Archbishop Rowan has been in hot water again, and there has been some questioning of his role in British politics. Serendipitously, this coincided with the publication of Daniel Gover’s report for Theos on the politics of Archbishops of Canterbury:

A recent review of the office, published in 2001 and led by the former Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, identified six distinct roles: Diocesan Bishop of Canterbury; Metropolitan for the Southern Province of the Church of England (giving him authority over 30 dioceses mostly in the south of England); Primate of All England (making him the most senior bishop in the Church of England); leader of the Anglican Communion (a loose affiliation of Anglican churches worldwide with approximately 77 million adherents); an ecumenical figure in relation to other Christian churches; and a Christian leader with interfaith responsibilities. (p14)

Many of the commentaries have defended the ABC’s right, as Primate of All England, to express his views, whether or not they agree with those views, as indeed would I. I would only add that he might consider whether to emulate the monarch in aiming to advise, encourage, and warn in his dealings with government. There is plenty of advice and warning in what ++Rowan says, but a little encouragement also might not come amiss.

But it is in his role as ‘Leader’ of the Anglican Communion in particular where I suggest it might behove him to take our monarch as an example. This is what the website of the Anglican Communion says about the role of the leader:

‘The Archbishops of Canterbury are seen by the Anglican Communion of churches as their spiritual leader. He is primus inter pares, first among equals of the other Primates (Chief Archbishops, Presiding Bishops) of the various provinces…The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Focus for Unity for the three Instruments of Communion of the Anglican Communion, and is therefore a unique focus for Anglican unity. He… chairs the meeting of Primates, and is President of the Anglican Consultative Council…The Primates of the Anglican Communion are the chief Archbishops, Presiding Bishops, Chief Pastors of the various Provinces of the global church. Their churches are autonomous yet inter-dependent in their relationships with each other. The Archbishop of Canterbury chairs their meetings, which are held at varying intervals at various places in the Anglican World. The primates have no authority as a “body” and their own national churches determine how their ministry is carried out in their own context. The customs and responsibilities vary from Province to Province…The Lambeth Conference of bishops meets every 10 years solely at the personal invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1867 Lambeth Palace hosted the first meeting but as the numbers grew the conference moved to Canterbury… ‘Towards an Understanding of the Purpose and Scope of the Primates’ Meeting’ produced by those Primates present in Dublin in January 2011′

It is worth comparing this with the role of the British monarch as ‘head’ of the Commonwealth. According to the official website of the British monarchy:

This is an important symbolic and unifying role. As Head, The Queen personally reinforces the links by which the Commonwealth joins people together from around the world. One of the ways of strengthening these connections is through regular Commonwealth visits..The Queen keeps in touch with Commonwealth developments through regular contact with the Commonwealth Secretary General and his Secretariat. This is the Commonwealth’s central organisation…Her Majesty also has regular meetings with Heads of Government from Commonwealth countries…Modern communications technology allows The Queen to speak to every part of the Commonwealth through her annual Christmas and Commonwealth Day messages… to the peoples of the Commonwealth as a whole. They are unique in that they are delivered on The Queen’s own responsibility, drafted without ministerial advice. Every two years a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) is held, at locations throughout the Commonwealth.The Queen is normally present in the host country, during which she has a series of private meetings with the Commonwealth countries’ leaders…In all these different ways The Queen, though not part of the machinery of government in the Commonwealth, acts as a personal link and human symbol of the Commonwealth as an international organisation.

It wouldn’t take a genius to re-write this as a job description for the leader of the Anglican Communion, with which there are many similarities. One of the differences is the recognition of the significance of what Hindus call ‘darshan‘ or ‘auspicious viewing’. One of the functions of the leader should simply be to show himself, and to try and spread a little sweetness and light.

But I have left the best until last:

The Queen often attends the Commonwealth Games, a major sporting occasion which brings together young people from all over the world in friendly competition.

This is creative genius! Why don’t we have an ‘Anglican Games’, perhaps run along the lines of a school sports day? Instead of spanking the Yanks, why don’t we teach them how to play cricket? In exchange, they can teach us how to play baseball. And we can have indaba after indaba discussing the finer points of football (what shape is the ball? Do you kick it or pick it up?) What about three-legged races with Anglo-Catholics tied at the ankle to Evangelicals? Egg and spoon races for those involved in ‘Children’s Ministry’? High Jump for curates? Sack races for vergers? Obstacle races for Archdeacons? Diocesan Relays? If it is objected that most of the bishops are too old for football or baseball, what about competitive whist or cribbage? The possibilities are limitless.If ‘jaw, jaw is better than ‘war, war‘, what about ‘More, More’!

Let us make God ‘smile, his work to see‘.