All throughout Christian history, there have been various national churches, all of which were included as part of the One True Catholic Church. Among some of the most historically recognizable are the Latin Church, the Greek Church, the and Coptic Church. All of these churches shared a oneness through their bishops in succession. They had liturgies of similar form and doctrine, albeit with distinctive aspects of that particular region.
As history progressed, the difference in how these cultures approached certain doctrines led to disagreements and splits in communion. Unfortunately, instead of simply acknowledging the differences and the need to work through them as brothers and sisters in Christ, these churches began to view themselves—along with their particular regional churches—as being the fullness of the Catholic Church.
The strength of Anglo-Catholicism is twofold. 1) We recognize that national churches by nature cannot be the fullness of the Catholic Church in and of themselves. And 2) we recognize that different national and ethnic churches will have divergence in the way that certain aspects of theology are articulated. This is due to cultural differences, language differences, etc.
We also acknowledge that on major issues, like the Papacy, there must be serious debate and discussion. However, where I believe we have a strength as Anglo-Catholics, is the belief that these discussions are to happen in-house, as brothers, in communion with one another, even if it is impaired.
The English Catholic Church stands as one national expression of the Catholic Church alongside many other brethren. The sooner others form an ecclesiology that sees things similarly, the better. We cannot have true healing if we believe ourselves to be sufficient without the rest of the body. A man with one lung can claim to be the fullness of a human as much as he wants, but it will never be true until he acknowledges that he needs his second lung.
This is the first video reflection for the Great Fast.
Welcome to the Mere Catholicity Locals Community! Here, you will find like-minded Christians with a desire to live ecumenically and pursue Christ in all things.
The Mere Catholicity movement runs only through listener support. The work that I (Jonah) do requires time and money. Without the financial support of my Locals community, I would not be able to continue making content. Simple as that. It is only thanks to this group that I can continue providing you with content that (hopefully) both edifies and challenges!
The good news for you is that joining the community itself is completely FREE! Once you sign up, you will be able to see most posts, live streams, and even content posted by other users. However, you will only be able to observe. You will not be able to comment, post, or see any exclusive content. This might be a good way to see if you want to support later down the line. So please join! Even if you cannot afford to give at this time!
Now, for those who do wish to give ...
Friends - as I consider the various platforms that I operate, I find Substack to the most conducive to the model of online ministry that I am aiming for. Though I still plan to post here, as many of you still support me through this platform, Substack is where I will be focusing the majority of my time. If some of you wish to move your subscription from here to Substack, you are welcome to do that. Those who continue to support here, I will continue to post here — mostly the stuff that is behind the paywall on Substack so that you are getting the exclusive content regardless of where you are subscribed.
Hope you all are doing well. Lord bless you.
- Rev. Jonah
I've been gone again for a time preparing for my ordination. I was ordained a Deacon in the Holy Catholic Church on March 8th, 2025.
It was a joy beyond words. I am now back in full swing with ministry, media, and work.
I hope you all have been doing well. More to come soon.
Good morning everyone. I wanted to quickly update you on the Mere Catholicity Podcast. I’ve been posting videos on my channel, but it has been quite sometime since my channel has had a podcast episode release.
With my new job as a classical teacher, scheduling interviews has been a challenge. However, my plan is to use my summer breaks as time to double down on planning and recording new podcasts. The idea will be to record a ton of interviews that will then slowly release throughout the school year, expiring around the time the following summer arrives. This will ultimately result in a consistent once a month interview.
All that to say, the podcast will resume here in May or June of 2025 with some excellent interviews lined up!
Blessings on your Sunday!
