The Anglican Communion: Idea,Name and Identity

Abstract

In the early nineteenth century, the idea that the United Church of England and Ireland (with the ‘Colonial Church’), the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA belonged to each other was (in England at least) a belief advocated by high-churchmen, not an established fact. Their ministries were not interchangeable. The article first traces the growth of the view that they were or should be branches of one communion. The second part surveys the variety of names used for this communion in the earlier nineteenth century. It records use of the name ‘Anglican Communion’ in the modern sense in 1847—more than three years earlier than previously known. Finally, reasons are suggested why the terms ‘Anglican’ and ‘Anglican Communion’ are not found in the Church of England's formal expressions of identity. One is the Church of England's reluctance to view itself as a denomination with a particular (‘Anglican’) identity. Mid-twentieth-century statements to this effect are recorded and defended against more recent criticism; indeed, the author agrees with Michael Ramsey in placing a question mark against the very concept of ‘Anglicanism’. References to the provisionality of the Anglican Communion—most recently by Archbishop Runcie—are cited with approval.     

The 2014 Agreed Statement on Christology of the Churches of the Anglican Communion and the Oriental Orthodox Churches: a Catholic review

This article discusses the sources of the 2014 Agreed Statement on Christology, which include not only the 433 Formula of Union and the teaching of St Cyril of Alexandria but also some language from the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Second Council of Constantinople (553), and the Third Council of Constantinople (680–681). It also examines the rejection of Eutychianism and Nestorianism, as well as the Anglican Christology represented by Richard Hooker and the firm connection drawn between the hypostatic union and Christ’s work of salvation. The article also presents the text in comparison and contrast with two Christological declarations shared by the Roman Catholic Church and the Coptic Pope Shenouda III (1973) and the Assyrian Church of the East (1994).     

Identity management strategies in Northern Ireland

Social identity theory suggests that individuals and groups use different identity management strategies to cope with threatened identities. In October 1998, the authors developed 5 identity management strategy scales for use in the changing political context of Northern Ireland and investigated the relationship of perceptions of stability and legitimacy, as well as in-group identification, to those strategies. Participants were 209 students of the University of Ulster and the Belfast Institute. The results supported the factor structure of the identity management strategy scales. Perceptions of stability and legitimacy and in-group identification were, however, correlated with some strategies only. That finding may indicate that some identity management strategies are related to psychological constructs not covered by social identity theory.     

Identity Management Strategies in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Social identity theory suggests that individuals and groups use different identity management strategies to cope with threatened identities. In October 1998, the authors developed 5 identity management strategy scales for use in the changing political context of Northern Ireland and investigated the relationship of perceptions of stability and legitimacy, as well as in-group identification, to those strategies. Participants were 209 students of the University of Ulster and the Belfast Institute. The results supported the factor structure of the identity management strategy scales. Perceptions of stability and legitimacy and in-group identification were, however, correlated with some strategies only. That finding may indicate that some identity management strategies are related to psychological constructs not covered by social identity theory.     

Catholic Identity in Contemporary Ireland: Belief and Belonging to Tradition1

Holy Catholic Ireland is changing rapidly. Irish Catholics no longer have the same devotion to the Church that their parents had. While institutional affiliation and levels of belief remain high, there has been a decline in practice, particularly in the number going to Mass. This article analyses recent changes in Catholic belief and practice, compares them with trends among other European Catholics, and links them to findings from a qualitative study of Contemporary Irish Identities. The changes in Irish Catholic religiosity can be associated with an ongoing detachment from the institutional church. An orthodox adherence to institutional rules and regulations appears to be giving way to a collective identification with a religious heritage. What was once defined as?á?la carte Catholicism seems to be giving way to a smorgasbord approach in which Catholics not only pick and choose which institutional rules, beliefs, and practices they prefer, but increasingly mix these with ingredients from other religious traditions. These findings suggest a new typology of Irish Catholics.     

Unmitigated Agency and Unmitigated Communion: Distinctions from Agency and Communion

The purpose of this paper is to establish the importance of distinguishing unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion from agency and communion. First, we examine the empirical overlap and distinctions among the four constructs. Then, we demonstrate the differential association of unmitigated agency, unmitigated communion, agency, and communion to relationship and health outcomes. We conclude that only unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion are associated with relationship difficulties and poor health. Finally, we distinguish between the difficulties of the unmitigated agency and the unmitigated communion individual by focusing on interpersonal problems.     

Group Identity and Conflicting Expectations of the Future in Northern Ireland

Much of the conflict in Northern Ireland is based on investments in one of three opposing political futures possible for the region: remaining part of Britain, joining Ireland, or becoming independent. Speculative scenarios describing each of these futures were randomly assigned to equal numbers of Protestant and Catholic undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and their expectations regarding material and civic improvement for their ingroup and peace and reconciliation between the groups were assessed. Two dimensions of religious identity, measured by the Identity and Public subscales of Luhtanen and Crocker's (1992) Collective Self-Esteem Scale (CSES), moderated the differences between groups, but only for their expectations of peace and reconciliation. Stronger expectations of improvement for the ingroup were related to higher scores on the Public subscale, regardless of religion or the political future presented. Thus, group identity had a complex, context-dependent relationship to intergroup conflict.     

Jung and Phenomenology: Chiasm and Communion

Western culture suffers from an illusion of separation between the mental and the physical, which is mirrored in the rift between psyche and the Earth. Jungian phenomenology offers a way to heal this rift by returning to direct experiential encounters with the beings and presences of the physical and imaginal worlds.     

中国教会应是一个宣讲和服务的教会——读“服务社群”专栏有感

2002年6月份中国教会成立的“社会服务部”,这是的远象:上帝的旨意不断地穿透在历史中,我们在爰 中国教会社会服务事工更为规范、有序化的重要标志。凸显了一个有生命力的教会,必然应有的激励中,哪怕是对最微弱人群的服事,也使我们真切的感悟,要认识上帝就必须事奉他。     

Communion and Covenant: A Theological Exploration

In discussion of the proposed Anglican covenant, surprisingly little attention has been paid to biblical and theological understandings of covenant-making. After demonstrating this through a survey of the original Windsor Report proposal and subsequent contributions to the covenant process, this article explores six aspects of covenant-making in Scripture relevant to the Anglican Communion crisis and argues that these can and should shape work on the covenant. It draws attention to the bond between covenant-making and communion; the identity-giving nature of covenanting; the importance of promise-making and trust-building within covenants as a response to fractured relationships; the sacrificial nature of covenants; the power of covenants to assist recollection and restoration in relationships; and the missiological heart of God's covenant-making. These characteristics demonstrate some of the theological riches in the concept of ‘covenant’ which may help the Communion address its current difficulties and should be made more explicit.     

Conflict Transformation: Relinquishing or Maintaining Social Identity Among Former Loyalist Combatants in Northern Ireland

This study explored the accounts of former loyalist combatants now involved in conflict transformation, preventing violent extremism and peace-building work. To understand how former loyalist combatants negotiate their dramatic change in context and function, we analyzed accounts of peace building through thematic analysis. The themes demonstrated that conducting conflict transformation is expressively linked to former combatant identity. The themes also demonstrate that former combatants construct identity continuity by viewing their current transformative actions as an evolution of their militant activity during the Troubles. The article concludes on the implications of these identity maintenance strategies for former combatants and, more widely, what implications this has for other militants transitioning from conflict or extremism towards peace.