Archbishop of Canterbury challenged on monarchy and Establishment
-17/06/06
Speaking at
Archbishop of Canterbury challenged on monarchy and Establishment
-17/06/06
Speaking at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Eightieth Birthday of the Queen, at St Paulís Cathedral in London, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said that the modern institution of the monarchy ìkept power humanî ñ but critics suggest he is sidestepping tough questions about the compatibility of hereditary power and an Established church with the Christian message.
In his sermon before a packed Cathedral on 15 June 2006, the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the 77 million Anglican Communion said that ìthe curse of our age has been the inhumanity of absolute ideology and of myths of racial supremacyÖ that have plunged our continent and our world into darkness and butchery so many times since the 1920s.î
He also highlighted the new fear of ìa toxic mixture of religion that has become inhuman, economic power sustained at massive human cost, and the technologies of destruction that can be used by armies and by terrorists alike for impersonal killing.î
Claiming that ìthe identity of the United Kingdom has had something to do with the development of a critical democracy within the framework of symbol and traditionî, he suggested that the monarch provided a ìpersonal focusî for ì solidarity in a network of relationships and practicesî rather than being ìan absolute ruler demanding mindless loyalty.î
ìIn other words, monarchy as it has developed here is a way of keeping power humanî, he continued. ìAt the symbolic centre of our political life is a personÖ We have seen something of a monarch who has shared the vulnerability of ordinary people, and that has been moving in itself.î
ìBut more importantly we have been able to see a bit more clearly the personal depth of our monarchís faithÖ a person visibly standing before God and Godís judgement in humility and hope.î
The Archbishop concluded that ìthe logic of this kind of monarchy is the logic of the Christian recognition of Christ as King ñ the monarch whose credentials are to be found in his human vulnerability and in his utter dependence upon God his Father.î
Dr Williams ënational addressesí have been widely praised for their thoughtfulness, sensitivity and concern to build bridges between the life of the church and the wider community.
But observers have also noted that he has moved a long way from his radical roots as a founder of the Anglo-Catholic Jubilee Group ñ and association of Christian socialists ñ in 1974, and from his non-conformist and non-established ecclesial background in Wales.
Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian think rank Ekklesia, welcomed Dr Williamsí emphasis that power needed to be humanized and made accountable to the diversity of human life. But he said that a romantic elevation of monarchy was not the answer.
ìPerhaps rather awkwardly for an Established Church, the vulnerable person who calls power to account in the Gospel is a naked, crucified victim of Empire ñ not one of the richest people in the world, and not the head of an institution defined by the ultimate unaccountability of bloodline privilege,î he pointed out.
ìRowan Williams is a person of enormous prayerfulness, humanity and scholarship. His personal affection for the current Queen is very genuine. And his analysis of the worldís traumas rings true. But his theological and political account of monarchy, even in its modern attenuated form, does not connect much with the Jesus whose mother sang about God casting down the mighty from their thrones and exalting the humble and weak,î said Barrow.
He added: ìPerhaps unsurprisingly, given that it was a birthday tribute, this sermon also had nothing to say about the enormous divisions of wealth and status that the institution of monarchy enshrines, symbolises and perpetuates. But that in itself illustrates the current contradiction of the role Dr Williams occupies.î
For theologian and writer Theo Hobson, ìwhatís interesting about this sermon is that Dr Williams does not once mention the Church. He does not affirm the Queenís role as the supreme governor of the Church of England, or the principle of establishment. His celebration of the Queen is not distinctively Anglican – it could have been spoken by a Roman Catholic, for example.î
Hobson continued ì[The Archbishop] is therefore evading yet again the increasingly vexed question of whether an established Church is compatible with the full equality of all Britons, and the similarly difficult question of whether establishment is good for Christian culture.î
He added: ìBefore he went to Canterbury he suggested that reform was necessary – will he ever dare to address the issue as Archbishop?î
Theo Hobson, who is also an Ekklesia associate, is author of Against establishment: An Anglican Polemic and Anarchy, Church and Utopia: Rowan Williams on Church.
[Also on Ekklesia: Make the institutional church history, says theologian; C of E disestablishment debate gathers pace; Put the anarchy back into Christianity, say religion analysts; We need a truly secular political party, says religion writer; Former C of E head says tide is turning against the church; Global leaders query Church of England state link; Christian think tank calls for disestablishment; Bishop opens up a debate with ‘Christian society’ claims; Methodist church takes on disestablishment questions; Methodists join disestablishment debate; Welcome for call for Church of England to cut links with the state]
Archbishop of Canterbury challenged on monarchy and Establishment
-17/06/06
Speaking at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Eightieth Birthday of the Queen, at St Paulís Cathedral in London, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said that the modern institution of the monarchy ìkept power humanî ñ but critics suggest he is sidestepping tough questions about the compatibility of hereditary power and an Established church with the Christian message.
In his sermon before a packed Cathedral on 15 June 2006, the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the 77 million Anglican Communion said that ìthe curse of our age has been the inhumanity of absolute ideology and of myths of racial supremacyÖ that have plunged our continent and our world into darkness and butchery so many times since the 1920s.î
He also highlighted the new fear of ìa toxic mixture of religion that has become inhuman, economic power sustained at massive human cost, and the technologies of destruction that can be used by armies and by terrorists alike for impersonal killing.î
Claiming that ìthe identity of the United Kingdom has had something to do with the development of a critical democracy within the framework of symbol and traditionî, he suggested that the monarch provided a ìpersonal focusî for ì solidarity in a network of relationships and practicesî rather than being ìan absolute ruler demanding mindless loyalty.î
ìIn other words, monarchy as it has developed here is a way of keeping power humanî, he continued. ìAt the symbolic centre of our political life is a personÖ We have seen something of a monarch who has shared the vulnerability of ordinary people, and that has been moving in itself.î
ìBut more importantly we have been able to see a bit more clearly the personal depth of our monarchís faithÖ a person visibly standing before God and Godís judgement in humility and hope.î
The Archbishop concluded that ìthe logic of this kind of monarchy is the logic of the Christian recognition of Christ as King ñ the monarch whose credentials are to be found in his human vulnerability and in his utter dependence upon God his Father.î
Dr Williams ënational addressesí have been widely praised for their thoughtfulness, sensitivity and concern to build bridges between the life of the church and the wider community.
But observers have also noted that he has moved a long way from his radical roots as a founder of the Anglo-Catholic Jubilee Group ñ and association of Christian socialists ñ in 1974, and from his non-conformist and non-established ecclesial background in Wales.
Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian think rank Ekklesia, welcomed Dr Williamsí emphasis that power needed to be humanized and made accountable to the diversity of human life. But he said that a romantic elevation of monarchy was not the answer.
ìPerhaps rather awkwardly for an Established Church, the vulnerable person who calls power to account in the Gospel is a naked, crucified victim of Empire ñ not one of the richest people in the world, and not the head of an institution defined by the ultimate unaccountability of bloodline privilege,î he pointed out.
ìRowan Williams is a person of enormous prayerfulness, humanity and scholarship. His personal affection for the current Queen is very genuine. And his analysis of the worldís traumas rings true. But his theological and political account of monarchy, even in its modern attenuated form, does not connect much with the Jesus whose mother sang about God casting down the mighty from their thrones and exalting the humble and weak,î said Barrow.
He added: ìPerhaps unsurprisingly, given that it was a birthday tribute, this sermon also had nothing to say about the enormous divisions of wealth and status that the institution of monarchy enshrines, symbolises and perpetuates. But that in itself illustrates the current contradiction of the role Dr Williams occupies.î
For theologian and writer Theo Hobson, ìwhatís interesting about this sermon is that Dr Williams does not once mention the Church. He does not affirm the Queenís role as the supreme governor of the Church of England, or the principle of establishment. His celebration of the Queen is not distinctively Anglican – it could have been spoken by a Roman Catholic, for example.î
Hobson continued ì[The Archbishop] is therefore evading yet again the increasingly vexed question of whether an established Church is compatible with the full equality of all Britons, and the similarly difficult question of whether establishment is good for Christian culture.î
He added: ìBefore he went to Canterbury he suggested that reform was necessary – will he ever dare to address the issue as Archbishop?î
Theo Hobson, who is also an Ekklesia associate, is author of Against establishment: An Anglican Polemic and Anarchy, Church and Utopia: Rowan Williams on Church.
[Also on Ekklesia: Make the institutional church history, says theologian; C of E disestablishment debate gathers pace; Put the anarchy back into Christianity, say religion analysts; We need a truly secular political party, says religion writer; Former C of E head says tide is turning against the church; Global leaders query Church of England state link; Christian think tank calls for disestablishment; Bishop opens up a debate with ‘Christian society’ claims; Methodist church takes on disestablishment questions; Methodists join disestablishment debate; Welcome for call for Church of England to cut links with the state]