Founding of the Anglican Communion...

So I've been following The Tudors on Showtime this season. It's pretty good, as far as drama goes. There's lots of backstory about the divorce of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. He needed an heir for his unstable dynasty and Catherine had only given him a daughter (the future Mary Tudor, predecessor of Elizabeth I). To get his divorce, Henry essentially initiated the Reformation in England. The Tudors is beautiful and dramatic and gives lots of good story about Cardinal Wolsey and the various high officials in the Court of St. James. In particular, its presentation of Queen Catherine is poignant and sympathetic. As far as I can tell, the facts so far are pretty good. There's not a whole lot on the theology involved so far, except from the perspective of Sir Thomas More, the moralist of the whole lot. Pope Clement gets a good treatment too, and there's a lot about the politics between France, England, the Papacy, and the Holy Roman Empire.

Interesting for a history buff, but also instructive for all Anglicans. Yes, there were theological differences that drove the English Reformation, but not right away. The King was initially concerned about getting an heir, and Catherine wasn't giving him one. He needed a divorce, and eventually got it. Thus, according the series, was the founding of what we now call the Anglican Communion. I think we should remember that during this time of incredible strurm und drang in the Communion itself. There's a line in this week's episode, something like "Love overtakes all." I know I don't have it exactly right, but the idea seems to be that one's desires can rule and overcome all other scruples. We were founded out of the sexual urges of a king, and we may disintegrate over the the sexual obsessions of some Global South prelates. How ironic.

And in the meantime, there's Good News to spread to all people, gay and straight, rich and poor, of all languages and races and peoples and nations. Are we doing that right now?

Pray for the church!

RFSJ