I do not mean primarily to draw attention to the long and continual war between so-called Reformational Anglicans and Anglo-Catholics, those wishing to identify Anglicanism’s close connection to the Reformed theological tradition versus those wishing to narrow the gap between Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism. I certainly have plenty to say on this topic, as does Richard Hooker, and this lecture will shed some light on it – but it is not my principal concern here.
Rather, I want to highlight the more basic tension between the ACNA’s aspiration to have reformed itself from the corruptions of the Episcopal Church, and its aspiration to remain in continuity with the broader church – the catholic wholeness of the church of Christ. On the one hand, it seeks to emphasize that it is different from what it was before; on the other hand, it seeks to emphasize that it is unchanged. On the one hand, it seeks to be distinctive and set apart; on the other hand, it seeks to hold things in common with believers. On the one hand, it seeks to emphasize error to be condemned; on the other hand, it seeks to emphasize fellowship to be retained.
This situation is not unique to this historical moment; indeed, long after the rift with the Episcopal Church has receded far into the rear-view mirror, the same questions and tensions will arise within the ACNA, as indeed they arise in every church, and particularly in our modern American context. The church of Jesus Christ is called to be one, but it is also called to be holy. What is it to do when the demands of holiness seem to require separation? And what is it to do when the demands of unity seem to require compromise? How can we follow our calling to ‘Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good’ (1 Thess. 5:21) and to be imitators of God in ‘the ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Cor. 5:18)?
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