Farewell to Anglicanism

Herbert Carson is fondly remembered by many as a fine preacher, a pastor and a friend. His keen intellect was matched by a warm and gracious spirit; we give thanks to God for the testimony of his life and ministry.

Of his writings, the most personal was the little book Farewell to Anglicanism - an autobiographical account of his resignation as Vicar of St. Paul's Church, Cambridge, and secession from the Anglican Church in November 1964. Some extracts are reprinted here (with page references to the H.E. Walter edition of 1969). They are reminders of Herbert's personal struggle, and raise issues which are still relevant today.

Ordination vows

One of the themes of the book is the need for honesty and integrity. In good conscience, Herbert knew that he had taken ordination vows which required him to use the Anglican liturgy and to work within the episcopal structure of church government. To avoid these obligations would be as dishonest as those liberal churchmen who swear to uphold the 39 Articles and then ignore them.

He writes: 'The supreme difficulty was my "declaration of assent".... To me it was a solemn commitment which in all conscience I must honour.

'I was told that I was being legalistic to insist on keeping my declaration. It was suggested that the declaration was one of those archaic relics left in Anglicanism that one unfortunately had to accept but it did not really require obedience. The "Honest to God" school of theologians cheerfully made the declaration with their tongue in their cheek as they obviously had long since parted company with the Thirty Nine Articles. But evangelicals with their use (or misuse) of the liturgy, their guest service abbreviations and their varied prayers, not to mention their ignoring of the daily services, seemed to be equally lawless. Malcolm Muggeridge made a typically acid comment on the matter when he wrote in the Week-End Telegraph, "Current professional and even business standards would preclude acceptance of a salaried post on the strength of a consciously fraudulent declaration. This however is the recognised practice among the Anglican clergy."

'...I had solemnly committed myself to a liturgy and a view of the church. Surely then I must either honour that obligation or resign. The usual attempts to rationalise one's own dishonesty were all known and I duly produced them as an answer to a nagging conscience, but sooner or later I either had to suppress my conscience altogether or accept the implications and the consequences of the declaration of assent' (pp.18-19).

Church and Parliament

One of the features of the Anglican church which Herbert found repugnant was the church-state link. When the issue of mass vestments was being debated a lobby was built up to appeal to Parliament to preserve the principles of the Reformation:

'But even before this stage was reached I found the idea of an appeal to Parliament utterly repellent. Were we going to invoke the aid of atheists, Jews, non-conformists and Roman Catholics to spike the guns of the Anglo-Catholics? Almost as ludicrous was the position that the main support for English evangelicals was expected from Welsh, Scottish and Ulster MPs. To hear, as I once did, a couple of Northern Ireland members being primed for the position they were to adopt in Westminster would have been farcical had it not been so tragic' (p.21).

The establishment involves bishops being appointed by the Prime Minister of the day, and the system of patronage. All of this is seen as far removed from New Testament Christianity.

Church and parish

There is also another issue at stake:

'But to return to the days when I was in actual fact a parish priest. It was at that point in the context of ordinary parish work that I found the outworking of establishment a constant burden. Hooker, the great Anglican theologian of the 16th century, had expressed the classic Anglican position: "We hold that seeing there is not any man of the Church of England but the same man is also a member of the Commonwealth; nor any man a member of the Commonwealth which is not also of the Church of England." But the underlying conception still lies at the roots of Anglican practice which is based on the theory of a national church which embraces everyone who has not deliberately opted out of membership.

'This geographical conception of Christianity makes nonsense of an attempt to establish either church membership or church discipline. The Articles might call the Church "a company of faithful men", but in practice the church is a community bounded by certain roads enclosing a locality known as a parish. Within that area the parish priest is required to christen, marry or bury any who come within his parochial boundaries. The individuals in the case of marriage, or the parents in the case of christening may never have been inside the church since the day of their own christening. They may make it plain that they have no intention of returning unless there are further additions to their family, or in the event of their death. But they must be accorded the status of believers, treated in the marriage service as God's servants and accepted as members of the Church of the Redeemed.....'

Misleading and disastrous

'Yet I was told that the establishment presented a unique evangelistic opportunity; that it gave access to the homes of the nation; that it enabled Christian witness to be borne where otherwise it would never be heard. But if this is the credit side, the debit balance is disastrous. Men and women who have not the slightest semblance of faith are given to understand that they have some place within the Church of God. The insistent calls of the gospel to repentance and faith, the imperative of Christ that a man must be born again, the challenge to take up the cross and follow - all these are distorted by the current practice which treats all and sundry as if they were already born of the Spirit. It is little use emphasising with one breath the absolute necessity of faith in Christ and in the next breath pronouncing over a young couple who have no time for the gospel the words "these thy servants"' (pp.33-34).

It became increasingly clear to Herbert that he could not in all good conscience continue to uphold the Anglican system and the gospel at the same time. It was not just liturgy and establishment which were problems to him, but also bishops and the doctrine of baptism - which there is not space to deal with here. The decision to secede was agonising - to leave the church where he had worshipped and ministered for 40 years. It involved no small act of faith regarding the future for himself and his family. But, having wrestled with all the arguments, finally the break was made, and God honoured a fruitful ministry in non-conformity through the remaining years of life. Herbert was not naive in his view of what non-conformist churches might be like, and counselled those who might follow his example to remember that every church is only a school for sinners.

Rejoicing in freedom

Yet he rejoiced in the freedom to pursue biblical forms of church life:

'But one thing he will find - certainly I have rejoiced to find it - is freedom. After years in the ministry conforming to the rigidity of the liturgy, writing to bishops for permission to do this or that, applying to archdeacons and diocesan committees for faculties to make this or that change, keeping in line with prayer book rubrics and canonical requirements and diocesan regulations - after all the clutter of Anglican rules and directions I have found a measure of freedom which continues to thrill me. For me the title "free church" is no mere label. It speaks of a reality which some free churchmen fail to appreciate because they have always enjoyed it, and which as a consequence they are in some places in danger of losing because familiarity breeds contempt, and a birthright that is despised is easily filched.

'I recall some years back speaking to the minister of a free church which I have since come to know intimately. He described how at one stage they felt that as a church there were areas in the life of the fellowship which needed reformation. So together they studied the pastoral epistles with their strong teaching on the government and life of the church. As a result of their studies there came a deeper understanding of the way the life of the church should be ex-pressed. These lessons they began to apply in such matters as the establishment of an eldership and the exercise of church discipline. The salutary effects in the healthy growth of that church have been a constant challenge to me.'

'Here is the essence of a free church. It means the freedom to submit to the Word of God' (pp.111-112).

This surely reveals something of the heart of the man. Herbert Carson was beyond all else a man of the Word. As we remember his faithful service among us, we rejoice that now he is able to serve and worship his Lord perfectly in glory.

Bill James,
Pastor, Emmanuel Evangelical Church, Leamington Spa