A Deeply Torn Communion
by Archbishop Emeritus Mouneer Anis:
There should be no doubt that the Anglican Communion is deeply divided and being torn apart. Yet, there are those who claim that the Communion is still united, in spite of the major theological differences between its Provinces. This claim of unity is deceitful and far from the truth. Provinces are not all in communion with each other, so it is simply wrong to use the term Communion of global Anglicanism or even the weaker language of a Federation.
It is very sad to see a Communion of churches that was once united become seriously fractured. Many may ask: Why has this happened? Are there ways to heal and restore this fractured Communion? In this article, I will review some of the reasons that led to the fragmentation of the Communion. In a following article, I will suggest ideas that may help to heal our torn Communion.
I. THE REASONS THAT TORE THE FABRIC OF THE COMMUNION
Departure From The Faith Once Received:
The most fundamental factor was the departure of several Provinces, mainly in the global north, from the orthodox Christian faith as Anglicans have received it. This biblical faith was to be found expressed in the Creeds, the early Councils of the undivided church, the Book of Common Prayer, along with the Thirty-Nine Articles and the two Books of Homilies, as well as the later Chicago Lambeth Quadrilateral.
Unfortunately, it became clear over recent decades that some Anglicans have felt that they could not accept these beliefs and should disregard the authority of scripture that underlies them. The divinity and uniqueness of Christ, the virgin birth and even his actual crucifixion and resurrection have been variously put in doubt. This led to the acceptance by some Provinces of ever greater levels of theological “diversity” and ever less clarity as to what (if any) beliefs were essential for Anglican Christians.
Failure to uphold these essentials by the Anglican Communion as a whole, ultimately left neither a clear theological framework to define, nor a mechanism through which to act, when differences between individual Provinces of the Communion had passed beyond acceptable limits. This led in the end to several Provinces simply proceeding unilaterally in breaking from the mind of the Communion as a whole and by affirming innovations incompatible with biblical Anglican teaching, while doing this, they asserted not only administrative but also doctrinal autonomy, which could only undermine the very sense of the term Communion itself.
One area where innovations that departed from historic and biblical teaching attracted particular attention was that of human sexuality.
Read also following article Away from Empire
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