Intheyear597Pope GregoryinRomesentamissiontheformer
RomancolonyofBritannia,ledbyAugustine,oneofhismonks.
Augustineandhisfellowmissionariespreachedthegospelto
theAnglo-Saxonpeoples,andmademany converts.Augustine
wassurprised,however,tofindthattherewerealready
ChristiansinBritain.Someweredescendantsofthosewho
becameChristiansundertheRomans,othershadbecome
ChristiansundertheinfluenceofthechurchinGaul.But
Augustine’schurchwasmoreorganised.ThePopeappointed
himfirstArchbishopofCanterbury,andheestablished
monasteriesanddiocesesthroughouttheSaxonterritories.
TheChurchinEnglandputdownsolidrootsunderAugustine
andcontinuedtogrowafterhim.Butforthreecenturies Britain
wasdividedbetweenvariousSaxonkingdoms.Itwas KingAlfred
theGreat ofWessex whounitedthem attheendoftheninth
century.Forgetthestoryofhimburningthecakes,hewasa
culturedandlearnedman,theonlyBritishmonarchtoearnthe
title“great”.Hemadethechurchhispersonalresponsibility,had
thegospelsandotherimportanttextstranslatedinto(Old)
Englishsothepeoplecouldunderstandthem,andmadea
policyofappointingdevoutandlearnedbishopsandabbots.
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Butallthingspass.AttheBattleofHastings in1066theSaxon
KingdomofEnglandcametoanendandtheNormanstook
over.TheChurchofEnglandremainedthesamebutwithina
generationallseniorpostswerefilledbyNormans. Itwasa
churchundernewmanagement.
Newcathedralsandchurcheswerebuilt onamassivescale,
usingthelatestcontinentaltechnology.ThisisCanterbury
Cathedral.
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TheChurchofEnglandatthistimehadtwocentres ofpower –
thePopeinRomeandtheKinginEngland.IntheSaxonperiod
relationsbetweenthetwoweremostlyharmonious,andthe
Popeswerenotverypowerfulanyway.Butfrom11th Century
thepowerofthePapacystartedtogrow;theBishopofRome
wasnowapoliticalpowertobereckonedwithinEurope.The
Pope andtheKingdidnotalwaysagree,anddisputeserupted.
OneresultedinthemurderoftheArchbishopofCanterbury,
ThomasBecket,in1170.Tensionscontinuedoverthecenturies
thatfollowed,withparliamentseveraltimespassinglawstotry
andlimitthePope’spowerinEngland.
Sodisputesbetween thePopesandtheEnglishKinghadbeen
goingonforcenturiesalreadywhenHenryVIIIdecidedhe
wantedanannulmentofhismarriagetoCatherineofAragonin
1527.OnlythePopecouldgrantannulments,butthePopewas
inthepoweroftheHolyRomanEmperor,whowasCatherine’s
nephew– andhehadnointentionofgrantingHenry’swishes.
SoHenrysimplydeclaredthathe,andnotthePope,wasthe
headoftheChurchofEngland,andbrokewithRome.
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themonasteriestoendtheirpoliticalpowerandseizetheir
wealth.ButheintroducedonlymoderatereformsintheChurch,
suchastranslatingtheBibleintoEnglish,andhisbeliefs
remainedcatholiconeverythingexceptthePope’ssupremacy.
HenrydidnotfoundtheChurchofEngland– ithadalready
existedfor900years– butitwasnowachurchundernew
management,justasithadbeenin1066whentheNormans
tookoverfromtheSaxons.
Henry’sclaimofindependencecameatthesametimeasthe
ReformationwassparkingoffincontinentalEurope.
Manypeople recognised thatthecatholicchurchinEuropehad
becomeverycorruptandtherewerewidespreadabuses.Some
wantedtoreformthechurchfromwithin,suchasErasmusand
ThomasMore.OtherssuchasJohnCalvinsawnotjustabuses
butcatholicdoctrineitselfaswrong.ForhimCatholicismwasa
falsechurch,adeceitofthedevil,andthePopewasthe
antichrist.Thetruechurchhadtoberediscoveredandbegun
againfromhisinterpretationoftheBible.
InthisHenrywasonthecatholicside.Hewroteatreatise
againstLuther,forwhichthePopegavehimthetitle“Defender
oftheFaith”.Henrywasnotapleasantcharacter.Hedissolved
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ButwhenHenrydieditwasanothermatter.HissonbecameEdwardVI,buthewasa
childandthepowerlaywithaCouncilofRegencywhichfavoured Calvin’sradical
protestantism.Reformbeganinearnest.TheBookofCommonPrayerwasproduced,
acompleteliturgyinEnglish,firsta fairlyconservativerevisionoftheLatinMass,but
asecondeditionsoonfollowedthatwasmoreradical.Churcheswerestrippedof
theirornaments,altarsweredemolished,andcommunionwascelebratedgathered
roundanordinarytablesetlengthwiseinthechancel.Thepeopledidn’tlikethisand
calleditthe“ChristmasGame”,becauseChristmaswasoneofthedayswhenthey
hadtoreceivecommunion.
ShereintroducedRomanCatholicism,withavengeance– quiteliterally.Hersavage
persecutionofprotestantshascaused hertogodowninhistoryas“bloodyMary”;
theArchbishopofCanterbury,ThomasCranmer,wasoneofhundredsburnedatthe
stakefortheirbeliefsduringherreign.She,however,alsodidnotlivelong.Whenshe
diedin1554mostpeopleweregenerallyrelivedattheaccessionofElizabethI.
Edward,however,wasasicklychild,andafterafewyearshedied,theCouncilof
Regencywasdissolved,andMaryTudorsucceeded.
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Elizabethwasamoderateprotestant.ShereintroducedtheBookofCommonPrayer
butpusheditbackabitinacatholicdirection,restoring vestmentsandputtingthe
communiontablebackinthesanctuarytomakeitlooklikeanaltaragain.Manyof
theProtestantbishopshadbeenkilledunderMary,andthecatholiconeswerein
disgrace,butshepersuadedtwoofeachtojointogetherinconsecratingherchoice
asArchbishopofCanterbury,MatthewParker.BydoingthisshesecuredtheApostolic
Succession,thelineofbishopsfromtheapostles,fortheChurchofEngland.Thiswas
amiddleway,andsheexpectedeveryonetoconforminpractice,butshedidnotseek
toenquireintopeople’sprivatebeliefs.ThisbecameknownastheElizabethan
Settlement,andtheideawasthatbothmoderateCatholicsandmoderateprotestants
shouldbeabletoacceptitandnotcausetrouble.Butitwassometimesanuneasy
settlement.TheChurchofEnglandnowcontainedtwostrandsoftradition:theHigh
Church,whoemphasised continuitywithcatholicism,thesacramentsandritual;and
thePuritans,whodistrustedthesethingsandwantedapurechurchfoundedonthe
Biblealone.Theyacceptedtheprayerbookbecausetheyhadto,butinpracticesat
lightlytoit.
ButthissettlementbrokedowninthereignofCharlesI.HisinsistenceontheDivine
RightofKingspolarised thechurch.TheHighChurchpartybecameidentifiedwiththe
Royalistcause,andthePuritanswithparliament. TheEnglishCivilWarsawthe
executionofboththeKingandtheArchbishopofCanterbury,andtheadventofthe
CommonwealthunderOliverCromwell.WiththePuritansincharge,thePrayerBook
wasbanned,bishopsweresuppressed,andtheChurchofEnglanddriven
underground.Christmaswasabolished,andanyonefoundusingtheforbidden
Anglicanserviceswasimprisoned.Thiswasnotpopular,andwhenCromwelldied
CharlesIIwasrestoredtothethrone.
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TheHighChurchpartywasnowinadominantposition.Ninebishopswereleftalive
andquickly gatheredtoconsecratenewones,andtocrowntheKing.Someofthe
puritansconformedtothedoctrine andpracticeoftheChurchofEnglandand
remained,othersrefusedtodosoandleft,becomingthe“non-conformists”orfree
churches.Forthefirsttime,theideathattherewasonechurchforonenationwas
fractured.TherewasafurthercrisisafterCharles’deathwhenhisbrotherJamesII,
whowasaRomanCatholic,refusedtochangehisreligion.Hewasdeposedand
drivenintoexilein1688,andthecrownpassedtoWilliamofOrangeandthenceto
theHanovers fromGermany.
ThentheChurchofEnglandsettleddown,andthingsfrankly becameratherdulland
uninterestingforthenextcoupleofcenturies.WiththeadventoftheEnlightenment
andscientificdiscoveryfaithwascalledintoquestionandreligionwaspushedtothe
margins.Thechurchwasregardedasusefulforensuringthegoodbehaviour ofthe
lowerclasses,andtheclergyasanacceptableprofessionforyoungersonsofthe
gentry,butreligiousenthusiasmandclaimstospiritualexperiencewereregardedas
suspect.
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Butrationalismandgoodbehaviour justdidn'tanswerpeople’sdeepestneeds.There
remainedagreatspiritualhunger,andatthebeginningofthe19 th Centurythetide
turned.Thegothicrevivalinliteratureandartspokeofaspiritualworldthathad
almostbeenforgotten,andthiswasechoedbytwomovementsintheChurch. The
EvangelicalrevivaldrewonthePuritantraditionandsawareturntosolidBiblical
preaching,andtheurgencyofindividualconversion.Livescouldbechangedbyareal
encounterwiththelivingGod.Atthesametime,theOxfordMovement,orthe
Anglo-Catholicrevival,rediscoveredthesupernaturalcharacteroftheChurchandits
continuitywithCatholicism.Thesacramentswerepreachedashavingrealspiritual
power,andchurcheswerebuiltanddecoratedasthoughthehighdaysofmediaeval
Catholicismhadreturned.Bothofthesemovementsinjectednewlifeintothe
Church,andsparkedmissionaryoutreachespeciallyintheterritoriesoftheBritish
Empire.
Thesethreetraditions,Evangelical,Anglo-CatholicandLiberal,haveshapedthe
ChurchofEnglandasitistoday.Sometimesthe tensionsbetweenthemareevident,
aswiththedisputesoversexualityandtheordinationofwomen.Butthetraditions
canalsoworktogether.ThisChurch,StPeter lePoer,wasopenedin1910andhas
alwaysbeenintheAnglo-Catholictradition,whichwasdominantinLondonatthe
timeofitsfounding.Hencethestatues,thevestmentsandincense,thecentralityof
thehighaltarandthetabernaclewiththereservedSacrament.Butwesharetheuse
ofourbuildingwithGraceChurch,whoareintheEvangelicaltradition,withastrong
emphasisonteachingfromtheBible.Differenttraditions,butpartofthesame
ChurchofEngland.Thisisourparticularstory,thehistoryofourpartoftheone
ChurchofJesusChristspreadthroughouttheworld.
Itshouldbesaidaswellthat,althoughEnlightenmentrationalismleftmanypeople
wantingsomethingmore,italsogavetotheChurchofEnglandathirdstrandof
tradition,aliberaltraditionthatsoughttobeopentorationalenquiryandnotto
insisttoomuchonparticulardoctrines.
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