The Empty Chair of Anglican Canterbury

Anglican representatives in Rome for the beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV

Probably the greatest tragedy of the (Anglican) church throughout its long and checkered history has been its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture. John Stott

The recent election of Cherry Vann to the See of Wales presents yet another challenge to Anglican unity. The Church of Nigeria, Anglican, has cut all ties with the Church of Wales over the Vann decision.

Go Your Own Way
by Fleetwood Mac

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

Last gasp?

75% of the Anglican Communion rejects the direction taken in the last four decades by the Church of England, the Episcopal Church of America, and the Anglican Church of Canada. The Anglican Communion is rent from head to toe and is gasping for air.

St Matthew 7:16-20

The Anglican Communion began its drift into conformity with the world when the adulterous Henry VIII sought to declare himself head of the Church in England and broke communion with Rome on the matter of divorce and remarriage. The Lambeth Conference resolution of 1930 endorsed artificial contraception. This development constituted a substantial break from Apostolic teaching and paved the way for ongoing discussions within the Anglican Communion over morality and sexuality. As a result, the Anglican Communion has continued to struggle with the implications of these developments for its identity. With no unified doctrinal authority, even some jurisdictions within the Eastern Orthodox Churches joined the slide into the culture of death on sexual ethics. Theological fragmentation has led to an array of interpretations and practices, often causing confusion among the faithful. Consequently, many congregations are left to navigate their own paths.

The appointment of the next archbishop of Canterbury is not merely a ceremonial matter or an internal administrative decision. It is a moment of profound consequence for the Anglican Communion worldwide. What is needed now is a faithful, courageous, and wise leader who can stand firm in traditional Anglican belief and serve as a bridge between two deeply divided communions. Anything less would be a disservice to the gospel, to the Anglican heritage, and to the tens of millions of Anglicans who continue to pray and labor for a church that is both holy and united. Archbishop Mouneer Anis, former Anglican Archbishop of Egypt. First Things 23DEC2023.

The gasps are increasing.

The Anglican body's breathing is becoming more and more shallow with each ecclesiastical appointment and doctrinal skid. Average Sunday attendance is a spasm of statistics that confirm mild returns to pre-COVID levels or significant decaying numbers. The Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) and the Episcopal Church USA continue to hemorrhage members. At last count, in 2022, the average Sunday attendance of the ACoC was 65,000. In 2019, of 1.1 million British Anglicans, 690,000 or 6% regularly attended Sunday services.

Lest anyone be tempted to delight in Anglican aches, do not. It is one thing to diagnose a condition and suffer with a friend. It is quite another to abandon those in most need of God's mercy to the devises of sin and division and then celebrate. Pray that those who desire to serve the will of God may seek unity with the Church founded by Jesus Christ. The Personal Ordinariates have been designed to welcome Anglicans into communion with the Catholic Church. Communities of the Personal Ordinariates preserve the best of the Anglican spiritual, cultural and liturgical heritage.

Justin Welby resigned as archbishop in January 2025, following the publication of a report into the Church of England's handling of allegations of abuse. The Anglican chair of Saint Augustine of Canterbury has been empty since his departure in disgrace.

Will Anglicans turn away from the theatre of rejection and rebellion toward the embrace of the drama of redemption and unity in the one visible Church of Jesus Christ?

St John 17:21-23 | (T)hat they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.

Will the English elect "a faithful, courageous, and wise leader who can stand firm in traditional Anglican belief (Anis)?" Given an abundance of former and contemporary signs, that is, "its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture (Stott)," it seems fair to state that the CofE will continue to go its own way, even if that means further alienating the Global South, i.e., the vast majority of Anglicans.