Archbishop of Canterbury rebukes claims of ‘persecuted’ Christians in UK
The Archbishop of Canterbury has rebuked clergy who claim Christians are being persecuted in Britain, pointing out that churchgoers suffer far worse treatment abroad.
Dr Rowan Williams called on those who live in “comfortable environments” to keep their fears “in perspective” and not become obsessed by “the future of Church and society”.
He reminded them that Christians in countries such as Nigeria, Iraq, Egypt and Zimbabwe are facing “butchery and intimidation”, and are in desperate need of support.
Archbishop – Christians need to “witness boldly and clearly”
In his ecumenical Easter Letter to fellow church leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury urges those living in politically secure environments to offer practical support as well as prayers for suffering Christians around the world, particularly in Zimbabwe, Mosul, Egypt and Nigeria.
“We need to keep our own fears in perspective. It is all too easy to become consumed with anxiety about the future of the Church and society. We need to need to witness boldly and clearly but not with anger or fear; we need to show that we believe what we say about the Lordship of the Risen Christ and his faithfulness to the world he came to redeem”
Full text of the letter:
When St John tells us that the disciples met behind locked doors on the first Easter Day (John 20.19), he reminds us that being associated with Jesus Christ has never been easy or safe. Today this is evident in a wide variety of situations – whether in the terrible communal violence afflicting parts of Nigeria, in the butchery and intimidation of Christians in Mosul in recent weeks, in the attacks on the Coptic faithful in Egypt, or in the continuing harassment of Anglican congregations in Zimbabwe. As we mark the thirtieth anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador, we acknowledge that Christians will never be safe in a world of injustice and mindless fear, because Christians will always stand, as did Archbishop Romero, for the hope of a different world, in which the powerful have to let go of privilege and rediscover themselves as servants, and the poor are lifted up into joy and liberty.
This hope is rooted in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. His rising from the dead shows the world that death does not have the last word – whether the death of love, the death of security, even physical death itself. On the first day of the week, the first day of the new creation, God walks once again in the garden and begins to re-shape the whole world of our experience and our possibilities; the Second Adam wakes under the tree of the cross and promises fresh life, freedom and forgiveness, to the entire human world.
Wherever fear prevails, this promise will be seen as dangerous. But people still have the courage to identify themselves as Christians because they know that the resurrection demonstrates that Jesus is beyond all human power and violence, that ‘all authority in heaven and on earth’ is given to him (Matthew 28.18). The Christian may suffer and die witnessing to this truth, but death itself cannot extinguish the abiding power of Christ to transform and renew; the martyr knows this and fixes his or her eyes on that joyful vision.
We who live in more comfortable environments need to bear two things in mind. One is that fellow-Christians under pressure, living daily with threats and murders, need our prayers and tangible support – by personal contact, by continually reminding our governments and media of these things. To a Christian experiencing these threats, it matters more than most of us could imagine simply to know that they are not alone and not forgotten. But the second point to remember is that we need to keep our own fears in perspective. It is all too easy, even in comfortable and relatively peaceful societies, for us to become consumed with anxiety about the future of Church and society. We need to witness boldly and clearly but not with anger and fear; we need to show that we believe what we say about the Lordship of the Risen Christ and his faithfulness to the world he came to redeem.
The world will not be saved by fear, but by hope and joy. The miracle of the joy shown by martyrs and confessors of the faith is one of the most compelling testimonies to the gospel of Jesus. In whatever way we can, we must seek to communicate this joy, however dark or uncertain the sky seems. All authority belongs to Jesus, and into his wounded hands is placed the future of all things in heaven and earth. To him be glory for ever.
Rowan Cantuar: +
Archbishop of Canterbury issues challenge over ‘persecution’ claims
In an apparent challenge to the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey and other Anglican bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury has told church leaders to ‘keep their fears in perspective’ over alleged ‘persecution’.
In his ecumenical Easter Letter to fellow church leaders issued today (Wednesday 31st), Rowan Williams says that the response of Christians in the UK who are worried about the future should not be one of ‘anger or fear’.
His message comes just a few days after a group of bishops, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, wrote to the Sunday Telegraph claiming that there had been “numerous dismissals of practising Christians from employment for reasons that are unacceptable in a civilised country.”
The claims, which have yet to be substantiated, were interpreted by the newspaper as calling “for an end to persecution of Christians in Britain.”
The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, has recently publicly alleged that Good Friday processions might be banned.
Tags: Christian Persecution, Church Life
April 1st, 2010 at 1:06 am
Is this not the voice of self-flagellation and submission.
April 1st, 2010 at 10:49 am
Rowan Williams’ comments seem to me to be both wise and timely. For more than 1500 years Christians have enjoyed the priveleges of Christendom, at an appalling cost to our moral credibility. Now we’re living in a Post-Christendom world and finding the new reality very chilly indeed. Surely, this is a time for courage and hope, not nostalgia for those ‘good old days’ of the Christendom gravy train. I welcome our new marginality. We are free at last to follow Christ and not Constantine.
April 1st, 2010 at 1:22 pm
No you are attempting to be the christ by submitting and bringing about your own crucifixion this is anti-christian.
April 1st, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Goy, I’m not quite sure what you’re arguing here. I’m not proposing that we canonise every element of contemporary culture, simply that our loss of social status brings opportunities as well as issues. What I liked so much about Rowan Williams’ approach was that he placed the accent on joy, liberty and Resurrection rather than fear.
April 1st, 2010 at 8:19 pm
@Phil Wood,
What I am attempting to point out is – to use your example – is that christians in the “post-christendom world” are almost viewing Constantine as the sins of mankind and their persecution in the world and the U.K. as some kind of crucifixion, in my opinion this is mimicking christianity not the essence of being christian.
This attitude is one of deliberate and intentional martyrdom as is the way for muslims, NOT christian martyrdom that does not deliberately or intentionally seek death.