...a lengthy discussion with a longstanding friend, a devout Anglican. A classicist, a fine teacher, and a generous and large-minded lady whose ideas and conversation are always of interest...she has long been very unhappy at the C of E's wobbling on issues such as same-sex unions or remarriage following divorce, and its imposition of priestesses. She has friends who have joined the Ordinariate or have been thinking of doing so, but is herself unconvinced about specific aspects of Catholic belief, especially Marian doctrines. She is glad that at present she can worship in a church near her home where there is a clergyman who opposes the ordination of women, and where, at least for now, there is no prospect of a lady bishop interfering with things..."and you can't plan ahead, you can only trust God..."
We have been friends for years, and worked together on a number of projects: our friendship is centred on shared beliefs and values. But the notion that Catholics have warped ideas on Mary run very deep in much Evangelical literature and culture...affecting a great many people who are also unimpressed when they see what appears to be weird activity with people kissing a statue or putting coins under it etc etc...
I think at one level there is a recognition that popular Cathlic piety and traditions should not be mistaken for idolatry...but there is also a feeling that, while the authority and strength of the Church are to be valued, these are swamped by a "clutter" which is unacceptable, or sort of alien.
Yet the CofE through which she has encountered Christ and which has nurtured her faith over the years is no longer something on which she can rely.
We walked down Whitehall together, as she had a teaching engagement nearby, and I was en route to a meeting too...a London we both love in a country for which we both feel a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility...
1 comment:
I once had a confrontation with a Catholic woman who was becoming Anglican because it was 'worship in spirit and truth', rather than the complexity of Catholicism's rituals, saints, etc. I told her she was confusing 'spirit and truth' with 'neat and tidy'.
I also find it odd that Anglicans focus negatively on the Marian doctrines of Rome while maintaining an almost critique-free attitude toward Orthodoxy, whose veneration of the Theotokos is robust and lush. They may not have defined the Assumption as a dogma, but any Orthodox who denied it would find himself in big trouble.
In the end, I suspect it is cultural.
Post a Comment