Category Archives: Ecclesiastical History

As I mentioned last week, today is the sixty-seventh anniversary of the execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer at the Flossenbürg concentration camp in Nazi Germany and of his words that were intended as a final message to his dear friend Bishop George Bell: “This is the end – for me the beginning of life.”

Here is Bonhoeffer’s poem “Who am I?” that was written from prison in 1944 (the translation in Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 8, by Fortress Press):

Who am I? They often tell me
I step out from my cell
calm and cheerful and poised,
like a squire from his manor.

Who am I? They often tell me
I speak with my guards
freely, friendly and clear,
as though I were the one in charge.

Who am I? They also tell me
I bear days of calamity
serenely, smiling and proud,
like accustomed to victory.

Am I really what others say of me?
Or am I only what I know of myself?
Restless, yearning, sick, like a caged bird,
struggling for life breath, as if I were being strangled,
starving for colors, for flowers, for birdsong,
thirsting for kind words, human closeness,
shaking with rage at power lust and pettiest insult,
tossed about, waiting for great things to happen,
helplessly fearing for friends so far away,
too tired and empty to pray, to think, to work,
weary and ready to take my leave of it all?

Who am I? This one or the other?
Am I this one today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? Before others a hypocrite
and in my own eyes a pitiful, whimpering weakling?
Or is what remains in me like a defeated army,
Fleeing in disarray from victory already won?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest me; O God, I am thine!

Sometimes the renewal of faith is ignited like a fire at the grassroots level and brings warmth to the institutions that surround it like a fireplace. There are also examples, however, of leaders and organizations that have charted a course for such a renewal by channeling the direction of popular piety. That’s what happened during the English Reformation, a top-down movement to bring the liturgy and the scriptures into the language of the people and, through the Book of Common Prayer, to refocus theologically on the work of God’s grace. Whether viewed as a violent disruption of traditional faith or a necessary correction to enliven faith, that’s the transformation that took place in the English Church during the 16th century.

Those who are interested in this shift from traditional to reformed worship in England might want to explore these books by Cambridge Professor Eamon Duffy:

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This is Eamon Duffy’s award-winning history of traditional religion in England from 1400-1580. He demonstrates that popular Christian piety was robust throughout the 15th century and that the English Reformation that would follow was very much an imperial, top-down reshaping of the theological and ecclesiastical landscape.

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In this award-winning book, Eamon Duffy takes a closer look at how the English Reformation affected the real lives of people in the small village of Morebath from 1530-1580. During those years, England was transformed into a Protestant nation. Throughout most of the drama, the same priest served this village and recorded the events.

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During my time at Yale Divinity School, it was my great privilege to take courses in Historical Theology and English Church History with Patristics scholar – and Episcopal priest – Rowan Greer. I was also honored to study Biblical Theology with Brevard Childs, a legendary scholar of the Old Testament who had a remarkable command of the history of biblical interpretation and theological reflection. These were the professors who taught me to look at biblical studies, church history, and theology in an integrated way, to see how those streams flow into the river of Christian faith. Both of them were connected, in different ways, to the rich tradition of Anglican Christianity. Both followed in, and encouraged others along, the way of Jesus.

Another voice that can be heard from the outside edge of Anglican Christianity, a “candid friend” raised on the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, is Oxford Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch. Although he now stands outside the circle of Christian faith, he has stood within that circle and writes about its history neither as an enemy nor as a neutral party but as someone who genuinely cares about it. Eamon Duffy, an esteemed church historian and devout Roman Catholic, recently called Diarmaid MacCulloch “one of the best historians writing in English.” Those who want to explore the history of Christian faith and/or certain facets of Anglican Christianity might be interested in one or more of the following three books:

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Here is Diarmaid MacCulloch’s award-winning biography of Thomas Cranmer, who was Archbishop of Canterbury, architect of the 16th-century English Reformation, and principal author of the Book of Common Prayer. This thorough and long narrative honors the life of a complex, imperfect, and inspiring witness to the Christian faith.

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This wonderful tome is Diarmaid MacCulloch’s award-winning history of the Reformation. It will appeal to those who want to learn about the entire scope of the 16th-century reshaping of Western Christianity – Protestant and Roman Catholic – and to many others who might want to keep it on hand as a reference work.

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Diarmaid MacCulloch’s yet-to-receive-an-award history of Christianity was recently published in the United Kingdom and will be released in the United States next spring. It has received glowing reviews from Eamon Duffy in The Telegraph and from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in The Guardian. Those are impressive fans.

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