Charles Gore: The Holy Spirit and the Church

What is it about?

Charles Gore (January 22, 1853- January 17, 1932) was the leading proponent of Anglican liberal Catholicism in his era. He was a founder of the Community of the Resurrection, Oxford, and he served as Bishop of Oxford. He describes the interplay of divine grace and human nature through the inspiration of the church and Christians, and likewise offers an intense and balanced theological example of the synthesis of Scripture, tradition, and reason. This essay provides an overview of Gore's life, ministry and scholarship with particular attention to his theology of the Holy Spirit.

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Why is it important?

Gore's appeal to experience provides a key to his theology of the Spirit. Christian theology of the Holy Spirit is not primarily an abstract reflection on the nature of God, but an attempt to express and understand the lived experience of faith recorded in Scriptures and reflected in the traditions of the church. The gift of the Holy Spirit is a personal encounter with God, the divine other who transforms us. The Spirit's method is gradual, and the Spirit's work is not yet done in the church and in our lives.