“I know the word ‘father’ is problematic for those whose experience of earthly fathers it has been destructive and hurtful, and to all of us who have worked a little too hard for one oppressive patriarchal grip on life“. With these words the Anglican archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell (in the photo with King Charles) suggested that the beginning of the ‘Our Father’, a prayer recited by Christians all over the world for 2000 years, could be “problematic” as evocative of patriarchy. The writes it Guardian.
In his opening speech to a meeting of the governing body of the Church of England, il General Synod, Cottrell he focused on the words “Our Father”, which is the beginning of the prayer based on Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 in the New Testament. His comment – a brief digression in a speech centered on the need for unity – is bound to divide the faithful of the Church of Englandwithin which differences on the issues of sexuality, identity and equality have been visible for years.
After the speech of Cottrellthe canon Dr Chris Sugdenchairman of the Anglican Conservative Group Mainstream, pointed out that in the Bible, Jesus exhorted people to pray to “our father.” “The Archbishop of York is saying that Jesus was he wrong or that Jesus was not pastorally aware? It seems to be emblematic of some church leaders’ approach to taking their cues from culture rather than give scriptures“.
The reverend Christina Reesone of the protagonists of a campaign for women bishops, instead said that Cottrell he “put his finger on one question which is really alive for i Christians and it has been for many years.” “There big question is: do we really believe that God believes that the male humans they carry his image more complete e accurate compared to women? The answer is absolutely not,” she remarked.
A Februarythe Anglican church had announced that it would consider whether to stop referring to Dio as “he”, after i priests they had asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms instead. One was then launched commission on the gender languagestating that “i Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male neither female, but the variety of ways to address and describe God found in the scriptures it has not always been reflected in our worship.”