安立甘护教学

An International Communion By the end of the nineteenth century, English colonialism had produced daughter Churches throughout the world, including the Episcopal Church in the United States and Anglican Provinces in Africa, Australia, Canada and elsewhere. Anglicanism had become more than just the national Church of England. Anglican Orders Near the close of the nineteenth century, a number of English and French Churchmen held a series of unofficial meetings with the aim of bringing about a better understanding between the English and Roman Catholic Churches. Those meetings gave rise to a discussion about Holy Orders and the continuity of the Apostolic Ministry. In the past, there had been in the English Church a good many rebellious Puritans who were opposed to its having an Apostolic Ministry, and said much against retaining that heritage. So the question was raised: had English Churchmen been able to continue the Apostolic Ministry despite the efforts of the Puritans to do away with it? To satisfy the French Churchmen, Pope Leo XIII was asked to give his opinion on the matter. ...

Statement from the Metropolitan Concerning Church Unity The Church of Jesus Christ is 「One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.」 While on earth its unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity are imperfect, all ecclesiastical jurisdictions within the Apostolic Tradition acknowledge the Gospel imperative towards unity which springs from our Lord’s High Priestly Prayer recorded in St. John’s Gospel, in particular: 「I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.」 (John 17:20-23). ...

圣母的教义——童贞生子与诞神女 上主的母亲马利亚有许多尊号加身：圣马利亚（Saint Mary）、蒙福童贞女（the Blessed Virgin Mary）、蒙福圣母（the Blessed Mother）、世海之星（our Lady，主要存在于西方教会中）（译者注：该尊号的拉丁原文为「Stella Maris」，在英文中也翻译为「Star of the Sea」或「Star of the Ocean」）、新的夏娃（the New Eve）、天上母后（the Queen of Heaven），诸圣人之后（the Queen of the Saints），诸宗徒之后（the Queen of Apostles），诸为义致命之后（the Queen of Martyrs），凡此种种。根据第三次大公会议的定义，她即是「Theotokos」，这个词在西方教会中经常被翻译为「上帝之母」（Mother of God），也可以从字面上翻译为「怀道者/诞神女」（God-bearer）。在大众的敬虔中，也使用取材于引用自圣经的象征意向，还赋予了她这些尊号：结约之柜（Ark of the Covenant）、义德之镜（Mirror of Justice）、无刺玫瑰（Rose without thorns）、身披日头与星冠之母（the Woman clothed in the sun and stars）。 关于圣母的两个信条都是基于圣经确立的，并且也都是大公教会关于信仰的核心宣认的一部分。这两个信条中的第一个通常被称为「童贞产子」（Virgin Birth），虽然该信条更准确来说是关于上主是童贞女因圣灵降孕所生的教义。也就是说，上主奇妙地借由童贞女所生，却没有肉身上的生父（见《马太福音》1:18-23；《路加福音》1:26-35）。 以弗所会议（Ephesus）所定义的「怀道者/诞神女」（Theotokos）信条，是源自圣经，且是作为基于上主「真人与真神的合一」及圣母「上帝之母」（Mary’s maternity）这两个事实而得出的必然结论的。 Important Beliefs–Perpetual Virginity and the Assumption 重要信仰——永久童贞与升天 与「童贞产子」相比，其他关于圣母的信仰和教义的地位则次之，因为它们不是那么清楚地植根于圣经，也不是那么直接地与「道成肉身」和上主「真人与真神的合一」这两个核心事实相关。然而，圣母「终身童贞」（the Perpetual Virginity）这一观点，从公元五世纪起就几乎被普遍接受，虽然这不是一个信条，但即使是最权威的宗教改革者也相信这一点。「终身童贞」的教义就意味着新约中提到的上主的兄弟姐妹是涉及同父异母的兄弟姐妹（约瑟在早先婚姻时的子女）或堂兄弟姐妹或类似的近亲（这些人在圣经中通常被称为「兄弟」或「姐妹」）。 「终身童贞」也有着大公会议和教父们的支持，圣母曾被许多教父和类似的教会官方称为「永贞女」（ Ever-Virgin），如第五次普世大公会议，即第二次君士坦丁堡会议（Constantinople II） (记载在本次会议的决议和敕令中)，以及公元692年召开的特鲁洛会议（the Synod in Trullo）（记载在该会议的规条一，即Canon 1中）。根据著名的《利奥大卷》（Tome of Leo），圣母诞下上主的全程中是没有痛苦且童贞始终是完整的，即who bore him as she had conceived him, without loss of virginity。 ...

Justification of the Faith The term 「apologetics」 comes from the Greek word, ἀπολογία, meaning 「defense」 or 「plea.」 Perhaps the most famous apologia of the ancient world was The Apology of Socrates, in which the great thinker defended himself against charges of corrupting the youth of Athens. Ever since, the word has been used to describe a sustained and sytematic defence of a particular position, either philosophical or theological in nature. “护教"一词来自希腊语，ἀπολογία，意思是 “辩护"或"申辩”。古代世界最有名的辩护书也许是《苏格拉底的申辩》，其中这位伟大的思想家为自己辩护，说自己败坏了雅典的青年。从那时起，这个词就被用来描述对某一特定立场的持续和理论性的辩护，无论是哲学还是神学的性质。 ...

The Beauty of Holiness Though the 20th century has seen an increasing trend towards 「church as entertainment,」 we in the ACC share the view of Lancelot Andrews, Bishop of Winchester (1617-1626), who believed that there should be a sense of holy decency」 in the worship of the Church. From the grandeur of the Solemn High Mass to the sturdy simplicity of the said Daily Office, Anglican worship is characterized by a sense of reverence. And while our worship is not always formal, we take care to ensure that is it carried out with a respect for 「the beauty of holiness.」 (Ps. 96.9). ...

A lighted Sanctuary Lamp is a reminder that the Sacrament is reserved nearby. Candles & Lamps in Church Light is something that most people take so much for granted, that we hardly give it a second thought. Nowadays most of our houses are lit by electricity, but not long ago people relied on gas, oil, and candle power for artificial light. The need for light is fundamental. There canbe no life without light. It will come as no surprise, then, to learn that images of light and darkness recur throughout the Bible. ...

As Euery Mans Devocion Serveth Without Blame The following statement from the first Book of Common Prayer (1549) summarizes the Anglican position on ceremonies: As touching kneeling, crossing, holding up of handes, knocking upon the brest, and other gestures: they may be used or left as euery mans devocion serueth without blame. Most ceremonies, however useful, are inessential and should not become causes for dispute. Nevertheless, the 1928 Prayer Book does mandate a few ceremonies, such as the sign of the cross after baptism (page 280), standing for the gospel (page 70), kneeling for communion (page 82), and giving a ring at marriage (page 302). These ceremonies, along with the use of vestments, were bitterly opposed in the 16th and 17th centuries by the English Puritans, but they became universal in Anglican churches. ...

Christian Moral Teaching Christianity is not primarily about morality. Most moral duties, obliga­tions, and prohibitions do not flow from the Bible or from God’s spe­cial revelation but rather from the natural law and from common humanity. The Bible often reveals, and the Church often teaches, the content of the natural law in a particularly clear manner. However, when the Church asserts a duty flowing from human nature, she is not usually attempting to impose a specifically religious obligation. The Church’s moral teaching merely explains what is in accordance with the specifically human goals of life and with the common require­ments for humane existence. The Church’s moral teaching, therefore, rests upon reason, first, but reason as most clearly understood in the light of Scripture and tradition. Or as St. Thomas Aquinas put it, 「Grace does not destroy but rather perfects nature.」 ...

A Matter of Consensus Anglicans historically have recognized a three-fold source of authority in the Church: Scripture, Reason, and Tradition. Each of these three has a kind of priority, each is somewhat different in its function, and each depends on the other two. In discerning and applying these authorities Anglicans strive for consensus according to the principle laid down by Vincent of Lerins in the 5th century: that is truly catholic and is to be believed which has been believed always, everywhere, and by all (semper, ubique, et ab omnibus). ...

The Oldest English Liturgy The Book of Common Prayer is the oldest English liturgy in the world. The first Prayer Book was introduced in the spring of 1549 and was made mandatory in English churches as of Whitsunday of that year. In many ways this was the most momentous single event in English literary history. ...