The Church Ignorant: Futuring a Decolonized Ecclesiology

This paper argues that decolonizing Episcopal ecclesiology requires reimagining the epistemic posture of privileged churches. Utilizing the method of “receptive ecumenism,” I place The Episcopal Church into dialogue with Elizabeth Gandolfo and Laurel Potter’s Re-membering the Reign of God—a Roman Catholic effort to decolonize ecclesiology by centering the witness of the poor in El Salvador. First, I introduce receptive ecumenism, explaining its decolonial potential and how it directly challenges notions of ecclesial self-sufficiency. Second, I introduce three promising concepts from Gandolfo and Potter for Anglicanism’s decolonial project: the critical retrieval of tradition for decolonial praxis; “adult faith” as a corrective to ecclesial infantilization; and solidarity as a difficult process of conversion for the privileged. In conclusion, I propose three corresponding interventions for Episcopal ecclesiology: retrieving Anglican “comprehensiveness” for decolonial praxis; reimagining confirmation pedagogy around theological agency; and cultivating epistemic practices of solidarity through virtuous unlearning and disciplined listening.