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Editorial
Inter-Anglican Theology
A recent meeting of the Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC-2) group in Canterbury took particular note of work done by the earlier TEAC Working Party which resulted in the ‘Signposts statement’, setting out the essentials of the Anglican way.
The ‘Signposts statement’ - identifying Anglicans as (a) Formed by Scripture, (b) Shaped through worship, (c) Ordered for Communion, and (d) Directed by God’s mission - had been a resource for reflection at the Lambeth Conference of 2008 on the subject of Anglican identity. The Canterbury TEAC-2 meeting, chaired by Canadian Archbishop Colin Johnson, saw the statement as also providing a useful framework for theological education generally, and set out the group’s own aims and its priorities for future work: the facilitation of networking, the development of resources, funding issues, communication and advocacy.
A statement following the Canterbury meeting announced the group’s intention of holding a consultation for theological college principals, as well as building further on the work done at a consultation organised for women theology teachers in 2008. A database of Anglican teachers of theology and an updating of lists of theological institutions were planned, and more booklets on the ‘Signposts’ themes were promised. The translation of key resources from English into the various languages spoken in the Anglican Communion is already ‘work in progress’, and this is to continue.
It was clear that the Canterbury TEAC-2 meeting was businesslike and focused on the strategy needed for the development of theological education throughout the Communion. Those who organised the meeting and led it are to be congratulated on forwarding this important project for Anglicans globally.
Theology is not a luxury in the Church, nor may it be seen as an ‘ivory tower’ exercise. Without theology, the Church lacks the benefit of informed insight into the faith itself, the guidance that we all need in approaching difficult questions and, not least, the ability to contend for the faith in a world of much unbelief, doubt and scepticism.
The world needs the good news of the Gospel, but the communication of that good news requires men and women properly prepared for the task. The integration of this theological education project as a Communion-wide enterprise represents an approach to theology in the Church that is both realistic and imaginative.