What is Anselm House?
In Psalm 27 David desires one thing most of all, “to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” Anselm House is a school of theology where we contemplate God with the Great Tradition around a common rule of life (the Book of Common Prayer) and a common table that cultivates virtue (the good life). Anselm Fellows may receive a degree through Trinity Anglican Seminary for participation in Anselm House.
We take our name from that first medieval scholastic, Anselm the archbishop of Canterbury, who modelled faith seeking understanding—fides quaerens inellectum. With the tools of faith and reason, Anselm House is built on First Principles that can bring goodness, truth, and beauty to our secular age.
A Rule of Life
Book of Common Prayer
Anselm Fellows believe classical theology is a spiritual exercise. So, they devote themselves to the Daily Office, Morning & Evening Prayer, and the rhythm of the church calendar.
Liturgy
Each week, Fellows worship at St. Aidan’s Anglican Church, where they participate in the liturgical life of the church through word and sacrament.
Contemplation
Fellows contemplate the God of scripture with the wisdom of the Great Tradition. After diligent study (see prospectus), Fellows meet for a meal and Socratic dialogue over their reading, guided by theologian-in-residence, Matthew Barrett.
Table: The Good Life
Twice a month, Fellows gather for meals in Matthew Barrett’s home, meals that cultivate friendship around virtue, shaping habits of community around the good life together. Each meal is preceded by evening prayer and followed by Socratic dialogue over classical texts.
Anselm Fellows
Residency
The heart of Anselm House is a nine-month residency in Kansas City, MO. Twice a month, Fellows gather for prayer, dialogue, and meals in Matthew Barrett’s home, while also participating in the liturgical life of St. Aidan’s Anglican Church for morning and evening prayer.
City Talks and More
Twice a year, Anselm House hosts lectures called City Talks which are open to the public and engage the culture. Fellows also participate in Aquinas KC, which brings metaphysics into conversation with our secular age. Fellows also attend Anglican 39 to help them retrieve classical Anglicanism today.
Why is Anselm House Unique?
Classical
We retrieve the ecumenical creeds of the church fathers to renew classical theology in the church, giving special attention to its prospect for the Anglican heritage and its Formularies.
Thomistic
With Thomas Aquinas we believe in the harmony of faith and reason. We are committed to his First Principles, and we seek to apply them to the metaphysical challenges of our secular age. We embody the Thomistic way of doing theology and philosophy.
Anglican
We are rooted in the sacraments and liturgy of classical Anglicanism, where theology and worship meet. We embody the sacramental spirituality of the Book of Common Prayer and embody the reformed catholicity of the Thirty-nine Articles.
Theologian-in-Residence
Dr. Matthew Barrett is the founder of Anselm House and mentors its Fellows. He is Research Professor of Theology at Trinity Anglican Seminary and theologian-in-residence at St. Aidan’s Anglican Church in Kansas City. He is currently writing a Systematic Theology, and editing a series on Thomas Aquinas.
Who Should Apply?
- Want to study the Great Tradition with seriousness and depth?
- Desire friendship and virtue in a common rule of life together?
- Want to worship by the Book of Common Prayer and live by the church calendar?
- Value connecting theological study with liturgy in the life of the church?
- Want a seminary degree but under a theologian who can mentor you?
Truly Integrated
Anselm House
Theological and spiritual formation through a nine-month residency shaped by prayer, contemplation, and life together around the table.
St. Aidan’s Anglican Church
Weekly worship at St. Aidan’s grounds Fellows in the sacraments and liturgy of the church.
Trinity Anglican Seminary
Anselm Fellows enrolled at Trinity Anglican Seminary receive course credit towards their degree for their residency.
Who Recommends Anselm House?
Anselm House is a breath of fresh air — committed to a deep dive into the Gospel within the rhythms of the Church’s practices of prayer and worship, and guided by the rich synthesis of Scripture and the Fathers that one finds in Saints Anselm and Thomas Aquinas. Led by the estimable Dr. Matthew Barrett, this venture is a sign of hope for the future of Christian thought and life.
Our generation is coming to realize that the beauty, depth, and power of traditional theology includes an encounter with the powerful vision of reality found in classical metaphysics and it is wonderful to see this encounter facilitated by Anselm House.
Anselm House is a gift to the church and a perfect example of why Trinity created its church-based pathway – deep formation in the Anglican way through daily prayer, friendship around the table, and engagement with classical texts, combined with excellent instruction from Dr. Barrett and other Trinity faculty, all housed at St. Aidan’s Anglican Church.
First Principles. Faith seeking understanding. St. Thomas Aquinas. Dr. Matthew Barrett. The confluence of these principles, this goal, and these personages makes Anselm House a noteworthy locus of serious study. These elements—touching upon the perennial, the past, and the present—are unified in a single goal: the sublime truth of the One True God. In an age characterized by dialectical exhaustion, the theocentric emphasis of Anselm House invites contemporary men and women of faith to pursue something really appealing—and even profoundly necessary: real wisdom.
