The Authority of the Church in the World:  A United Church of Christ Perspective, Rev. Dr. Susan E. Davies
 

The Authority of the Church in the World from an
Episcopal Point of View

Rev. Dr. O.C. Edwards, Jr.
Co-chair, Faith and Order Commission (2003-07)               

The Episcopal Church is a branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the United States.  That is to say that we trace our history back to the Church of England and are in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.  The church in England declared its independence of the papacy in the 1530s.  It returned to papal obedience briefly under Queen Mary, left it again and moved in a Reformed direction under Edward VI, straightened out into a comprehensive stand under Elizabeth, recognized its Catholic heritage more fully under Charles I, was recast in a Presbyterian form during the Commonwealth, shifted toward Independency under Cromwell, and regained its Catholic stance at the Restoration, at which time Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists became separate denominations.  Thus England became one of the first countries to recognize that you can have a realm that is religiously divided that is nevertheless politically united.  After James II tried to move England in a more papal direction, he was replaced by William and Mary, who were followed by the Hanoverian Georges.               

The cause of much of this zigzagging was that the English church was established with its monarch being the head of both the secular and ecclesiastical aspects of the realm.  The monarch was not regarded as either a sacramental or a theological authority but did have legal jurisdiction.  Much of the history summarized above took place when the divine right of kings was upheld – except by those who were trying to change both the political and the religious system. (This was the period of absolute monarchies in much of Europe.)  There was little opportunity then for the church to address or claim authority in the world.  Yet even as early as 1606, a bishop who compiled the church’s collection of canon law admitted that it was possible for kings and other officials to err sufficiently for God to raise up prophets to call for their overthrow.  

From the beginning, however, bishops served in the House of Lords and thus participated in the decisions of Parliament.  As England moved to become a constitutional monarchy with the real power of government in the hands of the prime minister and Parliament, this role became even more important.  Yet bishoprics were crown appointments, which meant that they were made by the government in power, and most bishops were faithful to those who appointed them.  Nevertheless, they did and do have real input into the legislative process and even today their voices are heard on matters of morality and justice.  A landmark in this history was the publication in 1942 by William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, of Christianity and the Social Order. 

When English settlers came to North America, those who had not migrated to escape the established church took it with them, and it was established in several colonies.  After the Revolution the church in America became independent, but it was also severely weakened by the loss of clergy who were loyal to the mother country and by the distrust of many fellow Americans.  Bit by bit, however, it regained strength and exercised a good bit of influence in this country.  

All along Anglicans have taken important stands on issues of social morality.  For instance, a missionary bishop in India tells of a congregation in 1835 in which the English members insisted that there be no social distinctions between them and Indians of all ranks and castes.  Certainly, by the end of the nineteenth century, the Lambeth Conference of the bishops of the Anglican Communion began passing resolutions on a wide variety of social issues, including unequal distribution of the world’s goods, racism, alcohol and drug abuse, labor relations, war, etc.  

Yet it is hard to call these exercises of the authority of the church in the world, since they were calls for action in countries that were overwhelmingly Christian and they were addressed to the consciences of co-religionists.  Indeed, it is only with the growth of secularization that it seems appropriate to speak of the authority of the church in “the world,” as distinct from authority in the church to address fellow Christians.  Since de-Christianization of society in the United States has advanced rapidly in the last quarter of a century through the immigration of many persons with other religious commitments and identities, it is becoming progressively more relevant to speak of the authority of the church in the world. 

I’m not sure there is a special Anglican position that has been thought through and officially adopted in regard to that authority of the church to speak in the world.  My guess is that what we have really are presuppositions that the church and individual Christians are supposed to live out the Summary of the Law by loving God and other human beings.  The authority of the church is to proclaim the Gospel and to administer the sacraments.  When personal or systemic evil is opposed, it is in obedience to the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself.  Those who can be enlisted in the cause to resist evil do not have to become Christians to join in the struggle, but it is our Christian commitment that causes us to urge them to do so. 

There has been no lack of Episcopalians who have taken stands on issues of social morality and justice and invited others to help in the cause.  These include Presiding Bishops, the House of Bishops, General Convention, the Executive Council, and clergy and laity who have preached sermons and written books, and lay persons engaged in these and many other forms of expression.  These concerns are recognized in the organization of the staff of the national church, which has departments of Ethnic and Specialized Ministries, Relief and Development (a fund-raising agency), Migration Ministries, and Peace and Justice Ministries.  Peace and Justice Ministries are divided into the areas of Social Justice, Jubilee programs, Government Relations, Criminal Justice (prison ministries), Environmental Stewardship, and Peace.  Our Office of Government Relations is in Washington, DC, and its staff includes specialists in domestic policy, international policy, congressional relations, and Public Policy Network.  All these agencies are linked ecumenically with their counterparts in other churches and in the NCC. 

Finally it should be said that the Episcopal Church often does not approach justice issues head on, but backs into them while trying to live out its mission with integrity and pastoral sensitivity.  A case in point is that it has not passed a resolution on the eligibility of homosexual persons for ordained ministry, but instead approved the consecration to the episcopate of a beloved priest chosen by his diocese – who happened to be living in a committed relation with another man.  That is to say that we tend to be more practical than theoretical.