Anglican Fourth Day

What Is It?

Anglican Fourth Day, or “A4D”, is the Anglican Church in North America’s (ACNA) expression of Cursillo, which is Spanish for “short course”; having its roots in Roman Catholic Spain after WWII.  

Sometime’s called “Anglican Cursillo”, the ministry’s purpose is to help Christians deepen their relationship with Christ and to encourage them to become effective leaders in their communities, sharing their faith, and influencing others for good. It's a movement within the Church that provides a structured, extended weekend experience designed to foster spiritual growth and renewal.

A4D provides a framework for individuals to encounter Christ in a new way and to experience a personal renewal of their baptismal commitment.  The ministry aims to equip individuals to become effective leaders within their families, workplaces, churches, and social circles; not through power, but through positive influence. It emphasizes the importance of sharing one's faith and bringing others closer to Christ, acting as a catalyst for Christianizing environments. It offers a method for living out one's faith in the world, emphasizing prayer, study, and action as pillars for spiritual growth.

What Is An Ultreya?

After the extended weekend experience, it also provides a supportive community through small groups and "Ultreyas", where individuals can encourage and hold each other accountable in their faith journeys.

“Ultreya" is Spanish for “Onward”, and is the cry of resolve, strengthening and encouragement to those making a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain; which remains a popular pilgrimage to this day.

In this spirit of resolve and encouragement, an Ultreya is a A4D/Cursillo event, where participants come together to share in fellowship and mutual support for their ongoing Christian renewal, leadership, and evangelism.

At an Ultreya, members of the community, and welcome guests come together for about two hours in fellowship.  They will form ad-hoc table groups to share in their lives of piety, study and action, then welcome a lay member of the community who will share their testimony of acting for Christ in their environments.  This is often the spiritual zenith of the event.

After this "lay witness talk" is given, a member of the clergy will rise and provide a “gospelized” response, relating scripture to the testimony.  Then, all attendees are given an opportunity to share their own hearts and minds on what they’ve heard, and felt.  Finally, announcements are shared, and the event is closed with a prayer, and a blessing is offered by an attending priest or bishop.

Ultreyas are typically held at the parish level.  

Grand Ultreyas welcome all parishes of the diocese.