Anglicanism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Pacifism=== A question of whether or not Christianity is a [[pacifist]] religion has remained a matter of debate for Anglicans. The leading Anglican spokesman for pacifist ideas, from 1914 to 1945, was [[Ernest Barnes]], bishop of Birmingham from 1924 to 1953. He opposed both world wars.<ref>Stephen Parker, "'Blessed are the Pacifists': E. W. Barnes of Birmingham and Pacifism, 1914β45", ''Midland History'' 34#2 (2009) 204β219.</ref> In 1937, the [[Anglican Pacifist Fellowship]] emerged as a distinct reform organisation, seeking to make pacifism a clearly defined part of Anglican theology. The group rapidly gained popularity amongst Anglican intellectuals, including [[Vera Brittain]], [[Evelyn Underhill]], and the former British political leader [[George Lansbury]]. Furthermore, [[Dick Sheppard (priest)|Dick Sheppard]], who during the 1930s was one of Britain's most famous Anglican priests due to his landmark sermon broadcasts for [[BBC Radio]], founded the [[Peace Pledge Union]], a secular pacifist organisation for the non-religious that gained considerable support throughout the 1930s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pat Starkey|title=I Will Not Fight: Conscientious Objectors and Pacifists in the North West During the Second World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KaZIfHQHbkC&pg=PA4|year=1992|publisher=Liverpool UP|page=4|isbn=978-0-85323-467-8|access-date=13 April 2018|archive-date=21 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221122738/https://books.google.com/books?id=3KaZIfHQHbkC&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Whilst never actively endorsed by Anglican churches, many Anglicans unofficially have adopted the Augustinian "[[Just War]]" doctrine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ploughshares.ca/pl_publications/no-war-just-war-just-peace-statements-by-the-anglican-church-of-canada-1934-2004/|title=No War, Just War, Just Peace: Statements by the Anglican Church of Canada 1934β2004|language=en-US|access-date=16 August 2018|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816061836/http://ploughshares.ca/pl_publications/no-war-just-war-just-peace-statements-by-the-anglican-church-of-canada-1934-2004/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/just-war-theory|title=Just War Theory|date=22 May 2012|work=Episcopal Church|access-date=16 August 2018|language=en|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816093601/https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/just-war-theory|url-status=live}}</ref> The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship remains highly active throughout the Anglican world. It rejects this doctrine of "just war" and seeks to reform the Church by reintroducing the pacifism inherent in the beliefs of many of the earliest Christians and present in their interpretation of Christ's [[Sermon on the Mount]]. The principles of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship are often formulated as a statement of belief that "Jesus' teaching is incompatible with the waging of war ... that a Christian church should never support or justify war ... [and] that our Christian witness should include opposing the waging or justifying of war."<ref>{{cite web |title=Who We Are |url=http://www.anglicanpeacemaker.org.uk/ |publisher=Anglican Pacifist Fellowship |access-date=27 September 2017 |archive-date=28 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928060404/http://www.anglicanpeacemaker.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Confusing the matter was that the 37th Article of Religion in the ''Book of Common Prayer'' states that "it is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars." Therefore, the Lambeth Council in the modern era has sought to provide a clearer position by repudiating modern war and developed a statement that has been affirmed at each subsequent meeting of the council. This statement was strongly reasserted when "the 67th General Convention of the Episcopal Church reaffirms the statement made by the Anglican Bishops assembled at Lambeth in 1978 and adopted by the 66th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1979, calling "Christian people everywhere ... to engage themselves in non-violent action for justice and peace and to support others so engaged, recognising that such action will be controversial and may be personally very costly... this General Convention, in obedience to this call, urges all members of this Church to support by prayer and by such other means as they deem appropriate, those who engaged in such non-violent action, and particularly those who suffer for conscience' sake as a result; and be it further Resolved, that this General Convention calls upon all members of this Church seriously to consider the implications for their own lives of this call to resist war and work for peace for their own lives." Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page