Diversity rocks!

The Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough,
The Rt Rev John Neill

Out of the experience of pain and division in the Anglican Church in Ireland can come hope for the Communion.

In a sermon at the Synod of the Church of Ireland (13 May) Archbishop Neill (here) said

The communion of Churches to which we belong – the Anglican Communion – has been going through a very difficult few years, during which divisive things have been done by those on all sides. It is easy to blame our lack of very formal structures to deal with a time of crisis – but this is of course part of what it is to belong to a communion of autonomous churches. Nevertheless we are working on an Anglican Covenant which will spell out something of the implications of being both autonomous as churches, and being in communion with each other.

A crisis such as that which Anglicanism faces in the lead-up to the Lambeth Conference of Bishops this summer can be viewed positively. It has enabled us to discover more of what it means to wrestle with the recognition of diversity and the call to unity which is of the very nature of the Church – “all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” It is in holding together what are indeed two imperatives – the recognition of diversity and the call to unity – that we can be effective in mission. To settle too easily for one at the expense of the other is to miss something of the challenge of the Gospel.

Comment
At the moment the Covenant is almost wholly focused on unity attained by squashing diversity. It will be an uphill struggle for Archbishop Neill and others to restore balance though the positive valuing of diversity and difference.

The lack of formal structures was not blamed for divisive actions - the authorisation of blessings of same sex unions in and the consecration of Gene Robinson - but for the inability of certain Church leaders outside North America to stop those actions. Therefore, naturally, the Covenant tries to give those same Church leaders the power to stop similarly contentious actions in the future.

But in granting themselves the power to win a previous battle those leaders of the Communion would also make far most extensive changes to the nature and character of Anglicanism. As presently drafted the Covenant is wholly inadequate to enable the Communion to meet other problems and differences that exist now. And it would severely constrain the ability of the Communion to meet unknown challenges of the future.