Almost 27 years ago I attended a debate between Rowan Williams and Graham Leonard in Christ Church, Oxford. It was on the possibility of ordaining women to the priesthood. Of course, Pope John Paul had ruled that the Catholic Church was not competent to change the tradition and moreover had forbidden any further discussion of the question at least in the Catholic Church. But sometimes questions cannot be settled prematurely even by papal or episcopal fiat. There is a sense in which the community itself comes to a decision about “ripeness” and takes its time to arrive at a deeper understanding and peace. This, too, can be the work of the Holy Spirit.
Invariably the debate in Christ Church was polite. At no time did I feel there was any danger to my blood pressure: it was a very Anglican debate. I don’t recall either side developing an irrefutable argument, but I do remember it dawning on me, perhaps a little late, that whatever the theological issues, it was debate about the identity of Anglicanism itself: was it a reformed church or was it a Catholic Church? Could it be both?
Read Full Article »