African Anglican Communion?
Christianity, General June 25th, 2005I have tried to stay away from the debates within Anglicanism. Right now there are some major ones raging, but I have resisted the urge to blog on them. However, one article (by David Virtue) in particular caught my eye and, given the incredible religious implications outside of Anglicanism, I just couldn’t resist!
It seems an Anglican archbishop of Central Africa says he’s tired of listening to the USA and Canada continue to drag out the debates on sexuality and that soon, the African Anglicans will break away and set up a new African Anglican Communion in Alexandria, Egypt. This is incredible news and would certainly be a major episode in religious history if it happened. I don’t know how much this interview represents the majority of developing world Anglicanism, but it looks like, in spite of herculean (and perhaps a tad quixotic) efforts by Anglican head Rowan Williams, Anglican cohesion is in real danger of shattering.
Perhaps an Anglican-Rite within Catholicism should be there to pick up some of the pieces? I hope so. Anglicans would get Catholic theology and the See of Peter and we Catholics would get some good examples of liturgy and music, as well as luminaries like Lancelot Andrewes and C.S. Lewis. But that is another set of posts.
June 26th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
Well, there already is a provision to allow the so-called Anglican-Use liturgy within the Catholic Church. A full-blown Rite? Co-existing with the Roman Rite and the Byzantine Rite, etc. Why not?
And one for those who favor the Traditional Latin Mass as well, I think.
There are many forms of liturgy that can be brought under the Catholic umbrella. After all, “Catholic” means universal and all-encompassing.
June 27th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
this is an absolutely great idea . . . it could be extremely benefical to everyone concerned . . . however i don’t suspect that it can happen because of the hardness of our own hearts . . . wonderful thought however!
June 27th, 2005 at 2:48 pm
I’m very excited about the possibility of an Anglican rite within the Catholic church. I think an Anglican rite would enrich the Catholic church very much, and be wonderful for the universal church. The Anglican church isn’t truly Catholic because it tends to be limited to countries in the British Commonwealth, but an Anglican rite within the Catholic church would be a rite within the universal church.
June 28th, 2005 at 6:02 pm
Tom, David, and Les,
Thanks for all of your insightful comments. I think an Anglican Rite is a great way to go, both for Catholics and the catholic minded Anglicans, for many of the reasons all of you mention above. I hope the Vatican does proceed and that regular Catholics are accepting. I would hate to see hard-heartedness and quarreling stop a great opportunity to bring thousands (hundreds of thousands?) into the Catholic Church. The Vatican has been very generous with the current Anglican Use system and I hope this is a model and starting point for a possible Anglican Rite.