The Land of Unlikeness

Friday was the 105th birthday of Arthur Michael Ramsey, the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. Author of numerous classics like The Gospel and the catholic church, Ramsey is often considered one of the outstanding archbishops. Ramsey assumed the throne of Augustine in 1961 at the onset of the Vatican II proceedings, and served until Dec. 1974. He was the first Abp of Canterbury to meet with the roman pontiff since the Church of England broke ties with Rome. At that meeting, Paul VI presented his episcopal ring to Ramsey, and unprecedented ecumenical gift in the strained relations between the Church of England and the Roman Church. Ramsey’s brand of forward thinking and ecumenical achievements married to a healthy orthodoxy paved the way for his successor Donald Cogan to establish a broader ministry to the world and to make headway with the ordination of women.