An open letter today (Ash Wednesday) to the current Archbishop of Canterbury claims that his book, ‘The Power of Reconciliation’ (Bloomsbury, 2022), subordinates theology to politics: ‘It is the purpose of this letter to challenge this unbiblical outlook and call for an end to the long line of Archbishops of Canterbury since the 1970s, with one possible exception, who have presided over a long decline of identity in England with the Church of Christ.’
The author of the letter, Peter Southwood, after presenting a summary of the evidence for this claim and identifying seven differences between the Archbishop’s method of analysing conflicts and his own, concludes that the Archbishop, like his predecessors (bar one), does not accept the authority of Mark 1: 15 ‘….where peace and reconciliation in Christ at the national and international levels are concerned.’
While acknowledging the Archbishop’s personal commitment to Christ, as priest and pastor, as well as his physical and moral courage before and during his archiepiscopate, the author reminds him: ‘During the sermon you gave at the funeral for our late Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth II, you spoke against leaders who outstay their tenure in a just and courageous way. As a brother in Christ, I must now ask you the question you put to others: have you outstayed your mandate? ‘
Note
There is reference in the above letter to an earlier one to the then (Lord) Chief Justice of England and Wales dated 29 September 2012 which was copied to the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is available here.