Feast Day

Today is my birthday, but it is also the feast day of William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 1944.

Temple's admirers have called him "a philosopher, theologian, social teacher, educational reformer, and the leader of the ecumenical movement of his generation," "the most significant Anglican churchman of the twentieth century," "the most renowned Primate in the Church of England since the English Reformation," "Anglican's most creative and comprehensive contribution to the theological enterprise of the West.”

Pretty impressive company.

One of his most important accomplishments was his vigorous involvement in movements for Christian co-operation and unity, in missions, in the British Council of Churches, in the World Council of Churches, in the Church of South India (a merger of Anglican, Congregationalist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches into a single church, with provisions for safeguarding what each group thought essential).

Temple was initially refused ordination by his bishop because of his less than orthodox views on the Virgin Mary and Jesus’ resurrection. But the then Archbishop of Canterbury thought he saw something important in Temple and ordained him anyway. I guess he was right. Oh, incidentally, Temple eventually came around to the orthodox view, but clearly his greatest contributions had little or nothing to do with his orthodoxy. Hmmm. Could this be something the Church needs to pay more attention to?

Peace,

Jerry+