Radical Thoughts, 200 Years Old

I'm thoroughly enjoying my latest read, The History of the Episcopal Church in America, by Dr. William Manross. It feeds both my interests in early American history, as well as in the early formation of my Church in America.

The Church of England of course, was the predominant denomination here in colonial times, after the smaller populations of Quakers and Puritans made those first, brave forays onto our soil. As the population grew out from early settlements like Plymouth and Jamestown, it consisted more and more of the Anglican colonists ( including the Methodist branch) then venturing forth from England. Of course, there were Catholics, Presbyterians, and smaller populations of Lutherans and Baptists too, but it was the Anglicans, and the men of power who worshiped there (more or less) who formed the first local governments and began the first efforts at the notions of independence from England on the secular side.

Because the head of the Anglican Church is also the ruling monarch in England, the history of the Church here becomes so intertwined with the political affairs, that it's sometimes hard to separate the two back in those days of the American revolution. In fact, there were many, many occasions where the circumstances of the Church affected the politics of the day, and vice versa. Interesting stuff.

This history, which cannot be denied, had on occasion, great influence in what our founding fathers did politically. Today's ACLU and it's minions, should sit down with the facts for once, and understand that the separation of Church and state meant much more about the administration of government and the historic relationship of King and Church that they'd left behind in England, than in the true and determined intentions and aspirations for a country of faithful Christians and their desire to be "One Nation, under God".

But what is really grabbing me now is the time just after the revolution, at the beginning of the 19th century. At that time, Episcopalians wanted more organization in their Church. They wanted to grow of course, and felt that structuring a hierarchy or episcopate here, was needed to manage that. The answer would be to create American Bishops, and just as on the secular side, this meant severing the dependence on England for those services. Up to that point, an American had to make the dangerous voyage back to a Bishop in England in order to be ordained. Official direction on Church affairs here had to be transmitted in letters from England. Not a very efficient process. Besides, there was that undesirable connection again, where an English Bishop, and presumably all those under his orders, had to swear allegiance to the King! Not good for a revolutionary American who felt the call to serve God, but most certainly not an English monarch!

Anyway, reading all of this started me thinking about the politics of our Church today. The Bishops of our national Church and the ties that still bind us to Bishops in England. Suppose we had not pushed so hard for this episcopate form of Church? Today, in my opinion, our Church suffers more than it benefits from the empowerment we give our Bishops. The politics, the power struggles, the expense and the doctrine generated by this entire layer of "management" is something that could be, and should be, greatly diluted.

In 1800, the only thing a Bishop was asked to do, or had authority to do, was baptise and confirm. That was their whole purpose, period. Maintain the apostolic succession. Most were actually rectors at their own Churches. Why do we need them to do anymore than that today? A radical thought, I know.

Some would probably argue based on the need for a "world vision"; the affairs of the Church beyond a neighborhood. I don't agree. Individual parishes can do a lot on their own, whether in their own community or across an ocean. And if they want to join another parish to do something bigger, then so be it. Let them decide what that will be.

I'm anti-big government. Doesn't matter whether it's Church or secular. As soon as we give power and authority, we lose freedom in equal measure. A little can go a long way, so you must be careful with it. In the Church, we have God. He has set "policy" for us in the Gospels. We don't need to empower someone to do that for us, especially in the way our Church hierarchy interprets that today. We don't need to be managed by those who want to steer us in their own vision of the way things should be.

Mostly, you'll read about politics at The Mole Hole, but it occured to me in reading this current chapter of Church history that despite the separation of church and state that is certainly been accomplished in our own fashion (and to our detriment), the Episcopal Church of today and the U.S. government of today have a lot in common. Both have been granted way too much authority and both seem bent on remaking their own institutions following some new world order. In that respect, both the government and the Church of 1800 would be greatly preferred.