Living in Love and Faith, safeguarding & complementarianism

Evangelicals in the Church of England are processing the announcement of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Some will be quicker than others to form and vocalise an opinion, but it is a significant moment that will have an impact on us.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding failures were the presenting issue for the resignation of the previous incumbent, and those wounds are still open.

Speaking on BBC News, Susie Leafe did not believe that Bishop Sarah was going to renew trust in this area.

Living in Love and Faith (LLF)

There has been a sense of waiting for the direction given by the new Archbishop, particularly in the discussions around blessings for same-sex couples. Bishop Sarah led the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process, so her ascent to Canterbury carries some freight in the continuing and increasingly dysfunctional proceedings in the House of Bishops and General Synod.

She has been pragmatic in her approach, adept at bureaucracy, and gracious in her demeanour to all sides of the debate, but she does not hold an orthodox view of marriage by conviction. Church Society pointed out that “the appointment (for the third time in a row to this position) of someone who does not seem to actually hold to the doctrine of the Church of England on marriage and sexual ethics but wants it to change.” Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society, commented, “She has led the way on LLF with a bureaucratic, pragmatic approach and not with the gospel.” He asked: “When will we get someone who will uphold their consecration vows?”

In response to the announcement, the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) noted the “context of significant divisions created by the Living in Love and Faith process” and went on to say that: “Across the Anglican Communion, in recent years there has been a significant loss of confidence in the role of the Archbishop and a cry for leadership consonant with our Anglican doctrinal heritage.” GAFCON represents the vast majority of Global Anglicans, and stated: “Since the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury has failed to guard the faith and is complicit in introducing practices and beliefs that violate both the 'plain and canonical sense' of Scripture and 'the Church’s historic and consensual' interpretation of it (Jerusalem Statement), she cannot provide leadership to the Anglican Communion.”

Bishop of Ebbsfleet - Rob Munro

For complementarian evangelicals, the appointment of a woman to Canterbury creates additional issues. Rob Munro, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, is appointed under the women bishops measure to provide oversight to churches which pass a resolution to receive it. In a clear and gracious statement, Bishop Rob asserted the “need to maintain the integrity of my role as a complementarian bishop, called to serve resolution churches across the whole country, yet with a legal title in the Diocese of Canterbury.” He upheld that “Bishop Sarah has a long track record of gracious engagement, and real understanding of the particular theological convictions we hold.” Continuing in a positive vein, he added, “I have no doubt she will continue to work hard to enable the Five Guiding Principles to be upheld with a clear conscience, and in a way that 'contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church of England.'"

Evangelical ministry and the Church’s future

Whilst, for evangelicals in the Church of England, we would concur that the appointment could have been a lot worse, Bishop Sarah’s election doesn’t hold out hope for making things any better. Debate and division will continue in General Synod, finances will continue to be stretched in dioceses plagued with decline, retirements will continue to outpace new vocations, and the dissonance between denominational governance and local parish ministry will continue.

Evangelical ministry in the Church of England remains faithful to the doctrinal roots of the denomination even if the leader of the denomination does not. Sadly, there remains the need to have a distinctive expression for orthodox Anglicanism within the Church of England, not as a form of spiritual PPE but to be a witness and a testimony for what the Church of England truly is for: the glory of God. We can only hope that Bishop Sarah would be supportive of this.

Read more

• New Archbishop poses challenge for evangelicals - a news summary of reactions from evangelicals including Gafcon, Church Society, CEEC, Affinity and others, plus a brief survey of what Sarah Mullally does (or does not) seem to believe
• Sarah Mullally: 'Undertrained and inexperienced' - comment from distinguished theologian Gerald Bray
• Sarah Mullally: A calm voice & firm hand, but not an evangelical - comment from Rebecca Chapman
• Those who teach 'will be judged more strictly' - comment from Niv Lobo, Senior Associate Minister at Christ Church, Cambridge