Anglicanism and Liturgy, a Network Approach to the Inter Anglican Liturgical Consultation

Abstract

The Anglican Communion is founded on the idea of provincial autonomy including in terms of liturgy. While there has been much liturgical revision there is still an Anglican resemblance. One of the cohesive forces has been the Inter Anglican Liturgical Consultation, IALC, which has now been meeting for almost fifty years. This article looks at the operation of the IALC using network and visualization theory, a growing approach to Anglican Communion studies. What is the history of this network and its place in the communion? Who comes to the meetings and from which provinces? Has there been a discernible impact? These are some of the questions discussed along with the question of representation. The IALC appears to have been more influential than it might seem at first sight and there are discernible fingerprints in the liturgical texts of the communion.