Digging Out the Embedded Church - The Maranatha Community

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Vidler suggests that the true Church is there all right, buried under a mass of social, cultural and theological debris which, nevertheless, gives clues as to what is underneath. To dig out this „one true church‟ which is there in all the three traditions of the Church, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant, is the supreme challenge for the 21 st Century Church. It is not a matter of trying to create a pristine church: a new start, so to speak. This has been tried many times in the history of the Church and all the attempts have failed to unite Christians in any meaningful way. Anabaptist groups in the 16 th Century; the Oxford Movement, the Irvingites and the Plymouth Brethren in the 19 th ; all tried sincerely to get Christians to model themselves and their churches on how the Early Church lived in apostolic purity. Sadly, all proved to be divisive of the body of Christ. C S Lewis used a different way of expressing the conviction that the true Church has never been lost, but is there all the time under the various branches of the Church. In a brilliant introduction to a translation of Athanasius‟s On the Incarnation of the Word, he wrote that before he became a Christian he learned to recognise that there was something common to all the brands of Christianity he came across. This something he called a consistent „smell‟. It was the smell of „mere Christianity‟, and he came across it in writers as diverse as Bunyan, Hooker, Dante, Francis de Sales, Spenser, Walton, Pascal, Johnson, Vaughan, Boehme and Traherne. He could, of course, have added very many more names to that list. In all of these he detected something „unmistakably the same; recognisable, not to be evaded, the odour which is death to us until we allow it to become life.‟ Lewis reminds us that while the Church is lamentably disunited, it is also true that a unity exists which is „an immensely formidable unity‟, something our divisions have not destroyed. This „something‟, this „odour‟ which Christians have in common, we shall try to discover in this book. There was a time early in the 20 th Century when hope arose that there could be a coming together of churches to create mergers and new structures that would unite many of the people of God. Some progress was made, some mergers did take place, but there was a lot of talking and theologising and not much to show for it. Now there is a new spirit abroad, which says that, realistically, many denominational differences are too entrenched, and, anyway, too important, to be allowed to die or be subsumed by other traditions. We should be celebrating the rich diversity of the Church; but celebrating it with each other. Unity in diversity is the key thought and hope. The Trinity is the exact model for Christian Unity, expressing as it does diversity in complete harmony. Timothy (Kallistos) Ware, describing the Eastern Orthodox view of the Church as an image of the Trinity, writes: „In the Trinity the three are one God, yet each is fully personal; in the Church a multitude of human persons are united in one, yet each preserves his personal diversity unimpaired.‟ 3 3 Ware, Timothy (Kallistos), The Orthodox Church, Penguin Books, 1967, p 244. A similar thought is found in the writings of Walter Kaspar, a Roman Catholic Cardinal: „The Church is like an icon of the Trinity.‟ Page 5
That the Church should express this diversity in visible unity is the view of a number of writers today. Christian Unity is not about doing away with differences of Christian experience and expression: its aim is to express the richness and diversity of the Christian faith in such a way as to show that each particular emphasis contributes to the expression of the wholeness of the one Church. Writing in 1952, Nicholas Zernov, an Eastern Orthodox scholar, maintained that „Christians today do not want unity – do not feel guilty of the sin of division.‟ 4 This is not so true now. There is a growing longing for a demonstration of unity in diversity among Christians. Zernov locates the main cause of disunity in the belief that one‟s own Communion alone is true to God‟s will for the Church. He writes, „No one system of ecclesiastical administration, of liturgical customs, or of devotional practice has universal and obligatory significance.‟ 5 This is slowly dawning upon many Christians today. Walter Kaspar, a Roman Catholic Cardinal writing in 2004, sounds a similar note in decrying triumphalism on the part of any church. In his book That They May All Be One – the Call to Unity Today, he writes: „There can be no unity as long as any given church maintains that the accepted and binding truth of another church is contrary to the Gospel.‟ 6 He expresses his belief that the ecumenical movement is at a turning point today. While he accepts that agreement on institutional ecclesiological differences is probably a long way off, he sees hope in a return to what he holds was the initial inspiration of the movement – „spiritual ecumenism‟. He explains what he means by this term: „…listening and opening ourselves to the demands of the Spirit who also speaks through different forms of piety; it means a readiness to rethink and convert, but also to bear the otherness of the other, which requires tolerance, patience, respect and, not least, goodwill and love which does not boast but rejoices in the truth.‟ 7 (1 Corinthians 13.4-6) For Kaspar, spiritual ecumenism is primarily a „biblical spirituality‟ which „safeguards the uniqueness and universality of the salvific significance of Jesus Christ.‟ Kaspar sees dialogue not just as listening to one another but also learning from one another. He writes, „Ecumenical dialogue absolutely does not mean abandoning one‟s own identity in favour of an ecumenical “hotchpotch”. Ecumenical dialogue does not aim at spiritual impoverishment but at mutual spiritual enrichment.‟ 4 Zernov, Nicholas, The Reintegration of the Church, SCM Press, 1952, p 106. Zernov (1898-1980) was a Russian ecumenist who lived in England from 1934. He was influential in making Eastern Orthodoxy known in the West. 5 Zernov, Nicholas, The Reintegration of the Church, SCM Press, 1952, p 74. 6 Kaspar, Walter, That They May All Be One – the Call to Unity Today, Burns and Oates, 2004, p 171. 7 Kaspar, Walter, That They May All Be One – the Call to Unity Today, Burns and Oates, 2004, p 160. Page 6
Page 1 and 2: Digging Out the Embedded Church Dis
Page 3 and 4: The Maranatha Community comprises t
Page 5 and 6: Introduction CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chr
Page 7 and 8: ead, nicely browned on top. He plac
Page 9: HOW DO WE DIG OUT THE EMBEDDED CHUR
Page 13 and 14: For Alfeyev, „Faith is a gift, th
Page 15 and 16: „heresies„ of the Early Church
Page 17 and 18: Traditionally, the Church has made
Page 19 and 20: CHAPTER 1 CHRISTIAN UNITY IN THE EA
Page 21 and 22: A certain Docetic teacher, often id
Page 23 and 24: Novatianism When the persecutions o
Page 25 and 26: The fortunes of the Arian party in
Page 27 and 28: An attempt was made in 482 AD (29 y
Page 29 and 30: was development in the interpretati
Page 31 and 32: CYPRIAN AND AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO The
Page 33 and 34: position would see baptism as not t
Page 35 and 36: The Eastern Church‟s relationship
Page 37 and 38: insisted from the second Lateran Co
Page 39 and 40: There is so much that Orthodoxy sha
Page 41 and 42: we do not talk to each other. Our t
Page 43 and 44: The question of heresy does not com
Page 45 and 46: They were missionary-minded and the
Page 47 and 48: Lollard ideas lingered in English r
Page 49 and 50: CHAPTER 4 THE SECOND GREAT SPLIT: W
Page 51 and 52: unity‟s sake in subsequent centur
Page 53 and 54: Erasmus wrote he asserts, through o
Page 55 and 56: attle-cry, is perhaps the most famo
Page 57 and 58: Regulations for the good ordering o
Page 59 and 60: Eucharist was not just a commemorat
Page 61 and 62:
CHAPTER 5 QUOTATIONS ON THE THEME O
Page 63 and 64:
How rare then it is to meet a man w
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are often much bigger divisions bet
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St Germanus of Constantinople - 8 t
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manner. He declared that men could
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S L Greenslade - 20 th Century: „
Page 73 and 74:
CHAPTER 6 HOPES FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
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imminent return of Christ (Komensky
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a concern that merchant adventurers
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also anti-Socinian. Calixtus himsel
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The Eastern Churches were not rent
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everyone - from outward forms to in
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Women were not usually members of t
Page 87 and 88:
work in America, shows him, though
Page 89 and 90:
The aim of the conference was to br
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From 1768 Harris‟s home at Talgar
Page 93 and 94:
twice more to congregations of Whit
Page 95 and 96:
denominations was not their distinc
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It was from the overseas Protestant
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THE OXFORD TRACTARIAN MOVEMENT Anot
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the Church of England‟s doctrinal
Page 103 and 104:
„We pray that… all who desire t
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thereof, in prayer, in the remembra
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honours the Lord and his Word; the
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apostolic church enjoyed, and that
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episcopate were too radical for mos
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Denominations began to form their o
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In this Shanghai Conference‟s Rep
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With so much talk of unity and coop
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„The liturgical movement in weste
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• Sharing a corporate life of wit
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• Our acknowledgement of the Apos
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(h) The Evangelical Church in Germa
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It changed nothing in respect of do
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Some Evangelical Protestants want t
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• It is in continuity with the
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But things have changed. Richard Ma
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evangelism - (and) state what the r
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Repentance and faith are at the hea
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outcome of being justified. Agreeme
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Virgin‟s salutary influence on me
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h) Confession The sacrament of pena
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demanding way would be sin. The que
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If the opportunity for the Church t
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Ministers, priests and laypeople in
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West Kirby, near to my home, the Si
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n) Shared Study Courses There is a
Page 155 and 156:
Even some Protestant churches today
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Vincent de Lérins spoke of a „pr
Page 159 and 160:
It is not likely, in the foreseeabl
Page 161 and 162:
Christ and are trying their best to
Page 163 and 164:
upon the name of our Lord Jesus Chr
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Perhaps this dying process is now b
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economic factors giving rise to suc
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deeper ecumenism, one that does not
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APPENDIX 1 THE NICENO-CONSTANTINOPO
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APPENDIX 2 FOUR BIBLICAL TEXTS ON T
Page 175 and 176:
The „apostles and elders‟ of th
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„The purpose of the Reformation C
Page 179 and 180:
What all three traditions have in c
Page 181 and 182:
Cromwellian period, in a treatise o
Page 183 and 184:
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS
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Cullman, Oscar, The Earliest Christ
Page 187 and 188:
McCarthy, Tim, The Catholic Traditi
Page 189 and 190:
Letter concerning the civil princip
Page 191 and 192:
Coptic Orthodox Church, 10 Council
Page 193 and 194:
Parousia, 24, 68, 93 Paul VI, 10, 1
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