Can the Church of England Be Saved?

Since I am a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, it may come as no surprise that I have a special affinity for the Church of England.  Many of the saints and teachers who have most influenced me - from Thomas Cranmer to John Wesley to C.S. Lewis - were devoted members of the C of E. 

Not long ago I watched a series (available on YouTube) with David Suchet called The Pilgrim's Way to Britian's Great Cathedrals.  I was amazed by the wonderful heritage of the Church of England - not only of beautiful architectures and treasures - but also of history and saints, many of whom are buried in these great churches even to this day.  

I've visited Church of England parishes and cathedrals as a pilgrim myself.  It was a special privilege to touch the pulpit in St. Mary's Oxford from which both C.S. Lewis and John Wesley once preached sermons.

I know there are many faithful members and clergy in the Church of England.  When I attended the Provincial Assembly of the Anglican Church last year in Latrobe, PA the preacher for our opening festal Eucharist service was an evangelical vicar from a large and vibrant C of E parish in Oxford.  

Yet I'm also painfully aware that much of the leadership of the 'mother province' of Anglicanism is also deeply compromised.  Many - perhaps the vast majority - of the bishops are theological revisionists who are willing to conform the Bible's message to the values of contemporary society, rather than calling contemporary society to conversion by faith in the Lord Jesus.

IN a bid for "relevance", many of the great cathedrals and abbeys that house the relics of ancient saints (who put to death pride, vainglory, and lust within their own hearts) are now adorned with pride flags - just like those that adorn the local police cars.

It also appears that many of the leaders who are not theological revisionists by conviction are not orthodox - or anything else - by conviction either, but simply institutional creatures dedicated to institutional preservation.

The "LLF Process" (pushed through by the bishops in heavy-handed fashion) was intended to find a compromise or middle way between holding to Biblical truth on marriage and sexuality on the one hand and, on the other hand, accepting the demands of the LGBTQPIAN++ advocates to abandon the historic teachings.  Unsurprisingly, this Process has been an utter fiasco that has actually exacerbated divisions, rather than healed them.  

As someone who believes the Bible and the historic Christian faith - and simply as someone who has been watching the trends in churches these last 30 years and more - it comes as absolutely no surprise that the C of E has seen its attendance decline precipitously in recent years.  Nor has   
The turmoil among church leadership - with recent resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury in disgrace, amid calls for many other bishops also to resign, and so on - seems like a perfect microcosm of the dysfunction and disarray and demoralized state of things.

So the question naturally comes up: Can the Church of England be saved? 

That is the question being discussed by a couple of priests from different churches in the Anglican tradition in this video: 

I think The Church of England can, by the grace of God, be renewed; and I believe that renewal will happen on the ground level with traditional churches - of all styles or "churchmanships" - that announce with clarity the Biblical Gospel and the historic faith.  I believe that renewal must include the breaking down of traditional rivalries and suspicions between more "high" and "low" Anglicans.  

I believe that a renewal must also include an institutional renewal: traditionalists have got to be independent of bishops, dioceses, and structures that are revisionist.  There must be a genuinely safe and insulated space within the Church of England for traditionalists churches, clergy, and seminarians to follow their callings without even the possibility of interference from revisionist leaders.  

This "traditionalist space" cannot rest on promises from or "gentlemen's agreements" with the revisionist majority of bishops.  It has to be completely autonomous or it won't last.  

I believe that there needs to be a genuine Third Province with its own structures and with the ability and authority to maintain its own integrity.  We will see what develops.  But I do pray for the Church of England it stands, to quote Galadriel, on the edge of a knife and it needs heavenly help.