Vestigia Dei
Wycliffe College Blog

Vestigia Dei  – is a Latin term meaning “traces of God.” As a theological term it is associated with natural theology – that is, the view that there are vestiges of God within creation. We’ve chosen this term as the title of the Wycliffe College blog because our hope is that through these writings, readers might glimpse evidences for God as our writers interact with the wider world.

Magi at the Manger: A Hermeneutical Meditation for Epiphany

Joseph Mangina

One of the most treasured items that gets hauled out of storage in our household each Christmas season is the crêche, or Nativity scene. Ours is a simple affair. It is composed of wooden folk-art figures made, as I recall, in Costa Rica. We see gentle Mary, kneeling in wonder before the child she has just delivered, and faithful Joseph, holding a lamp. A shepherd has just wandered in, accompanied by two of his sheep. There is also a random cow milling about; it is after all a stable.

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The Word of God Abides: Reflections on the First of the Six Principles of Wycliffe College

Joseph Mangina

In a conversation with some students recently I made reference to Wycliffe College’s Six Principles, and was met with blank stares. I do not fault the students. The fact is that we don’t talk about the Principles nearly as much as we did when I began teaching here in the late 1990s.

Jesus, the Napalm Girl, and Us

If you’re near my age, or older, you likely remember seeing this photo in a newspaper in June 1972, probably on page one.

Wycliffe as a School for “Generous Orthodoxy”

Joseph Mangina

In late October I attended a conference at Yale commemorating the centenary of Hans Frei (1922-1988), one of the leading historical theologians of our age, and the most important figure in the so-called “Yale School” of theology and scriptural interpretation.

Jesus, Judaism, and Two Wycliffe Professors

As someone who has spent several decades in Church-land, I've heard literally thousands of sermons, homilies, and meditations. Too often, I hear preachers representing Jesus as someone who was uncomfortable with Judaism.

Of Pasta and Palimpsests: Notes on a Visit to Rome

Joseph Mangina

I recently had the opportunity of spending two weeks in Rome as part of a course on Anglican Ecclesiology and Ecumenism. The course, ably taught by Prof. Matthew Olver of Nashotah House seminary and Dr.

Ten Events in the 1960s that Permanently Changed the Anglican Church of Canada

During the 1960s, which were a decade of upheaval in western Christianity in general, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) registered some fundamental changes in its worship, theology, ecumenical outlook, discipline, and cultural inclusiveness.  

Body Politics: Christian Theological Reflections on Vaccination

Joseph Mangina

It never really occurred to me to not be vaccinated.

Why Study Church History? Barking at False Pasts

How can studying the past help us in our Christian formation?

Lent

Joseph Mangina

The word lenten, the Oxford English Dictionary tells me, is older than the word Lent.