In a message released to coincide with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Justin Welby and Dr John Sentamu are saddened by the "legacy of mistrust and competition" that came about through the Reformation. They further called on 'Christians' to repent for those things that had divided the faithful.
In their statement they lament the "lasting damage" done over the past 500 years to the unity of the Church. This they claim is "in defiance of the clear command of Jesus Christ to unity in love".
These two unhappy Archbishops bemoaned: "Those turbulent years saw Christian people pitted against each other, such that many suffered persecution and even death at the hands of others claiming to know the same Lord. A legacy of mistrust and competition would then accompany the astonishing global spread of Christianity in the centuries that followed. All this leaves us much to ponder".
In grovelling before the Church of Rome they stated that "remembering the Reformation should also lead us to repent of our part in perpetuating divisions. Such repentance needs to be linked to action aimed at reaching out to other churches and strengthening relationships with them".
Even Romanists see the foolishness of such a statement. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme Catherine Pepinster, Catholic commentator and former Tablet editor, expressed doubt as to whether apologising for the Reformation was the right thing to do. She said: "Reformation is a history of politics as much as theological disputes, it’s also a story of conscience, I’m not sure that an apology is the right thing".
The Reformation is something to be rejoiced over and remembered with gladness. It involved the rediscovery of historic orthodox Christianity. It further brought the overthrow of the yoke of Rome upon the nations that embraced Protestantism.
The Lord's command "to unity in love" is a command directed towards those who know and love our Lord Jesus Christ. It is no command to love error or to fellowship with error. Charity or love, it is said: rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, 1 Corinthians 13:6. Romanism was, and still is, an iniquitous system of wickedness. One which our Protestant forefathers repudiated.
It is worth remembering that it is the Lord who has commenced the war between truth and error, light and darkness, in this world, cf. Genesis 3:15. Divisions that come because there is a separation from error are to be welcomed as they are in obedience to God's Word: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
These divisions, between what is of God and what is not, are also to be welcomed as they are God's means of safeguarding His Truth and preserving it to be passed on to successive generations.
While the likes of Justin Welby and John Sentamu are saddened and embarrassed at the reminder of the errors of Romanism, with which they are daily seeking unity in denial of the Reformation, true Christians will raise their hallelujah and rejoice and be glad.
What its needed is another Reformation to recover the ground that has been eroded by years of ecumenism led by the likes of Justin Welby and John Sentamu and their predecessors.
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