Miniblog #39 – Via Media: The Beauty of Anglicanism’s Tension & Complexity
Whereas most people seem to find comfort, peace, and security in a fixed identity, I see it as stagnation, complacency, and lethargy. I find beauty in tension. That’s one thing I love about Anglicanism. Contrasting so many movements that respond to one extreme’s excesses and corruption with a reactionary swing to the other, the Church of England was established upon the principles of compromise and temperance. Whereas most early Protestants intentionally purged Catholic theology, practices, and culture, the English created a hybrid that implemented Protestant principles while retaining Catholic elements. In this way, the Elizabethan Settlement represents an evolution in contrast to the continent’s revolution. This is how you get a tradition that maintained enough “popish remnants” as to galvanize the Reformed English into becoming Puritans yet held to a doctrinal statement that was heavily Calvinistic. In the centuries since these complexities have been maintained and even expanded. Anglicanism truly is via media–the middle way. As I often preface, “It’s Anglican, so it’s complicated.” Perfect for a moderate such as myself.
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