How Seventeenth-century Evensong Forms Twenty-first-century Character: An Evocation

Abstract

The centre of theological ethics is not the decision made in a crisis, but character formed over time. Christian character is shaped primarily through worship. Worship saves theology from Gnosticism and praxis from despair. Anglican Evensong offers four key practices—singing the psalms, listening to Scripture, singing the canticles and saying the Creed—that constitute the practice of friendship with God. The argument is illuminated by examples of how worship transforms character.