What are we to make of Fr Philip North’s withdrawal from the post of Bishop of Whitby on the basis that he would not be able to act as a focus of unity? Is it true, as is being reported, that the underlying reason for this is that some members of the local church would not be able to accept his oversight? It seems that the “alternative episcopal oversight” bug has well and truly bitten the Church of England. No longer is a bishop considered to be appointed by God as a minister to the people. Now he (or, indeed, she) needs the unanimous permission of the people themselves and this permission can be withheld on the basis both of gender and of theological difference.
Do you see what is happening here? Our doctrine of church is rapidly unravelling as it gives way to individualism. We started with a simple binary question about the validity of oversight: male or female? This question itself is already dubious. The sacrament of ordination is valid or not. It makes no difference whether one sidelines oneself into a part of the church which is “untainted”, as St Augustine showed so robustly against the Donatists. Now, though, questions about the validity of oversight have exploded into an infinitely complex web of questions concerning theological agreement. Previously, a bishop just had to be the right gender, now he or she also has to agree with everyone under his/her oversight.
How can this possibly work for the Church of England, which celebrates its breadth and diversity? There will always be theological disagreements within the Church of England. Does this mean we can no longer have any bishops at all? What does it mean for oversight which must, surely, at times act prophetically, expressing God’s word in a way people have not heard it before and which makes people uncomfortable? What does it mean for other orders of ministry: must a priest abandon his/her orders if some of his congregation disagree with his/her view on, say, elevation of the host?
Something is wrong. I will end with just one question. Jesus, himself, often made people uncomfortable. Everyone around him, including his close family and disciples, found themselves wrong-footed by him at times. May we also, then, invalidate his ministry and demand a different messiah?