A Sacramental Universe: Some Anglican Thinking

Abstract

This article examines the notion of a sacramental universe from the perspective of some Anglican thinking based on the philosophical concept of moderate realism. Whereas traditional Anglican thinking on a sacramental universe emphasised the concept of a sacred thing, Rowan Williams broadens the debate by putting a case for sacramentality as the paradox of difference where the Divine is seen in ‘not-God-ness’ given into inanimate form in the sacraments. Sue Patterson helps to clarify the relationship between theology and realism and advances the case for moderate realism as the foundational philosophical concept of a sacramental universe within the Anglican tradition.