By Robin G. Jordan
Back in 2011 I posted two articles, “Liturgy and Catechism in the Anglican Church” and “Sizing Up the Worship Practices in Your Church,” which were related to a problem that I saw in both Anglican Church
in North America and the Anglican Mission in America—clergy who identify
themselves as “evangelical” but who do not in their worship practices exhibit
those characteristics historically associated with Anglican evangelicalism. These
clergy exhibit what may be described as a love of ritual that from a historical
standpoint has been associated with what is sometimes described as the “Catholic
Reaction” of the seventeenth century and the “Catholic Revival” of the
nineteenth century.
Their love of ritual is pronounced to such a degree that
Gerald Bray describes them as “charismatic open evangelical ritualists.” Bray
classifies them first and foremost as ritualists, then as evangelicals but of the open variety, and last of all as charismatics.
Ritualists are individuals who display an
excessive devotion to the use of ritual often without any regard to its
function. Open evangelicals, while exhibiting some of the characteristics
associated with evangelicalism in the Anglican Church, show a greater openness to
unreformed Catholic teaching and practices than conservative evangelicals.
Prominent nineteenth century evangelical leader, Bishop of Liverpool J. C.
Ryle, would have described them as “liberal evangelicals.” Charismatics are
individuals who believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit did not cease with
the apostolic age. They may or may not believe in a separate baptism of the
Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues as proof of such baptism.
Among the concerns that I expressed in the aforementioned
articles was that this particular group of clergy is not taking seriously the
principle of lex orandi, lex credenda--how
we pray shapes what we believe. The vestments we wear and the gestures,
postures, and ceremonies we adopt carry theological freight.
The same group of clergy has been influenced by the Ancient
Future Movement and the late worship garu Robert Webber or by seminar
professors, bishops, and other clergy who have been influenced by them. One of
the criticisms of this movement and Dr. Webber is that they promoted worship practices
in a number of denominations, which had strong associations with doctrines that
conflicted with what these denominations historically have believed and taught.
This particular group of clergy is not homogenous. Some of
its members maintain a Protestant identity despite their ritualistic
proclivities. In this regard they bear similarity to the seventeenth century
Caroline High Churchmen. Others, however, are a step away from becoming full-fledged
Anglo-Catholics. Indeed they may be viewed as incipient Anglo-Catholics. They
are in the process of exchanging their Protestant identity for an unreformed
Catholic one.
The Anglo-Catholic wing of the Anglican Church in North America
includes a number of this particular clergy group’s former members who have
made that final step. Yet they describe themselves as “evangelical,” “evangelical
Catholic,” or “High Church evangelical” The last two discriptors are oxymorons. The use of such discriptors
adds to the confusion over what constitutes a genuine Anglican evangelical
identity.
In addition to showing ritualistic proclivities the same
clergy group confuses liturgy with ritualism. Liturgy is a form that is used in
the conduct of public worship and the celebration of the sacraments of Baptism
and the Lord’s Supper. Ritualism, on the other hand, is excessive devotion to
the use of ritual often without any regard to its function. Liturgy and
ritualism is not the same thing. A denomination may be liturgical, that is, use
a fixed liturgy, without being ritualistic. A liturgy points away from itself
to God. In ritualism, the use or practice of ritual becomes the focus of
worship, not God. As the article I posted yesterday points out,
it reflects a particular view of the divine or the supernatural.
If you have not read “Liturgy and Catechism in the Anglican Church” and “Sizing Up the Worship Practices in Your Church,” I definitely
recommend that you read them. If you have read the two articles, I recommend
that you read them again.
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