Another reason I am Anglican is because to be part of the Anglican Communion is to affirm that there is only one Church. The Church is the mystical Body of Christ in which we are all incorporated by virtue of our baptism. I believe that the Church is more than just an institution or a collection of random people who happen to affirm a common set of beliefs. It is the primary means through which Jesus interacts with the world, and as such it is much more dynamic than any human construct. It is a living entity sustained by the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately this vitality has been compromised by the endless divisions that plague our Church. I strongly disagree with the fact that there are literally thousands of Protestant denominations, and my aversion to this schismatic mentality is one of the main reasons I am Anglican. I think part of being in the 'one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church' means that there will always be differences of opinion when it comes to theology, and I do not think that schism is always the answer to solve these kinds of debates. Thankfully most other mainline Protestants understand that concept as well, and I am grateful for the ecumenical work that is being done with our Lutheran and Methodist partners. We are obligated to work towards unity wherever we can in order to be consistent with Jesus' high priestly prayer in the Gospel of John. Open communion and shared mission with other baptized Christians should be some of our primary goals.
It is true that both the Catholic and Orthodox faiths share a high ecclesiology with Anglicanism, but they differ in that complete unity is a prerequisite for full communion. I greatly admire their commitment to Eucharistic unity, and I believe their various implementations of this unity are special gifts to the Church. However, I adhere to the Anglican expression of the one Church because I do not think that complete doctrinal unity is required to be 'the Church'. A high ecclesiology does not have to be exclusionary in order to function properly. The disciples came to the Eucharistic table as one along with their presuppositions and respective worldviews. Differences are part of being in the Church and are a sign that while we are assisted by the Holy Spirit we are still fallen human beings.
I like the fact that an Anglo-Catholic with Wesleyan sensibilities like myself can share the Eucharist with a Calvinist, a low church evangelical, or a charismatic. I think the Church is weakened greatly if we divide along theological schools of thought or particular emphases of spirituality. Having all of us under one roof is what it means to be a catholic community of faith, and the Anglican Communion is the only place I know of to find this kind of diversity. With that diversity comes challenges but through the grace of God we will see it through.
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4 comments:
You put a lot of thought into these posts. This whole religion thing confuses me. That's why my blog is just a bunch of jibberish ramblings. Although I'm not the most faithful, I do find this an interesting read. Kudos J-Dub.
Good series. I think Anglicanism and Lutheranism, and to some extent, the reformed tradition, were the western Church's attempted recovery of the councilior (what's the correct spelling of that word?) ecclesiology of the church as it was practised up to the early medieval times. That approach has largely disappared amongst the reformed, unfortunately.
In Debt I Am,
Glad that you're enjoying my posts! Hopefully they are a nice diversion from the legalese you have to read every day.
The Scylding,
I think 'conciliar' is the spelling you are looking for. I do think conciliar catholicism is the way forward but I think it will take us a long time to figure out how to implement it properly again. I am coming to doubt that we ever will thanks to postmodernism.
Jeff - thanks. It's just one of those words that ever elude us.
But as to postmodernism: I'm not sure - it can be used to our advantage. Postmodernism is of course nominalism taken to far, but the latter had an important impact on late medieval conciliarism - and on Luther. Maybe read my recent post on Godel and Ockham: In the post - scholastic world, concilliarism is all you have.
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