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Browning Preaches Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral

Episcopal News Service. November 13, 1997 [97-1999]

(ENS) Joining a representative of the Japanese government in a pilgrimage for peace and reconciliation in the final weeks of his term, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning preached at Coventry Cathedral in England on October 5.

In addition to his stop at Coventry, Browning met in London with Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and joined a meeting of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.

Calling the cathedral and its work a sign of hope for all the world and an encouraging example of the triumph of love out of death, Browning said, "God moves mightily to bring great good out of great evil. That is what God is. God is a cross made of nails; great sorrow molded and shaped into redeeming love, the greatest love the universe has ever known. Let hate rain down upon us from the sky, or let it arise from within our own hearts. Jesus will always be stronger."

Coventry Cathedral, destroyed by Nazi bombs during World War II, was rebuilt in 1958 from the ashes of the medieval cathedral and has dedicated its ministry to peace and reconciliation. "Many communities that have known destruction and despair have found themselves drawn to Coventry," Browning said. "Many communities almost destroyed by hate have found strength to carry on through this cathedral: Hiroshima, Ireland, South Africa, many places that have become watchwords for human misunderstanding and division. Life is hard in the human community. But God is good and, by God's grace, healing happens where no one ever thought it would."

During the service, Cathedral Provost John Petty presented Browning a pectoral cross fashioned from medieval nails from the ruins -- an honor accorded to those who have dedicated their lives to justice, reconciliation and peace. The Coventry Cross was given last year to former South African president F.W. de Klerk, who offered an apology and sought forgiveness for the evils of apartheid in the cathedral.

Browning, and his wife Patti, have been actively involved in peace missions for most of his episcopacy, especially in Palestine and the Middle East.

Following the service, Browning was joined by Japanese Minister Sadaaki Numata and American Cultural Attache Robin Berrington in the ruins of the cathedral to pray the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation in Japanese and English. The group prayed at a new statue of reconciliation, similar to a monument erected in Hiroshima last year. Joining the presiding bishop and Mrs. Browning were their son Peter and daughter Paige, and the Rev. David Perry, ecumenical officer for the Episcopal Church.

Browning also met for private conversations with Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey at Lambeth Palace in London. Although the meeting was private, Perry indicated the two primates discussed issues surrounding the upcoming Lambeth Conference next summer and the ongoing concerns with traditionalists' attempted movements toward "orthodox provinces" in England and the United States.

Browning said that Carey repeated the position he took during a conversation in 1991, when the idea of a separate province for traditionalists was first raised -- it is not possible to recognize a non-geographic province. Carey said that he would officially recognize only the Episcopal Church in the United States.

The Brownings ended their journey in Paris, where the presiding bishop addressed the annual Convocation of American Churches in Europe and preached in the American Cathedral. Browning served as bishop in charge of the convocation from 1971-74.