Christendom College President George A. Harne, Ph.D., has released a new episode of the Christendom Conversations podcast featuring a thoughtful discussion with author and professor Dr. Clint Brand. Together, they delve into the Catholic intellectual tradition, particularly focusing on Anglicanism’s historical context and its ties to Catholicism.
“I very much resonate with John Henry Newman’s remark, ‘Catholics did not make us Catholics, Oxford made us Catholics,’” says Brand. “There’s a journey through a thousand gates, and there are those privileged, fortunate few who can be evangelized by their fellow Catholics to good effects. But there are those of us who come an alternative route, by way of books, by way of prayer, study, or by engagement with quirky, contentious, vociferous traditions like Anglicanism.”
During the conversation, Brand shares his academic journey and the influence of Anglicanism on his conversion. He and Harne also explore the Protestant Revolution, Henry VII, and Modern Issues in Anglicanism, before finally discussing the significance of Catholic prayer and the evolution of liturgical practices, emphasizing the balance between tradition and modernity in worship.
Dr. Clinton Brand, PhD, KSG, is an Associate Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, where he teaches classical, medieval, and Renaissance literature. From 2010 to 2015, he served on the Holy See’s Interdicasterial Commission Anglicanae Traditiones, which developed the liturgical provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. Dr. Brand is the editor of St. Gregory’s Prayer Book: A Primer of Catholic Devotions from the English Patrimony (Ignatius Press, 2019), and he has published extensively on Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell, John Henry Newman, and T. S. Eliot, among others, as well as on liturgical poetics and residual Catholicism in post-Reformation English religious culture. He also recently spoke at Christendom as part of the college’s Collegiate Lecture Series, delivering an address on Anglican patrimony and Catholic unity.
This marks the thirteenth episode of Christendom Conversations, following December’s episode with theology professor Dr. Owen Vyner, where Harne and Vyner explored the importance of family and community life, the influence of Pope St. John Paul II, and practical ways families can deepen their faith.
Christendom Conversations is part of Christendom College’s expanding podcast network, which offers listeners and viewers rich engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition. Through in-depth interviews with Catholic scholars and cultural leaders, the podcast explores timeless questions and enduring truths. New episodes are released monthly.
Watch the latest episode below:
