I’ve been half-jokingly calling myself a “Church of England accelerationist” for a while now, and as such I welcome today’s announcement of Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Presumably Cardinal Vincent Nichols is also glad to see the Church of England’s decline accelerating yet further — at least it’s hard to see on what other basis he could, on behalf of his Roman Catholic colleagues, “welcome the news of the appointment”. Perhaps even the Crown Nominations Commission itself is accelerationist. What else could they be hoping to achieve but decline and fracture for the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion by appointing a female, pro-gay, pro-choice candidate to the See of Anselm?
All parties within the Church of England have received the news with, if not rejoicing, then at least relief. Even conservative voices such as the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and Forward in Faith have made positive noises, saying, in effect, “We can work with her.” And they‘re right: as Bishop of London Mullally has had friendly and supportive personal relationships with all kinds of Anglicans. She continued to implement her predecessor’s “London Plan”, giving unique guarantees that allowed Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals to minister happily in their particular enclaves. So, yes, they probably can continue to work with her, and they have already set out their elaborate explanations for how people who believe the ordination of women is either sinful or impossible can nevertheless work with and under a female archbishop. But there is a steep cost to this association. If the statistically-dubious but anecdotally-real “quiet revival” is reaching anyone at all, it is reaching the kind of person who looks at Mullally’s appointment and shakes their head in disbelief. They want the undiluted Jesus, the full-fat Christian teachings, the rich and historic fullness of the faith. Does the Church of England stand for anything more than warmed-over managerial niceness, they wonder? Perhaps they have their answer.
The Church of England as an institution has been hollowed out and taken over
Of course, the same loyalists continue to say not only, “We can work with her” (Mullally), but also, “We can fix her” (the Church of England). The former I can accept — and I know and respect many sincere and gifted Church of England vicars who will keep holding fast in miserable conditions to the radical, counter-cultural message of the Bible, no matter what their bishops do and say. Such pastoral grit must be commended. But as for those who whisper false hope into their inboxes and at their conferences, year after year, about secret just-around-the-corner alternative structures or hypothetical revivals — they need to come clean. The Church of England as an institution has been hollowed out and taken over. Its buildings, its traditions, its deep connection to the fabric of our country will, I trust, last for centuries to come in some form. But what inhabits those things must die before it can rise again. If you hope, as I do, for a revived and restored Church of England in the long-term, you must resign yourself to fighting for it from the outside in the meantime. This has been clear to many for a while, but perhaps you need to see the rot accelerate a bit more yet. If so: welcome, Archbishop Sarah.
