Updated Sunday
The Archbishop of Canterbury addressed the “Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”.
The full text of his remarks can be found here.
For some helpful information on the event, see this blog by the Bishop of Sheffield, Steven Croft, who is also attending the synod. His first entry is Preparing for the Synod of Bishops.
Further background material can be found here.
Update
There is also this transcript of a Vatican Radio interview.
Wow – what a powerful intellectual and spiritual address Rowan gave to the assembled bishops in Rome. What other current CofE bishop would be capable of fulfilling such a task? Fifty years since Vatican II which placed such a great emphasis upon ecumenism and reaching out to other denominations. In those same 50 years in spite of the hopes of ARCIC Anglicans have erected what have been described as “obstacles” to unity – so that hopes of greater unity with Rome have been unfortunately dashed. Still – onwards and upwards – Rowan still does not know who is to succeed… Read more »
Although I have approved the preceding comment, please let us NOT make this another discussion thread on the CNC Canterbury matter, but confine the comments here strictly to the content and context of the archbishop’s address.
A final farewell.
Much to commend it, the new radicals will not like it one bit, and he knows just how to touch the tender places and praise that which they despise most.
Very much an ecumenical contribution, echoes of Michael Ramsey. Just lovely where he teases about those who are not interested in the structures of the church …..
“In those same 50 years in spite of the hopes of ARCIC, Anglicans have erected what have been described as “obstacles” to unity – so that hopes of greater unity with Rome have been unfortunately dashed.” – Father David – From the progress made so far, ARCIC never held out much hope for the Unity that Rome is looking for – which is nothing less than absorption by Rome. This would entirely defeat the Reformation that English Catholics needed at the time – and still need today. I guess the nearest incipient Roman/Anglicans will ever get today would be to… Read more »
I wonder if the Anglican Church has a tremendously opportune moment in history to reach out to disaffected Catholics and invite them to the Anglican Church, and that there should be dedicated efforts in that direction. I respect those Anglicans who have decided that they feel more at home with Rome, but I wonder if an vastly greater number of Catholics in this day and age might actually feel more at home with Canterbury.
I do like Randal’s proposal. After all the creation of the Ordinariate was described as Rome planting their tanks on the Anglican lawn. Perhaps we could turn the tables and just plant a large sign saying ‘welcome’?
I find the Pope very ill advised to have invited him, given his basic opposition to the central themes of the Catholic understanding of the Gospel.
This is marvellous — vintage Rowan. Perhaps his new role will enable him to do more rather than less for the Church. I don’t know who the ‘new radicals’ are (Martin’s words), but I suspect I might well be one of them. And yet I am not at all surprised to find that I love every bit of what Rowan had to say. Perhaps that’s the mark of Rowan’s genius, or holiness: to be able to call us to radical openness to God and to one another, a death to self and to self-serving religion. In all our warring over… Read more »
Agreed, Richard. To do it in a very non-confrontational way that just ways, “Welcome.” Well, it would do a bit more. Point out to them the critical (to them) things that are different in the Anglican Church. That ya get to think for yourself (for the most part); that priests can marry and women can be priests; not just another Protestant church but rather the Via Media between Protestantism and Catholicism — that it’s like Catholicism without the (what is in their mind) the “bad stuff” that is keeping them out of Roman Catholicism. Yeah, I know, I’m talking marketing… Read more »
Richard and Randall could both be opening up the prospect of something quite valuable here. One knows of many ‘lapsed Catholics’ who might just be waiting to be invited to experience our reformed catholic tradition. I know even of some fairly recent converts to Rome who are now wondering why ever they bothered to cross the Tiber. it has gained them nothing – in exchange for the loss of their more democratic membership of the body of Christ as Anglicans. The members of the new Ordinariate have gained nothing – not even the security of knowing that they are ‘at… Read more »
Baptism by the Trinitarian formula is always accepted by the Trinitarian churches (including the Anglican church) regardless of where it was carried out and by whom. Randal’s priest was following the usual practise.
“And as an Anglican, I truly do feel that we have a good product to invite people to inspect”.
I don’t want a product, I want the Gospel.
“And yet I am not at all surprised to find that I love every bit of what Rowan had to say. Perhaps that’s the mark of Rowan’s genius, or holiness: to be able to call us to radical openness to God and to one another, a death to self and to self-serving religion.” Joe I’m minded to say “don’t tell me about the labour pains – show me the baby”. What Rowan Williams says is all well and good (if you like that sort of thing) but having had the opportunity as the personification of one of the instruments of… Read more »
Can’t say I share the enthusiasm of some here: (1) As usual from this source, the sentences are too long and there are too many abstracts. Consequently, it’s a dull read (though it’s much less opaque than some from this same source). (2) As usual from this source, there is a fairly primitive polarisation between the values of ‘this world’ and the (allegedly) superior values of the (alleged) Jesus-world. But we all know here (don’t we?), that the values of ‘this world’ are frequently and embarrassingly better than those of the ‘Jesus-world’ as expounded by the likes of the present… Read more »
Re Laurence’s comment: Fair dues: judge them by their fruits — never bad advice. At the same time, I suspect Rowan has been trying to do something a bit different. While many of us, myself included, are trying to move the church in a particular way, Rowan may be trying to avoid a pyrrhic victory. If the goal is for the whole church, not a puritan or right-minded or even right-hearted subset, to reject homophobia, to be radically open to women, to be more just (less colonial, less racist, etc.), then we’re talking about lots of people (ourselves included) changing… Read more »
Joe, the problem lies in the assumption that one either gives in to one side and scores a phyrric victory or that one waits with correcting an injustice until everyone in the whole world does it too. Nothing has ever been achieved by doing nothing, change has only ever come from people seeing that the consequences they imagine do not happen. It’s reality that shifts people, not theoretical discussions about imagined fears. What should have happened is a firm endorsement of the idea that local churches respond to their local communities. Polygamy in Africa was not a Communion breaker because… Read more »
Joe, ten years ago the one word that was NOT allowed in Rowan’s team was “strategy”.
The issue that I have with the substance of Rowan Williams’ discourse is its focus of self-contrived devotions. While his contemplative theme may be undergirded by a specific tradition of theologians, we should remember that God is not found in some other-worldly place in our minds. ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’. Contemplation is so often what Paul calls ‘will-worship’ (Col.2:23) Perhaps, we do encounter God in silence, but this is not confined to an oasis of monastic retreats and mental seclusion. We encounter God along the treacherous road from Jerusalem to Jericho, where He prompts… Read more »
I don’t particularly want to try to have the last word on this as I think the tension is the reality. I don’t disagree with Erika or David, but I want to try to hang on to Rowan’s sense, too, and try to understand his strategy (if, indeed, as Martin says, that may not be the right word). David’s last sentence is especially powerful, as is Erica’s. I’d only say that David’s becoming ‘aghast with our capacity for revenge against God’ is one of the most pointed ways of expressing those turning points, conversions, loss of scales, you-name-it, that I… Read more »
“Perhaps, we do encounter God in silence, but this is not confined to an oasis of monastic retreats and mental seclusion. We encounter God along the treacherous road from Jerusalem to Jericho, where He prompts a Samaritan to stop his journey to help one who probably viewed him as a half-breed.” – David Shepherd – On the other hand, we do get a lot of evangelical hotheads ‘rushing in where angels fear to tread”. What is needed,surely, is a balance. Even Jesus needed time to ‘pray alone’. Works without prayer can sometimes be less than helpful. The monasteries and convents… Read more »
I come late to is thread and so may not be rewarded with readers or a response. But Dr Williams conscious and repeated decision to defer the righting of injustices towards both women & homosexuals has allowed others to experience personal suffering of a deep and extended kind. You cannot compare his passing pain with that which he has visited on his “victims”. When he came to Augustine’s Throne many hoped for a renewal of truth & faith in the Church of England. But a closer look at his words & actions as Archbishop of Wales should have brought those… Read more »
“I find the Pope very ill advised to have invited him,’ – R.I.Williams –
I’ve only just noticed this little pericope from Robert. I realise that as an ex-Anglican, Robert is no fan of the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, he might be surprised that the ‘Supreme Pontiff’, whom Robert should support, might have due regard for the spirituality, theology and integrity of Rowan’s personal role in the Church. Even the Pope is prepared to give honour where honour is due – even if not all RCs are the same.