Church of England: Evangelical, Catholic and Liberal

The Church of England, we are told on its website, is a comprehensive church.  It is called this because it is made up of Christians from differing traditions.  Some see this feature of the church as a weakness.  However on the Church of England website it is seen as a strength: http://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/history/detailed-history.aspx

“The history of the Church of England from the 18th century onwards has been enriched by the co-existence within it of three broad traditions, the Evangelical, the Catholic and the Liberal.

• The Evangelical tradition has emphasized the significance of the Protestant aspects of the Church of England's identity, stressing the importance of the authority of Scripture, preaching, justification by faith and personal conversion.
• The Catholic tradition, strengthened and reshaped from the 1830s by the Oxford movement, has emphasized the significance of the continuity between the Church of England and the Church of the Early and Medieval periods. It has stressed the importance of the visible Church and its sacraments and the belief that the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons is a sign and instrument of the Church of England's Catholic and apostolic identity.
• The Liberal tradition has emphasized the importance of the use of reason in theological exploration. It has stressed the need to develop Christian belief and practice in order to respond creatively to wider advances in human knowledge and understanding and the importance of social and political action in forwarding God's kingdom.
  
  

It should be noted that these three traditions have not existed in strict isolation. Both in the case of individuals and in the case of the Church as a whole, influences from all three traditions have overlapped in a whole variety of different ways.”

The presence of three traditions within the Church is seen as enriching it. Although it may not be acknowledged, each parish and each individual is influenced to a greater or lesser extent by each of these traditions.

It can be difficult but we are strengthened as we seek to understand and learn from those who are fellow members of the Church of England but who do not always agree with us.  At their best the conversations with fellow Christians within the Church of England over areas of difference inform and deepen our thinking and learning. Such conversation is a strength to be rejoiced in.  An interweaving takes place as we give to and receive from other approaches. Of course there are always some who insist that only their way is right and will not even entertain the possibility that those who take a different approach could have come across something of value. But the Church of England as a whole values and celebrates the conversations between those from the evangelical, liberal and catholic traditions seeing each other as fellow believers seeking to serve Jesus out of a God given love.  

This is where many of us are at in Dagenham; the conversations include believers of all traditions within the Church of England and in the other denominations in our town. United in loving Jesus we can, from this basis, begin to honestly explore areas of difference.  

In the next post I want to look at different approaches to the Holy Scriptures; how different are they? Can we grow together as we learn from them about the Lord?