Preserving Anglican traditions, such as mass rites, adds to the diversity of the Catholic Church, [CDF head Cardinal Levada] said.
"The unity of the church does not require a uniformity that ignores cultural diversity, as the history of Christianity shows," he said. "Moreover, the many diverse traditions present in the Catholic Church today are all rooted in the principle articulated by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: 'There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism."Compare AC VII.2-4: "And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4:5-6."
At this point I think we Lutherans are supposed to insert the traditional mea culpa to the effect that "isn't it too bad that the Anglicans looked to Rome instead of to Wittenberg. . . " And there is some merit there. The Lutheran relationship with Anglicanism showed promise in the 16th century and there is much that we share.
However, the Anglicans were never coming our way. As today's news shows, what animates Anglicanism (at least in its High Church as opposed to Low, Broad, and Evangelical branches) is a doctrine of the ministry identical to Rome's: specifically, the theory that one can give only part of the Apostolic Office to some men (priests and deacons) while passing it on wholly to others (bishops). That's just not what the Treatise teaches - nor, if you ask me, what the Scriptures teach (and here AC Piepkorn's article really is a must read).
This is also one important reason why no such door is likely to be held open for dissastisfied Lutherans in the near-Anglican LWF communions. Lutheranism has always been more about Justification, Church, and Ministry - that is doctrine - while Anglicanism's confused political history has always meant that it was less so.
All the same - it is a shame what's become of Anglicanism. I can't blame these good folks for wanting out.
+HRC
Anglicanism is all about having a unity of. . . unity? About agreeing to play nicely even if you don't necessarily agree on Doctrine. Sounds like this makes perfect sense -- you are just shifting your idea from "England must be united, so thrust doctrine aside" to "Um, well, the Anglicans are crazy, so let's have the West be united, still ignoring some things of doctrine. But at least we'll be much less crazy than before."
ReplyDeleteHow's that for solid theological analysis?
What I don't know about Anglincanism could fill many books. So I'll leave it to the historians to decide how solid your analysis is, Rev. Brown. But I'll add that those who live in glass houses shouldn't thrown stones. To the vast majority of Anglican's the 39 Articles are a dead letter - but are we not well on our way by tossing out AC XIV? Those men who died when the tower of Siloam fell - do you think they were less just than we...Let us repent before something worse happens to us.
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That is our error and tendency, which is why we will disintergrate and explode into thousands of little pieces, each doing what they think is right and ignoring what they wish to ignore. Anglicans are the Anti-Lutherans and Lutherans are the Anti-Anglicans. . . but when both are left to sinful desires, the results are dire.
ReplyDeleteIf you were fleeing liberal Anglicanism, would you even consider Lutheranism considering the current state of ELCA? If Lutheranism were a united confession per our Confession, I think some Anglicans would consider us. But why go from one disaster to another that looks just like it?
ReplyDeleteCould it be that the LCMS witness was too weak, at least in part?
The witness of the LCMS is not even on the radar. If it were on the radar, it would look like a worship team ensemble led by a baby boomer in Dockers and a golf shirt, but teaching and singing our pure doctrine, of course. Bogeys at ten-o'clock, closing fast.
ReplyDeleteMason,
ReplyDeleteIf by pure you mean "watered down and simplified. . . and maybe mostly correct but at least with a rhyme" you may be onto something.
No, silly, "pure" means you can wear your Dockers and golf shirts or anything else you want, as long as you can trot out all our favorite Lutheran cliches: law and Gospel, Scripture and Confessions, Word and Sacraments, faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone, Reformation, Reformation, rah rah rah.
ReplyDeleteBut I do think Lutheranism is on the radar, so don't feel left out that the Pope is making overtures toward the Anglicans first. For us, he's waiting until 2017. Savvy guy, that Benedict.
Father Fritz,
ReplyDeleteSo does the octogenarian Fr. Joseph have some guarantee of being around that long? I thought Peter II was supposed to take over and the world end by 2012???
+HRC
His Holiness has a plan, I have little doubt. But if he's already 80, it could run into a little snag, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world would Fr. Joe have a plan for us? Our leadership hears "ordinaries" and immediately thinks laxative. The "mass" calls to their minds those ubiquitous bulges in the albs of clergy. What would Rome, even a post Vatican II Rome, have to do with Missouri?
ReplyDeleteNow don't get me wrong. I am not pining. I know what those guys make and I need a place to lay my head and all that. But I doubt 2.4 million low church Protestants imputed with a hatred for all things Papist and Roman would be an attractive discussion partner. Besides, they would never submit to our favorite Lutheran cliches...
True enough, but the Pope has made very public his dedication to ecumenical progress. Didn't he as Cardinal Ratzinger already indicate his fondness for the Augustana? And who says that "Lutheranism" for him is synonymous with that goofy little Missouri Synod? I can imagine his thinking the Missouri Synod is simply the fundamentalist wing of Lutheranism which has the effect of keeping it from going completely over the liberal edge. Wasn't there a little exchange between him and Bishop Benke some years ago when they were exchanging greetings, in which he brightened up and said something favorable about Missouri? Pleasantries, perhaps; or maybe something more. Or not.
ReplyDeleteWill it hurt that hope if I put "Repent of Trent." on the marquee for Reformation? Or would "Come home, Rome" be more evangelically catholic? Maybe just a self-aggranziding "We got Gospel, yes we do. We got Gospel, how 'bout you?"
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeleteVery nice. I think I'll work that cheer into the sermon this Sunday. I'll have half the people cheer, "We got Gospel, yes we do," and the other half, "We got Gospel, how 'bout you?" Of course, I'll make sure that we all chant these cheers - wouldn't want to go too far over the edge. :)
What if Pope Benedict accepted the Augustana and established an Augustana Rite in Rome, similar to the already established Eastern Rites and soon to come Anglican (Sarum) Rite? Cardinal Dulles also expressed his appreciation for the AC. And Benedict has stated that he would like to return to the first thousand years of Christianity. I don't think this is some Eddie Money pipedream (I wanna go back...), but perhaps a realization that Rome has overstepped its authority on certain issues (clerical celibacy; Marian dogma; papal infallibility?). Perhaps. I am curious to see what happens.
ReplyDelete+Mason
As long as we go pre-4th Lateran Council and it's abominations, we could start talking. Actually, we'd probably need to be pre-1054, because the aftermath of the great schism started things going really wonky -- the West was like the guy who gets divorced and then loses his mind afterwords.
ReplyDelete