Shattered communion
The Anglican schism and the problem with denominationalism
March 12, 2008
Jesse Dunning
Those who attend an Anglican Church have probably already heard the news. The Anglican Communion is effectively broken. The sad truth of the matter is that the Anglican Church of Canada, which has about 2000 parishes, has become schismatic. The split-off group, the Anglican Network of Canada, which is composed of the more orthodox members of the church, have split off and placed themselves under the authority of an archbishop outside of Canada.
My concern is not with a detailed examination of the history or the reasons behind the schism; that would require a much deeper examination of the history of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
It suffices to say that it goes deeper than the issue of same-sex marriage; at its heart, what is at stake is how we approach the biblical text; whether we judge the word of God, or it judges us.
The point is that however you want to slice it, when congregations are being taken to court by the diocese for possession of the church building it is safe to say that the split is irreparable. One of the most historically durable of Protestant denominations has finally fractured.
The news of this split got me thinking about the nature of denominationalism and schism. Like every Protestant member of the modern Western church, I grew up surrounded by a plethora of denominations. Some estimates put the number above 30,000 with a few hundred more arising each year. For me it seemed natural, as a child, that there should be so many. I doubt that many of you felt differently. After all, is it not reasonable to expect different people to require different churches? Is not the whole glory of Christ better reflected by a variety of worship? Are not Christians required to follow their conscience in following Christ to the church which they believe most clearly reflects their understanding of God’s will?
None of these questions are easily answered. Until recently I probably would have answered in the affirmative, if I thought about them at all. Richard Niebuhr’s statement that “denominationalism represents the moral failure of Christianity,” coupled with John Paul II’s declaration that “Western Christianity has been breathing on one lung” have both helped sway my opinion.
The problem with denominationalism is twofold: it weakens the witness of the church in our claim to be the body of Christ and it reduces Christianity to a matter of personal preference. First, the damage that the surplus of denominations does to the claim that Christianity represents the singular revelation of God cannot be stressed enough. It is the scandal of the Church and makes a mockery of our claims. Second, reducing Christianity to a matter of personal choice raises the autonomous human being to a position where he picks among flavours of Christianity until he finds one which suits his taste. It implicitly places human subjects, rather than God, in the centre. This prospect ought to alarm us; instead, we scarcely consider it.
As a final thought, remember Jesus’ prayer to the Father in the garden: “The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:22-23). This call should convict us. The Church was not meant to be broken and thus we should strive for its healing.
Now you go...
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