Programmes! Get Yer Programmes, here!
27 May 2008 - 23 אייר 5768 by Huw
Cuz you can’t tell the players without a Programme! The Pluralist has this prediction:
The Anglican Communion is as near as dividing as it can be. It will be surprising if it does not. Northern/ Western Churches by and large will not accept a restrictive Covenant or one that goes beyond present Anglican formularies. Against this GAFCON, supposedly renamed, e.g. Instrument of Global Anglicanism, will become a kind of activist agent for the theological right. The Global South will, however, not only feel alienated from the Northern/ Western Churches, but will split with the Global South elements in GAFCON. Also split will be the Open Evangelicals either towards openness or evangelicalness about whether to go with GAFCON types or the Northern/ Western Churches - the Covenant for Northern and Western Churches either being dead or no more than a summary document. GAFCON will also split within, between Catholic and Reform.
Now, part of me is neither concerned nor worried: I’ve predicted the death of Anglicanism and ECUSA at nearly every convention and every Lambeth since the mid80s. And professional, Cradle-palians have been saying it a lot longer than I.
But part of me is amused/saddened: watching people whose drive for “purity” and “orthodoxy” drives them out of fellowship with everyone. We had it in the Eastern Orthodox churches - many converts are running for the same reasons. Every choice is a political one: who you think is “canonical”, which calendar is “right”. Which horrendously modern Litugy is the least heretical or who has the authority to call a council, meet with the Pope or decide to Ordain women. Which saints are really saints and which heresiarch slept with the Commies (or the Turks or the Jews). If you tell me one side is right over another, I’ll know which side your on. But you needn’t tell me at all: I’ll know by when you celebrate Christmas, if you fast on Fridays after Easter, if your Church commemorates the Tzar-Martyr; I’ll know if you let non-Orthodox have antidoron or if your priest has the doors open during most-all of liturgy. And I’ll have to choose if I want to stand there with you - or not.
It’s what humans do. Anglicans are more up front about it right now. So, yes, I think we’ll have a fight over this and we may even break up: we’ll be quite Orthodox when it’s all over.
One day, Christians will learn the Lesson of the Corpus Christi Miracle.
