An Anglican Catechism

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Summary: One way through the via media...
Review: Once in discussion about Anglican beliefs and values, a prominent (now retired) bishop in the American church once said to me that the Episcopal church has no real dogma or doctrine one must subscribe to, but rather rests in the liturgical continuity of practice of the Book of Common Prayer. In fact this is not entirely true, on both sides of the argument; the BCP is a flexible document, often revised - particularly in America - so the continuity of the liturgy is only in the broadest terms, and the idea that there are no things Anglicans must believe stretches credulity, but only just. Trying to pin down just what it is that Anglicans believe is very tricky - put five Anglicans in a room and you'll get six opinions (at least) about most anything.

The title of this text by Edward Norton, 'An Anglican Catechism', is thus very apt. The emphasis here first should be on the first word of the title. It is not THE Anglican Catechism - it is a book of possibilities and interpretations, things which history has shown will undoubtedly change. That this is Anglican does not make it exclusive to the Church of England and its communion partners around the world - there is much to be shared here; nor does it mean that this applies to every part of the church within the official communion boundaries - within days of its publication, people around the communion were disputing different parts of the text.

Norton, a canon of York cathedral under Archbishop David Hope, the 'number two' man in the Church of England, put together this text in response to the growing question about the direction of the church, particularly with the rapid pace of change that has been taking place in the past generation, culminating with a major revision of the liturgy itself - the 2000 Common Worship, which did not contain a catechism. Another major impetus for this text was the publication by the Roman Catholic church of its primary catechism, and the careful reader will notice some similarities of overall structure in outline in the beginning.

There is a three-fold structure to the book: Part I looks at Doctrine and Order; Part II examines Morality and Applications; Part III develops a pattern for Christian Life. The text here is derivative of Norton's long experience in the church, not a rehash of a particular catechism or theology. Thus, it is both individual and communal in various aspects.

The largest section of the text is on Doctrine and Order. This does not follow a particular creedal pattern, but does draw in many of the topics addressed in the regular creeds recited in the liturgies. Norton discusses an Anglican interpretation of issues such as the Trinity, the Creation, Justification by Faith, the structure and role of clergy and laity in the church, the sacraments, the creeds, and more. There are some topics that are not developed very fully - the issue of women's ordination, for example, is still a matter of contention in the Anglican communion, and in the Church of England proper, and yet it receives only one sentence, not of explanation, but of announcement, that the Church of England ordains women to the priesthood.

In the section on Morality, Norton looks at the different kinds of morality, and how these may change over time - political morality, economic morality, environmentalism, war and peace issues, sexuality issues, family rights, human rights, and other general topics of ethical conduct. Norton also addresses in this subject topics such as secular humanism (an appropriate topic for this part) and reincarnation (a topic rather misplaced in this general section).

The final section, on developing a Christian Life, is the shortest section, but draws on the other sections to form a conclusion to the catechism. Practices important to the Christian life such as prayer, confession, self-sacrifice and discipline, looking at suffering, work, community, and authority are examined, leading up to the final statement that we all need to have faith that we live under the mercy of God.

This is a fascinating snapshot of Anglican thought. It is not a systematic series of explanations, but rather, in catechetical format, more of an exposition of beliefs; while there are interpretative statements made, this is neither a scholarly/academic text or an 'introduction'. It assumes some understanding of the beliefs and practices of the Anglican church generally.

Everyone I've known who has read this has found pieces in harmony with their beliefs, and pieces opposed to their beliefs. In good Anglican fashion, they make up their own minds. This is a good guide to help the thinking along.

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Summary: An Anglican Catechism
Review: The Anglican Catechism is a step in the right direction. The book tries (and with a great deal of success) to capture the essence of the Anglican Way in regards to theology. It is written in a style that flows and I was able to digest the book in just two sittings. References are made to some scripture (but it fell short of the amount needed) and some of the thirty nine articles. If you are already an Anglican the references to the thrity-nine articles were certainly easy but if you are not they just remained a marking of some strange references on the page.
Over all the catechism is worth purchasing just to see how the Anglican Church in general is evolving and trying to blend into society while at the same time trying to maintain essential Christian doctrine and order.

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Summary: Not your typical catechism!
Review: The most frustrating thing about being an Episcopalian today is the aggressive reluctance of the church in modern times to make any sort of definitive statement about the teachings of Christianity as they have been received within the Anglican tradition. This "disinclination toward dogma" leads some Anglicans to overemphasize the mechanics and form of worship as the Anglican "distinctive," while others simply pick and choose what it means to them to be an Anglican Christian. Edward Norman's book is different in that he avoids the deliberate agnosticism of many contemporary Anglican scholars and instead expressly seeks to provide an "account of the teachings of Christianity as received within the Church of England." He is very successful in attaining that goal, and the determined reader will reap great benefit from tackling this work. The work is delightfully balanced: conservative in that it seeks and expresses the consensus of the faithful over time, but simultaneously liberal (in the sense that all Protestants are) in that the author recognizes that neither the church nor the individual believer will ever get it all exactly right. I was particularly struck by the author's ability to express orthodox Christian teachings in exciting new ways, and he is not afraid to point out where the traditional approach to certain aspects of Christian living may be diminishing in explanatory or persuasive power. His prose is complex but frequently beautiful. However, the book is not without certain shortcomings. It is not a "catechism" in any traditional sense of the word; the work is better described as a lengthy essay on Anglican dogmatic theology. As you might guess from that characterization, it is probably not really for the "unbeliever" or even the fledgling Christian; the book would, however, be a great resource for an adult education program in a parish. A seeker or newcomer to the faith would be better served by the "Outline of the Faith" in the Book of Common Prayer. The book is also only generally organized into three chapters about doctrine, morality, and the Christian life. Within each of these chapters are short, almost self-contained essays on topics related to the topic of the chapter. The text is sometimes difficult to navigate or put into context because the table of contents is very general, and the work is not indexed; perhaps a second edition could remedy this significant omission? The author also makes many assertions about the content of Anglican belief, but there are few citations in the text to authoritative sources or even scripture. In the contentious environment that is the contemporary Anglican communion, the validity of one's assertions sometimes depends on the source of the thought; more textual citations or scripture references in support of the author's assertions would help the reader better assess the validity of the argument being made. Notwithstanding these problems, this book is still a "must buy" for the rector's study, the educator's "toolbox," and every thinking Anglican's library.