Piddingworth Greg Benton |
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| 'Piddingworth...where St. George's Cross is not yet banned.' --Mark Steyn |
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| Honour all men. Love the Brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King. (1Peter 2) |
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| Trust in the Lord and He will give you the strength & courage to do your Duty... Rose West Leonard |
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| 'DECORUM' THE DECLINE & FALL OF THE ANGLICAN EMPIRE |
| ‘As I took a walk with Michael Ramsey, then Archbishop of Canterbury, who
was visiting the bishops and clergy of the diocese in Chicago back in the ‘70’s, I remarked to him that the church seemed to have fallen apart; that the decorum that used to hold us together was gone’; to which the archbishop replied: ‘Yes, isn’t it awful?! ' Fr. John Holleman, a former priest of the Episcopal Church in the USA and, for many years now, a Catholic priest in the archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, related this story during an interview with Marcus Grodi, on the programme ‘The Journey Home’ that is seen on the EWTN broadcast from the United States and is designed to inform, assist and discuss the issues of conversion to the Catholic Church; usually from various forms of Protestantism. Fr. Holleman had entered the Anglican Communion through the experience he had in a university chapel with spiritual guidance from the Episcopal chaplain and that led him to his ordination and work as a priest. Drawn to the Anglo-Catholic or ‘High Church’ experience within Anglicanism, he found there many riches of faith as well as holy people that brought him much satisfaction and joy in his ministry. When the Episcopal Church decided on its own to ordain women to the priesthood in the early ‘70’s, Fr. Holleman queried the authority of the Church to do so…only to realise, as he explored the issue in greater depth, that whatever one’s views about ordaining women, the Episcopal and therefore, Anglican, Church hath not the authority to make such a decision on its own. Indeed, the Anglican/Roman Catholic Council in 1972 had promised and agreed that neither would proceed with any such fundamental change on their own but only after agreement…but there’s the rub. Whilst the Pope and his representatives had the authority to speak for the Catholic Church, the archbishop of Canterbury and his representatives did not speak for Anglicans. Thus began the sad unravelling of the Anglican Communion that has resulted in the very more divided and declining state that it is in today, where differences in faith, doctrine, morals, practice and even religion itself, have plunged daggers into its soft underbelly of ‘decorum’. Fr. Holleman, like hundreds of others at different times in the past few decades (including myself), found that the faith in which he believed could only fully be found in the Catholic Church, where it is sustained, guarded, promoted, and proclaimed in communion with the 'ministry of Peter’, the Pope, and the Magisterium, the Church’s teaching office. Holleman's identification of the Anglican personality, or decorum, as the defining characteristic of a Church that embraces so many different and even contradictory views, principles and practices, is, I think, brilliantly put. Certainly, it wasn’t a unity of ‘faith’ and ‘order’ that held the Church ‘together’ but rather a deeply entrenched code of conduct, manners and shared history. Holleman likened the Anglican Church to a football match without either boundaries or a referee. Essentially, all the ‘players’ whatever their churchmanship, agreed to play by unwritten rules… including it seems, choosing to score or not or even scoring on yourself; theological and intellectual anarchy all embraced over a civilised cup of tea. Some teams do very well whilst others are carried off the field by the St. John Ambulance Brigade. Sincerity, sentiment and the charism of individuals will reign. To some extent, the decline and eventual fall of the Anglican Empire, mirrors that of its’ parent, The British Empire, and it’s post-war offspring in decorum, The Commonwealth. The English Church flourished as the Empire flourished and established itself at it’s height among a quarter of the world’s population, including Africa, where Anglicanism still has some strength in numbers; certainly much greater than over ‘ome. As it spread, there was even an unwritten decorum in certain places where, for example, if the Society For the Promotion of Christian Knowledge had first dibs, then the Society For the Propagation of the Gospel wouldn’t interfere and vice versa. Hence, Jamaica (SPCK) and Barbados (SPG). The former is evangelical ‘low’ church whilst the latter is Anglo-Catholic or ‘high’ church. The ‘kind’ of Anglican that one became depended largely on geography… even in dioceses themselves where if one lived in a certain parish one was afforded a version of the C of E sometimes dramatically different from that observed by ‘those people’ over on the other side. Still, with all their differences in interpretation of a version of the Book of Common Prayer, e.g., whether there be two sacraments or seven, or whether one confesses one’s sins to a priest or quietly hopes for forgiveness during Morning Prayer, these Anglicans were tied by the institution that was also tied by it’s history… all held together by underlying manners that ensured that, for the most part, everyone could tolerate each other and play on the same team. What used to unite the British Empire was the rather formidable strength (economic, military and cultural), of the British people, their leaders and their citizenry. Behind every ship of tea or fur or lumber, were settlements of English, Scots, Welsh and Protestant Irish whose loyalty to the Crown manifested itself in industry as well as the institutions that governed a ‘way of life’ adopted by the local culture. The established Church of England was a part of this, (even though in the USA, to satisfy any lingering sentiment against the Imperialists, the ‘Episcopal’ Church was in fact established by the Scottish Episcopalians who, being Jacobite, shared a similar resentment towards the Sassenachs and their history with ‘Dutch William’ of the Protestant House of Orange) In the course of its’ history, Anglicanism has produced some of the most brilliant liturgical music and texts, well-grounded and scholarly theological thought, and thousands of holy men and women creating an ‘identity’ that, as it re-discovered it’s roots in the pre-reformation Catholic Church it mingled a commixture of evangelical zeal and Catholic devotion. Cranmer, Hooker, pre-Catholic Newman, Keble, Pusey, Temple, Dix, Ramsey; giants all. This historical amalgam is quite extraordinary and, in many ways, very appealing and there is much to be said for the efficacy of those who have been dedicated within Anglicanism to bring Christ and faith to the world. Some say that the ‘unravelling’ began with the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops in 1930 endorsing the use of ‘birth control’ at a time when there were many socially ‘progressive’ views in matters relating to medical science and ‘authority’ over human life were all the rage. Indeed, some of the most ‘respectable’ people of the time advanced the cause of eugenics in the interests of improving the ‘gene pool’; an idea that the Nazi’s seized upon with some enthusiasm. and that seems to be rearing its' nasty head in some current intellectual circles where the 'spirit of abortion', having become 'normal', has provided fodder for the disciples of euthanasia. Some progress. Dr. Mengele where are you? The declarations and reports of Anglican Bishops, arrayed as they are in their different hues of purple, carry no legal, canonical, authority among Anglicans but are traditionally regarded as having significant ‘moral’ authority, i.e., from the unwritten but accepted rule of ‘decorum’. Most don't pay any attention unless it makes news in the media. Of course, this 1930 decision not only contradicted the ‘authority’ of the theretofore embraced understanding of human sexuality, the natural law, and the purposes in marriage, largely unwritten but ‘understood’ within the C of E, it also put the English Church at direct odds (again) with the Catholic Church …every Anglican’s favourite sparring partner. Having opened the door, several other Protestant denominations followed suit. Still, the differences, as far as the Anglicans were concerned were with those outside of the Lambeth circle. Similarly, a few decades later, having been pressured by the massive social and cultural change wrought by the ‘sixties’ revolution, including the advent of a particularly virulent, self-loathing, strain of feminism that viewed ‘men’ and the ‘things of men’ as it’s evil enemy, the Church’s decorum fell apart over the issue of ordination of women to the priesthood. First, a bishop in Philadelphia proceeded on his own amidst much gnashing of teeth, but once that other ‘door’ was opened, whole dioceses and member Churches of the Anglican Commonwealth joined in to the extent where today many of them also have female bishops. Hundreds of Anglican clergy have since left, either to the Catholic Church or to some offshoot creation. Whilst on the surface some accused them of mysogyny, the surrendering of one's priestly life and ministry in the Church of their baptism and heritage required a much deeper conscience. From there came a flurry of changes within…both liturgical and doctrinal. Homosexuality, once regarded as an unfortunate human disorder whose acts are unnatural and sinful, has been embraced and celebrated by many Anglican leaders; causing some other divisions within the Communion; particularly with the more traditional, evangelical and currently thriving Anglican Church in Africa. Once again, an American bishop proceeded to ordain a homosexual priest (who left his wife and family to live with his lover) to the episcopate. This has resulted in much angst in 'the family', where the once well-mannered Anglican tea party is now more akin to a riot at a frat house with much throwing of things. All of it put together has seen a rapid and profound decline in numbers in just about every place outside of the African continent. Compassion and understanding have been replaced with intolerance and 'in-your-face' militancy between factions whilst the quiet worshippers in the pew seek refuge in their favourite hymns. Granted, there is a general decline in the Churches of the so-called ‘West’, including the Catholic Church in Europe but, with the exception of the paedophile scandals whose effect has indeed been far-reaching among Catholics, the Anglican decline can largely be seen as the gradual unravelling of a ball of string caused by a series of both self-inflicted but perhaps more tellingly, by an inherent lack of authority and a rejection of the Tradition it once embraced and upon which it once flourished. Like the Commonwealth, where the former colonies of the British Empire co-exist at Mother England's supper table, and where there are, on the one hand, prime ministers who govern according to the principles of British democracy and rule of law and who revere the rich heritage they have received, and on the other hand, tyrants, murderers and thieves whose attachment to Britain is most characterised with spiteful disdain, the Anglican Communion and it’s ‘liquorice allsorts’ carry on in much the same fashion. The individual merits of many notwithstanding, that veneer met it’s inevitable death some time ago. The treasures of the Anglican tradition remain, particularly its’ musical, liturgical, and devotional heritage, and I still cling to them. It is very much missed in the current Catholic parochial experience. Still, without the strength and unity of the undivided faith that the C of E once claimed, even with all that ingenious decorum, the Anglican Church has become sadly moribund; causing the sheep of the flock to scatter as they seek he authoritative voice of the Shepherd once again and, for many, many of us, leading to a ‘journey home’ to the faith that once shone in England's green and pleasant land. G.B. 24Aug07 |
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| Michael Ramsey, 100th Archbishop of Canterbury |