A major religious leader replies

Archbishop of Canterbury
Rowan Williams

Reference date: March 7th





I have always been an Anglophile (lover of all things British.) From the time I was young, I've identified with our cousins across the pond. Many of my friends and relatives are British, and I also have a close friend, Tim G., who worked for British Airways, and who kept me up to speed on the latest developments in U.K. politics and culture.

This British affection is reflected many times in this blog, as I've written to many British leaders, entertainers, and business people. One of the most notable people I wrote to was the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. The history of this most reverent office (The Primate of All England) goes back a long way, (back to Saint Augustine, in fact) and has been featured in literature and film ("Becket", "The Canterbury Tales") Since the man who holds this title is very busy, I never expected to get a personal, detailed reply to my questions, and was floored when the envelope arrived from Lambeth Palace (The Archbishop's official residence.) Here is the response:


Dear Chris,

Do forgive my slowness in replying to your letter - a full diary has left me a bit behind with letters. But I must write personally to thank you for your generous support and prayer. I hope you won't mind my not writing at great length - we go to China tomorrow for two weeks, and I'm struggling to clear my desk a bit!

Motivational advice? An old nun I knew said to me in my twenties, 'Don't try to suffer for the sins of the world; it's been done'. What she meant, I think, was that you have to try and work out what are the limits of your responsibility and capacity, and not be overwhelmed by the suffering around you. It's not about leaving compassion behind; quite the contrary. It's really saying, 'Don't confuse compassion with feeling terrible, and don't confuse your spiritual involvement in all suffering with tl)e responsibility to "solve" it'. That's been very important to me.

Habits? At least half an hour of silence each morning; and (thanks to Buddhist advice) be aware of your breathing when there is stress or pressure around, inside and outside. Take the trouble to breathe from the pit of the stomach for a few moments. And in general, again, try to sort out what you are and aren't responsible for.

Challenges? The worst for anyone in this sort of position is knowing that everything you say is public property, so that distorticn of the mo'st. gross kind is always possible, indeed likely, and more work is generated by explaining to correspondents that you didn't mean what some tiresome journalist said!

And hopes for the Church of England? That it will successfully go on being a welcoming space for the people of this country - to use a phrase of one of my former students, a place where people can put the experiences and emotions that won't go anywhere else. And that it will effectively find ways of diversifying its styles of worship and organisation so that it can keep up with shifting patterns of work and population. without losing its depth and integrity and faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

Every blessing and good wish to you. Thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

Rowan Williams

Archbishop of Canterbury


I sent him a thank you note the next day.