Chapter 17 – The Anglican Church I was born and bred into the Anglican Church, and baptised (according to local custom) three months after birth, in St Saviour’s Church, Claremont in the March of ’41. Having been dutifully dragged to church “kicking and screaming” by my Mom and Dad, I refused to become a server, let alone sing in the choir. In 1954, I was confirmed by Archibald Cullen (again if you paying attention mentioned in my chapter of high school and St Pauls), After leaving school, where (as you remember) we were required to go to church twice a Sunday and Compline on a Wednesday, I for some strange reason did not rebel against religion (as so many people do), but continued to be a passive by-stander. A certain amount of this overlaps with previous chapters and so I will not bore you with the details again. I was always at loggerheads with the church – the Anglican Church. During my ministry, I had many an occasion to write to Bishops, regaling my complaints or requests. Bear in mind, that up to the early 2000’s, there was no email. But ‘snail mail’ was still working. On one occasion, I was in the vestry at Kempton Park for a confirmation, and Bishop Leslie Stradling was there. He handed me a draft copy of the new liturgy which was in the process of being reviewed. Horace Wilson, Rector of Vereeniging, grabbed it out of my hand and to my amazement uttered heresy! Well, Leslie in his calm manner just said “By whose standards Horace” The incident reminded me of the heresy of Arianism in the early 4th century, which denied the divinity of Our Lord, and Athanasius had to fight against them, when he was a Bishop, and who was exiled six times before he managed to enlist the majority at the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed was formulated. I had a love-hate relationship with Timothy Bavin, but bless him, he would have wonderful parties for clergy and their wives as related in an earlier chapter. But my best was Pope Desmond the 1st. I was divorced on this occasion and had applied to Desmond for relicensing to my priestly ministry. I was late for work that morning, when the phone rang and I ran back to answer it saying abruptly “Yes how can I help”. It was a black voice and frankly I thought it was the gardener. (I could relate to Mary Magdalene in the garden). He said in an undertone, “This is your Bishop”. Well I snapped to attention and said “Yes my Lord”. He wanted me to come to Bishop’s House to be interviewed by 3 bishops in order to adjudicate me being licenced. I was interviewed by the Desmond (Johannesburg), The Bishop of Pretoria and the Bishop of Grahamstown. They asked me penetrating questions about my views on the sanctity of marriage and the church’s teaching on same. Of course, I knew all that but also knew why I was divorced. In any event, I was duly re-licensed at St Michael’s in Bryanston. God has very strange way of working and one does not often see His plan in your life. In any event, I celebrated the Eucharist on Christmas day, and then went off on holiday to Ramsgate with Di. While we were away we discussed the question of whether we should live together for a while or get married. Because of overcoming major hurdles, I had to climb to get my licence, we decided to not “rub the Church up any more” by an adulterous relationship, we were married in the magistrate’s court. Well that DID it. We presented ourselves for communion the following Sunday and Wilfred Pohl (bless his heart), said after the service. “Do not present yourselves at the Communion rail, until the Bishop has given you a letter to receive Communion.” I was shattered. EXCOMMUNICATED! I thought we were back in the Dark Ages. What letter? I had never heard of a letter. At a time when Di and my joy was complete at getting married, the church said “Keep OUT, you are not welcome” This was not my understanding of the love of God. Di and I believed we had sinned, but we had confessed our sin and with our contrition, God had forgiven us. Had his Body, the Church forgiven us? When God forgives he forgets, but the institutionalized church does not forget. Jesus to me was a rebel, like I am. He turns everything upside down, not only the tables of the moneychangers. I always cry at the story of the woman caught in adultery. The penalty was stoning. When she came to Jesus, he was not rattled, he just told the crowd (mainly Pharisees and Sadducees) “those of you who have not sinned, cast the first stone”. He did not approve of what she had done, but he had forgiven her and loved her. “Neither do I condemn you”. I think about the passage in Matthew 23 where Jesus ass strongly reprimanding the Scribes and Pharisees, warning the people against their hypocrisy. “they tie heavy cumbersome loads and place them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them”. Is our church a modern day legalistic society like the Pharisees? SAY NO MORE. I REST MY CASE. On another occasion I wrote to Bishop Brian, regarding re-licensing. This was sent via email. For weeks I never heard from him. I thought maybe he had not received the email, so I sent it again with a ‘read receipt’. ‘Read receipt’ yes but no reply. I waited a year patiently, and then in total frustration, I wrote again, this time with a lot more “goedsper”. He eventually replied that he had referred the matter to Synod of Bishops and was awaiting their response. Talk about me being a thorn in the side of the Anglican Church. Please don’t rock their “jolly” boat or try to make them think out of the box. Fast forward to the present >> >> >> By 2015, I was resigned, having divorced Di, that I would not have any chance of regaining my licence, even though divorce was generally not the problem, re-marriage was. I settled into St Michael’s Bryanston and worshipped in the front row with my long-time friend and business associate. John Penny. John and his second wife, also Di would sit with me and even if the pew was full, Di would hassle past to be with me. She would tell me that John would not take her to the airport, as she wanted to go to France to her villa there. She even wanted me to come with her, she was so proud of it. She had dementia and soon afterwards died. I was so sad for John who had lost two wives (Mary and Di) to debilitating illnesses. Prior to the current rector, there was a priest by the name of Owen Franklin, a gay priest, who like me felt that the new 1989 liturgy, was still riddled with Archbishop Cranmer’s perpetual wailing of how unworthy we were. As with many before him, he met with staunch and concerted resistance, so much so that together with Church’s ever hardening views of same sex relationships, he resigned and I was back too square ONE as well. Godfrey Henwood came and set about the massive task of drawing the fighting factions together again, which he did, but he was also died in the wool “true Anglican” and used the prayer book service with all the optional prayers, which Owen and I thought inappropriate. The straw that broke the camel’s back came on All Saints day 2015, which fell on a Sunday. I had sent Godfrey a long list of suggestions regarding options, I felt we could implement on this important saint’s day of the church. Well the day came. What a damp squid. Whilst Godfrey did not celebrate, there were no readings for All Saints, which I always read before the service. Linda who was taking the service did not preach on the Saints. Only two hymns were glorious All Saints hymns (which I sung lustily) and there were, of course, no changes to the liturgy or any sign of what good liturgy should be. I went home and wrote the following letter. To the Reverend Canon Godfrey Henwood, As of this day, All Saint’s day in the year of Our Lord Twenty Fifteen, I formally resign from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Yours in His service Robin Davys Hill - Dip Th Priest for 46 years I went to see Father Keith at the Parish of the Resurrection to seek admittance to the Catholic faith. .