first, a very brief contemporary Catechism, which covers the Sacraments on pp.857-861. The other are the 39 Articles of Religion of the Church of England (dating back to the 16th century), which are not considered authoritative for Episcopalians today, but are an important historical document that highlights the deeply Reformed dimension of Anglicanism's development during the English Reformation (a fact that frankly embarrasses many today, for better or worse). Articles #25-31 cover the sacraments on pp.872-74.
Here's a link from a contemporary Episcopalian's attempt to coherently explain the basics of sacramental theology in our church today. It was written in response to a practice that he (rightly, imo) identified as a perversion of proper sacramentality: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/sacramental_theology_101_baptism_and_eucharist/
There are several good books on sacraments within Anglicanism by Anglican authors:
I hope this post did not give you a heart attack.
I highly, highly recommend Derek Olsen's excellent book on this exact subject:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0880284323/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1