The Identity Of Anglicanism

A collection of essays exploring the underlying issues facing the Anglican Communion and setting them in their historical context, including the roles of synods, bishops and primates; the ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury; being in and out of communion; and, the significance of diocesan boundaries in an age of globalization.

Anglicanism can be wonderful, mystifying and infuriating. For some it is an expression of the Church catholic, going back to the early Church and the apostles. For others it is a pragmatic compromise dating from Henry VIII's dynastic ambitions. Some see Anglicanism today as self-destructing, torn apart by internal pressures. Paul Avis expounds an Anglicanism that is both catholic and reformed and open to fresh insight. On this interpretation, what is distinctive about Anglicanism is its understanding of the Church and of authority. These issues are addressed in relation to the origins of Anglican ecclesiology, the diversity and coherence of the worldwide Anglican Communion, its understanding of baptism and the Eucharist, the question of women priests and bishops, its ecumenical engagement and the internal conflicts of the early twenty-first century. This is a authoritive and passionate vindication of classical Anglicanism, evolving to respond to contemporary challenges.

While the postmodern world we inhabit is highly fragmented, contested, and conflicted, we all have one thing in common: we are experiencing identity crises. Religious traditions are not immune to these crises, and orthodox Anglicans have been experiencing their own issues with identity since the 2003 consecration of an openly homosexual man. Orthodox Anglicans want to say who they are as both orthodox and Anglican, but they are also finding it difficult to articulate a clear and coherent identity, especially an Anglican one. This orthodox Anglican pursuit of a renewed sense of self in a complex and fragmented world is a microcosm of our postmodern context, and an examination of their quest holds enticing clues to our own urgent searches for meaning and identity. Think of this book as a kind of story: the story of a worldwide church who, when its identity was threatened, took counsel together to renew and revitalize its sense of self. In the process, it not only faced many dangers and difficulties but also learned much about who it was and who it wanted to be.

Anglican Identities draws together studies and profiles that sympathetically explore approaches to scripture, tradition, and authority that are very different--yet at the same time distinctively Anglican.

This volume, endorsed by Anglican bishops and scholars around the world, is important reading for those preparing for the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem in June 2018 - and for those in other traditions too. Author Stephen Noll has been a watchman and participant in Anglican affairs over the past quarter century, as a priest and educator in the USA and Uganda. This highly readable anthology of his writings, often written in the heat of the battle, chronicles the departure of the Anglican establishment in North America and England from classic Christian teaching on Scripture, marriage, and church order. Professor Noll concludes: "I want to commend to readers the vision of a renewed and reformed Global Anglican Communion, a communion of churches that builds on the heritage of the Church of England and represents the emerging leadership of formerly colonial Anglican churches, whereby the oversight of doctrine and discipline has shifted from Canterbury to the Global South."

Anglicanism can be wonderful, mystifying and infuriating. For some it is an expression of the Church catholic, going back to the early Church and the apostles. For others it is a pragmatic compromise dating from Henry VIII's dynastic ambitions. Some see Anglicanism today as self-destructing, torn apart by internal pressures. Paul Avis expounds an Anglicanism that is both catholic and reformed and open to fresh insight. On this interpretation, what is distinctive about Anglicanism is its understanding of the Church and of authority. These issues are addressed in relation to the origins of Anglican ecclesiology, the diversity and coherence of the worldwide Anglican Communion, its understanding of baptism and the Eucharist, the question of women priests and bishops, its ecumenical engagement and the internal conflicts of the early twenty-first century. This is a authoritive and passionate vindication of classical Anglicanism, evolving to respond to contemporary challenges.

Rambo draws on contemporary studies in trauma to rethink a central claim of the Christian faith: that new life arises from death. Reexamining the narrative of the death and resurrection of Jesus from the middle day-liturgically named as Holy Saturday-she seeks a theology that addresses the experience of living in the aftermath of trauma. Through a reinterpretation of "remaining" in the Johannine Gospel, she proposes a new theology of the Spirit that challenges traditional conceptions of redemption. Offered, in its place, is a vision of the Spirit's witness from within the depths of human suffering to the persistence of divine love.