Over the last few weeks my mind keeps returning to one of Jesus’ most famous parables- the one about two houses, one built on sand and the other on rock. Am I alone in thinking that so many of the problems now besetting the battered and crumbling Church of England stem from its very foundation? For we are, at root, a Church built on political expediency by Henry VIII in order to gain control over English faith whilst sanctioning an errant marriage. For all that was healthy about what later emerged – and there was much which was healthy- the underlying premise meant we were never fully reformed to create a strong protestant faith nor fully Catholic to grant us the protection of a magisterium and clearly defined set of doctrines.
We were built on a shaky foundation then and this legacy comes back to haunt us in the modern era. Which leads me to picture the dear old C of E as a beautiful mansion built on sand, some rooms still regal and impressive, but with its outer walls crumbling fast. And as the 21st Century unfolds the whole thing is in danger of collapse because it is simply not firm enough to withstand the battering of secularism on the one hand and postmodern thinking on the other.
The Church built on compromise to sanction dodgy re-marriage is now finding it difficult to wrestle with questions of identity and authority. Witness the inability to discipline those who denounce the faith and even claim to be atheist! Witness the inability to defend the sanctity of marriage as lifelong union between husband and wife! Witness the inability to clearly define what holy orders are for and who they are applicable to! Witness the inability to state with certainty what the church itself even stands for! Witness an inability even to state if the communion blessed at our altars is transformed into the real presence or not! The Church of England, built on sand, shifts at whim with cultural thinking but at what cost to the faith? It slides to encompass all and any viewpoint, with genuine love and generosity, but at what cost to a bold proclamation of biblical faith?
It is for this reason that many Anglo-Catholics are enthused by the offer from Rome. An offer which arrives just as we are confronting a very painful truth- that our vision to ‘re-Catholicise’ the Church of England is all but dead and our ultimate aim for reunifying Anglicanism and Rome a dead loss. With the Anglo-Catholic dream lying in ruin then, and with our inner life exhausted by years of struggling for our life, where will we find a long term future other than in the arms of Saint Peter?
For the Roman Catholic Church enters the 21st Century with much more to offer us than the eccentric Anglican Communion. No matter its problems, and there are many, it is built on rock- the rock of Saint Peter- and it can uphold a clearly defined set of doctrines, including clear teaching on the sanctity of marriage, holy orders, belief in the ‘real presence’ and so much more.
Understand why some of us now see little point in waiting on Synod then- even if a generous offer does arrive (which will require a miracle). Why hold out for a tiny corner of a room built on sand when we are offered the key to that house built on rock? How can a Code of Practice match up to the assurance of sacramental validity? How can a bewildering compromise (which is all we can hope for really) square up to joining the largest community of faith where we will be viewed as normative and not bigoted and eccentric?
It is not that we do not love the C of E- we really do and many of us will continue to do so- it is that life in the Ordinariate makes much more sense, especially to those who are dotrinally Catholic to the marrow of our bones. Is this not a work of the Spirit that calls us to where we belong? And once moved we can dedicate ourselves to evangelism and ecumenism, seeking to heal past pains and work alongside the National church of this land.
Is it not a time for a gracious parting of the ways as all reflect that the Catholic experiment is over? My prayer would then be for a genuine Evangelical revival in the Church of England. A time for true reformation that the Church might bind itself to the protestant vision and live out a biblical faith. This would be an ecclesial community strong enough to do business in the modern world, its biblical orthodoxy firming up the foundations. Furthermore being truly protestant it could revert to the language of ministry instead of priesthood- a doing vocation in which the thorny issue of women in holy orders seems entirely compatible.
You may not agree with much of my thinking, I respect that but please understand why many of us Catholics are seriously considering the offer from Rome. If we do decide to go please do not hold us back out of resentment, petty mindedness or for the furtherance of your own agenda. Let us go in love to the place where, we sincerely believe, God is calling us. And let us both pledge to draw a line under our disagreements as we do so and be as generous and loving as is possible.
“And let us both pledge to draw a line under our disagreements as we do so and be as generous and loving as is possible.”
This seems a bit disingenuous. You acknowledge that some A-C’s will stay behind to carry on ministry in the CofE as long as they are able in conscience, yet you are constantly poisoning the well for them, because you have decided to go as soon as possible (albeit with extremely vague language about your timing).
Recent comments:
“How long will some people wait? Blindly ignoring reality whilst harbouring a deluded fantasy that Synod will come good?! ”
“But those who drink of it will need to be stupid, living in compromise or deliberately blind.”
“In truth it matters not for the liberal agenda rolls on and the game is surely up for the Catholics…at least in this corrupt communion!”
Not to mention your original quotes, which appear to have been deleted, about those who choose to remain lacking courage and gonads.
You love to whine about the way you are treated, pleading for “acceptance and understanding”, yet you feel free to undermine your own brethren who are not acting according to your timetable.
My original comment about gonads refered to the fact that ‘first wavers’ will need them not that others lack them. I stand by that point.
I do not seek to queer the pitch for those on a different timetable, far from it, but I really do think the Catholic experiment is over and cannot personally see how one can stay and still claim to be Catholic. High church and Sacramental protestant yes..but not catholic. The popes offer- or more honestly the refusal of it- renders that claim dormant.
Hence I desire a truly reformed c of e as that is vastly
more preferable to a liberalised one – all gin and lace and very little doctrine.
So if people are staying for now but hopin to come later- fantastic! If not there does seem – to
me- a difficulty presented in choosing to both stay and yet claim to be catholic. But perhpas I miss something?
It is rereshingly honest to state the basic reality that the CofE has always been a political construct to keep the influence and wealth of the Church in the hands of the state. The Ordinariate presents a providential opportunity to repair a rupture in Christian unity that should not have taken place. It will of course take great courage to start with. We talk glibly about a ‘leap of faith’ but this really is a leap of faith!
In my own humble thoughts, it had occurred to me some while ago. You are not alone in thinking that perhaps problems besetting the Church of England could possibly stem from its very foundation. The C of E was after all formed by man, whereas the Church of Peter was given to us by Jesus. No matter what high opinions Henry had of himself, he cant compete.