As we go to press at the end of January, two important conferences are waiting in the wings: the C of I Conference on Sexuality for General Synod members in March and the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in June. A whole issue of SEARCH could be devoted to the former – and indeed this was done back in Autumn 2004; but given the intensity of feeling on this subject in the Church today it now seems best to offer only a faraway perspective on the issue. New Zealand Bishop John Bluck’s offering should be thought-provoking for both sides of the debate. The Eucharistic Congress, at first sight of interest only to Roman Catholics, is actually very pertinent to the Church of Ireland, in that Archbishop Jackson has been invited to address the assembly on the theme “Communion in One Baptism”. Since we accept each other’s baptism as valid, is there hope we may in our lifetime proceed to accept each other also at the eucharist? Eoin de Bhaldraithe, former abbot of Bolton Abbey in Co Kildare, has long studied this issue and contributes a carefully considered article on the subject.
With the Anglican Communion still struggling with internal disagreement on both the Bible and sexual ethics, it is encouraging that the provinces are still working and conferring together on practical and philosophical matters. David Hewlett reflects in this issue on last year’s meeting of Anglican Theological College principals from around the globe, while former MP Sally Keeble shares her experience at the head of Anglican Alliance, the recently formed body working to redress poverty and injustice through mutual cooperation between nations.
Our series on Approaches to the Bible continues with a detailed look at more politically aware readings, in particular with reference to “Empire”, whether old or new, and to postcolonial viewpoints. The writer, Prof Stephen D Moore, is a 1980s graduate of TCD now considered second only to the great R S Sugirtharajah in this area of biblical hermeneutics. Also hailing from TCD – but in the context of last year’s Arab spring - is a consideration by Dr Roja Fazaeli on the possibility of a reformist Islam prevailing one day in Iran. Those concerned to establish more Islamic - Christian dialogue will be particularly appreciative. Finally we offer an In Retrospect on Dean Gonville ffrench-Beytagh by Patrick Comerford, and an extended review of the recent Dictionaries of Biography by Alan Acheson. A shorter than usual crop of book reviews, followed by some shorter “book notes” concludes the issue.
Contents
The Irish Churches and the Eucharist
It is a privilege to be asked to contribute to Search, the Church of Ireland’s theological journal. The editor has often told me that for her the icon of Anglican-Roman Catholic (ARC) relations is Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Runcie renewing their baptismal vows together in Canterbury Cathedral. One of my brethren tells me that there is now in the cathedral a slab of some kind inserted in the floor to mark the spot. In this essay I try to work out what are the implications of this sharing of a common baptism. I shall also look at the epiclesis, the invocation of the Holy Spirit in the eucharist. This is an early church feature which both our churches have now happily rediscovered.
The Anglican Church in Aotearoa1 New Zealand and Polynesia has set up a commission to summarise arguments on whether openly gay and lesbian people should be ordained as Anglican priests. Two or three “eminent persons” are being invited to work with a six-strong “church reference group” proposed by the three tikanga2. The commission is expected to report progress to General Synod in Fiji this July, and to complete its work for the 2014 General Synod.
This body is charged with presenting “a summary of the biblical and theological work done by our church on the issues surrounding Christian ethics, human sexuality and the blessing and ordination of people in same-sex relationships, including missiological, doctrinal, canonical, cultural and pastoral issues…” General Synod is also asking the commission for recommendations on “the principles of Anglican ecclesiology” and “in the light of our diversity, the ecclesial possibilities for ways forward for our three-tikanga church.
Such concerns apply equally to us in the Church of Ireland; and this way of proceeding may have much to teach us. However in the following article, first published in the New Zealand Church’s Anglican Taonga, retired Bishop JOHN BLUCK points out that some of the leading voices in every synod, parish and forum of the church are gay and lesbian, and that there are good reasons not to legislate on such things as right relationships and sexual orientation.
“Empire”, has become a mana word in biblical studies during the past decade or so, much as “narrative” earlier became a mana word in the field. Scholars had, of course, always been aware that many biblical texts were technically narratives, but the device of reading them single-mindedly as plotted narratives, replete with major and minor characters in complex interaction, was a relatively late development. Similarly, scholars had always been aware that all of the biblical texts were written under empire - Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Roman, to name only the more obvious empires - but the device of reading them single-mindedly as such has been a recent innovation. And for reasons that are still rather unclear, it has occurred principally within the field of New Testament studies.
David Hewlett on the theological college leaders’ consultation.
How many Principals does it take to change a light bulb? In May 2011 we could have answered that question as more than thirty Principals and Deans of Anglican Theological Colleges, Seminaries or Institutions met together in Canterbury. We met under the auspices of the TEAC Steering Group (Theological Education in the Anglican Communion) guided and inspired by its secretary Clare Amos. A communiqué issued after the consultation began in this way:
The first ever international consultation for Anglican Communion theological college Principals and Deans, gathering together representatives from 27countries, has been held in Canterbury. We celebrate and affirm the vital significance of theological education for the life and health of the Church and the whole people of God. We believe that good theological education has transforming power, and can promote a global understanding of Anglican identity. Our consultation has contributed to the unity of the Anglican Communion, as well as enabling various models of ecumenical engagement to be explored.
Sally Keeble on the work of the Anglican Alliance.
Anglican development workers from across central Africa, meeting in torrential rain in Lusaka, marked a new departure in the Church’s battle against poverty and injustice. Because the conference last November was when the Anglican Alliance took wings and flew: validating the commitment of those who had the original vision of bringing together development, relief and advocacy across the Communion.
On the 19th June 2002, Dr. Seyyed Hashem Aghajari, a history professor at Tarbiat Modaress University, gave a speech in the city of Hamedan titled, “Dr. Shariati and the Project of Islamic Protestantism.”1 It was delivered in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of the scholar and ideologue Dr. Ali Shariati.
Patrick Comerford recalls an Irish Anglican priest who was an inspiring and persecuted campaigner against apartheid.
The very Revd Gonville Aubie ffrench-Beytagh, born 100 years ago on 26 January 1912, was an Irish Anglican priest who attained international prominence in the 1970s for his uncompromising resistance to injustice and apartheid. Although he was Dean of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Johannesburg, he found his office was no protection against the state security forces, or against solitary detention, trial and eventual deportation.
With few exceptions, the great and good in the Church of Ireland’s long history – whether clergy or laity, bishops or theologians, saints or scholars - have not been taken up individually in biography. And of the few “Lives” that have been published, fewer have a woman as subject, the hymn-writer, Cecil Frances Alexander, being a rare exception. That biographical famine is, however, relieved in part by the advent of biographical dictionaries, of which three have been published since 1995. Though confined to library shelves as works of reference, recourse to them opens a wealth of material on the Church’s rich heritage. The purpose of this survey is to open these three dictionaries to view, with their invaluable content of recent scholarly research and reflection. All three include many, though not enough, Irish churchmen – and some, though still too few, churchwomen - through many centuries.
