If I were to describe the heart of Anglicanism, I would
always start with Christ, for he is the head of the Church. But looking at more
human structures, I would go back to Augustine, who did not bring Christianity
to our shores, but did bring Catholic order and was installed as the first
Archbishop of Canterbury. There is an unbroken continuity between those times
and ours. True, under Henry VIII the English Church did break with Rome, but in
many parishes the same people and their priests continued as the English
Church. The Reformation brought considerable change and the settlement, under
Elizabeth I, sought to establish the Church as being both Catholic and
Reformed. A key figure, often quoted as the epitome of the Anglican Way is
Richard Hooker, who placed great emphasis on the interplay between scripture,
tradition and reason. In fact the three are deeply intertwined. Scripture is
part of the tradition of the Church and St.Paul, for example, in reasoning out
what it means to be a follower of Christ, was laying down words which came to
be accepted as scripture. But an ongoing emphasis on scripture, tradition and
reason leads us to a place of wrestling with truth in which we are open to
where the Spirit is leading us in the present moment of our lives. Some have
criticised Anglicanism as being less than clear and too middle of the road, but
it seems to me that being prepared to move beyond what appears to be simple scriptural certainly,
and into a place in which we grapple with the message of God, opens us to be
led by the Spirit in a way that is thoroughly healthy and dares to face
challenge and engage in debate.
In the recent meeting of Anglican Primates at Canterbury,
the Archbishop of Uganda slipped quietly away from the gathering, apparently
unnoticed. It was only when he wrote on his website that he had left, that
people noticed the fact. He had come to Canterbury determined not to engage in
any discussion. Either the Episcopal Church of the USA repented or it must
withdraw from the Anglican Communion. And if this was not to happen, then he
would go. There was no leeway here, no room for compromise. There was to be no
wrestling with the questions over human sexuality, for in his mind his position was right.
Despite the final communique that the Archbishops were committed to walking
together, one, at least, got away and refused to walk in this company.
Little has been made of this one who got away, but his
explanation ought to warn us of things to come. He spoke of never being more
proud and happy to be part of the Church of Uganda. He also made it clear that
he and his church are not leaving the Anglican Communion, for ‘we ARE the
Anglican Communion and the future is bright’. It is clear than the children we
gave birth to, as we laid down Anglicanism as a strand of the British Empire,
have grown up and are making their own way in the world. It is not a colour of
Anglicanism that I recognise, except from being one strand of a richly twisted
flow of church life in which living with different was something to be
celebrated. One strand, making a stand for its perspective of truth, is a far
cry from what has been the tradition of Anglicanism and time will surely tell
whether this very one-eyed version of what was a rich tradition does win its
claim to be the Anglican Church of the future.
