Christ the King 2009

Here are some images from our celebrations of Christ the King

Jesu Mercy + Mary Pray

Of your charity please pray for the soul of

Allison Read-Smith

a member of this congregation

who met the Risen Lord yesterday.

Please pray also for her husband 

and two young daughters

at this difficult time.

Speech of Archbishop Williams in Rome

On Thursday 19th November the Archbishop of Canterbury gave an address in Rome, as the guest of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The address is part of a symposium being held at the Gregorian University, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Cardinal Willebrands, the first president of the Council.

The Archbishop’s address is divided into six parts. Dr Williams uses his depth of theological knowledge and tradition to build an argument that may contribute to further the ecumenical debate.

Dr Williams points out that from the ecumenical work of the last forty years or so the main achievements were in the field of ecclesiology. These ecumenical discussions converge on an understanding of the Church as a community of believers that through their divine filiation, resulting from God’s supreme action and the Incarnation, becomes a living communion with God and with each other. The community becomes communion through the celebration of the sacraments. This realisation stemming from the documents of Vatican II, according to Dr Williams, will enable us to define what is the difference between matters of first or second order that will identify the identity and mission of the Church.

Dr Williams sees a vital struggle for a genuine ecclesiology taking place after Vatican II. He quotes from Roberti & Palazzini to show that an understanding of the Church as a societas divina in a hierarchical structure may be imperfect. But the fact that an argument is imperfect it does not make it wrong. While Williams is trying to make us view a different structure of hierarchical order of the Church he is putting forward a hierarchy of theological ideas with first and second order issues.

Williams rightly points out that good ecclesiology results from a healthy reflection on the nature of God. I believe that we can have no ecclesiology without a good Christology, as the Church stems from the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery. As Williams points out it is in the mystery of Christ that divine filiation can be understood and happen. This divine filiation creates the communion of the faithful with God and with each other. Williams celebrates the fact, quite rightly so, that there is convergence among the historic churches as regards the mystery of God, the incarnation of Christ, divine filiation, communion and how this is celebrated in the sacraments and other liturgical actions. Those are matters, according to Williams, of the first order. Williams then identifies three issues of the second order. These are authority, the office of the Pope and the admittance of women to Holy Orders.

William mentions Yves Congar OP earlier in his speech, it is surprising that he does not mention him when he separates hierarchy and Order from issues he calls of the first order. I am surprised as Congar does not admit of such innovative duality. In fact he says: “The same single Church is declared to be both visible and invisible, to be a hierarchically constituted society and a mystery of heavenly life...one wonders how Protestant authors have been able to miss the evidence for so long...for the Holy Scriptures it (the Church) is the visible, organised body of Christians that is the Body of Christ. There is nothing in the texts to suggest a dissociation between a community of faithful that is a pure creation of the Spirit and the system, still rudimentary but very solid, of dogmas, sacraments, powers and ministries exercised under apostolical authority.” ( Y Congar, “Lay People in the Church, 1957, pgs., 32-3)

As Dr Williams says, ministry is not an end in itself. It is however, a vital means for the Church to achieve its end as described above. However Dr Williams gets it right when he says that the Church is called to obedience, that, I agree, is vital.

Now how the Apostles and the Fathers understood authority and ministry is different from the model offered by Williams as nowhere do they make a distinction between communion as first order doctrine and ministry as second. This seems to be an innovation to try to salvage what might be termed a wreck. My unease with the Archbishop’s speech comes especially in section 4 when sadly he uses the term: “Western Patriarchate” twice. What an unfortunate choice of words, or was that deliberate? Shortly after his election to the See of Peter, Benedict XVI abrogated one of the titles used for the Pope which called the successor of Peter as Patriarch of the West. Was Rowan Williams trying to make a point? It was always the understanding of the Church that the bishop of Rome is more than the Patriarch of the West.

It is also here that Williams suggests to the Latin Church the adoption of Anglican fudge by having one Church where some abide to the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him and others do whatever a show of hands decides. In this same section Dr Williams mentions the Apostolic Constituion as an imaginative pastoral response, which is what the Holy See claimed that it is was. The ecclesiology of the Latin Church is defined in Lumen Gentium, a document of Vatican II.

In my opinion, ill advised was the point in which Dr Williams decided to use the word chaplaincies to the Ordinariates as opposed to a church gathered around a bishop. In fact a closer reading of the Apostolic Constitution may reveal that there is a bishop, the bishop of Rome, for whom the ordinary stands.

In the penultimate section (5) the Archbishop discusses the admittance of women to Holy Orders in the Anglican Church. The use of words is interesting: “in what ways does the prohibition against ordaining women so ‘enhance the life of communion” Dr Williams asks. I think he answered himself when he spoke of obedience and of the Church as community coming together to discern the will of God. Why does Dr Williams contradict himself? Should the local Church work together with others on matters of second order such as hierarchy and petrine ministry but on its own on the matter of admitting women to priesthood and episcopate? And the fact that such churches acted unilaterally and against the continued advice of “sisters churches” why should the whole be asked to accept the part especially when, as Dr Williams says, the English provinces are still formally in a time of discernment and reception? The good news here is the trust of Dr Williams in supplementary Episcopal oversight. If he mentions this system in his speech in Rome to try to show how people of different theological beliefs can live together, why does he not speak formally and officially to the English Provinces and ensure a secure structure for those who hold different theological opinions from him? If Dr Williams recommends this model to sister churches surely it must be good to use in his own home.

And if the Church of Rome or of the East answer Dr William’s questions in section 6, and their answers are obvious and well stated elsewhere, will Dr Williams and other innovators ever listen?

The Church was instituted by Christ as a sacrament, ‘a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race’, (Lumen Gentium 1) which means that anything which causes division among the baptised (such as ordination of women) ‘openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalises the world and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature’. (Unitatis Redintegratio 1) From Incarnation we learn that the Church is both an invisible spiritual communion, and a hierarchically-organised visible communion, (Lumen Gentium 8) and full communion with the Catholic Church is manifested by those who baptised are the visible body of Christ, through the bonds of faith, the sacraments and ecclesiastical governance. Dr Williams and those of his school cannot and will not configure in their image and thought the Church (the bride) as established by Jesus Christ (the bridegroom). Rather than humbly admitting that we have made a mess out of Church polity we invite Rome to join us in the fun. Somehow I do not think so.

In today's issue of the Tablet there is a piece by Fr Mark Woodruff,  a Roman Catholic priest who was formed in the Anglican tradition and served also as one of its priests. I have seen an unedited version of it which I do not think I am able to produce because of copyright issues. The article is very moving and would recommend it to you.

You can find the comments of Cardinal Kasper on the recent events here.

Homily at the Guild of All Souls Annual Requiem in London 12 November 2009

What we are about tonight is an act of Hope. At this time, we stand facing death. Death is mystery, but not mystery on its own; it is part of that wonderful mystery that is God. People take different approaches to death; they have since the dawn of time. Some hold some kind of afterlife in the underworld. Others in the collective memory, others, especially in our times, hold that death is the end of the story. As Christians we have the way that Jesus pointed to us, we have the richness of Revelation, of Tradition and of the teaching office of the Church Catholic to face death and the way we face it is firstly in hope.

Through the resurrection Jesus has defeated death once and for all. The first Christians could exclaim with Paul: “Where o death is thy sting?” Death has no sting for the Christian. Through death, the soul with its own free will and understanding will shed the body, that body created as temple of the spirit in the fight against the murky waters of sin and death. The soul free from temptation, from the pull of spiritual gravity towards sin and in a new state will see itself as it really is. With the Christian understanding, the soul will see the foolishness of wasted opportunities, the foolishness of choosing self-will rather than the will of God. In that reality, the soul will shed tears of cleansing grief that will be like a purifying fire. This prepares the soul to enter into the full vision of God and this is what we understand by Purgatory. Purgatory is a state of realisation and recognition. The dimension of life in its fullness will be given, the possibility of total unity with God offered and there will be a time to prepare to share fully in this life which we see as in a seed in the mighty event of Easter. So death is the passage to the fullness of life, the life in which all is possible and will happen, the life of the blessed, the life of fulfilment which we can see through the hope given to us by Christ. Our hope is so strong that facing the utmost bitter and bleak reality of death we can say: Where o death is thy sting? Not even death can separate us from Christ, in fact, death is that wonderful gate that brings our life to fullness, to that beatitude to which we were created in the first place but dismissed by our wrong choices. By his death, Jesus gave us life; through our death, we too, like him, will gain life everlasting. Through his descent into hell, Jesus gave true life to those who waited in hope for their fulfilment. Through this Mass, as in every Mass, Christ makes real the reason of our hope in the face of death.

What we are about tonight is also an act of Faith. The glorious symbols of our Faith, the Apostles Creed and the one we recite in Mass coming from the councils of Nicea and Constantinople end with a resounding, joyful conclusion that give the bearing of our final destination: I believe in life everlasting. So wonderfully explained in the immortal cadences of the sequence Dies Irae written by Thomas of Celano in the 13^th century, today we proclaim our faith during this Requiem in the everlasting life that will achieve its fullness in the second coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead. Today we anticipate the day when purgatory will cease to exist, when all creation will achieve its fullness in Christ through whom and for whom it was created. Tonight we declare our faith that in joyful expectation we await his glorious coming, as together with the blessed souls of purgatory we await the end of time and the beginning of eternal perfection. If in hope we pray for those undergoing individual judgement in purgatory, in faith and with them we look towards the day of wrath when:

Death is struck, and nature quaking,

all creation is awaking,

to its Judge an answer making.

Tonight we proclaim our Faith in that day that only the Father knows its hour. On that day through his son, God will pronounce the final word on all history, then and only then shall we know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation. On that day, which tonight we anticipate and proclaim, God’s justice will triumph over all the injustices committed by his creatures, love will vanquish death and the primeval chaos will be no more. On that day, even our frail bodies will be vindicated. On that day, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness, heaven and earth will be made new and the righteous will reign with Christ forever. There all tears will be wiped away from our eyes; there we shall glorify the Lamb that was slain forever. Jerusalem the Golden awaits us and it is in that heavenly city that we make our act of Faith tonight. Indeed, enlightened with this light of Faith our cry is even bolder: Where O death is thy sting? Walking through your dark gates o death we rejoice as we see the pure light for which every inch of our existence aches where God will be all in all in eternal life.

What we are about tonight is also an act of Love. Through her prayers, her funeral rites and the religious acts offered for the dead, holy mother church not only teaches us about the afterlife but also celebrates what we call the communion of saints. If our hope and our faith show us that love is stronger than death, then death cannot destroy the bonds of charity between us and the faithful departed. In fact the communion of saints is the golden bonds of love which unite us the Church Militant with the Church Triumphant and the Church Expectant. The saints in heaven watch over us by their prayers and instruct us by their teaching and example; the holy souls in purgatory, with us, join the saints in praising God and assist us by their prayers and we, as we are doing tonight, join the Church Triumphant, in praising God and praying for the Holy Souls that are getting ready to enter the beatific vision. Our prayers for them, our care for them, our remembering them is the sacrament of God’s love that transcends time and space and makes us the living body of Christ here on earth and beyond. In short what we celebrate tonight is the Church Catholic, willed by God since the dawn of time, its vision marred by sin, refreshed by Christ, bought by the price of His precious blood, spreading its Easter joy here below while already living in those halls of Zion, all jubilant with song united in Hope, Faith  and Love. Ultimately, Love is the eternal law of the kingdom and our love on earth will be the measure of our sharing in God's glory in heaven. It is in these promises and marvellous mysteries that our hope essentially consists, our faith nourished and our love flourishes. As we celebrate this Holy Mass we almost touch that “time out of time” where there will only be the Church Triumphant and it will raise its cry of adoration to God through, with and in Jesus, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour belongs to God and on that day will be ours also unto the ages of ages.

Indeed: Where O death is thy sting?

As I take this time to be quiet and reflect on what is happening around and within Anglo-Catholicism I found very helpful a sermon by Stanley Hauerwas published on the blog of Fr Giles Pinnock SSC. You can read it here. Thanks Fr.
Also a new Anglo-Catholic blog from the States. It features on its masthead the rood of our church. Its author wrote saying:
I am the Senior Warden of the Cathedral of the Incarnation and a member of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Church in America's Diocese of the Eastern United States. For some time, I have been very concerned with the lack of a positive Anglo-Catholic voice in the American Continuing Church blogosphere, a voice, at least, open to the achievement of communion between traditional Anglicans and the Catholic Church.  While the response to the Holy Father's Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus  has been generally received with joy in AC circles in the UK and elsewhere, in the USA, it has too often been met with ignorance, mendacity, and a schismatic spirit which, I believe, does great damage to the cause of Anglo-Catholics committed to unity with the Holy See.
As I am sure you are aware, the ACA is the US province of the Traditional Anglican Communion which is seeking to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.  At present we are taking an awful beating online, and this new blog is meant to counter the misinformation and to share the glories of true Anglo-Catholicism.  As head of the Cathedral Chapter and a member of the Diocesan Standing Committee, I have the full support of my bishop in this endeavor.  As soon as this afternoon, we expect the endorsement of the ACA HOB and I am hopeful that the TAC Primate, Archbishop John Hepworth will participate from time-to-time on the site. 
I am hoping that you will be willing to link to the site and perhaps even to mention the new site in a post.  This would be of tremendous help in launching the site.  As we have a (new) custom domain name, it may take some weeks to show up in Google.  Obviously, the traditional Catholic and Anglo-Catholic blogging community can jumpstart this project immediately.  I would be very grateful for your assistance.
I want to thank you for your blog which has inspired me to enter the fray.  Please keep up the good work!
Finally, I wish to bid your prayers for the ACA and the TAC as we, God willing, come into the full unity of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
 So as I wish this new blog the very best, please do visit it here.

It seems that Fr Ed is speaking for many in this post, you can read it here.

Dedication Festival

Where does one start? The beauty of the Mass and enthusiasm of the people have covered albeit momentarily the bitter news that came out yesterday as a press release from the CofE’s committee on the admittance of women to the episcopate.(See previous blog entries)

After Mass, several people spoke to me about their serious concern and I felt awful to be in a place in which I had not much to say but to hope in and trust God, and methinks that in itself that is a lot to say and think about. I really believe it. How awful to be given “something” inadequate and flimsy as it might have been to be taken away some weeks later to the delight of the likes of WATCH who cannot hide their triumphalistic mood at least for discretion sake. Someone speaking on their behalf called Christina Rees was reported to say to the telegraph: “"I'm glad that we have not ended up with a political compromise and the committee has instead ceded to the will of the people." That is what the CofE seems to have become, a place where the will of the people is vital, what happened to the will of God as seen in the will of the Universal Church? What about Jesus and his instructing us to pray to God: “Thy will be done” The CofE cannot hide any longer its real intention to unchurch those who like me hold dear what Christians held always and everywhere across the centuries.

The new bishop of Peterborough does not bode any encouragement either. He says here: “Today, I’m happy to attend and lead worship in churches of all traditions, from Anglo-Catholic to New Wine…”  Anglo-Catholic worship is centred on the Real Presence of our beloved Lord in the Eucharist, it holds as fundamental the threefold order and apostolic succession. How can he hold this with integrity while holding opposite views like lay presidency, which means anyone, without ordination, can climb on an altar and celebrate the Mass? His views, if you must read them, can be found here.

I am glad we celebrated our Dedication Festival today, it lifted, even if just a little bit, the spirits. I am grateful to Roger for his excellent homily and for all those who made this bleak Sunday somewhat special and holy. In te Domini speravi, non confundar in aeternum!

A week at St John's

The week that is just over held a good spectrum of activities that define the every day of work of this Anglo-Catholic Parish.

Sunday had the usual round of liturgies, this time keeping Remembrance. Our guest preacher was Fr Dimitry from Vienna. Seminarian James Bradley was also present and joined us for lunch after he had the opportunity of meeting the splendid congregation which I have the joy to serve.

That day ended with some time at Sevenoaks Hospital.

Monday opened with Divine Office and Mass after which we had our usual two hours of silent adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed.

At 11am a lovely young couple came for their marriage preparation and arrangements. The bride has been baptised and conformed here at St John’s. She explained with joy how this church is part of her life and how much she is looking forward for her wedding here. The happy couple are very much in my prayers as they prepare for their big day.

Immediately after I visited Fr Dawson in his new surroundings and gave him Holy Communion. It was good to see him settling in his new home.

At 2pm the Year 6 classes from Sevenoaks County Primary came to church for their RE lesson in which we explored the symbols and meaning of our church building. It is amazing how such a large group of kids are attentive for the time we share and how they absorb so much data. They always have very intelligent questions to ask. As ever it is a joy to be with them and with their two splendid teachers Mrs Barker and Miss Wheawall.

After praying the Office and Rosary, I had some time to answer some correspondence and meet a family to arrange a funeral. The rest of the evening was passed delightfully with my family and Fr Dimitry.

Tuesday was taken over by several meetings and also a pastoral visit. The evening saw a farewell meal to Fr Dimitry hosted by mutual friends.

Wednesday Fr Dimitry left very early to catch his 7am flight. As this is my day of rest, I had time to catch up with an ever-increasing pile of books, keep a pastoral visit and visit the hospital. The afternoon was very calm indeed.

The Breviary and Mass opened the day on Thursday. After Mass, our school walked down to church were during Collective Worship all our pupils were give a Bible to keep. These bibles have been generously donated by a charity called Bibles4kids. Our head teacher prepared the appropriate labels in each bible and all pupils came out to receive their copy after a brief reflection of what the bible really means. The top class remained in church where we had our RE lesson exploring the sacred building and looking at the meaning of its liturgy. Again the crowd was delightfully well behaved, thanks to their teacher Miss Hemming and Mrs Ramage who accompanied them. After the lesson I went back to school were I had my meeting (as Chair of Governors) with our head teacher Mrs Quirke. The school is indeed in springtime and the energy that Mrs Quirke and Mrs Cooke have brought to the school together with their vision are already leaving their mark on the happy pupils, happy staff and happy school, - well done to them and thanks be to God!

Some time for a quick lunch, a brief meeting with the hard working churchwardens, Vespers and Rosary, a quick meeting with Graham and Richard who were working in the choir vestry and off to London. I am very glad that I was asked to preach during the Solemn Requiem of the Guild of All Souls at St. Stephen’s Gloucester Road. It was a very dignified concelebrated Mass presided by the Bishop of Richborough and very well supported. This was followed by a great dinner were amongst many other friends I met Canon Simon Godfrey SSC who is the Anglican Parish Priest of Malta!

Friday morning, after Mass and a quick chat with our talented flower ladies, was taken with home communions and hospital visit together with some administration work. In the afternoon, I enjoyed the peace of the two-hour exposition period in church together with the adorers who support this weekly. This is time that I guard very jealously and I have a great debt towards that strong and faithful band of people that keep watch with our Lord every week.
After a short meeting, I could enjoy the rest of the evening with the family.

Saturday after Mass, I stayed in church until noon as we had our Gift Day. Many people came in with their generous donations; many more will make their donation in the coming week. It is very moving to know that there are people who consider giving and giving so generously to further the work of the Kingdom in this part of Sevenoaks. While this was happening, I enjoyed speaking to the people who came and Frances was busy preparing the church for the Dedication Festival tomorrow. She also took some photos for the St John’s Christmas cards that will be available to order from tomorrow. Douglas our treasurer and Peter got all the giving envelopes ready for the giving in 2010.

Tomorrow starts another round and I have to say that I look forward to it.

This is what this Anglo-Catholic parish church is all about; it is about Jesus and serving him in each other. It is the joy of washing his feet all over again. The uncertainty ahead does and will not deter us from serving him alone, whatever that may cost.

Church of England's Revision Committee on Women in the Episcopate

And so the Revision Committee on Women in the Episcopate has spoken again today, you may read it here.

This press statement shows that this committee cannot agree on how to provide for traditional Anglicans an honoured and secure place as was always promised to us. Is it a move to say that now we either go to Rome or leave the CofE? It might be. This is a sad day for the CofE that always took pride in being a broad Church. It is a day when those who are faithful to what the Church believed down the centuries around the globe are being told that almost certainly there is no place for them in the CofE. These are the people who claim to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, the separated brethren have been so more generous to us and offered us so much more. If the recommendations of this committee are approved by the CofE all the promises made by the same Church will be taken back. We heard so many times how much our contribution is valued. We hear that behind our backs this is not necessarily so. Why do such Christians plot to have us evicted or else having our consciences and faith trampled on? This is injustice if there was ever any.

We need to remain faithful and calm. We need to trust our loving God even though the hope of reclaiming the conscientious good will of some members of the CofE seems ever more hopeless. We need to pray also for those who constantly shouted that they want us out.

I can only speak for myself, I can never accept that the CofE or the Anglican Communion have the right to change fundamental matters of Faith such as Holy Orders. That might only be a matter for an Ecumenical Council to decide, East and West. I worry at what those whom I really love and serve in my parish will have to put up with. It is so wrong to unchurch them because they do not accept a very recent innovation.

On the other hand, I am confident that Mary, the Mother of the Church, will help those of us who within the CofE look like the remnant of Israel. Our road is never bleak as it is illuminated by Christ the Morning Star and Mary Star of the Sea.

If the committee was reacting to the Apostolic Constitution then their action is wholly wrong. They still have a duty and responsibility towards those who would, sadly, decide against the unity of the Church. This is exactly what Affirming catholics and others like them asked the committee for, one wonders why such small groupings are heard more than large ones like Forward in Faith. I wonder why rather than living with us they want to live without us, and yet I feel the hand of God even here, a gentle hand maybe opening our eyes to reality.

Anglicans focus on home, and Rome

An article about reactions to the Apostolic Constitution written by Trevor Timpson of the BBC can be found here.