The Latitudinarian Ecclesiology of John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국교회사학회
· 수록지 정보 : 한국교회사학회지 / 51호 / 37 ~ 67페이지
· 저자명 : 주의돈

초록

This paper examines the ecclesiology of John Tillotson (1630-1694), a late seventeenth-century English clergyman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 to 1694. Ecclesiology was an important consideration for late seventeenth-century Anglican divines, due to their desire to vindicate the special status of the established church in a complex situation – the Anglican Communion was to be regarded as the only lawful church in England while Protestant Dissenters and Roman Catholics were refusing to conform. In general, leading churchmen relied on the ecclesiology based on Protestantism, Erastianism, and Episcopalianism. Tillotson used the first two, but ignored the last. However, his ecclesiology had a distinctive aspect which ventured beyond the general arguments.
When Tillotson constructed his ideas on the church he regarded the virtue of charity as crucial. For him, this feature distinguished the Church of England both from the Church of Rome and from the Dissenting communities. Tillotson’s ecclesiastical vision was to create a national Christian community founded on charity. He believed that all true followers of Jesus should obey his chief commandment to love one another and dwell in unity. It is likely that Tillotson’s opinion on the church was shared by his Latitudinarian friends. They too believed that cruelty was the manifestation of an un-Christian spirit and emphasised the importance of moderation and charity as core Christian values. This implies that an ecclesiology based on charity was fundamental to their identity as a group.

참고자료

· 없음