One of the world's high profile Christian leaders, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, always draws a crowd. For good reason. he's a provocative Christian thinker, writer and quite engaging as a man of God with various theological interests. Regardless of your opinion about the state of affairs in the Anglican Church, Williams is not a disappointing public, Christian intellectual. Rowan Williams is the 104th archbishop of Canterbury, enthroned in 2002.
Today, Archbishop Williams gave the 27th annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary (Crestwood, Yonkers, NY). Williams lectured masterfully on "Theology and Contemplative Calling: The Image of Humanity in the Philokalia." Just prior to the lecture, the Seminary conferred on the Archbishop a Degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa).
More than 200 people attended the lecture including a small delegation of seminarians from St Joseph's Seminary, Orthodox and Catholic bishops and priests, students and friends.
Archbishop Williams' talk will be made available shortly and will be published in the St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly.
Yesterday, Dr Williams spoke to Wall Street executives, on their home turf, as the NY Times called it.
Earlier in the week Williams received from the Jesuits at America Magazine the Edmund Campion Award, for his sizable literary output. OK, the Campion Award is a literary award. But how odd that the English clergyman of high rank, such as Canterbury, should receive an award named for an English Jesuit martyr, put to death by the English government in the period of the post English revolt of the Catholic Church. Campion died a particularly painful death for Christ and the Catholic Church. Or, is it too odd to conceive? I will leave you to answer the question if Campion was truly smiling upon the event. I, for one, am not enthusiastic that the Jesuits gave an award to Williams named after Campion. I don't see it as martyrial ecumenism. You see, it is an act of generosity on the part of the Jesuits to honor Williams (and for him to accept) but I do mind the Jesuits making too close a connection with the martyr Campion and Rowan Williams. Certainly, someone saw the irony in this event, regardless if Campion is liturgically remembered by the Church of England on May 4th (while we remember Campion on December 1. You can read Fr Drew Christiansen's remarks and listen to the Archbishop's remarks on the podcast.
A cursory review of Williams' itinerary can be read here.
