York: Campaigners protest over interfaith meditation group in church premises

A conservative Christian campaign group this week called for the resignation of the Canon Chancellor of York Minster after learning that a group was meeting in a library on CoE premises for meditation and to explore common ground between Zen Buddhism and the Christian faith.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern and a member of the Church of England's General Synod, said: "Buddhism contrasts sharply with Christian teaching about God. The two are incompatible. To try to mix them is deceptive and dishonours Jesus Christ.

"It is remarkable that this is happening at one of the country's best known cathedrals. The Archbishop of York must take swift action. This type of confusion undermines the Church of England's current initiative to encourage Christian prayer.

"Unless there is clarity about the Christian gospel at the heart of the Church of England's call to prayer, the initiative will be counter-productive."

Ms Minichiello Williams went on to condemn the Canon for blessing the city's Pride march. "The Church of England must take decisive action to deal with this radical agenda," she said.

Responding to these concerns, the Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, Dean of York said: "The Zen Sangha group has been granted the use of a meeting space in the Old Palace - the Minster's Library located in Dean's Park - for the last two years. They do not and have never met in the cathedral.

"The Zen group is not a religious order of any kind and the Chapter of York would not give permission for any such religious order to be set up at York Minster.

"The meetings aim to offer an opportunity for Christians and others to come together to learn about and explore Zen meditation practices and the congruence of Zen with Christian faith."

Sue Giuntoni from the Yorkshire branch of the World Community for Christian Meditation said the criticism of York Minster was "utter nonsense."

"What do they think Jesus did when he got up and went to a solitary place to pray?"

She said meditation was a very ancient Christian way of prayer dating back to the Desert Fathers using techniques which are common to many faiths.

There has been ongoing dialogue, and good relations between Christians and Buddhists for many years. Thomas Merton the Trappist monk, writer and mystic was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama, the Japanese writer DT Suzuki, the Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and wrote books on Zen Buddhism and Taoism.

In 1984 Pope John Paul II called upon a Thai Buddhist leader Vasana Tara in a Buddhist centre during a visit to Bangkok. On his trip to Sri Lanka in January 2015, Pope Francis accepted an invitation to visited a Buddhist monastery. A Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis "wanted to demonstrate his friendship and positive attitude" toward Buddhists.

A dialogue between Catholic and Buddhist religious and social action leaders was held in June at the Vatican. Pope Francis stopped by the meeting, made some brief remarks that were translated to English as he spoke.

"It is a visit of fraternity, of dialogue, and of friendship. And this is good. This is healthy. And in these moments, which are wounded by war and hatred, these small gestures are seeds of peace and fraternity. I thank you for this and may God bless you."

CTS have a booklet: Contemplative Meditation for all - how to do it www.ctsbooks.org/contemplative-meditation/

Read more about the Word Community For Christian Meditation here: http://wccm.org/