EGN NEWS DESK
In an open letter responding to a press release from the conservative ‘Alliance’ grouping within the Church of England the Bishop of Oxford has declared that the creation of a conservative third province within the Church of England, as proposed by the Alliance, could be one thing that ‘undercuts the very essence of Anglican ecclesiology.’
In this text I shall set out the ecclesiology of the Church of England after which ask whether or not, within the mild of this proof, the bishop’s declare is true.
The Church of England is the historic Church of the English folks
Contrary to a preferred false impression, the Church of England didn’t come into existence on the time of the Protestant Reformation within the sixteenth century. We can see this, for instance, from the truth that the Venerable Bede, writing within the eighth century, refers back to the Ecclesia Anglicana, the ‘Church of the English folks.’
This Church was fashioned within the seventh century as a mix of three streams of Christianity, the remnants of the Romano-British church which had a historical past going again to the primary century, the mission from Rome led by St Augustine of Canterbury which started in 597 when he landed in The Isle of Thanet and commenced to evangelize the dominion of Kent and the Celtic custom coming down from Scotland and related to figures similar to St Aidan and St Cuthbert.
The ‘Church of England’ is just the trendy title for Bede’s ‘Church of the English folks,’ Britian’s oldest constantly present establishment.
The Church of England is a Church with a transparent set of core beliefs
At the Reformation, the Church of England repudiated the authority of the Pope and reformed its theology and apply in line beneath the affect of the mainstream Protestant reformation. When challenged that it had subsequently grow to be a heretical church, the theologians of the Church of England replied by arguing that the Church of England nonetheless held to the fundamental ideas of religion and apply that the Church as a complete had all the time held.
The traditional instance of this kind of argument is the Apology of the Church of England printed by the Bishop of Salisbury, John Jewel, in 1562, a piece which is mostly forgotten at present, however which laid the groundwork for subsequent defences of the place of the Church of England.
In this work Jewel responds to the cost that these within the Church of England are ‘heretics’ who ‘don’t have anything to do, both with Christ, nor with the church of God’ by setting out that ‘religion whereby we stand.’
He begins by stating that the Church of England believes within the Trinity:
‘We imagine that there’s one sure Nature and divine Power, which we name God; and that the identical is split into three equal Persons, into the Father, into the Son and into the Holy Ghost; and that all of them be of 1 energy, of 1 eternity and one Godhead; and of 1 substance.’
He then strikes on to the individual of Christ. He initially declares that:
‘We imagine that Jesus Christ, the one Son of the everlasting Father (as lengthy earlier than it was decided earlier than all beginnings), when the fulness of time was come, did take of that blessed and pure Virgin each flesh and all the character of man.’
He then provides:
‘We imagine that for our sakes He died, and was buried, descended into hell, the third day by the ability of His Godhead returned to life, and rose once more; and that the fortieth day after His resurrection, whiles His disciples beheld and regarded upon Him, He ascended into heaven to fulfil all issues, and did place in majesty and glory the self-same physique wherewith He was born, whereby He lived on earth….From that place additionally we imagine that Christ shall come once more to execute that normal judgment, as effectively of them whom He shall then discover alive within the physique as of them that be already dead.’
After that he turns to the Holy Spirit, writing that the Church England believes: ‘that it’s His property to mollify and soften the hardness of man’s coronary heart’ and that ‘he doth give males mild, and information them unto the information of God; to all method of reality; to newness of the entire life; and to eternal hope of salvation.’
Having checked out what the Church of England believes in regards to the Trinity, Christ and the Holy Spirit, Jewel then turns to what it believes in regards to the Church, stating that it believes that there’s ‘one Church of God, and that the identical shouldn’t be shut up (as in occasions previous among the many Jews) into some one nook or kingdom, however that it’s catholic and common, and dispersed all through the entire world.’ Furthermore, he provides: ‘we imagine that there be divers levels of ministers within the Church; whereof some be deacons, some clergymen, some bishops; to whom is dedicated the workplace to instruct the folks, and the entire cost and setting forth of faith.’
Next, Jewel explains that these within the Church of England:
‘…. obtain and embrace all of the canonical Scriptures, each of the Old and New Testament, giving because of our God, who hath raised up unto us that mild which we would ever have earlier than our eyes, lest both by the subtlety of man, or by the snares of the satan, we needs to be carried away to errors and lies. Also, that these be the heavenly voices, whereby God hath opened unto us His will: and that solely in them man’s coronary heart can have settled relaxation; that in them be abundantly and totally comprehended all issues, in anyway be needful for our salvation.’
Jewel goes on to say that the Church of England holds that there are two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The former is, he says, ‘a Sacrament of the remission of sins, and of that washing, which we now have within the blood of Christ.’ The latter is ‘is a Sacrament; that’s to wit, an evident token of the physique and blood of Christ’ via which ‘Christ Himself, being the true bread of everlasting life, is so presently given unto us as that by religion we verily obtain his physique and his blood.’
Furthermore, the Church of England believes in justification by religion within the sense that:
‘We say additionally, that each individual is born in sin, and leadeth his life in sin: that no person is ready actually to say his coronary heart is clear: that essentially the most righteous individual is however an unprofitable servant: that the legislation of God is ideal, and requireth of us good and full obedience: that we’re ready on no account to fulfil that legislation on this worldly life: that there isn’t a one mortal creature which might be justified by his personal deserts in God’s sight: and subsequently that our solely succour and refuge is to fly to the mercy of our Father by Jesu Christ, and assuredly to steer our minds that He is the obtainer of forgiveness for our sins; and that by His blood all our spots of sin be washed clear.’
However, the Church of England doesn’t say that justification by religion means:
‘…. males must stay loosely and dissolutely: nor that it’s sufficient for a Christian to be baptised solely and to imagine: as if there have been nothing else required at his hand. For true religion is full of life, and may in no smart be idle. Thus subsequently train we the folks, that God hath referred to as us, to not comply with riot and wantonness, however, as St. Paul saith, “unto good works, to stroll in them.’
Finally, Jewel notes that the Church of England holds, ‘that this our self-same flesh whereby we stay, though it die, and are available to mud, but on the final day it shall return once more to life, by the technique of Christ’s Spirit which dwelleth in us.’
The beliefs set out by Jewel stay the premise of the religion and apply of the Church of England. They are mirrored within the theology present in Thirty-Nine Articles of 1571 and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal, the three ‘historic formularies’ that are normative for Church of England’s theology, liturgy and look at of Christian ministry. To put it merely, the Church of England is a church which holds these fundamental beliefs and displays them in its apply.
The Church of England is a Church with a transparent historic sample of church organisation
The Church of England has a transparent sample of church organisation, which it has maintained for over a thousand years. It has two provinces, Canterbury and York, every of which has its personal Archbishop, and which governs itself via a Convocation of bishops and clergy and an attendant House of Laity. The two provinces are subdivided into dioceses overseen by bishops, that are in flip divided into archdeaconries overseen by archdeacons, and parishes overseen by the parochial clergy. Each diocese has a cathedral, which is the mom church of the diocese, is the place the place the bishop has their official seat or ‘throne’, and is the setting for formal diocesan companies similar to ordinations.
In ecclesiological phrases, the 2 provinces of the Church of England are church buildings in their very own proper as a result of they’ve their very own archbishops and are self-governing. Therefore the Church of England is, strictly talking, a federation of two church buildings linked by a joint legislative physique, the General Synod, through which the Convocations and Houses of Laity of the 2 provinces meet to make choices about matter of widespread concern and to enact joint legal guidelines within the type of measures and canons.
A 3rd province wouldn’t undermine the Church of England’s ecclesiology.
A conservative third province within the Church of England, established to supply an area inside the Church of England the place the Church’s historic educating that marriage is between one and one lady – and the one professional place for sexual exercise is inside marriage thus outlined – could be completely maintained, wouldn’t depart from any of the weather of the Church of England’s ecclesiology set out above.
It would nonetheless type a part of the historic Church of England. It would nonetheless adhere to the fundamental Christian beliefs set out by Jewel and mirrored within the historic formularies. It would nonetheless uphold the Church of England’s historic sample of Church organisation and would participate within the conferences of General Synod. What could be totally different about it might be its willingness to make use of the powers of self-government which the 2 present provinces already possess, to legally safeguard the Church of England’s conventional educating on marriage and sexual ethics.
The Bishop of Oxford is thus merely mistaken.
