Some Scholars Found

Not long ago, I asked the question, “Where are our scholars?” My point was that historically we Anglicans have looked to scholars to help us interpret Scripture, Tradition, and how we might apply Reason to them, in light of the issues confronting each generation.

Well, I continue to look; and thanks to the extensive resources compiled by Dr. Louie Crew, I found my way to the Windsor Report Papers. According to Dr. J. Robert Wright, Professor at the General Theological Seminary, and Historiographer of the Episcopal Church, “The following essays [were] written by students of the General Theological Seminary who were associated with my course in the spring term of 2005 entitled "Seminar in Anglican Ecclesiology and the Windsor Report."” So, these are papers prepared by some who will be clergy and scholars in the Episcopal Church. You can link from the main page to each paper and read on line.

I haven’t had a chance to read all the papers, but I have certainly found interesting those I have read. Check out, for example, Thomas Heard’s "When is a Primate like a King?" It is an interesting exploration of the distinctive differences in the authority and responsibilities of Primates in the Episcopal Church, the Church of England, and the Church of Nigeria – Anglican. Or read Jefferson R. Hulet’s "Uses of Authority in the Text of the Lambeth Commission on Communion Windsor Report 2004." He finds a theme in the understanding of authority in the Church in the Windsor Report, one that implies greater authority for the Instruments of Unity over national synods. We’ve seen these issues lived out since publication of the Windsor Report. These authors argue for these issues as inherent in the Windsor Report itself, and as pertinent to the reception that is central to any understanding of a Windsor Process.

Some would say that the Windsor Report is old news, and that subsequent statements from Dromantine and Tanzania (links here), and subsequent actions of the General Convention (not to mention “facts on the ground”) have superseded its importance. However, each statement and each action returns again and again to the Windsor Report for reference and authority. Each step proposed for a Windsor Process refers back to principles and proposals from the Report. If we are accumulating layers of interpretation and response, the Windsor Report itself and the issues it raises remain the parameters within which the Anglican Communion wrestles.

So, I want to point to and highlight these papers written by some of our newest scholars. Our scholars are indeed thinking and writing. Whenever we can, we then need to bring them to the attention of the wider Episcopal/Anglican community.