http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=18604#.UwbChsKYZjo
PRIMATES: A SELECTION FROM THOSE WHO DID NOT MONKEY ABOUTBy Roger Salter
Special to Virtueonline www.virtueonline.org
February 17, 2014
A swift review of former archbishops of the Ecclesia Anglicana discloses that the primatial office of Archbishop of Canterbury has been held by many men of great distinction and talent, theological, pastoral, and administrative - men who were made bold by God and of marked benefit to his Church. What is noticeable about the significant archbishops is their pronounced and principled promotion of the Word of God and some key aspect of it that needed proclamation in their time. Whatever their imperfections and weaker points, they promoted some particular facet or facets of divine truth that warranted strong emphasis for the sound thinking, teaching, and welfare of the people of God, for which the believing community is forever grateful.
No cause is greater for the clergy of the first rank than the promulgation and preservation of truth (Therefore, although the church is a witness and a guardian of Holy Scripture, yet it is not open to it to prescribe anything contrary to Scripture, or to enforce anything not found in Scripture to be believed as necessary to salvation. Article 20). To feed and lead the Lord's flock requires a mind saturated with Scripture and absolute stickability to the truth that Scripture yields. A true shepherd does not break down the hedges, fences, and folds that protect the sheep from harm and he does nothing to allow the invasion of ravaging wolves. A bishop removes threats to the souls in his care and does not negotiate with any menace in any guise. He doesn't look to the world for wisdom and direction but to the Word authored and illuminated by the Spirit.
To even consider the possible legitimacy of some things suggested by contemporary culture is already a concession that must lead to the collapse of Christian integrity and obedience. Our first duty is not to expand the boundaries of the Church but to expound the Word of the Lord and entrust the outcome to him. He adds to his Church, not our schemes of relaxation-of-precept and bogus attempts at reconciliation of alien notions and behaviors. Our notions of kindness, fair play, and compassion must never contravene the holy will of God or jeopardize the purity of his people and their testimony among men.
When it comes down to it the highest honor of Anglicanism's "highest office" (servant of the servants) is the huge privilege of upholding and unfolding the Word of God. The archbishop, in our time at least, is not principally a quasi-cabinet minister or politician solving society's economic problems and social dilemmas as a priority. These things are best left to the expertise of others and perhaps lay Christian contributors qualified for the task. He is not a diplomat reconciling the church to the world, endlessly apologizing for the awkwardness the Word of God poses to sinful minds and mores. We are not called to make the church acceptable to the world, but through the gospel to remake men and women acceptable to God. The Church wields a sword as well as waving an olive branch. He, the Primate, is first and foremost a preacher of Holy Writ bent on reconciling the rebel world to God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He may bear in his mind many subsidiary concerns, especially for his prayers or advice to suitable colleagues, but he is to be the exemplary preacher, expositor, and defender of the Bible, a joy to his people and a blessing to the nation through the deft deployment of Scripture.
So many of the Church's leaders seem to lack faith in the power of the Word and the sovereign effectiveness of the Holy Spirit. We lack the patience and humility to wait on God. Bishops and clergy may become executive types wielding authority over what they deem to be a corporation-like entity. Our devices can be the devil's deceits. Conversion and church growth, even as we fulfill our serious responsibilities, are God's prerogatives. Success in human terms is not guaranteed. Real success is in God's secret ways that glorify him and not human egos. The chief and vital role of the minister of the Gospel is, under God, the formation of saving faith and the maturation of the godly life in preparation for the embarkation upon eternal life.
In the main, the best of our Archbishops have been men in the Augustinian tradition, some emphatically, others more mildly and not necessarily consistently. But they have been men conscious of human helplessness in sin (not mere handicaps) and advocates of the absolute necessity of supernatural grace. Their assessment of the human plight was not slight. They complained of our natural impotence and entrusted themselves to a strong Saviour. Grace, not human goodness and its best efforts, was the undergirding of their tenure of office and its vital ministry.
Early Archbishops of Canterbury, such as Boniface, Cuthbert, Dunstan, and Laurence are well known names as parish dedications in the south and west of England. Their characters and virtues are obscure to most, but no doubt there are historians, especially regional, who could vouch for their quality as ministers and men. Anselm (c1033-1109) and Bradwardine (1290-1349) are perhaps the first archbishops of national and international note, apart from Augustine of Canterbury who established the See at the behest of Pope Gregory the Great in the 7th century.
Thomas Bradwardine, famed philosopher of his age and influence on Wycliffe, came to a clear understanding of the wonder of unmerited electing love through his joyful grasp of the apostle's words from Romans 9:15, "I will have mercy upon whom I have mercy, and will have compassion on whom I have compassion". Anselm championed the gospel of pure grace and floodlit important aspects of the atonement. Perhaps in the end Cranmer was the best and bravest of them all considering his legacy and eventual remarkable courage in defending it. Reginald Pole, instated as Mary's Roman Catholic Archbishop, was a disappointed almost-evangelical who regretted, with his friend Cardinal Contarini and other members of the Spirituali (Vittoria Colonna, Michelangelo, etc), the stance of Trent on saving grace. Archbishops Whitgift and Grindal stood for the testimony to free and sovereign grace, and the latter especially for the priority of the preached word to the disgust and vengefulness of the queen he served. George Abbot was the last of the avowedly Reformed men to occupy the office of Primate.
But subsequent archbishops have had their true worth. John Sumner upheld the historic protestantism of Anglicanism and opposed the notion of baptismal regeneration, a teaching that has fatally misled many. William Temple eloquently preached and taught a winsome message of human need and divine mercy.
Michael Ramsey was a true theologian of broad sympathy but sound personal and attractive faith in Christ. His defense of biblical essentials countered much of 20th century liberalism in the Anglican Communion and the Christian Church at large. His advocacy of the decriminalization of homosexuality was not personal support for the practice, but opposition to the crimes of the ill treatment and blackmailing of those discovered in the vice of perversion and for which grace provides the only avoidance and healing (it was "abominable, utterly abominable" and he felt the practice had "an unnaturalness about it which makes it vile"). Who can forget Ramsey's Pascal-like nights of fire when those passing by his door could hear the words describing the presence of God, "It is fire. It is fire."?
Donald Coggan was excellent material for the primatial office but he reduced his effectiveness by giving forewarning of his desire to spend only a five year term in that specific role. His ministry was bracing, beautiful, and eminently biblical. His stress on the importance of the ministry of the Word came at a time when many among the clergy were indifferent to it or held it in contempt and in expressing their sentiments caused parishioners to ridicule and ignore the sermon. The misuse and disuse of the pulpit has helped to plunge Anglicanism into its dark night. It is apparent that the onus is upon all in the episcopate to ensure that the truth of Holy Scripture is always to the fore in the life and message of the Church of God. The esteem in which God is held is equivalent to the reverence extended to his Word among the Church's members. The extent to which God is pleased with his Church is equal to the amount of attention devoted to the cross of Christ.
Truly consecrated bishops, in their heart of hearts, take upon themselves a weighty responsibility and they bear the onus to stand firmly for the divine revelation without wavering, to encourage their clergy in the same attitude, and to see to it that the whole gospel is conveyed to the parishes as well as to the community the congregations serve. Endless dithering and debating undermines the testimony of the Faith. Equivocation over plainly revealed doctrine denies the pastoral vocation. Ultimately, in the right manner, truth is for declaration and not discussion clouded by doubt and the tendency toward negotiation. "Thus says the Lord" should never be reduced to "The Lord suggests, if it's alright with you".
Every minister of the gospel in every quarter or corner of God's field urgently needs much prayer, for that field is contested by the forces of evil and the malice of men. It is an arena of intense conflict, the like of which few are aware. If we are disposed to think ill of any professed servant of God let us pray for their souls, difficult as that might be, and for the success of their grace-inspired endeavours, should God deign to use them.
The Rev. Roger Salter is an ordained Church of England minister where he had parishes in the dioceses of Bristol and Portsmouth before coming to Birmingham, Alabama to serve as Rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church
PRIMATES: A SELECTION FROM THOSE WHO DID NOT MONKEY ABOUTBy Roger Salter
Special to Virtueonline www.virtueonline.org
February 17, 2014
A swift review of former archbishops of the Ecclesia Anglicana discloses that the primatial office of Archbishop of Canterbury has been held by many men of great distinction and talent, theological, pastoral, and administrative - men who were made bold by God and of marked benefit to his Church. What is noticeable about the significant archbishops is their pronounced and principled promotion of the Word of God and some key aspect of it that needed proclamation in their time. Whatever their imperfections and weaker points, they promoted some particular facet or facets of divine truth that warranted strong emphasis for the sound thinking, teaching, and welfare of the people of God, for which the believing community is forever grateful. No cause is greater for the clergy of the first rank than the promulgation and preservation of truth (Therefore, although the church is a witness and a guardian of Holy Scripture, yet it is not open to it to prescribe anything contrary to Scripture, or to enforce anything not found in Scripture to be believed as necessary to salvation. Article 20). To feed and lead the Lord's flock requires a mind saturated with Scripture and absolute stickability to the truth that Scripture yields. A true shepherd does not break down the hedges, fences, and folds that protect the sheep from harm and he does nothing to allow the invasion of ravaging wolves. A bishop removes threats to the souls in his care and does not negotiate with any menace in any guise. He doesn't look to the world for wisdom and direction but to the Word authored and illuminated by the Spirit.
To even consider the possible legitimacy of some things suggested by contemporary culture is already a concession that must lead to the collapse of Christian integrity and obedience. Our first duty is not to expand the boundaries of the Church but to expound the Word of the Lord and entrust the outcome to him. He adds to his Church, not our schemes of relaxation-of-precept and bogus attempts at reconciliation of alien notions and behaviors. Our notions of kindness, fair play, and compassion must never contravene the holy will of God or jeopardize the purity of his people and their testimony among men.
When it comes down to it the highest honor of Anglicanism's "highest office" (servant of the servants) is the huge privilege of upholding and unfolding the Word of God. The archbishop, in our time at least, is not principally a quasi-cabinet minister or politician solving society's economic problems and social dilemmas as a priority. These things are best left to the expertise of others and perhaps lay Christian contributors qualified for the task. He is not a diplomat reconciling the church to the world, endlessly apologizing for the awkwardness the Word of God poses to sinful minds and mores. We are not called to make the church acceptable to the world, but through the gospel to remake men and women acceptable to God. The Church wields a sword as well as waving an olive branch. He, the Primate, is first and foremost a preacher of Holy Writ bent on reconciling the rebel world to God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He may bear in his mind many subsidiary concerns, especially for his prayers or advice to suitable colleagues, but he is to be the exemplary preacher, expositor, and defender of the Bible, a joy to his people and a blessing to the nation through the deft deployment of Scripture.
So many of the Church's leaders seem to lack faith in the power of the Word and the sovereign effectiveness of the Holy Spirit. We lack the patience and humility to wait on God. Bishops and clergy may become executive types wielding authority over what they deem to be a corporation-like entity. Our devices can be the devil's deceits. Conversion and church growth, even as we fulfill our serious responsibilities, are God's prerogatives. Success in human terms is not guaranteed. Real success is in God's secret ways that glorify him and not human egos. The chief and vital role of the minister of the Gospel is, under God, the formation of saving faith and the maturation of the godly life in preparation for the embarkation upon eternal life.
In the main, the best of our Archbishops have been men in the Augustinian tradition, some emphatically, others more mildly and not necessarily consistently. But they have been men conscious of human helplessness in sin (not mere handicaps) and advocates of the absolute necessity of supernatural grace. Their assessment of the human plight was not slight. They complained of our natural impotence and entrusted themselves to a strong Saviour. Grace, not human goodness and its best efforts, was the undergirding of their tenure of office and its vital ministry. Early Archbishops of Canterbury, such as Boniface, Cuthbert, Dunstan, and Laurence are well known names as parish dedications in the south and west of England. Their characters and virtues are obscure to most, but no doubt there are historians, especially regional, who could vouch for their quality as ministers and men. Anselm (c1033-1109) and Bradwardine (1290-1349) are perhaps the first archbishops of national and international note, apart from Augustine of Canterbury who established the See at the behest of Pope Gregory the Great in the 7th century.
Thomas Bradwardine, famed philosopher of his age and influence on Wycliffe, came to a clear understanding of the wonder of unmerited electing love through his joyful grasp of the apostle's words from Romans 9:15, "I will have mercy upon whom I have mercy, and will have compassion on whom I have compassion". Anselm championed the gospel of pure grace and floodlit important aspects of the atonement. Perhaps in the end Cranmer was the best and bravest of them all considering his legacy and eventual remarkable courage in defending it. Reginald Pole, instated as Mary's Roman Catholic Archbishop, was a disappointed almost-evangelical who regretted, with his friend Cardinal Contarini and other members of the Spirituali (Vittoria Colonna, Michelangelo, etc), the stance of Trent on saving grace. Archbishops Whitgift and Grindal stood for the testimony to free and sovereign grace, and the latter especially for the priority of the preached word to the disgust and vengefulness of the queen he served. George Abbot was the last of the avowedly Reformed men to occupy the office of Primate.
But subsequent archbishops have had their true worth. John Sumner upheld the historic protestantism of Anglicanism and opposed the notion of baptismal regeneration, a teaching that has fatally misled many. William Temple eloquently preached and taught a winsome message of human need and divine mercy.
Michael Ramsey was a true theologian of broad sympathy but sound personal and attractive faith in Christ. His defense of biblical essentials countered much of 20th century liberalism in the Anglican Communion and the Christian Church at large. His advocacy of the decriminalization of homosexuality was not personal support for the practice, but opposition to the crimes of the ill treatment and blackmailing of those discovered in the vice of perversion and for which grace provides the only avoidance and healing (it was "abominable, utterly abominable" and he felt the practice had "an unnaturalness about it which makes it vile"). Who can forget Ramsey's Pascal-like nights of fire when those passing by his door could hear the words describing the presence of God, "It is fire. It is fire."?
Donald Coggan was excellent material for the primatial office but he reduced his effectiveness by giving forewarning of his desire to spend only a five year term in that specific role. His ministry was bracing, beautiful, and eminently biblical. His stress on the importance of the ministry of the Word came at a time when many among the clergy were indifferent to it or held it in contempt and in expressing their sentiments caused parishioners to ridicule and ignore the sermon. The misuse and disuse of the pulpit has helped to plunge Anglicanism into its dark night. It is apparent that the onus is upon all in the episcopate to ensure that the truth of Holy Scripture is always to the fore in the life and message of the Church of God. The esteem in which God is held is equivalent to the reverence extended to his Word among the Church's members. The extent to which God is pleased with his Church is equal to the amount of attention devoted to the cross of Christ.
Truly consecrated bishops, in their heart of hearts, take upon themselves a weighty responsibility and they bear the onus to stand firmly for the divine revelation without wavering, to encourage their clergy in the same attitude, and to see to it that the whole gospel is conveyed to the parishes as well as to the community the congregations serve. Endless dithering and debating undermines the testimony of the Faith. Equivocation over plainly revealed doctrine denies the pastoral vocation. Ultimately, in the right manner, truth is for declaration and not discussion clouded by doubt and the tendency toward negotiation. "Thus says the Lord" should never be reduced to "The Lord suggests, if it's alright with you".
Every minister of the gospel in every quarter or corner of God's field urgently needs much prayer, for that field is contested by the forces of evil and the malice of men. It is an arena of intense conflict, the like of which few are aware. If we are disposed to think ill of any professed servant of God let us pray for their souls, difficult as that might be, and for the success of their grace-inspired endeavours, should God deign to use them.
The Rev. Roger Salter is an ordained Church of England minister where he had parishes in the dioceses of Bristol and Portsmouth before coming to Birmingham, Alabama to serve as Rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church
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