From the Rector:

       In the past few weeks in this column, I have been exploring the questions: “What is an Episcopalian?  What does it mean to be Episcopalian?”  John Booty, former Dean of St.  Luke’s Seminary at Sewanee asks the question “What Makes us Episcopalians?”  In his pamphlet of this title he says that Episcopalians have four strands of authority: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.  This position defines us as different from some other churches.  It is also not a new position. 

       In the struggle of the English Reformation, different from the Protestant Reformation on the continent, this position was upheld in the writings of Richard Hooker.  Hooker argued for the “moral law of reason.”  Thomas Cranmer attacked “superstitious abuses” not only because they had no basis in scripture, but because they were irrational and immoral. 

       The English Reformation was different from the Protestant Reformation on the European Continent in that the English Reformers retained many things while opposing the authority of the Bishop of Rome.  The Church of England retained the three fold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons.  The Book of Common Prayer retained much of the canon of the mass of the Roman Church in ways that no other “non-Roman Church” did. 

       At the same time, the Puritans wanted to do away with many of the things that were retained by Archbishop Cranmer in the Book of Common Prayer.  In this struggle there were those who wanted Anglicanism to adopt a “sola scriptura” position or to say that scripture and scripture alone is our guide.  This is the present position of some churches including some major denominations in the U.  S.  There are those who wanted to emphasize the traditions of the church and so give ascendancy to the decisions and practices of the ancient church.  In later years, those represented by the Unitarian Universalist Church have sought to give ascendancy to reason and experience and to give less authority to scripture or tradition. 

       Anglicanism has opted for neither of these positions and has sought to balance the four: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.  This does mark us as different and unique in our approach.  It is also a difficult position.  It opens us to attacks from groups who adopt the extreme positions on either side.  It is also a more complex, nuanced,  and difficult stance to explain to our own members and to those on the outside who either do not understand or disagree with our fundamental position of maintaining the balanced approach.  It also means that there are struggles within Anglicanism and within the Episcopal Church over where we need to stand and how we are to interpret these four stands of authority.  Jim+ 

August 18, 2004