A Letter to Christians Who Feel Besieged
open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
A Letter to Christians Who Feel Besieged
open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
The website for my new novel, TILLERS OF THE SOIL, is now live!
Discover the novel’s characters, its roots in @bannaubrycheiniog.bsky.social, and the traces of history that inspired it. There are also discussion guides for a variety of reading groups. Enjoy!
www.markclavier.com/tillers-of-t...
My new novel set in Roman Britain is now available for pre-order.
"A deeply convincing and engaging recreation of mid-Wales in the obscure decades following the end of Roman rule." - Rowan Williams
www.sacristy.co.uk/products/til...
Entangled Histories of Sin and Grace
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With the Church in Wales about to elect a new Archbishop and, later, a new Bishop of Bangor, I've distilled my essay from our 2021 report on ordained ministry into a post to ask 'What the heck are bishops for?"
#bishops #ChurchinWales #ArchbishopofWales
markclavier.substack.com/p/what-the-h...
30 years ago, I was ordained on a hot day—young, unsure, and trying to picture the road ahead. It turned out stranger & more grace-filled than I could’ve imagined.
A reflection on beginnings, calling & change.
#Anglican #Priesthood #spiritualreflections
markclavier.substack.com/p/a-well-tem...
In 910, a William the Pious planted a seed in Cluny planted. Over the next millennium, it blossomed into the idea of international order.
From canon law to human rights — the Christian roots of our rules-based order.
markclavier.substack.com/p/a-world-ru...
A booking mistake led to a convent with the motto: Orthodoxy or death.
Our accidental pilgrimage in the South Peloponnese reminded me that faith can be soft as an old woman’s smile...and sharp as stone.
#koroni #Orthodox #pilgrimage #Greece
markclavier.substack.com/p/orthodoxy-...
I conclude my series today on imagining the Church as a commonwealth rather than a single institution by seeing how it might play out in the Church in Wales.
Walking Together 4: A Commonwealth Church in Wales open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
In an age when trust is thin, what does it mean for the Church to hold together as a community of grace? I look at how the church's institutions can help us listen well, share responsibility, & carry each other on the road ahead.
Walking Together 3: Bishops in Synod open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
Walking Together 2: How Synodality Could Renew the Church
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Is the Church more than just a spiritual NHS? In my new Well-Tempered blog series, I explore why thinking of the Church as a commonwealth—not just an institution—might be more faithful and life-giving.
#Anglicanism #CatholicSocialTeaching #synodality
open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
A week from today, I start my 3-month sabbatical. You can read all about my plans in my latest Well-Tempered post. #pilgrimage #sabbatical #sabbath
A Time to Reflect, A Time to Walk open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
Trinity Sunday and the Furnace of Love
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I hesitated to write this. But after 12 years in the Church in Wales, I’ve seen patterns we can’t afford to ignore. This isn’t about blame—it’s about honesty, care, and the hope of renewal. A hard post, written with love.
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Strangely, Rogation through Whitsunday is just about my favourite period in the church year. Neglected feasts, blossoming creation, spaghetti dinners, and lectors fumbling their way through the names in Acts 2.
Link to post in the comments.
As it's Rogationtide, I thought I'd reflect further on the Assisi conference and the move towards an ecumenical Feast of Creation. So, here's how I went from being a sceptic to a supporter.
open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
#creation #laudatosi #Anglicanism #GeorgeHerbert
How might a greater commitment to synodality and subsidiarity breathe new life into the Church in Wales. My reflections on my first time as a delegate to Governing Body.
open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
I went to Assisi and Rome for work, not a pilgrimage—but grace had other plans. Climbing mountains, sharing prayer, standing in St Peter's Square…it became a week of grace. Read the story of an unexpected journey.
#PopeLeoXIV #Assisi #StFrancis #LaudatoSi
markclavier.substack.com/p/from-assis...
What a day!
08.05.2025 22:31 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0How wonderful that it remained opened so long. I thought they'd all closed years ago. But sad that it too has now closed.
06.05.2025 16:40 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Reviving Theology
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The "Ragged" Glory of Welsh Anglicanism
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Giving Reform Its Proper Language
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Here is my attempt to engaging constructively but theologically with the Harries Report, which gave rise to Ministry Areas in the Church in Wales. This will be of interest to other churches wrestling with structural reform.
open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
A very happy and blessed Easter to everyone who kindly follows me and reads my various scribblings. On this happy morning, I offer a brief reflection on one of my favourite Easter's sermons, preached in 1620 by Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester.
markclavier.substack.com/p/christ-the...
A little Donne for your Good Friday reflections:
"The World’s Last Night": A Good Friday Reflection on Sonnet 13
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I assume there'll be lots of reflections on Palm Sunday and the days that conclude Holy Week. But what about the days in between? My reflections on the first part of Holy Week.
Between the Triumph and the Table open.substack.com/pub/markclav...
The Church was never meant to be a venue with coffee and candles. It was meant to be a people—a moral community. In a culture drowning in choice but starving for meaning, what if the Church’s call isn’t to be more appealing... but to be more different?
markclavier.substack.com/p/more-than-...
