The serious and sometimes satirical reflections of a priest, poet, and pilgrim — who knowing he has not obtained the goal, presses on in a Godward direction.
January 11, 2011
Thought for 1.11.11
I have no objection to finding ways for the Anglican Communion to speak with a single voice,where it is of a single mind. But reaching consensus by quelling dissent leads to self-fulfilling fallacy.
One of the things that I've noticed - with shock - that I've not seen any comment on is the position of ABC.
The absolute deal-breaker from the start on this "global church" dealio was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope, though bishop of Rome, is not always Italian, thus can contribute to a unified global church - there have been Spaniards, Germans, French, a Pole, etc.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is, and through the process of becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, must always be a citizen of the UK. At best, he/she can never be drawn from the viewpoint or practice of any other province, at worst, it's a backdoor attempt to establish a different sort of British Empire.
Anglicanism cannot be a unified global church, because its "First Among Equals" cannot represent a global position.
Thanks, JCF. Mark, spot on; but I do think this has come up from time to time, along with other difficulties peculiar to the C of E. The "Englishness" of the Communion made sense for a while, but the creation of a[nother] global church, without a distinctive doctrine, makes no sense. The "distinctiveness" of Anglicanism lies in our polity, not our doctrine.
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Some of those anti-gay Anglican bishops can't get enough of a good, stiff, self-fulfilling fallacy. }-X
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I've noticed - with shock - that I've not seen any comment on is the position of ABC.
ReplyDeleteThe absolute deal-breaker from the start on this "global church" dealio was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope, though bishop of Rome, is not always Italian, thus can contribute to a unified global church - there have been Spaniards, Germans, French, a Pole, etc.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is, and through the process of becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, must always be a citizen of the UK. At best, he/she can never be drawn from the viewpoint or practice of any other province, at worst, it's a backdoor attempt to establish a different sort of British Empire.
Anglicanism cannot be a unified global church, because its "First Among Equals" cannot represent a global position.
Thanks, JCF. Mark, spot on; but I do think this has come up from time to time, along with other difficulties peculiar to the C of E. The "Englishness" of the Communion made sense for a while, but the creation of a[nother] global church, without a distinctive doctrine, makes no sense. The "distinctiveness" of Anglicanism lies in our polity, not our doctrine.
ReplyDelete