‘Name this child,’ said the Vicar. And we did. So it is that we all have names. Some of us like our given names. Others change them for something else. This happens with countries. We now know Burma as Myanmar. Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.
Something like this happened to a famous British liner. Naming a ship on the stocks known as 534 was not straightforward. The story goes that it was suggested to King George V that the ship might be named after England’s greatest queen. The King was expected to say ‘Victoria’ but instead he welcomed the suggestion and came up with the name of his wife. Mary, he said, would be delighted to have the ship named after her. So the ship was launched in 1934 with the name ‘Queen Mary’ And she went on to prove to be a winner.
The Church of England is now part of the Anglican Communion. As far as the general population is concerned, the label ‘Anglican’ has not caught on. And increasingly it is looking like a misnomer. Anglicans worldwide do not necessarily speak English and the word ‘Anglican’ has imperial overtones. Those in the USA who are Anglicans call themselves Episcopalians. This is a label with clarity and with no suggestion of an English origin. Americans, after all, repudiated the English connection. It was and is the land of the free.
So should we make no bones about it and rename the C of E the Episcopal Church? Establishment status says no. Popular choice is probably indifferent. But in our multi-ethnic world the label ‘Anglican’ with all its overtones is hardly the most suitable.
However, persuading the present members of the Church to describe themselves as ‘Episcopalians’ is not likely to be easy. English people love a bishop just as they love a lord but government by bishops is not the foremost factor in what we might call English Christianity. It is a question of emphasis. And to be a Christian in England is not necessarily to be an Episcopalian. Beyond the borders of England the domestic label ‘Anglican’is likely to become increasingly inappropriate. Is it time for a change?
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