The Courage of Walking the Middle Way

One of my favorite ways to encourage Christians in their growth is sharing stories about saints who came before us. I am often inspired by their lives, their ministry, and their writings. One such Saint, whom we remember and celebrate today, is Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop and Missionary. This Augustine, who died in 605, is not to be confused with Augustine of Hippo who died in 430 and wrote famous theological writings such as The Confessions.

Although Christianity existed in Britain before the invasions of Angles and Saxons in the fifth century, in 596 Pope Gregory the Great sent a mission to the pagan Anglo-Saxons. He selected a group of monks from his own monastery, and named the prior, Augustine, as their leader. They arrived in Kent the following year, carrying a silver cross and an image of Jesus Christ painted on a board, becoming, so far as we know, Canterbury’s first icon. 

When the missionaries arrived in Kent, King Ethelbert tolerated their presence. Perhaps because his wife was a practicing Christian, he even allowed them to use an old church built on the east side of Canterbury, dating from the Roman occupation of Britain.

Here, says the Venerable Bede, they assembled “to sing the psalms, to pray, to say Mass, to preach, and to baptize.” This church of St. Martin is the earliest place of Christian worship in England still in use.

Their preaching was incredibly successful. People were hungry for the Good News of salvation and they converted by the thousands to Christianity. In 601 King Ethelbert himself was baptized, becoming the first Christian King of England.  During this time, Augustine was ordained a Bishop and named Archbishop of the English Nation. He established his headquarters at Canterbury and to this day, there has been an unbroken succession of archbishops of Canterbury.  

Some correspondence between Augustine and Gregory survives. One of the Pope’s most famous counsels to the first Archbishop of Canterbury pertains to the diversity in the young English Church.

Gregory writes, “If you have found customs, whether in the Roman, Gallican, or any other Churches that may be more acceptable to God, I wish you to make a careful selection of them, and teach the Church of the English, which is still young in the faith, whatever you can profitably learn from the various Churches. For things should not be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things.”

Gregory’s counsel to strive for “unity in diversity” helped establish the young English church as a church that celebrated differences and continually sought the middle way.

The middle way is not always mediocrity. Augustine was concerned that the diversity he found in England between the remaining Christians, the cultural practices of the people and the faith he brought from Rome would somehow cause conflict. Gregory offered Augustine good advice: mediate between custom and conversion; chart a course through human diversity that tolerates a broad middle way. 

From its inception, Anglicanism chose a course for the middle of the road. For that choice Anglicans are sometimes called wishy-washy, noncommittal, even “chicken.” Yet even the chicken would tell you, if she could, that is it the side-ditch, the extreme edge of the road’s path, that promises safe haven; the middle of the way is the most dangerous, exposing one to injury and death. The middle of a struggle between warring factions is the place of greatest danger.

In our reading from 2 Corinthians appointed for today’s feast, Paul tells us we are ambassadors of Christ, entrusted with the message of reconciliation and the work of mediation. In that ambassadorial ministry we are thrust into the midst of conflict, not delivered from it. Our ministry, as Gregory counseled Augustine, demands a nonpartisan position. Our work is not to win our own point, nor to secure our own way, but to bring all into full dialogue with God. To achieve this end, we must be in the midst of things, sticking out our necks.

This isn’t easy work, but it is vital that we model for our growing Christians the type of leadership that can hold disparate opinions and ideals together. It is through the dialogue, the making space for the other, that the Holy Spirit can reveal new and powerful truths and how we can live reconciled to God and each other. The middle way is necessary for the future of this world, the world that God loves. I hope we will all venture to be a bit like Augustine of Canterbury—faithful to God’s call, striving for unity in diversity, and working to walk the middle way to help join together those who cannot yet see the path the other walks upon. 

[Image Credit: Encyclopedia Britannica]