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‘This Sorry Scheme Of Things Entire’

Ah Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,
Would not we shatter it to bits—and then
Re-mould it nearer to the Heart’s Desire!

Not just the Heart’s Desire, but nearer to common sense? Weighed down by the job description demands of doing six different impossible things  before breakfast, the Archbishop of Canterbury is seeking refuge in the presumed sunlit uplands of being a Master in an Oxbridge college. Lay Anglicana wish him well, but suggest he read the works of C P Snow (particularly ‘The Masters‘) before getting up his hopes of a serene retirement.

The next nine months are to be spent by the great and the good in finding a replacement. Is it at all possible before they embark on this gestationary period to re-consider the job description:

1. The Archbishop is the Bishop of the Canterbury Diocese. He has delegated much of his responsibility for the diocese to the Bishop of Dover, who leads a senior staff team of the Dean, three Archdeacons and the Diocesan Secretary. The Archbishop continues to take a keen interest in the affairs of the diocese, attend staff and other meetings, the annual residential staff meeting, and the Archbishop’s Council of the diocese when possible.

2. The Archbishop of Canterbury is also a Metropolitan, having metropolitical jurisdiction throughout the 30 dioceses of the Province of Canterbury. As such, he can conduct formal visitations of those dioceses when necessary. Establishing close links with bishops in his Province is an important part of his work and he visits three dioceses each year. It is a Metropolitan’s responsibility to act as chief consecrator at the consecration of new bishops, grant various permissions, licences and faculties, appoint to parishes where the patron has failed to do so within the prescribed time limits, act as Visitor of various institutions and release, where appropriate, those who have taken religious vows.  He and the Archbishop of York are joint Presidents of the General Synod. The Archbishop of Canterbury is Chairman and the Archbishop of York Vice-Chairman of the House of Bishops and the Crown Nominations Commission.Two Provincial Episcopal Visitors report to the Archbishop in relation to the 163 parishes in the southern province which have petitioned for extended episcopal care under the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod.

3. As leader of the ‘Church by Law Established’ the Archbishop, in his capacity as Primate of All England, is ‘chaplain to the nation’, classically exemplified at a coronation. More routinely he has regular audiences with the Queen and the Prime Minister, and is frequently in touch with senior Ministers of State and with the Leaders of Opposition Parties. In addition, both Archbishops and 24 other senior bishops have seats in the House of Lords.

4. The Archbishop is the Focus of Unity for the Anglican Communion. He is convener and host of the Lambeth Conference, President of the Anglican Consultative Council, and Chair of the Primates’ meeting. In these roles he travels extensively throughout the Anglican Communion, visiting provinces and dioceses, and supporting and encouraging the witness of the Church in very diverse contexts. As primus inter pares among the bishops, he has a special concern for those in episcopal ministry. The Archbishop of Canterbury is, along with the Bishop of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarch, widely regarded as an international spiritual leader, representing the Christian Church. On overseas visits, a meeting with the Head of State is almost always a part of the programme, as are meetings with other significant political persons.

5. The Archbishop has a national and international ecumenical role; nationally he is one of the Presidents of Churches Together in England, who provide strategic guidance to ecumenical endeavours.

6. The Archbishop takes the lead in relationships with members of other faith communities both in this country and overseas, reflecting the increasing significance of those communities for the context in which the Church’s mission and ministry take place.

It is quite impossible for one man to carry out these six functions at once. Multi-tasking at this level would be superhuman, and is not necessary for the man who is primarily the head of the Church of England.

Doing several things at once is a trick we play on ourselves, thinking we’re getting more done. In reality, our productivity goes down by as much as 40%. We don’t actually multitask. We switch-task, rapidly shifting from one thing to another, interrupting ourselves unproductively, and losing time in the process. You might think you’re different, that you’ve done it so much you’ve become good at it. Practice makes perfect and all that. But you’d be wrong. Research shows that heavy multitaskers are less competent at doing several things at once than light multitaskers. In other words, in contrast to almost everything else in your life, the more you multitask, the worse you are at it

 

Here is my draft description of what the scope of the job should be (always easier to work on someone else’s draft – go to it, chaps!)

1. The Archbishop of Lambeth is also a Metropolitan, having metropolitical jurisdiction throughout the 30 dioceses of the Province of Lambeth. As such, he can conduct formal visitations of those dioceses when necessary. Establishing close links with bishops in his Province is an important part of his work and he visits three dioceses each year. It is a Metropolitan’s responsibility to act as chief consecrator at the consecration of new bishops, grant various permissions, licences and faculties, appoint to parishes where the patron has failed to do so within the prescribed time limits, act as Visitor of various institutions and release, where appropriate, those who have taken religious vows.  He and the Archbishop of York are joint Presidents of the General Synod. The Archbishop of Lambeth is Chairman and the Archbishop of York Vice-Chairman of the House of Bishops and the Crown Nominations Commission.Two Provincial Episcopal Visitors report to the Archbishop in relation to the 163 parishes in the southern province which have petitioned for extended episcopal care under the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod.

2. As leader of the ‘Church by Law Established’ the Archbishop, in his capacity as Primate of All England, is ‘chaplain to the nation’, classically exemplified at a coronation. More routinely he has regular audiences with the Queen and the Prime Minister, and is frequently in touch with senior Ministers of State and with the Leaders of Opposition Parties. In addition, both Archbishops and 24 other senior bishops have seats in the House of Lords.

3. The Archbishop has a national and international ecumenical role; nationally he is one of the Presidents of Churches Together in England, who provide strategic guidance to ecumenical endeavours.

4. The Archbishop takes the lead in relationships with members of other faith communities both in this country and overseas, reflecting the increasing significance of those communities for the context in which the Church’s mission and ministry take place.

You will notice that I have created (what fun!) a new Archbishopric (of Lambeth). This would operate along the lines of the Vatican, and should not overly interfere with the Bishopric of London, which would completely surround it. This would get rid of one of the many confusions in the Church of England – if the Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of All England, why is it the Lambeth and not the Canterbury Conference? It would also mean that the incumbent of Dover would become Bishop of Canterbury (which he already, in effect, is). If the Archbishop of ‘Lambeth’ needs his own cathedral, perhaps +London would graciously let him have Westminster Abbey (and make do with St Paul’s). Any other problems you, dear readers, can visualise?

I have also, at a stroke, removed his role as, in effect, head of the Anglican Communion. I suggest that the pattern followed by the Commonwealth is a perfect exemplar and we could do no better than appoint a Canadian to start with, as they did. Any Canadian would do (I would suggest the Ven. Alan Perry, but doubt that he would thank me). It had perhaps better therefore be The Most Revd Frederick James Hilz, commonly known as Fred, if he would accept the post.

That’s it for now – any other ideas to make the task of running the Church of England a feasible one?

””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

Post script:

Writing on the Fulcrum website, Professor N T Wright says:

Rowan’s style has been private and unstrategic. Once, questioned about strategy, he responded crossly ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit!’, seemingly oblivious to the possibility that the Spirit might work through long-term planning. Maybe that’s what we needed then. Certainly nobody doubts that he leads by example in his life of prayer and self-discipline. But we now need consultation, collaboration, and, yes, strategy. Despite routine pessimism, the Church of England isn’t finished. In a sense, it’s just getting going. We need someone with vision and energy to pick up from where Rowan’s charismatic style has led us and to develop and deepen things from there.

A new Archbishop must be allowed to lead. Yes, there are deep divisions. Part of the next Archbishop’s task will be to discern and clarify the difference between the things that really do divide and the things that people believe will do so but which need not. But, at the same time, there are problems of structure and organization that slow things down and soak up energy, problems that can and should be fixed so that the church and its leaders can be released for their mission, and to tackle properly the problems we face.

Who, after all, is running the Church of England? We have Lambeth Palace, the House of Bishops, General Synod, the Archbishops’ Council, the Anglican Communion Office, and (don’t get me started) the Church Commissioners. How does it all work? In an episcopal church, the bishops should be the leaders. Rowan hasn’t bothered much about structures, but with six hands grabbing at the steering wheel someone now needs to take charge. I wouldn’t bet on the Crown Nominations Commission proposing someone with the right combination of spirituality, wisdom and strategic thinking, plus boundless, multi-tasking energy. But that’s what I shall be praying for.

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The illustration is of a list on Archbishops of Canterbury in Canterbury Cathedral. It was taken by Odeja in 2005 and is from the wikimedia website.

17 comments on this post:

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Point of information, Lambeth is actually in Southwark diocese!

19 March 2012 10:05
Lay Anglicana said...
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That’s what comes of letting the hoi polloi loose on the strategy – get the detail wrong. Still, mutatis mutandis…?

19 March 2012 10:11
Stephen Heard said...
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Now, this is blue sky thinking. Alas, as far as the putative ABL’s cathedral is concerned, Westminster Abbey isn’t the Bishop of London’s to give. It’s a Royal Peculiar, and thus under the direct patronage of the Crown. Perhaps HMQ might be prevailed upon?

Lay Anglicana said...
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Well, that is a great relief! I can’t imagine any bishop willingly giving up Westminster Abbey but if it is the Queen’s to dispose of as she sees fit, I would think it highly likely that she would agree to make it over to the putative +ABL. Of course, it is also tempting to declare the extent of the archbishopric as being limited to the palace walls of Lambeth rather than anything so mundane as the civil district of Lambeth.

19 March 2012 10:31
19 March 2012 10:13
UKViewer said...
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First glaring thing is that Westminster Abbey is not in the possession of any Diocese. It is a Royal Peculiar, which Like St Georges Chapel at Windsor is within the Prerogative of the Supreme Governor.

I think that it would be simpler to retain the Arch Bishop of Canterbury as Primate of the Province of Canterbury and to have a separate Arch Bishopric created for the Anglican Communion. One which could be rotated around various Primates of Provinces as desired, or alternatively, selected from among the Primates as a stand-alone-appointment.

This would require and elective college, much like that enjoyed by the US Episcopal Church. It would de-conflict the issues that the ABC faces, and would allow concentration on the Church of England as an entity, which is a big enough job for one man or woman.

The location of the Anglican Communion Cathedral might well be selected as Westminster Abbey, with the permission of HM The Queen, or we could perhaps move it to somewhere like Winchester or Salisbury, which were more ancient sites for the such a prestigious Arch Bishopric. Having the seat of the Anglican Communion Arch Bishop in the UK, would also maintain the links with Anglican origin and allow a measure of sanity than if it was located somewhere like Kampala or Sydney.

Other issue to be addressed, would be who would pay for the Arch Bishop of the Anglican Communion? To my mind, each church would fund it on a pro-rata basis. There is already a central budget for the Anglican Communion, which we all contribute to, so the costs could easily be borne by it.

19 March 2012 10:36
Lay Anglicana said...
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Now you’re talking…The thing is, to be honest, it doesn’t matter what we come up with, it is almost bound to be an improvement on the present situation. How about saying we need a new structure for the third millennium?

19 March 2012 10:49
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¨commonly known as Fred¨…you are really funny this morning, perhaps ¨Kate¨ might be up for a little name streamlining today…I know that ¨Petey¨ Akinola and ¨Hank¨ Orombi won´t go for it but one can hope ¨Maury¨ Anis would be on board along with ¨Nicky¨ the Mean, of Nigeria.

Lay Anglicana said...
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Honestly, even Wikipedia says he is called Fred! 🙂

19 March 2012 16:27
19 March 2012 13:36
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Too bad he´s not a Roman, he could become Pope Fred (I think it´s time, they need a little grounding reality).

Lay Anglicana said...
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What are you going to do with Pope Benny?

19 March 2012 16:51
19 March 2012 16:42
Susan S. Hedges said...
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Combining your job description here and Madpriest’s suggestions for a successor, perhaps each of his 6 could be matched up with one of your 6 and it would be done! I say this only semi facetiously. I know it would never happen.

Lay Anglicana said...
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Hello Susan – nice to welcome you here!
Although I am in part being facetious, there is a serious point here which is that no one has thought whether the job description makes any sense for one person to do. In my view, it doesn’t. So unfortunately, whoever you choose is bound to failure 🙁

19 March 2012 17:17
19 March 2012 17:13
Susan S. Hedges said...
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Yes, it’s a big complicated job which turns out to be harder than originally thought to be, and many Anglicans are disappointed by the results. It reminds me of many reactions to how President Obama has or hasn’t lived up to expectations here in the US. Both Rowan and Obama were understood to be more liberal than they are, and lots of people here do not realize that campaign promises are often not realistic. Of course I realize that the ABC job is not one that is campaigned for. You may correct that notion if I am wrong.

Lay Anglicana said...
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Ooh, you are naughty! I think angling successfully to become ABC is a highly refined art. Rather like becoming Speaker of the House of Commons, one has to give the appearance of being dragged to the seat. (see http://youtu.be/YkHhD-Qklxw). But this is not a n art normally part of a bishop’s training. So we shall see how the campaign that is not a campaign goes…

19 March 2012 18:01
john scott said...
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layanglicana should campaign for the nomination of a sutably qualified lasy person. There is precedent… I think it was Rahere who was nominated as a layperson and then in due course ordained and consecrated to take on the post. Mind you he was a practical theologian whose solution to the rule as a new cleric of no longer being able to carry a sword, was to fall on his opponents wearing his full body armour and crushing them to death. Ah for the good old days! LOL

john scott said...
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Of course I meant suitably qualified lay person! Let me fall on my sword!

Lay Anglicana said...
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You do tempt me! Not really, actually. I much prefer heckling from the pews and I am not really interested in swishing up and down dressed in cloth of gold in between trying to pacify tiresome Nigerian bishops (did you see his outrageous ‘obituary’ of Rowan? http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/005420.html). Considering Rowan nearly tore the Anglican Communion asunder just to pacify this man!

21 March 2012 11:29
21 March 2012 10:05
21 March 2012 10:02
19 March 2012 17:47

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