Brief words about John Macquarrie

Anglican theologian John Macquarrie, who is referenced in the link in the title of this post, died on the 28th of May. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

I always found Macquarrie to have a blend that is rare in a theologian. His books combined strong knowledge of liturgy and sacrament with an unusual dose of common sense in pastoral application.

For all of my passion for the liturgy, liturgical scholars, focussing so on 'sign and symbol,' too often lost sight of that their supposition about what such symbols would actually mean in practise (based on their knowledge of history and so forth) could be far off the mark. John Macquarrie could seem to be stating the obvious in some cases, but actually he had the openness (I'm tempted to say courage, because going against the grain can make one seem less than in the know) to point out the gap there can be between theory and practise in worship.

For example, in the western Catholic churches (by contrast with the eastern Orthodox), that baptism, confirmation, and first reception of the Eucharist were separated rites was an historical accident. (I'll explain the history at another time, not to be diverted from my point now.) In recent decades, liturgical scholars, with a perfectly sound basis, were looking to make the 'sacraments of initiation' a whole. John Macquarrie was one of few who pointed out that, though the earlier Christian traditions in worship would have been different, and though Confirmation's being a separate rite, administered long after baptism for most of us, was 'accidental,' the value that Confirmation has come to have as a 'rite of passage' and affirmation of adult faith should not be overlooked.

He also was very open about how liturgists place such strong emphasis on baptism that they can fail to see that other Christians (including other priests and theologians) might not find this to be a useful perspectice. Indeed, baptism is crucially important, and participation in the Eucharist, for example, a privilege of baptism. Yet, speaking as one who saw an attitude of 'the only vocation is baptism' wipe out the richness of Roman Catholic consecrated life, I think Macquarrie (who of course was not speaking of that particular context) was spot on.

I therefore wanted to offer this small tribute to a man of great knowledge, insight, and candour, whose works I have enjoyed and found immensely enriching.