Abstract:
The aim of this research paper is to examine the validity or otherwise of certain propositions. These are that: (1) by its very nature and since its inception the Anglican Communion has had certain unresolved structural ecclesial problems; (2) these have been caused primarily by the historical development of the Communion into a federation of juridically autonomous provincial churches; and that: (3) the solution to these problems might lie in these churches accepting, for the first time, and in a juridically binding manner, some form of centralised authority limiting provincial ecclesial autonomy. <br><br> Throughout this paper the phrase "juridical autonomy" will be used regularly in the context of juridically autonomous Anglican provincial churches. Unless otherwise indicated in the text, the meaning will be that explained in Canon Law in the Anglican Communion, by Doe. Juridical autonomy has both an internal and an external aspect. Internally it means that "each Anglican church is independent, enjoying an authority and freedom to govern itself according to its own constitutional and canonical system" (Doe 1998:339). Externally it means that these churches "under secular law [...] exist as voluntary associations bound together by the secular doctrine of consensual compact. (They) are united by the legal reality, flowing from the wider secular environment in which they live, that their internal government and laws are subject to the laws of the state, with which they must not be in conflict" (Doe 1998:381). This has the effect of giving the church a specific legal persona. The meaning of "voluntary association" as opposed to a Church "by law established" will be discussed at the beginning of Chapter 5. <br><br> The method used for the production of this paper has been research into relevant literature. <br><br> Framework : Chapter 2 will give, by way of background, details of the recent events within the Anglican Communion around issues of human sexuality. These, it will be argued, are illustrative of the Communion's deeper structural ecclesial problems. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 will trace the historical development of the Anglican Community at the Cape from 1795 to the establishment of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa ("the CPSA") in 1870 as a juridically autonomous Anglican provincial church with its own constitution and canons. <br><br> For historical reasons Anglican provinces generally show a similar pattern in their constitutional development, but the detail is different. (Doe 1998:3) Given the limitations of length in this paper it therefore would not be practicable to attempt a survey of the specific historical development of all these provinces. The Communion is growing rapidly and currently there are thirty-eight provinces. <br><br> The CPSA is a typical example of an Anglican provincial church within the Anglican Communion in its constitutional development towards autonomy. (Doe 1998:340n). As such, it has its own specific historical details. Autonomy throughout the Communion is dealt with in the Reports listed in 1.3.4 below. As the CPSA is part of the Communion what is said in these Reports applies.
