‘Pastor of Pastors’ and the enigma of ‘unfeigned loyalty’

– The first of our Theological Reflections About Clear Evangelicalism (TRACE) contributions –

In the earlier Internet discourse, and at the recent Sydney Anglican synod to elect an archbishop, it was opined that a major desirable characteristic needed in an archbishop was that he should be ‘a pastor of pastors’. That phrase is well understood in Church denominations that have episcopal government, and has in the last several generations become a standard description of the nature and role of episcopacy among Anglicans.

But what may it mean in our more immediate context? Below is a sketch of what the concept ‘pastor of pastors’ signifies historically and in much of contemporary Anglicanism, and of what it could mean for us.

In mainstream theological writings on the church, the concept has largely remained unchanged since it became in the middle ages a title distinctive of the Roman Catholic pope. In line with him being designated ‘the supreme Pontiff’, the pope is also called Pastor pastorum, ‘Pastor of the pastors’. There are three intertwined ideas here. First, God has given the pope the office of Pastor over his entire earthly domain. He is the Pastor. As he chooses, the bishop of Rome shares that responsibility and power with other bishops, and through them the priests and deacons. They share in his ministry. Second, the title ‘Pastor of pastors’ recognises this pastoral responsibility as a complete legal, moral and theological jurisdiction over the worldwide Christian ministry committed to him. That jurisdiction is exercised through the power of appointment, persuasion, and where necessary, coercion, that is, legal sanctions. Finally, the Pastor of pastors exercises a personal and spiritual care for the pastors under him. To our ears this last sounds more familiar. We may say that in this third aspect he is ‘pastoring the pastors’.

In the more recent Anglican adoption of the phrase ‘Pastor of pastors’ to describe a foundational character of the office of a diocesan bishop or archbishop, all three elements are included, but limited to the diocese concerned, and more specifically to Anglican ministry within the diocese. Further, more stress has been placed on the third element, ‘pastoring the pastors’. As well as the power of appointment and legal jurisdiction, the diocesan bishop especially exercises a personal care, a distinctive spiritual care for all the ordained Christian workers in his diocese. In those three ways, he is their ‘chief Pastor.’ This latter phrase was used in the inauguration services for both the present Archbishop of Sydney and his predecessor.

What are we to make of all this? Keep reading