‘Mutual Flourishing’ in the Church of England: Learning from St Thomas Aquinas

Abstract

This article investigates potential learning for the Church of England with regard to ‘mutual flourishing’. It begins by summarising the findings from recent research, which employs the principles of receptive ecumenism to explore women’s experiences of working in English churches. During this research, ‘mutual flourishing’ (as described in the ‘Five Guiding Principles’) was identified repeatedly, as an area of practice which is a ‘live’ wound in the life of the Church of England. The article moves on to discuss the theme of friendship in the theology of Thomas Aquinas, arguing that Thomas’s particular approach to friendship, if appropriated prudently, could contribute to healing the ‘wound’ identified during the research. The final phase moves on to suggest what it might mean in practice to appropriate Thomas’s theology of friendship in the life of the Church of England.