The latest issue of the Episcopal history journal delves into the historical, theological, and ecumenical aspects of the episcopate.
In October 2023, the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University played host to a thought-provoking event - the Apostolic Ministry Conference. Organised by Matthew F. Reese, a student at the Berkeley Divinity School, and Christopher Adams from the University of Florida, the conference brought together scholars to explore the complexities of the apostolic ministry in a modern world.
One of the papers presented at the conference was by Caleb Lindgren, a doctoral candidate in systemic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. His paper, titled "Bishop's Gambit: Reformed Ecclesiology and the Possibility of a Reformed Episcopate," delved into the potential for a reformed episcopate within the Christian community. The late Robert Willis, the Dean of Canterbury from 2000-2022, was noted as having an influence on Lindgren's work.
Another paper, authored by Ed Watson, a PhD candidate at Yale University, focused on John Keble and the colonising logics of property in the context of the Eucharist. Watson's paper, titled "Having the Lord's Body to Give: John Keble, Eucharistic Warrant, and the Colonizing Logics of Property," was one of five papers published in the summer issue of Anglican & Episcopal History (AEH), the peer-reviewed journal of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church.
The issue also featured the study "Apostolicity and Ecumenicity in Ministry: Lessons from the United Liturgy for East Africa (ULEA)" by E. Okelloh Ogera. Ogera, an ordained priest and head of the Bishop Okullu School of Theology at Great Lakes University in Kisumu, Kenya, argued that the ULEA was a significant step toward ecumenicity among Anglicans, Lutherans, Moravians, Methodists, and Presbyterians during the 1960s.
The papers published in the AEH issue, including those by Lindgren and Watson, discussed the practical, theological, and sacramental implications of the exercise of the apostolic ministry and the questions of apostolicity in Christian communities. The studies, along with exhibit and book reviews, are available in the latest issue of AEH.
The conference also highlighted the messiness and malleability of denominational lines, as seen in the study "Contextualizing Apostolic Tradition and Denominational Affinities: the Tryst of Saint Thomas Christians of Southern India with Multiple Christian Traditions" by Sinu Rose, a postdoctoral scholar at the Department of History, University of Kentucky.
Moreover, Greta Gaffin, a master's student at Boston University, presented a paper titled "Black Nationalist Anglicanism: George Alexander McGuire and the African Orthodox Church." Gaffin's research focuses on the life and ministry of black Episcopal priest George Alexander McGuire (1866-1934) and his attempt to create the African Orthodox Church.
For those interested in subscribing to Anglican & Episcopal History, more information can be found at hsec.us/membership. The journal continues to be a platform for scholarly discussions and research on historical theologies and anxieties regarding Episcopalians, as evidenced by the papers presented at the Apostolic Ministry Conference.
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