20 January 2011

Anglican Studies in an Irish context

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph; Patrick Comerford, 2010)

MTh Year II

EM8825: Anglican Studies in an Irish context:

Patrick Comerford

Outline of module content, methodologies and essays:

Week 1
(20.01.2011):

1, Who we are (1): introduction to Anglicanism in Ireland today;
2, Who we are (2): introduction to the Anglican Communion today.

Week 2 (tba)

1, The mission of Patrick and early Irish Christianity;
2, Challenges facing the communion of global Anglicanism today, including the Anglican Covenant.

The date for these two sessions needs to be arranged, and this may change the date of subsequent lectures and seminars.

Week 3 (03.02.2011):

1, State-sponsored reform of the English and Irish churches in the 16th century.
2, Contextual understandings (1): the emergence, role and authority of the Book of Common Prayer, the Homilies, Articles of Religion.

Week 4 (10.02.2011):

1, The Elizabethan and Caroline Settlements;
2, Contextual understandings (2): art, music and culture in the development of Anglicanism.

Week 5 (17.02.2011):

1, The Church of Ireland from the Penal Laws to Disestablishment;
2, Understanding sectarianism and transforming societies.

Week 6 (24.02.2011):

1, Christianity and nationalisms;
2, The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and its consequences: a reflection on the Hard Gospel Project.

Week 7 (03.03.2011):

Reading Week.

Week 8 (10.03.2011):

1, Partition, conflict and peace: the Church of Ireland in the 20th and 21st centuries.
2, Theologies of reconciliation and the challenges of divided societies (M Volf, R Schreiter, J de Gruchy).

Week 9 (17.03.2011): Saint Patrick’s Day; Public holiday.

Week 10 (24.03.2011):

1, The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral and the emergence of an Anglican Covenant;
2, Anglican responses to the Missio Dei: Scripture, Worship and Communion as defining themes in contemporary Anglican self-understanding.

Week 11 (31.03.2011):

1, Anglicanism, ecumenical engagement and inter-religious dialogue;
2, Postcolonial Biblical exegesis and liberation theology in contemporary global Anglicanism.

Week 12 (07.04.2011):

End-of-module integration and review, including discussion of what it means “to be Church today.”

Module Content:

1, Christianity and Conflict in Ireland


● Acknowledging the conflicting interpretations of key moments in Irish church history:
● the mission of Patrick and early Irish Christianity;
● state-sponsored reform of the English and Irish churches in the 16th century;
● the Elizabethan and Caroline Settlements;
● Christianity and nationalisms;
● partition, conflict and peace;
● the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and its consequences.

2, The ‘Anglican Way’ in Ireland

● Anglican responses to the Missio Dei: Scripture, Worship and Communion as defining themes in contemporary Anglican self-understanding;
● contextual understanding of the emergence, role and authority of the Book of Common Prayer, the Homilies, Articles of Religion;
● the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral and the emergence of an Anglican Covenant;
● Anglicanism, ecumenical engagement and inter-religious dialogue.

3, Reconciliation in an Irish Context

● Theologies of reconciliation and the challenges of divided societies (M Volf, R Schreiter, J de Gruchy);
● postcolonial Biblical exegesis and liberation theology in contemporary global Anglicanism;
● understanding sectarianism and transforming societies;
● a reflection on the Hard Gospel Project.

4, Christianity and Reconciliation

● Analysis of Anglicanism’s capacities to contribute to public debates on reconciliation, and social and ecological justice;
● exploration of new ways for Anglicans to be church (e.g., L Mudge, R Page, M Grey);
● challenges facing the communion of global Anglicanism.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module students will be able to:

● understand critically the historical contexts that have shaped the current expressions of Irish Christianity.
● engage with the ways in which Anglican identity is articulated, especially through the liturgical life of the Church.
● recognise the distinctive challenges facing Irish Anglicans in articulating the ‘gospel of reconciliation’.
● engage critically with concerns of Anglicans in the Global South over the nature of Anglican koinonia.
● reflect on new proposals of how to be church.

Teaching and Learning Methods:

This module will be taught through a series of lectures and student-led seminars.
Students will be required to take part in and lead class seminars and also to take part in collaborative small groups and independent study.

There will be a joint seminar with each of the other two strands – Biblical Studies and Theology.

Semester: 2; Hours: 2 per week; 5 Credits

Assessment: 2,500 words of coursework (e.g. essay or project as agreed by course leader)

Date for submission: 8 April 2011.

Required or Recommended Readings:

The reports and resolutions of the Lambeth Conferences.
The Anglican Covenant.
ARCIC agreed statements.
The Church of Ireland/Methodist Covenant.
The Hard Gospel Report.
The Porvoo Common Statement.

Paul Avis, The Identity of Anglicanism (London: T&T Clark, 2007).
Toby Barnard, W.G. Neely (eds), The Clergy and the Church of Ireland, 1000-2000 (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2006).
M.D. Chapman (ed), The Anglican Covenant (London: Mowbray, 2008).
N. Doe, An Anglican Covenant (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2008).
G.R. Evans, J.R. Wright (eds), The Anglican Tradition (London: SPCK, 1991).
Raymond Gillespie, W.G. Neely (eds), The Laity and the Church of Ireland, 1000-2000 (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2002).
P. Groves (ed), The Anglican Communion and Homosexuality (London: SPCK, 2008).
William Marshall, Scripture, Tradition and Reason, a selective view of Anglican theology through the centuries (Dublin: Columba Press/APCK, 2010).
K. Stevenson, B. Spinks (eds), The Identity of Anglican Worship (Harrisburg: Morehouse, 1991).
M. Volf, Free of Charge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005).
Keith Ward, A History of Global Anglicanism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Essay titles:

Drawing on the Thirty-nine Articles and The Book of Common Prayer (2004), discuss the relative influence of liturgy and doctrinal statements in the formation of an Anglican theological outlook.

or

Discuss Cranmer’s attitude to state control of the Church with that of the 19th century Tractarians, and relate these attitudes to the different political circumstances of their times.

In the light of the statement in the Preamble and Declaration that the Church of Ireland is the “Ancient Catholic and Apostolic Church of Ireland,” discuss whether ‘Celtic Spirituality’ is relevant to the life of the Church of Ireland today.

or

Compare and contrast the Eucharistic theologies and the Ecclesiologies of Richard Hooker and Jeremy Taylor.

Discuss the Anglican Covenant, and in the light of this year’s meeting of the Anglican Primates in Dublin, discuss whether the Covenant contributes towards maintaining unity and diversity in the Anglican Communion.

or

Outline and evaluate the current debates and divisions within the Anglican Communion, explaining in particular the relevance of Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conferences.

Evaluate the contributions of missionaries, particularly from the Church of Ireland, to the expansion of Anglicanism and the development of the Anglican Communion, and assess whether their legacy has had an impact on current debates within Anglicanism.

or

Discuss whether the legacy of the Penal Laws and Establishment is a hindrance or a help to the present sense of identity and mission in the Church of Ireland.

Discuss whether the three Agreed Statements in the ARCIC Final Report (1982) have been successful in resolving the historic theological differences between Anglicans and Roman Catholics?

or

Compare the extent of the agreement reached between the Porvoo Churches with that between the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland in the 2001 Covenant, and outline and discuss the relevance in each case of the historic episcopate as set out in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.

Discuss whether there is a distinctive or identifiable ‘Church of Ireland identity’ and draw on modern political and social developments to illustrate and support your evaluation.

or

‘The problem in Ireland today is we have had too much religion and not enough Christianity.’ Discuss this proposition, and give and defend your views about whether the ‘Hard Gospel’ report answers this type of statement.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute

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