During my years of training to become a Calvinist pastor, the issue of church polity was quite a live one. Calvinists themselves do not agree on what is the “biblical model” for church government. Presbyterian, Reformed, and Congregational denominations share a Calvinist doctrinal heritage but different governing structures. There was more or less a consensus […]
What is the Biblical Form of Church Government? Read More »
Today is the memorial of St. Polycarp of Smyrna who was martyred in 155AD. In this interview, Patristics scholar and St. Paul Center vice president, Mike Aquilina, discusses the life and legacy of this important early witness to the faith of the Apostles.
St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr (c. 155) Read More »
Feast of the Chair of St. Peter The New Testament bears ample testimony to the ancient faith of the Roman Christians. Rome marks the final destination of the Acts of the Apostles. Rome was the postal address of the first of St. Paul’s canonical letters. And the ancient Romans treasured their heritage. They knew, with
The Petrine Principal Read More »
I am currently working up an article on the imagery of the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 16:18. As part of the article I’m discussing the Davidic Christology of Matthew. I’m trying to be as thorough as possible. I’m going to post the first five illustrations here and then follow-up with five
Jesus as the Davidic Messiah in Matthew (Part 1 of 2) Read More »
My co-author Fr. Juan Velez is talking up Blessed John Henry Newman at First Things’ blog! (Our book is TAKE FIVE WITH JOHN HENRY NEWMAN.) John Henry Newman, Oxford scholar and famous English convert to Catholicism (1801–1890), whose birthday we celebrate today, is acknowledged by most for his English prose, his lofty ideas on university
Newman at First Things’ Read More »
It’s twenty-five years since I was received into full communion with the Catholic Church. In some ways it seems like an aeon ago. In other ways it seems like yesterday. It’s a quarter-century now, but I still experience, every February, a certain sense of homecoming. On February 22, the Church celebrates the feast of the
The Catholic Mass draws heavily from Scripture—in every prayer you hear quotations and allusions to biblical texts. In fact, last year I did a series of presentations now available through Saint Joseph Communications here (shameless plug!) exploring the biblical backdrop for the prayers of the Mass. Now the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has
New USCCB Document Highlights Biblical Quotations in the Mass Read More »
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