Anglican | Between Two Cultures

— Lukonde Mwila

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Since Anglicanism is now more African than English, what happens in Canterbury has ripple effects from Cairo to the Cape. The gravitational “centre of Anglicanism has shifted to the Global South, particularly sub-Saharan Africa”, with over 63 million baptised Anglicans in Africa compared to some 23 million in all of Europe!

Church history contains Anglican heroes of our faith – like J.C. Ryle, J.I. Packer, C.S. Lewis, and William Wilberforce. However, it is a Church today marked with a growing stain of compromise since its foundation. Anglicanism was essentially born out of Queen Elizabeth’s desperate attempt to unite a nation that was fragmented by Protestantism and Catholicism.

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–– Richard Peskett

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

It has been well said that “time and truth go hand in hand.” The Lord Jesus said, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).

John Smyth served as a leader in Christian youth camps in the UK for many years. But he misused his position and violently abused many boys. When his behaviour was brought to light in 1982, he fled to Zimbabwe, where, in 1986, he founded a Christian youth organisation called Zambesi Ministries. Again he subjected boys to appalling abuse. This too eventually came to light, and so he moved with his family to South Africa in 2001. He died in Cape Town in 2018.

What is the relevance of this today? Well, it was this past week that the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, commented on what had happened. He bemoaned the neglect of the church. He said that the Anglican church had failed to protect congregants from abuse. Leaders in the Anglican communion are seeking ways to prevent such grievous events from happening again.

What can we learn from these tragic events? Here are three lessons.

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