Saturday, November 21, 2009

Archbishop of Canterbury's Speech in Rome Shows Genetic Code of Anglicanism

I guess I will comment more in detail in the speech that the Archbishop of Canterbury gave at the Gregorian Pontifical University . It is a rather long speech and is worth some detailed looks.

I think Father at Standing On My Head has a good post that sort of gets to the core it thought. See Cracks in the Foundation . He says in part:

The Archbishop defended women's ordination and argued that more unites the two churches than divides them. He said issuess that are not of the 'first order' should not be points of division and he suggested that the Anglican communion, with its sharp internal differences on issues such as homosexuality, could offer a model for other Christian churches. The Anglicans, he argued, show that unity is possible despite such doctrinal disagreements. He argued that Christians are bound together by ties that are stronger than their disputes, and suggested that Christian unity could be achieved by, in effect, agreeing to disagree, in order to "maintain a degree of undoubtedly impaired communion."

This is all very Anglican, and it reveals the genetic code of Anglicanism. The genetic code is written in the Elizabethan Settlement. This is the legislation under Queen Elizabeth the first that established the Church of England as a relativist rather than a dogmatic institution. To put it in simple terms, the Elizabethan Settlement allowed Anglicans a measure of freedom to be 'Catholic' or 'Protestant' in their attitudes as long as they remained loyal to the Queen. This latitude of attitudes became the founding principle of Anglicanism and tolerance became the primary virtue. Dogma became suspect and relativism became the default setting.

Read the whole thing!!! The comments are interesting and Father clarifies that he does not mean that all Anglican thought is some wishy washy mush. Not at all. One just has to look at history to see that. Or to look at the writings of today such as from N.T. Wright.

However I think he hits on something. I am not sure at all Anglicans would disagree with the major point of Father's post at all.

This is one thing I noticed when I knew I was leaving the Baptist Church and was exploring Anglicanism.

There are too many Catholics that say something annoying like "Episcopalians are just like us except they have married Priests" or some other balderdash. Again they are confusing some Catholic looking stuff for a Catholic belief. On top of that they imagine a Anglo Catholic influence that's numbers is exaggerated.

I noticed this with how people in the same Parish can have a huge difference of opinion and belief of what is actually happening on that altar. You have some that believe in a very Catholic view of the Eucharist. Then you have others that thinks a Catholic view (it is Really the Blood and Body of Christ) is some Popish nonsense. You can have in the same Parish that has a Catholic view of the Priesthood. Other in the same Parish might have a much more reformed view of it. The list can go on and on. How religious education is done is some of these Parishes with all these theological tensions over such core issues I have no idea. It is true that in larger cites like thinking Anglicans to some extent group together into their own Parishes but in the average town one parish has to meet these varying theological views.

To the Catholic such a state of affairs is unthinkable. To an Anglican such a state of affairs is normal and ideal.

This is one reason why the Vatican is proceeding the way it is . That is throwing a lifeline to Anglo Catholics that Rome doubts can survive under the current administration or can survive in a new alternative Anglican communion dominated by reformed and evangelicals. Then on another front the Vatican wants as to the reformed and evangelicals a safe refuge from the troubles.

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