The Myth of Crisis: A Perspective from Belize

By R. Lindsley Walton

I want to begin by addressing a common myth that is frequently heard in the Anglican Communion. It is often said that the Anglican church was founded as a result of King Henry the VIII's desire for a divorce from his wife -- this is a simplistic, if not reckless, reading of history.

King Henry the VIII's desire to have his first marriage annulled, because of his need for a son who could succeed him on the throne, can at-the-most be characterized as the straw that broke the camel's back. The break between the Church of Rome and what became the Church of England had far more to do with the issue of centralized authority versus local autonomy (as well as the belief that the Bible and the Mass should be offered to the faithful in their common language rather than the relatively unknown language of Latin). And it is the same issue of authority that our Anglican Communion is wrestling with today.

It seems that some in our society are determined to insist that there is a crisis of identity in the Anglican church. But I believe Anglican identity is unshakably rooted in five foundational tenets.

In the Anglican tradition, Jesus Christ is the infallible head of the church and no other. What this means is, without any centralized authority like the Papacy, we rely on democratic principles in governing the church today.

First, in the Anglican tradition, Jesus Christ is the infallible head of the church and no other. What this means is, without any centralized authority like the Papacy, we rely on democratic principles in governing the church today. We respect and honor each and every member of our church and their own relationship with God, equally, whether layperson, priest or bishop.

Second, we look to the scriptures (the Bible), the tradition of the saints (the creeds and councils of the early church fathers), and reason (the disciplined use of our God-given minds rather than just our emotional reactions) as our sources of authority in discerning God's will for the church.

Third, we have a love for our prayer book because it is full of scripture and the prayers of the earliest Christians, uniting us with "angels and archangels and all the company of heaven," who have gone on before us to show us the way.

Fourth, we are a worshipping community which above all else is centered in Holy Communion, the symbol of our liberty from sin, unity with God and with one another, and the charity of Christ that we are to share with others.

Fifth and finally, we are indeed a community, the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has spread across all five major continents presently numbering some 77 million. And I am writing today to proclaim that recent events inside or outside of the church have not altered our identity as Anglicans in any substantial way.

Contrary to what people in the public square, the media, or even some clergy are saying, there is no present threat to Anglican identity . . . I dare say, the confirmation of Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual man, will have no affect on the Diocese of Belize or the Province of the West Indies, and little on the rest of the Communion.

Contrary to what people in the public square, the media, or even some clergy are saying, there is no present threat to Anglican identity. What took place in the Diocese of New Hampshire, a very small diocese that represents less than one-tenth of a percent of the entire Anglican Communion, need not affect the rest of the church at all. I dare say, the confirmation of Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual man, will have no affect on the Diocese of Belize or the Province of the West Indies, and little on the rest of the Communion. As our own bishop, Sylvestre Romero-Palma, has wisely said, "There will never be a perfect church nor has there ever been one. But the church will continue. We are confident that the Holy Spirit still resides with us." There is no crisis in the Anglican church, and yet, as soon as we are led to believe that there is, the evil one has a crack through which he can slither.

So the real question is: How do we remain a communion of worldwide Anglicans now? To begin with, by learning to live with integrity in the face of ambiguity and deep disagreement, like anyone does in any mature and complex relationship, whether it's a country after a national election, or a successful marriage. More to the point, as Henri Nouwen (the Roman Catholic theologian who taught at Harvard University and helped lead a community for severely handicapped people) once said, "Genuine community oftentimes means living with the person you'd least like to." But this discomfort with community is nothing new to our world today. These words of Jesus continue to ring true, I believe.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. If you share with those who share with you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. I tell you, love your enemies, do well by them, and share with them expecting nothing in return" [author's translation].

In the seminal story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus told us that loving one's neighbor means more than simply loving those who are of the same race, economic status, or faith that we are. In fact, Jesus used this timeless parable to make it perfectly clear that true love of neighbor means loving those who don't look like us, talk like us, or even believe like us. When Jesus called Matthew to be one of his disciples, and then went to have a meal at his house, the Pharisees indignantly demanded to know why Jesus was eating with sinners. And so, if today's Pharisees insist on having a crisis, I say let them have their own crisis, and not one at faithful Anglicans' expense meant to sell more newspapers, win more converts, or make mischief at the cost of others.

But the critical point is this: the goodness of the meal, the Holy Communion, has nothing to do with the worthiness of the ones receiving it or the ones with whom we share it. What a mess of fallen humanity that would make of the heavenly banquet.

But the critical point is this: the goodness of the meal, the Holy Communion, has nothing to do with the worthiness of the ones receiving it or the ones with whom we share it. What a mess of fallen humanity that would make of the heavenly banquet. No, the goodness of the meal has everything to do with the holiness of the one offering it, who in the Anglican church is no mere man.

There is no crisis in the Anglican Communion because Christ is still head of the church, God the Father Almighty is still sovereign, and the Spirit blows where it wills -- and not always where we humans think it should. From the very beginning, the Scriptures have reassured us that what man intends for evil, God will use for good. It may appear as Good Friday to some. But Easter is coming, we know.

The Rev. R. Lindsey Walton is assistant director of the Anglican Theological Institute in Belmopan, Belize. He is an American Episcopal priest whose ministry is currently focused on developing local leaders in the Latin American church, and he has also worked internationally with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, AIDS orphans in Tanzania. Lindsey is a lecturer in Christian ethics and church history, and may be reached by email at nancy4lin@aol.com

[Ed. Note: this article originally appeared in the Anglican News in the Diocese of Belize.]