It is hard not to see the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury as a judgment on the Anglican Communion. Here was an intellectually formidable, spiritually profound, morally courageous leader whose job was made unbearable by gangs of intolerant, uncharitable, divisive and squabbling intellectual minnows. The event should give the Church of England, and those most responsible for its future, pause for thought. Is it really going to have to look for a leader who has the constitution of an ox and the hide of a rhinoceros as his chief qualifications? Is it going to have to admit that it is not looking for spiritual, moral or intellectual leadership, because that would cause controversy?
There are some truths about the C of E that some people seem afraid to state. First, it is a Protestant church, and the Queen is bound to defend its Protestant status. Its priests and bishops, according to Roman Catholic teaching, are just lay people, not priests at all. The idea that it is really part of a wider Catholic church is a daydream. Second, it is a national church. It is the church of the English people. From its foundation, it has held together a range of religious beliefs, and is officially (on its website) divided into catholic, evangelical, and liberal sections. There is no place in it for people who say that only a certain sort of Christians are ‘real’ Christians — yet the oddity is that it is full of people who say precisely that. They are suffering from some form of willful blindness.
Third, it is a church established by law. Parliament is responsible for its liturgies and doctrines. It is woven into the political life of the nation: the ceremonies of national life are celebrated according to its rituals, and the monarch is enthroned with its blessing.
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