Wartime Opportunities and Threats

Abstract

The Second World War had many ramifications for William Temple in his work for church unity. When Winston Churchill offered him Canterbury, it was tempered with the caution that, “Few in the long succession since St. Augustine can have received the summons to Canterbury at a time when the burden of the Primacy was heavier.” David Edwards has noted that, pastorally, Temple was “both handicapped and helped by the war”, but he also declared that the war was Temple’s “finest hour”. It was not just the numerous pragmatic difficulties that impacted on the work for church unity during the war; there were a number of ecumenical opportunities opened up on account of the hostilities. The example of Temple’s work to foster relationships with the Orthodox will demonstrate this point. Furthermore, the war also offered numerous other opportunities for the expression of a unified Christian voice in joint public statements. This led to some significant progress in Anglican relations with English Roman Catholics. Encouraged by these advances, Temple considered the rather audacious plan of visiting the Vatican himself in an attempt to make a public announcement with the Pope. This attempt was ultimately abandoned, in part because of Temple’s struggle against his own anti-Roman prejudices. On the other hand, the exigencies of conflict led Bishop Hall of Hong Kong to ordain a female priest. This posed a grave problem for Temple, who, although not theologically opposed to women’s ordination, considered it a major threat to Anglican and ecumenical unity. The particular circumstances of wartime England presented Temple with both opportunities and threats in his pursuit of church unity. Although Temple endeavoured to maximise the opportunities, he was at times inhibited by his own inner prejudices and convictions.