Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Friday, July 3, 2009

Part One: An English Reformer. Thomas Rogers on the Thirty-nine Articles

Thomas Rogers. The Catholic Doctrine of the Church of England, An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles ed. Parker Society (Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 1854).

As usual with the Parker Society series, the frontispiece contains the following:

“For the Publication of the Works of the Father and Early Writers of the Reformed English Church.”

The editors unabashed call the Church of England “Reformed” and “Catholic.” The hi-jacking and theft of the legitimate term “Catholic” by Anglo-Catholics is revisionist. “Anglo-Romewardizing” is more accurate for these squatters.

This was written by Thomas Rogers, the Chaplain to Archbishop Bancroft. We will venture summarization.

The work is freely downloadable at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=klUqMSY3F1YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=thomas+rogers+thirty-nine+articles&ei=E25OSszCC4zcygTsiOzdAg

Thomas Rogers’ background is sketch. We learned that he came to Cambridge about 1568. He took holy orders and was granted an M.A. in 1576. He was a Chaplain to Dr. Bancroft, then Bishop of London, and became a Rector of Horninger, near to St. Edmonds-Bury in Suffolk.
Varied works include: A Philosophical Discourse, entit. The Anatomy of the Mind; Of the End of the World and the second Coming of Christ; The English Creed, wherein is contained in Tables an Exposition on the Articles which every Man is to subscribe. Where the Articles are expounded by Scripture, and the Confessions of all the reformed Churches; General Session, containing an Apology of the comfortable Doctrine concerning the End of the World and second Coming of Christ; The English Creed, consisting with the true, ancient Catholic and Apostolic Church in all the Points and Articles of Religion, which every Christian is to know and believe that would be saved, in two parts (the first part printed in 1585 and the second in 1587); the current work, An Exposition on the 39 Articles of the Church of England, 1586[i]; A Golden Chain taken out of the rich Treasure-House of the Psalms of David (1579); Historical Dialogue touching Antichrist and Popery, drawn and published for the Comfort of our Church (1589); Two Dialogues, or Conferences concerning kneeling in the very Act of receiving the Sacramental Bread and Wine in the Supper of our Lord[ii] (1608); Of the Foolishness of Men and Women in putting off the Amendment of their Lives from Day to Day (1583); A Method of Mortification, called heretofore The Contempt of the Word.

In 1607, our current book appeared. This volume was cognizant of the varied Reformed and Lutheran documents and confessions.

This grand, Reformed document is available for free download at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=klUqMSY3F1YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=thomas+rogers+thirty-nine+articles&ei=GW1OSpqsNo6-yQTn9ezvAg

Part One. To be continued. We would love and would entertain book reviews.

Email me at reformationtoday@yahoo.com

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[i] Both Romanists and Puritans took umbrage, to wit, that a single Churchman should offer his views. Notwithstanding this, it was held in high esteem and “countenanced,” as our biographer has it, by Dr. Bancroft.
[ii] While we do not have the primary document, we believe this document, on information and belief, to refer to the puerile objections of the Puritans re: kneeling to receive His Majesty’s most holy sacrament. We would know more if this document were available.

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