Anglican via-media: an instrument for theological discourse on same sex marriage in church of Nigeria Anglican communion

Abstract

Anglican via-media means the middle path in matters between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. In essence, it avoids going to the extreme in any matter and at the same time being guided by its basic principles. However, in contemporary times this concept has been misinterpreted to mean compromise and the resultant effect of such interpretation was the election and consecration of an open gay, Gene Robinson as bishop in the Episcopal Church of United States of America in 2003, the legalization of same-sex marriage and ordination of homosexuals in Anglican Church of Canada and the boycott of 2008 Lambeth Conference by the Global South that comprises the conservative Anglicans. In view of this, this work has uncovered historically meaning of this concept, Anglican via-media and has clarified that the concept never includes compromise on the authority of the Holy Scripture. At the same time, it has looked at the implications of this misconception on the development of the Anglican Communion in Nigeria. Hence, this work concludes that theologically, Anglican via-media never stretch so far to include heresy rather; it upholds the authority of Holy Scripture and is being guided by the 39 Articles of Religion and 1888 Lambert Quadrilateral. In other words, it recommends that viamedia can still serve as a veritable tool in solving the present challenges.