Conservative Anglicans, by even the broadest definition, comprise considerably less than 1% of the world’s Christians. If you were trying to repair an article of pottery which had been broken, would you begin by looking for small fragments to glue together? Of course not. The only logical way to rebuild the broken vessel would be to start with the largest intact piece and re-attach to it, one by one, the pieces which had broken off.

In its action last October, seeking “full, corporate, sacramental union” with the See of Rome, the College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion sought to begin that process of reconstruction in the broken Body of Christ. The knowledge that their appeal was “cordially received” by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, and that a substantive response to it is being prepared, should fill every Christian with hope that the process to reclaim an undivided Christian Church is underway.

There are many, both Anglicans and Roman Catholics, who are praying for us. A Poor Clare sister here in the USA recently let us know that she is dedicating her prayer life to our cause, and she has requested a list of our clergy and parishes so that she can also pray for each of them individually. A group of Carmelite nuns in Canada is doing likewise.

Despite such positive responses, there has also been some negative reaction to the news of our petition, and even some nervousness among those who support it in principle. It would be folly to expect otherwise—both Abraham and Moses certainly had their critics. Resistance to change and fear of the unknown, along with an underlying assumption that a fragmented Christian church is normal and reasonable, combine to make the status quo seem attractive, even if it is at odds with Holy Scripture.

Because we know about Jesus’ prayer for unity, it was obviously a public prayer, directed to the Father but intended for our instruction as well. Neither the TAC’s petition nor the concurrent Roman-Orthodox dialogue is an attempt to establish an alliance or working arrangement between disparate churches. In each case, the motivation is the fulfillment of our Lord’s unambiguous will for a unified Church. The ultimate goal is to restore the unity destroyed by earlier schisms, preserving and respecting the unique contributions to the faith developed by each of the parties during their periods of separation, and adding these contributions to the richness of the restored Body of Christ. It will take time and effort to realize that goal, and there will be missteps and mid-course corrections along the way, but the goal itself must not change, because it is clearly the will of our Lord.

If we are to realize Jesus’ vision for his Church, the Anglican component will obviously be much bigger than the TAC. Chemists routinely mix two or more ingredients to form some new and useful compound, and it is not unusual for a catalyst to be required to start the reaction necessary to produce the desired end product. It may be helpful to think of the TAC and its petition as catalysts in the unity process, rather than as main ingredients.

This is a new, more robust ecumenism, unlike earlier efforts—one which recognizes full communion as the sign and product of unity, but is not afraid to explore its role as an agent of unity as well. The end game is not some special status for the TAC, but an open door through which all faithful Anglicans can come home as Anglicans who, in the words of the Athanasian Creed, “keep the catholic faith whole and undefiled.” It is not a quick process because, as one Vatican official told us, “You have forced us to consider questions we haven’t thought about in 500 years.”

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Our fallen human nature makes it very difficult to let go of our personal opinions, preferences, and even ambitions. When we find ourselves apprehensive about concrete steps toward real Christian unity because of our private concerns about what such unity may mean for us personally, we need to re-read Jesus’ prayer for his followers in John 17, and then ask God to “preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties” (BCP 1928, p. 596). Making the following prayers for the Church, from pp. 37-38 of the same Book of Common Prayer, part of our daily devotions will also help us align ourselves more closely with the will of our Lord:

For the Church.

O gracious Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic Church; that thou wouldest be pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of him who died and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

For the Unity of God's People.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace; Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord: that as there is but one Body and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anyone who reads John 17 and offers those prayers with a heart and mind truly open to the Holy Spirit will understand that maintaining the current divisions in the Body of Christ is in direct opposition to Christ’s clear and incontrovertible will for His Church. Simply put, that is sin, and it is not an option.

We all say the words “Thy will be done” daily in the Lord’s Prayer. James (1:22) writes, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Those words from the Lord’s Prayer ring hollow unless we actively pursue, or at least support, the quest to undo the mistakes of our forefathers and restore the Church to the unity mandated by Jesus. Opposition to such unity is nothing less than telling our Lord that He cannot have the church He wants, because we insist on having the church we want.

There is only one Christian response to such feelings – the words spoken by our Lord when Peter put his personal wishes ahead of God’s plan: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an offence to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matt. 16:23, NKJV)

This is an historic time in the life of the Church, not a time to sit on the sidelines, and not a time to let our own personal preferences or hang-ups keep us out of the game entirely. If Christ’s clearly-stated will for his Church clashes with our individual inclinations, the problem is ours, and we need to fix it.

As God calls us forth from our comfortable little enclaves and we move like Abraham into uncharted territory, we need to “let go and let God” rebuild His Church, ready and willing for Him to use us as He sees fit, whether that be as architects and engineers, or simply as a batch of cement.

Bishop George Langberg, June, 2008

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