Kenneth Escott Kirk (1886-1954). Teolog moralista anglikański

Abstract

The present ecumenical context appeals to all Christians to study more all other traditions of Christianity. The Anglican Communion is of special significance for the Catholic Church because the two traditions have a lot in common. It was reaffirmed by the recent agreed statement by ARCIC II Life in Christ. Morals, Communion and the Church (London 1994) which says that „Anglicans and Roman Catholics derive from the Scriptures and Tradition the same controlling vision of the nature and destiny of humanity and share the same fundamental moral values”. The author of this paper presents the life and work of Kenneth Escott Kirk (+ 1954), the most significant figure in Anglican moral theology this century. The first part gives more important facts of his life and education. Then a short history of Anglican moral teaching before Kirk is outlined. A special attention is paid to the Caroline Divines. The third chapter of the article is its major part and it traces Kirk’s vision of moral theology, mainly in his four best books: Some Principles of Moral Theology and Their Application (London 1920), Ignorance, Faith and Conformity (London 1925), Conscience and Its Problems (London 1927) and finally The Vision of God (London 1931). Kirk was convinced that moral theology had been neglected in his Church for a long time and his idea was to revive it and to give it a new proper shape. So the paper presents the nature and scope of moral theology and analyses its teaching on conscience and sound Christian casuistry. Visio Dei as the ultimate end of Christian life should play a fundamental role in moral theology and Kirk exposed it above all in his The Vision of God. This shows that Kirk’s moral theology was teleological and it is in worship that the whole Christian moral life is rooted and based on. One can also see a clear ecclesial character of his moral theology. Three other moral theologians who followed Kirk are mentioned at the end of the paper: R.C. Mortimer (t 1976), L. Dewar (t 1976) and H. Waddams.