Have aliens Occupied the C of E?

POSTSCRIPT INTRODUCTION Putting the Occupy/city/church finangle into theological perspective, read Luke Bretherton @ Fulcrum. Here is an excerpt:

"It is to be hoped and prayed that the same Spirit that seized John of Patmos to condemn the imperial system of Rome in the book of Revelation may yet still seize the canons and clerics of the Cathedral (and the Church of England more broadly) to condemn the system of domination in which the City of London plays such a catalytic role. This would surely be the basis of common ground with the Occupationistas. The differences between them should rest not in what they are against, but in how much they are willing to invest in human efforts alone. The Occupationistas largely look to a project of salvation achieved through political changes, whereas the Cathedral is meant to represent a vision of salvation that raises a question mark above all schemes which depend upon human effort alone. However, like the members of my church, most of the protesters I met were pilgrims on a quest for truth, justice and bit more love in the world. The church should welcome them as fellow travellers on a road it has travelled for a long time.


So rather than a face off between clerics and campers, the real battle is with the denizens of the Square Mile and Wall Street and their vision of the future. The bankers like to position themselves as the hard-headed realists facing down the fantasists and utopians encamped around them. Yet as well as spreadsheets and data sets there is an equally utopian and anarchistic vision guiding many in the financial services industry on both sides of the Atlantic." END POSTSCRIPT

We interrupt this series on the Gospel in the Communion to draw attention to the extraordinary and somewhat baffling sequence of events going on in the Church of England because some tents in which, apparently, few actually sleep at night, have been pitched in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral, London.

First, Canon Chancellor Giles Fraser resigned (seemingly because he didn't approve of legal action by the Cathedral being used to evict the campers), now the Dean himself, Graeme Knowles has resigned (seemingly because he did approve of legal action etc). Finally, ++Rowan himself has said something about the debacle, though it scarcely goes beyond cliches. The Man Who Tackled Mugabe: could we expect more of him on this matter of global protest over financial inequalities? Incidentally, ++Rowan's statement shows the value of fame (Fraser) and importance (Knowles) in the C of E. There has been a third "minor canon" who resigned, but he does not figure in the archepiscopal statement!

Is Susan Howatch writing the script of this narrative which has all the ingredients of her Starbridge novels (cathedral, dean, chapter, money)? Is the ghost of Anthony Trollope meddling in the thickening plot?

A simpler explanation, one Giles Fraser, an expert in philosophy would appreciate (see Occam's Razor), is that aliens themselves have pitched tents inside key Anglican leaders in a strategy called Occupy the C of E.

Of course the amazing thing about this saga re the C of E hitting the headlines is that it has absolutely nothing to do with that usual headline creating suspect s-e-x! :)

It would seem that the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres will need more deft footwork over the next few days than Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney if he is to survive this unexpected turn of ecclesial events.