The Basis of Future Anglican Unity and It's Fallacy

By The Rev. Dr. George Naff Gray, Jr.
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
March 30, 2011

The Anglican Communion has undergone tremendous change in what constitutes the basis of Anglican unity. In the recent past, Anglicanism shared a somewhat common Biblical, theological, and liturgical unity. During the reign of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, it has become clear that these no longer serve as the basis for future Anglican unity. Williams' March 11, 2011 letter to his peers confirms this shift and the fallacy inherit within this new paradigm.

Rowan Williams witnessed peer unity early in his administration, but Anglican leaders since then have become so biblically and theologically separated that they no longer share liturgically in Holy Eucharist with one another. They are unable to even meet in the same room. As a result, future Anglican unity now rests solely in the friendly person of Rowan Williams and in his worldly office as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

As the undisputed leader of the Anglican Communion, Williams alone is the unifying basis of future Anglicanism. The sign of this unity is that all Anglican leaders continue to meet with him as the leader of the Anglican Communion and thus, confirm that Anglican unity continues to exist under his auspices. Williams' victory is that no decisive schism has occurred nor does a decisive schism appear to be on the horizon.

Williams' March letter declares his victory. He tells his leadership peers that they no longer have the power to "offer a solution to ongoing challenges of mutual understanding." Williams is no longer fighting a delaying action to prevent "decisive action to enforce discipline" on communal Biblical, theological, and liturgical beliefs. Williams is now aggressive and clear (for a change). His power has been enhanced by neutering any future peer "solutions" to "enforce discipline." As a result, Williams' doctrine of listening replaces shared Biblical, theological, and liturgical understandings as the sign of Anglican unity.

In prior years, Williams' fought using delaying tactics and finally sabotage to defeat the many decisive and unified recommendations which he helped to craft. These recommendations have been replaced with a listening process. Williams states he will be visiting those leaders who object and fail to attend peer meetings. Williams' individual meetings serve to prove that Anglican unity exists because these peers still meet with him avoiding any sign of a decisive schism. Williams' accomplishment is a worldly colonial-style political victory pure and simple.

No doubt cracks will widen despite Williams' telling his peers to have: "no doubt" that they "stand together in prayer and solidarity when confronted by attacks on the gospel and its witnesses." He mentions the many attacks on those in provinces where true Christian discipleship carries a heavy price. It is here that his fallacy begins.

Many of the provinces he mentions in need of prayer and solidarity are in locations where his peers no longer meet with those who advocate a gospel foreign to Anglicanism's recent past. The fallacy occurs when Anglican unity is decoupled from common Biblical, theological, and liturgical understandings for one's attack on the gospel can be another's defense. New positions arise requiring a new witness, but these new positions and new witnesses are seen by many as an abomination based on past Anglican formularies. It is a fallacy to believe that such opposing witnesses can remain unified even under the friendly listening ear of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The future of Anglican unity is now based on a paradigm exclusive to the office of the Archbishop Canterbury and decoupled from centuries of shared Biblical, theological, and liturgical understandings. Perhaps St. James' warning needs to be both heard and heeded by all Anglicans: "You adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)


----The Rev. Dr. George Naff Gray, Jr. was a life-long Episcopalian until May 2008 when he was accepted into the Anglican Province of Rwanda, Africa and today is a priest in the Anglican Mission of the Americas.