Episode 23 - Church Authority and Christian Unity
From Canterbury Trails by Jared Lovell | C.Jay Engel
February 16, 2026 · 1h 12m · Episode 23
About this episode
The episode discusses the complexities of church authority and the quest for Christian unity among different denominations.
One issue that continues to divide Christians is the question of spiritual authority. All Christians agree that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God. But what about other authoritative voices and claims within the Church? Which authorities have the right to bind the conscience? Is the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura valid, and if so, what is the proper understanding of it? What about pastors, priests, popes? Anglicans are the third largest group of Christians in the world after Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. But many global Anglicans do not recognize the US Episcopal Church as a true church nor the Archbishop of Canterbury as a true Archbishop. How are we to understand these differences? Is there authority to be found in the institutional church as it manifests in various denominations? And if church officials or bodies misuse their authority is serious ways, is it best to stay within our ecclesiastical institutions and work for reform? Or should we separate and form new micro-denominations? And what is the effect of all these disagreements on the unity of Christ’s body? These are among the questions tackled by Jared Lovell and C. Jay Engel in this second…
People in this episode
Hosts: Jared Lovell, C.Jay Engel
Topics covered
- spiritual authority
- Christian unity
- Sola Scriptura
- ecclesiastical institutions
- Anglicanism
- denominational differences
Keywords
- spiritual authority
- Christian unity
- Sola Scriptura
- Anglicanism
- ecclesiastical institutions
- denominations
- church officials
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: US Episcopal Church, Archbishop of Canterbury, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox
More episodes of Canterbury Trails
- Episode 25 - Metaphysics Affects Everything · March 6, 2026 · 1h 9m
- Episode 24 - The Formularies and Christian Life · February 19, 2026 · 1h 7m
- Episode 22 - Anglicanism 101: Worship and Liturgy · February 5, 2026 · 1h 10m
- Episode 21 - Death, Mourning, and Christian Burial · January 30, 2026 · 1h 25m
- Episode 20 - Scrooge, Virtuous Economics, and the English Christmas · December 23, 2025 · 1h 21m
- Episode 19 - The Oxford Movement · October 1, 2025 · 1h 11m
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