Many shrewd observers of the church scene tell us that the Church of England is in terminal decline. Certainly the last few years have seen the destruction of the Church that was known and loved by generations of Anglicans.
The erosion of traditional doctrinal and moral teaching, the dominance of liberal scholarship, the increasingly banal and unedifying worship have all contributed to this decline. For many devout Anglicans the final straw has been the rupture in faith and order caused by the ordination of women to the priesthood.
Many concerned members of the Church of England – bishops, priests and laity – are removing themselves at different speeds from the Established Church.
The Christian mission must continue. In A Church in Miniature Ivan Clutterbuck addresses this problem. He analyses the ecclesial situation and shows that other great churches are also in disarray. He suggests that the future may depend on a system of groups, miniature churches, where clergy and laity may work together under a bishop. He calls for a return to the episcopacy of an earlier age, with the bishop as the shepherd of his people rather than being tied to geographical boundaries or the structures of secular power.
No Christian organisation can succeed without a clear message and sound teaching. Ivan Clutterbuck offers a programme of retraining in basic matters of the Catholic Faith, including a New Testament Bible course covering the first three Gospels.
Ivan Clutterbuck read Classics and Theology at Christ’s College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1939, serving as both an army and a naval chaplain. He taught in several public schools, and was Director of Religious Studies at Roedean School. From 1966-74 he was Organising Secretary at the Church Union. He is the author of Another Look at St John’s Gospel, CLA 1991, and has written for a number of periodicals. His book Marginal Catholics was published by Gracewing in 1992 and reprinted in 1994.
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