A Mediating Tradition: The Anglican Vocation in Australian Society Author Nolan, Randall Published 2008 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Arts DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/159 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366465 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au A MEDIATING TRADITION: THE ANGLICAN VOCATION IN AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY by Randall Nolan B.A. (Hons.) (University of NSW) B.D. (University of Sydney) Grad. Dip. Min. (Melbourne College of Divinity) School of Arts Faculty of Arts Griffith University A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2007 ABSTRACT The Anglican Church of Australia agreed to a national constitution in 1962. Yet at a national level it is hardly a cohesive body with a sense of unity and common purpose. Historically, Australian Anglicanism developed along regional lines, with the result that diocesan separateness rather than national unity became enshrined as a foundational principle of Anglicanism in Australia. This study questions this fundamental premise of the Anglican tradition in Australia. It argues (1) that it is not a true reflection of the Anglican ethos, both in its English origins and worldwide, and (2) that it prevents Anglicanism in Australia from embracing its national vocation. An alternative tradition has been present, in fact, within Australian Anglicanism from the beginning, although it has not been considered to be part of the mainstream. Bishop Broughton, the first Anglican bishop in Australia, was deeply sensitive to the colonial context in which the Anglican tradition was being planted, and he adapted it accordingly. So too, a century later, Bishop Burgmann of Canberra and Goulburn argued for Anglicanism to embrace its national vocation. The views of both these pioneering bishops were consistent with the national principle that lay at the heart of the Anglican ethos from as far back as the English Reformation. The central part of this study explores this national emphasis in Anglican thought, which is present in the thought of Richard Hooker and received renewed emphasis in the writings of Broad Church Anglicans like Coleridge, Arnold and Maurice in nineteenth century England. The national principle did not disappear with the birth of global Anglicanism. The principle of inculturation, always implicit in the Anglican tradition in England, now became an Anglican imperative. The American Revolution indicated that the vocation of each cultural expression of Anglicanism is intricately bound up with the life of the particular society to which it belongs. A study of Lambeth documents demonstrates this growing cultural awareness within global Anglicanism. The present crisis of authority in the Anglican Communion should not be allowed to divert attention away from the national vocation of each particular or national church, in keeping with one of the central tenets of the English Reformation. Important theological and ecclesial issues are at stake. It is very easy for Anglicanism to lapse into an in-house conversation, forgetting that doctrine is part of a human and not just an ecclesiastical conversation. At the heart of the Anglican ethos is a ‘reconciling method’. In a fragmented world, Anglicanism is called to be a mediating presence, engaging with the differences that threaten to divide nations and communities. The Anglican via media needs to be released from ecclesiastical confinement to do its proper work within national life. So too, the notion of ‘comprehensiveness’, long considered to be a central aspect of the Anglican ethos, needs to be placed at the service of the national and international community, especially in a post-colonial world. Conversation and community need to take precedence over fragmentation and hostility. The Anglican tradition was made for such a time, and needs to apply its theological and ecclesial resources to broader issues than its own survival. Ultimately it is a question of integrity: whether Anglicanism is prepared to embody its vision of unity within its own life, and to share it with the wider human community; whether it is willing to live with the risks of engagement, accepting that the ongoing tension between gospel and culture is part of its vocation. The final section of the study will seek to apply these insights to the Australian context. Anglicanism has, in fact, been part of the Australian story from the beginning of European settlement. It must not retreat into a private religious world, or assume a comfortable establishment status as it tended to do in the decades after Federation. It needs to be part of the ongoing debate about Australia – what Australia is and what it stands for. The Anglican tradition must both engage in the conversation about Australia and act as a prophetic and mediating presence, especially at the points of tension which cause fractures in national life. Particular attention will be paid to three key themes in Australian life: the Anzac tradition, race, and land. Each of these presents Anglicanism with both a challenge and an opportunity. Australia needs the insights and resources that the Anglican tradition brings, and Anglicanism needs to grasp that it is both Anglican and Australian. It must therefore get its own house in order for the sake of the nation. DECLARATION This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. While drawing on many sources, the structure and the argument of the thesis are my own work. …………………………………. Randall Nolan May, 2007 CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Anglicanism and the Australian Story 4 The Writings of Bruce Kaye 9 Identity and Vocation 13 The Argument in Outline 16 PART 1 FORMING A ‘NATIONAL’ CHURCH 1 Before and After the Constitution 21 Towards a National Constitution 22 The Quest for Autonomy 23 Diocesan Separatism 27 The National Constitution 33 The Problem of National Unity 35 The Unfinished Agenda 42 Conclusion 47 2 Alternative Voices: Broughton and Burgmann 51 William Grant Broughton 56 Broughton’s Background 57 The Collapse of Establishment 58 The 1850 Bishops Conference 62 A Lasting Legacy 66 E.H. Burgmann 68 The Formative Years 68 The Bush Bishop 70 A Great Patriot 75 Conclusion 77 PART 2 THE NATIONAL IDEA IN ANGLICANISM 3 The Changing Face of Ecclesia Anglicana 80 The English Reformation 82 Developments after Hooker 86 The Anglican Evangelicals 90 The Oxford Movement 94 Conclusion 98 4 Broad Church Views 102 Samuel Taylor Coleridge 104 Thomas Arnold 108 F.D. Maurice 111 William Reed Huntington 118 William Temple 121 A ‘Church in Society’ Tradition 124 Conclusion 130 5 The Anglican Communion 135 Cultural Diversity within Britain 140 The American Experience 144 Lambeth Documents 153 Autonomous Provinces 166 Conclusion 170 6 The Shape of a Mediating Theology 173 Inculturation and the Via Media 175 A Post-Colonial Communion 180 The ‘Static’ and ‘Mystical’ Via Media 186 Doing Theology Contextually 192 Beyond Fragmentation 196 A Matter of Integrity 208 Conclusion 213 PART 3 BEING ANGLICAN AND AUSTRALIAN 7 Joining the Australian Conversation 217 Religion in Australia 221 The Australian Settlement 230 The Radical Nationalists 235 The Age of Uncertainty 242 The Enigma of Manning Clark 247 Conclusion 253 8 In Search of the Nation’s Soul 257 Nation and Community 259 National Myths and Assumptions 265 The Spiritual Meaning of Anzac 266 The Question of Race 276 The Land and its People 286 Conclusion 293 Conclusion: A Church for the Nation 298 The Recovery of Corporate Memory 301 Living with Difference 306 An Australian Church 309 Glossary 312 Bibliography 318 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In 1995 I attended a residential school in Auckland, New Zealand, organised by the Melbourne College of Divinity. Dr. Graeme Ferguson, who had earlier served as Principal of the United Theological College in Sydney during the formative years of my theological studies, was one of the principal speakers at the conference. His passion for contextual theology, which had earlier left its mark on me, was rekindled. Although I now belong to the Anglican tradition, I nevertheless wish to pay tribute at the outset to his visionary leadership and his passion for a theology of engagement. While the spark which ignited this thesis was kindled in New Zealand, the subsequent work has taken place in Australia, the United States, Wales and Japan. I am grateful to Griffith University for allowing me to pursue my research in this way. I am indebted to my Associate Supervisors, Professor Wayne Hudson and Dr Rosemary Gill, for their helpful suggestions in the early stages of my research when the project was beginning to take shape. Dr. Don Edwards, my Principal Supervisor, has consistently provided both encouragement and astute criticism from beginning to end. I owe him a considerable debt of gratitude and respect. His comments were always insightful and appropriate. I have no doubt that his partnership in this project was a crucial factor in enabling its completion. The flaws in this work, however, remain my own. I am grateful to the Parish of St Alban’s Anglican-Episcopal Church, Tokyo, for providing both time and funds for study leave at St Deiniol’s Library, Harwarden, Flintshire, in August 2006. The time spent in the library enabled me to sharpen my insights into the Anglican Broad Church tradition. My thanks also to the staff of the library, which is an excellent facility by any standards. To my wife Fran, who has walked this journey with me from the beginning, I am especially grateful for endless patience, encouragement and trust. Tokyo May 2007 INTRODUCTION I begin this discussion a decade ago, at the first National Anglican Conference held at the Australian National University, Canberra, in February 1997. The conference was the first of its kind, a popular rather than a legislative gathering. Anglicans from all over Australia – laity, clergy and bishops – came together to focus on the theme, ‘Exploring Our Future: Anglicans in Australia in the 3rd Millenium’.1 This theme suggested that the Anglican Church of Australia was a church on the move, open to new possibilities and willing to engage with Australian society. During the first session Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley addressed the conference, encouraging and exhorting Anglicans to engage in the life of the nation. In their presence, the conference sang an Australian hymn with a decidedly Australian theme. In subsequent sessions, prominent Australian academics and commentators discussed social and political issues affecting Australian society and how the Anglican community might respond. Leading Anglican speakers explored how Anglican Christianity was managing its Australian experience. Indigenous Anglicans were prominent, highlighting how far Anglicanism in Australia had come since 1788, when the Reverend Richard Johnson arrived, full of faith and perplexity, with the First Fleet. It was a promising moment in the history of this Australian church. The popularity of the conference, I suspect, was an indication that Anglicanism in Australia was feeling its way forward as an Australian church. However unconsciously, these dual threads of its life – being Anglican and being Australian – were being woven together. The conference, after all, was a self-styled ‘national’ one, with Australian political and community leaders gracing the platform, Australian songs being sung, and indigenous Australians being given an honoured role in the proceedings. Was not the theme of the conference declaring that the future of this church was intertwined 1The programme and addresses of the conference are printed in the National Anglican Conference Journal, published by Church Press Ltd. as a supplement to Church Scene, March 21, 1997. 1
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