In an open letter responding to an announcement by the conservative “Alliance” group within the Church of England, the Bishop of Oxford mentioned that the creation of a conservative third province within the Church of England, as proposed by the Alliance, could be one thing that “undermines the very essence of Anglican ecclesiology.”
On this article I’ll clarify the ecclesiology of the Church of England after which ask whether or not, within the gentle of this proof, the bishop's declare is true.
The Church of England is the historic church of the English individuals
Opposite to well-liked false impression, the Church of England didn’t originate on the time of the Protestant Reformation within the sixteenth century. We will 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 individuals.”
This church arose within the seventh century as a mix of three streams of Christianity, remnants of the Romano-British Church, which had a historical past courting again to the primary century, a mission from Rome led by St. Augustine of Canterbury, which started in 597 when he landed on the Isle of Thanet and started to evangelize the dominion of Kent and the Celtic custom originating in Scotland and related to figures equivalent to St Aidan and St Cuthbert.
“Church of England” is just a contemporary title for Bede's “Church of the English Folks”, the oldest repeatedly current British establishment.
The Church of England is a church with a transparent set of elementary beliefs
Throughout the Reformation, the Church of England rejected the authority of the Pope and reformed its theology and observe underneath the affect of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. When challenged that it had due to this fact develop into a heretical church, Church of England theologians responded by arguing that the Church of England nonetheless held to the essential ideas of religion and observe that the church as an entire had all the time held.
A traditional instance of this type of argument is the Apology of the Church of England, revealed by the Bishop of Salisbury, John Jewell, in 1562, a piece that’s now usually forgotten, however which laid the groundwork for subsequent defenses of the Church of England's place. the church of England.
On this work, Jewel responds to the cost that these within the Church of England are “heretics” who’ve “nothing to do with both Christ or the church of God” by stating that “the religion we stand on”.
It begins by declaring that the Church of England believes within the Trinity:
“We imagine that there’s one sure nature and divine energy which we name God; and that they’re divided into three equal Individuals, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that each one could also be of 1 energy, one eternity, and one Godhead; and one substance.”
He then strikes on to the particular person of Christ. It first declares that:
“We imagine that Jesus Christ, the one Son of the everlasting Father (how lengthy earlier than it was decided earlier than all beginnings), when the fullness of time had come, took from this blessed and pure Virgin each flesh and all human nature. .'
Then he provides:
“We imagine that for our sake he died and was buried, descended into hell, on the third day by the facility of his Godhead got here again to life and rose from the lifeless; and that on the fortieth day after his resurrection, whereas his disciples noticed him and appeared upon him, he ascended into heaven to satisfy all issues, and positioned in majesty and glory the identical physique through which he was born, through which he lived on earth. …From that place we additionally imagine that Christ will come once more to execute that normal judgment, each these whom he’ll then discover alive within the flesh and people who are already lifeless.'
He then turns to the Holy Spirit and writes that the Church of England believes: “that it’s His property to assuage and soften the hardness of the human coronary heart” and that He “provides males gentle and leads them to the information of God; to each path of fact; to the novelty of all life; and the everlasting hope of salvation.'
After taking a look at what the Church of England believes concerning the Trinity, Christ and the Holy Spirit, Jewel turns to what he believes concerning the Church, declaring that he believes there’s “one church of God and that the identical shouldn’t be closed.” . up (as in instances previous among the many Jews) into some one nook or kingdom, however that it’s catholic and common and scattered all through the world.” He additional provides: “We imagine that there are completely different levels of ministers within the Church; of whom some are deacons, some monks, some bishops; to whom is dedicated the workplace of instructing the individuals, and the entire cost and conduct of faith.'
Additional, Jewel explains that these within the Church of England:
“….obtain and settle for all of the canonical Scriptures, each of the Previous and New Testaments, giving because of our God, who has raised as much as us the sunshine that we might ever have earlier than our eyes, in order that both by way of the delicacy of man or the wiles of the satan, we could must be carried away to errors and lies. Additionally that they have been the heavenly voices by which God revealed his will to us, and that in them alone the human coronary heart can have relaxation; that in all of them that’s obligatory for our salvation could also be abundantly and totally understood.'
Jewel goes on to say that the Church of England holds that there are two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper. The primary is, he says, 'the sacrament of the forgiveness of sins and the washing we’ve within the blood of Christ'. The latter is 'is a sacrament; that’s, the manifest signal of the physique and blood of Christ”, by the use of which “Christ himself, the true bread of everlasting life, is given to us so instantly that by religion we actually obtain his physique and his blood. .'
As well as, the Church of England believes in justification by religion within the sense that:
“We additionally say that each man is born in sin and lives his life in sin: that nobody can actually say that his coronary heart is pure, that essentially the most righteous man is however an unprofitable servant, that the legislation of God is ideal. and requires from us an ideal and full obedience: that we’re by no means capable of fulfill this legislation on this earthly life: that there isn’t any mortal creature that may be justified by his personal deserts within the sight of God, and due to this fact that our solely assist and refuge is to fly to the mercy of our Father by way of Jesus Christ, and to persuade our minds absolutely that He’s the bearer of forgiveness for our sins; and that each one our stains of sin could also be cleansed by His blood.”
Nevertheless, the Church of England doesn’t say that justification by religion means:
“… individuals ought to reside relaxed and relaxed, nor that it’s sufficient for a Christian to be baptized and to imagine: as if nothing else have been wanted from his hand. For true religion is alive and by no means may be idle. So train us the people who God has known as us to not comply with dysfunction and licentiousness, however, as St. Paul says, “to good works, that we could stroll in them.”
Lastly, Jewel notes that the Church of England asserts “that this physique of ours through which we reside, although it dies and crumbles to mud, will on the final day come to life once more by way of the Spirit of Christ. which dwells in us.”
The creed set out by Jewel stays the inspiration of the Church of England's perception and observe. They’re mirrored within the theology discovered within the 39 Articles of 1571 and the Guide of Widespread Prayer and Ordinances of 1662, three “historic varieties” which are normative for the Church of England's theology, liturgy and consider of Christian ministry. Merely put, the Church of England is a church that holds these elementary beliefs and displays them in its observe.
The Church of England is a church with a transparent historic sample of church group
The Church of England has a transparent sample of church group which it has maintained for over a thousand years. It has two provinces, Canterbury and York, every with its personal Archbishop and self-governing by way of an Meeting of Bishops and Clergy and an accompanying Home of Laity. The 2 provinces are divided into dioceses, overseen by bishops, which in flip are divided into archdeacons, overseen by an archdeacon, and parishes, overseen by parish clergy. Every diocese has a cathedral, which is the mom church of the diocese, is the place the bishop has his official seat, or “throne”, and is the place for formal diocesan providers equivalent to ordinations.
From an ecclesiological viewpoint, the 2 provinces of the Church of England are church buildings in their very own proper, as they’ve their very own archbishops and are self-governing. Due to this fact, the Church of England is, strictly talking, a federation of two church buildings united by a standard legislative physique, the Common Synod, through which the assemblies and homes of lay of the 2 provinces meet to determine on issues of frequent concern and to enact frequent legal guidelines within the type of measures and canons.
A 3rd province wouldn’t undermine the ecclesiology of the Church of England.
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 instructing that marriage is between one man and one girl – and the one reputable place for sexual exercise is inside marriage as outlined – could be completely maintained, would didn’t deviate from any of the above components of Church of England ecclesiology.
This could nonetheless kind a part of the historic Church of England. It will nonetheless adhere to the essential Christian religion set forth by Jewel and mirrored in historic patterns. It will nonetheless uphold the Church of England's historic sample of ecclesiastical group and attend conferences of the Common Synod. What would make him completely different could be his willingness to make use of the powers of self-government that the 2 current provinces already must legally defend the Church of England's conventional instructing on marriage and sexual ethics.
So the Bishop of Oxford is just unsuitable.