“Participating in the Life of God in the Eucharist: Soteriology and Sacramental Theology in Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes”

Rev. Dr. Mary Baker

16th century Anglican theologians Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes both wrote that partaking of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist leads the believer into participation in the Divine Love of God. Their framework for understanding Eucharistic participation is derived from their understanding that God’s act of justification is not limited to the extrinsic imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the repentant in justification. Rather, in the act of justification God also incorporates his adopted children into the life of the Trinity through our union with Christ, the state that Hooker describes as “mystical conjunction.” This presentation will explore the connection between each theologian’s soteriology and sacramental theology and the unique ways they approached these subjects. The concluding section of the paper will probe the significance of Hooker and Andrewes's teaching for understanding and communicating to our students and parishes the Eucharist’s significant role in spiritual formation.

Mary Baker is a vocational deacon serving at All Souls' Anglican Church in Wheaton, IL. She holds a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where she wrote on eucharistic participation in Christ in the theology of John Calvin. Mary has taught courses in Christian theology and spirituality at North Park University and Wheaton College, and presently for Trinity Anglican Seminary.

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