Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester, offers what seems to me an excellent summary of key questions that need to be answered before one can evaluate the recent Vatican announcement of a new Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans.
I welcome the Roman Catholic Church’s generosity of spirit and its recognition of what Pope Paul VI called the ‘legitimate prestige and patrimony’ of the Anglican Communion.
I am unclear, however, as to whether there is agreement about the faith ‘once for all delivered to the saints’ on which such an offer must be based.
For orthodox Anglicans, the supreme authority of the Word of God is, naturally, a basic requirement for any such agreement to be reached.
If Anglican patrimony is to flourish, in the context of unity, what arrangements will be made for the study of its theological tradition, method, spirituality and approach to moral issues?
In particular, this is important for the formation of ordinands in institutions which give adequate regard to such considerations.
Orthodox Anglicans should see this recognition of patrimony by another church as affirming the elements of apostolicity and catholicity in their own church, for which they have always stood.
In the meantime, there is a need to build confidence in the evangelical basis of the Anglican tradition and to make sure that it survives and flourishes in the face of the many challenges it faces.
However, before some fundamental issues are clarified it is difficult to respond further to what the Vatican is offering.
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