Today I want to talk about clericalism, which is deeply entrenched in the Anglican Communion. Clericalism means a policy of maintaining or strengthening the hierarchical power of the clergy. In the Anglican Communion, clericalism not only affects the attitudes of the clergy, but also negatively affects the way believers view their own identity and mission. Clericalism leads pastors to think that the church is theirs, and members to agree that the church belongs to the pastor and that everything should be done by the pastor.
Clericalism is a progressive development in the history of the church. The early New Testament church did not make a distinction between laymen and clergy. Although we are not sure when clericalism were formed, this progressive development can be divided into three periods. The first period was because heresy was a serious problem in the early church, and therefore in the fight against heresy there was a need for bishops or theologians of the church to refute heresy and teach the believers the correct doctrines in order to bring about the unity of the church. This, coupled with the structural needs of the rapidly growing early church, led to the beginnings of the distinction between laymen and clergy. The second period was a planned development after Constantine’s conversion to Christ. Constantine appointed bishops to be local officials, and divided the Church geographically into dioceses in the manner of the Roman provinces, and categorized the clergy as a privileged class. The third period came when Gregory VII declared that all men, including kings, were under papal authority. Clericalism also reached its peak at this time. Pope Boniface VIII went even further, declaring that obedience to the Pope was a condition of salvation.
After the Reformation, the Anglican Church retained some of the features of clericalism, such as specific dress for the clergy, specific training mechanisms for the clergy, and ordination ceremonies. Ordination to the priesthood became a necessary tradition of the Church, and only ordained clergy could administer the sacraments. To this day, the Diocese of West Malaysia retains these traditions. This largely has submerged the hierarchical division between pastors and believers, and reinforced the negative influence of clericalism.
I did not against the ordination, dress code and the necessary training mechanisms for the clergy. What I against is the hierarchical division between clergy and laity and the mentality of “more importance than thou”.