Deep in the collective psyche of the ‘emerging church’ is a desire for unity, not as an expression of doctrinal accord or structural integration, but centred around a renewed determination to be a creative, adventurous and authentic people of God in Christ. I have been thinking recently that the most powerful and prophetic form the pursuit of unity in this country might take would be the reunification of the numerous independent and non-conformist churches with the Church of England. I’m not sure I imagine this happening in real terms, but an informal, symbolic reconvergence of the different traditions as the church of England (without the capital C) may in fact prove more significant than the reality of it.
These are some preliminary arguments in support of the case. If you find the whole idea preposterous, you may be right - but let it stand as a thought-experiment, a catalyst to explore the question of unity further. I should add that I write this as someone who, although baptized into the Anglican Church as an infant, has worked and worshipped for the most part outside the sphere of Anglicanism.
1. A return to the Church of England, in whatever form it might be conceived, would present a more concrete, effective, and dramatic move towards unity than, say, the development of intermediary or ecumenical structures or the attempt to abandon all forms of ecclesial identity.
2. The church in the West undoubtedly needs to emerge from the antiquated and restrictive mindset of Christendom – indeed, I think it is just this ‘emergence’ that has allowed us to conceive of a more radical and thoroughgoing unity than has been possible before. Many would argue that the Anglican Church is irrevocably trapped in the past and cannot provide the matrix for a post-Christendom church of England, but this pessimism seems unwarranted. There is scope, especially within a postmodern or emerging church framework, both to affirm and deconstruct the institutions of Anglicanism.
3. Perhaps the fundamental question at the heart of this is: Does the Church of England have a future? In many respects it has been forced out to the margins of society, and there are those who would see that as a good thing. But it remains best placed symbolically to represent both the core relevance of Christian faith to the whole of society and the unity of the whole church in England: it represents something that we cannot otherwise create for ourselves. If the Church of England does have a future, then perhaps we should find ways to exploit that symbolism.
4. There are many elements of emerging church that have their roots in, or have taken root in, the Church of England: diversity, inclusiveness, tradition, a sense of the mystical, intellectual depth, social and political engagement, etc. The Alpha Course, which in some respects functions as a bridge between modern and postmodern expressions, has demonstrated the capacity for the Church of England to provide a framework for grassroots collaboration. Numerous localized examples could also be cited.
5. The Anglican priesthood has usually been thought by non-Anglicans to be at odds with the New Testament principle of the priesthood of all believers. It could, however, be interpreted more constructively as being not an alternative to the priesthood of the whole church but as a tangible and disciplined sign of that priesthood. Similarly, the parish system, for all its shortcomings, represents a pastoral and missional commitment, on the one hand, to the whole country, and on the other, to every locality or constituency within the country. The Church of England has already begun to expand the definition of ‘parish’ to include more fluid, networked communities.
6. For non-Anglican bodies to take a step in the direction of reunification – symbolic or otherwise – would entail a painful renunciation of denominational and even post-denominational ambitions that should not be underestimated. One benefit of this approach is that it would go some way towards forestalling the struggle for influence and precedence that invariably accompanies the ecumenical process: the primary commitment would be simply to be the church of England. It would probably require, however, a similarly risky move on the part of the Anglican Church – disestablishment being perhaps the obvious example. There would, of course, be many other ways in which the Church of England would be changed by such a development.
7. Obviously the Roman Catholic Church can claim historical primacy over the Anglican Church, and if we were to follow the logic of backwards reunification through logically, perhaps one day that would take us all the way back to Rome. But at the moment I don’t think that is a foreseeable option – and in one important respect at least, I don’t think it would be desirable, inasmuch as it would take us beyond the point of being the church of England. There is, however, the possibility of drawing on the earliest traditions of Christian faith in the British Isles in order to shape and give expression to a unifying vision.
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