I have until now refrained from commenting on the turmoil affecting the Church of England, on the grounds that I am not an Anglican and therefore it is none of my business. As a Catholic, I have routinely been disgusted throughout the four decades since the Second Vatican Catastrophe by the propensity of outsiders - encouraged by the bogus ecumenical movement - to harangue the Holy Roman Church about its doctrine, practices and liturgy and to offer impertinent prescriptions for change.
Now, however, the Anglican contagion is invading the Catholic Church and that is quite another matter. The news that Anglican bishops have had private talks with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is a provocative development. Any collective negotiation suggests that these disgruntled prelates envisage the possibility of some kind of corporate adherence to the Catholic Church. The barque of Peter should immediately hoist the signal: not wanted on voyage.
What kind of Catholic converts would these men be? The Church of England has been ordaining priestesses since 1994 - in itself testimony to the insincerity of Anglicanism in its so-called ecumenical discussions with Rome - yet these people were happy not only to continue within it but also to hold high office and to conduct services in cathedrals forcibly expropriated from the Catholic Church.
If immemorial tradition was not enough, their "Catholic" consciences ought to have been informed by the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" issued by John Paul II on May 22, 1994, in which he infallibly decreed: "We declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgement is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." Read more
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Monday, 7 July 2008
The barque of Peter should not pick up Anglican boat people
Archbishop of Canterbury ‘a scapegoat’ in church split
The Archbishop of York yesterday made an impassioned intervention in the debate on the ordination of women bishops on the eve of a crucial vote on the issue by a bitterly divided Church of England.
Speaking at the church’s General Synod in York, John Sentamu said that Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was being made a scapegoat by traditionalists who blame him for opening up divisions in the Anglican communion over women priests and gays.
His comments came as the church was warned that it was in danger of “shattering” in the wake of tomorrow’s historic vote on a proposal to consecrate women.
Some members of the synod urged a postponement of the vote until more detailed proposals could be drawn up on how to cater for opponents.
Some bishops have held covert talks in Rome on possible arrangements to join the Catholic church should the General Synod go ahead with women bishops. “It has all been very cloak and dagger,” said a source. Read more
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Day of reckoning for Anglicans amid split over women bishops
The Church of England will today be plunged into one of the fiercest debates in its 400-year history as traditionalists go head-to-head with liberals over women bishops. Church leaders will attempt to avert new splits with a compromise plan for “super bishops” to minister to traditionalists who oppose women bishops.
Liberals will fiercely resist the plan, which is being seen as an attempt to appease traditionalists in order to get women bishops consecrated.
Campaigners for women's ordination will respond with an all-or-nothing proposal to consecrate women that includes no safeguards or concessions at all for opponents.
More than 1,300 clergy have threatened to walk out if the Church goes ahead with approving the consecration of women bishops without statutory provision to safeguard the traditionalists' place in the Church.
Women and liberals insist that they would rather not have women bishops at all than have a new, extra-geographical diocese legally established as a safe haven for Anglo-Catholics.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu, are understood to favour a compromise that would avoid an exodus of the Church's Catholic wing, but they do not want the consecration of women jettisoned altogether because of the difficulties in appeasing both sides. Read more
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Anglican Church may create 'super bishops' to avoid splitting
A new class of "super bishop" could be created to cater for traditionalists who oppose the introduction of women bishops, in a last-minute bid to avert a split within the Church of England.
Under the plan, three male super bishops would be ordained to look after clergy and parishioners who do not want to be led by a female bishop, and would be answerable only to the Archbishops of York and Canterbury.
The solution emerged last night on the eve of a critical debate at a meeting of the church's ruling body. It came as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, called for unity, saying Jesus would feel the pain of traditionalists and homosexual clergy alike.
His plea came after it emerged that talks had been held with Vatican officials. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer, who proposed the amendment, said: "I don't think the word compromise is a dirty word. We are all going to have to accept some limitation of where we would like to be." Read more
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Wright Fails to Understand Depth of Global Revulsion to Western Revisionism
The traditionalist Bishop of Durham, Dr. N. T. Wright who publicly criticized GAFCON before the event occurred, has come out swinging now that it is a done deal, condemning the Jerusalem gathering for its exclusivity and ambiguities.
In prepared remarks, he first called GAFCON "a great celebration of the gospel of the love and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ." Then he said, "The church needs this energy and vision." Then he slapped GAFCON leaders saying, "This doesn’t mean the GAFCON proposals can be accepted without question." He called the proposed ‘Primates’ Council’ "a strange body," and said the ‘Declaration’ "is an odd document which leaves many ambiguities."
"It gives far too many hostages to fortune, inviting us to trust an unformed and unaccountable body to make major decisions and giving licence to all kinds of unhelpful activities. It isn’t so much that GAFCON should invite people to sign up to its blank cheque. Rather, GAFCON itself should be invited to bring its Christian vision and exuberance to the larger party where the rest of us are working for the same gospel, the same biblical wisdom, the same Lord."
Wright regards himself as an Evangelical, though many evangelicals in England have become increasingly skeptical as to his evangelical credentials because of his views on St. Paul and Justification by Faith, among other things.
Wright also said GAFCON’s plans to let parishes break from liberal bishops are ridiculous and "deeply offensive". He said that the idea they have a monopoly on Biblical truth won’t do."
"There’s a lot of bits that’s going to fly around the room if you do that, especially here in England where we do not have the same problems that they have in America," he added.
"The coalition of Gafcon is a very odd combination of hard-line evangelicals, who would never use incense in a communion service, who would never wear Eucharistic vestments, along with Anglo-Catholics from America for whom those things are absolutely de rigeur.
The comments of Bishop Wright need to be put under the microscope from the perspective of global Anglicanism and not merely through the narrow lens of the Church of England’s diminishing role and place in the worldwide communion.
The truth is his views are in turn, paternalistic, provincial, insulting, dismissive, proud, arrogant, post-colonial and blind to the true state of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Read more
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Sunday, 6 July 2008
Tom Wright is not a happy bunny
3,500 words from Tom Wright here about why the Church of England doesn't need GAFCON and he is very cross and basically saying "All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."
Except that was Julian of Norwich.
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If we didn't leave, what did we accomplish at GAFCON?
It is important, when considering what was accomplished at GAFCON, to keep in mind its singular focus. That focus was to identify the Anglican grasp of the apostolic faith, to claim that identity for the whole Anglican Communion and to provide a firm oversight and standing from which to confess the apostolic faith as we Anglicans have received it.
This singular focus meant that many very important matters were not directly addressed at GAFCON, in the Statement or in the Jerusalem Declaration. This by no means relegates matters such as the status of 5th, 6th and 7th Councils, the ordination of women, the form of the Anglican Communion, abortion, the nature of and conflict with militant Islam, our relation to the persecuted Church etc. to secondary issues.
There are serious issues and differences among the fellowship of confessing Anglicans that must and will be faced. It will not be easy, nor will solutions be sudden, nor can we be absolutely certain that some will not, in the end, decide they must walk apart. The difference is that they will be faced in the context of the authority of Holy Scriptures and the apostolic faith as Anglicans have historically received it. Read more
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The Auschwitz album
[...] Several people at the museum told me that the strangest thing about the album for them is that a person can look again and again at the images and never find an answer to the question, 'How could you have done what you did?' One thing that is particularly troubling is the presence of so many doctors and the pseudo-scientific legitimacy that their participation lent to the selection process. I showed the album to Robert Jay Lifton, the psychiatrist and author of The Nazi Doctors (1986). Alcohol, Lifton told me, is what made it possible for many of the doctors to persevere when killing was substituted for the imperative to heal, or at least to do no harm. 'What the doctors found there was overwhelming,' he said, 'even to Nazis who had seen things before. It was staggering. The doctors would have symptoms like post-traumatic symptoms; they would have bad dreams, they would be upset, sometimes they would say, "We shouldn't be part of this," but they would often say this while drinking.' Read more
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Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops.
They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will be a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in the Church of England.
In highly confidential discussions, a group of conservative bishops expressed their dismay at the liberal direction of the Church of England and their fear for its future.
They met members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful of the Vatican's departments, the successor to the medieval Inquisition, which enforces doctrine and was headed by Pope Benedict XVI before his election.
The names of the bishops are known to The Sunday Telegraph, but they have asked for anonymity because the talks are of such a sensitive and potentially explosive nature. Read more
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Giles Fraser: Enough is enough. The extremists must be confronted
[...] The conservatives have decided that they can exploit the deep homophobia of many African Christians in order to stage a coup for the soul of the church. Suddenly, we are once again fighting the unresolved battles of the Reformation, with narrow-minded puritans seeking to impose their joyless and claustrophobic world-view on the rest of the church. The newly formed Federation of Confessing Anglicans (Foca) is seeking bridgeheads in wealthy evangelical parishes and the English ecclesiological peace treaty lies in tatters. All eyes now turn to Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Is there anything he can do about these Focas?
His track record isn't all that encouraging. Since this crisis began, Dr Williams has been bending over backwards to accommodate evangelical demands. Despite his progressive instincts, he reversed his support for the gay cleric Jeffrey John becoming a bishop and then decided that he would not invite Bishop Gene Robinson to the forthcoming Lambeth conference. Time and again, the Archbishop has given in to conservative ultimatums in the search for unity. And all that happens is that they come back for more.
A traditionally inclusive church like the C of E is especially vulnerable to infiltration by extremists. For the whole point of being inclusive is that all are welcome. It's a natural openness that is currently being exploited by those who have no love in their heart for the very inclusivity that allows them in in the first place. Even more so than the Labour Party in the 1970s, the English church is vulnerable to entryism. If fundamentalist Christianity were allowed to take over the Church of England, it would gain unprecedented access to national government through its role as the established church. The prospect of a state church, determined to convert Muslims, should set off huge flashing red lights in every corridor of power. In America, the separation of church and state creates a firewall between fundamentalist religion and state power. We have no such protection. Read more
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Saturday, 5 July 2008
Church of Ireland head: We may allow gay unions
The head of the Church of Ireland has said if homosexuality is proven to be biologically predetermined then his church would have to allow gay unions.
"If such comes to be shown, it will be necessary to acknowledge the full implications of that new aspect of the truth," said Archbishop Alan Harper.
His remarks come in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding comments made by DUP MP Iris Robinson.
Mrs Robinson said that gay sex was a sin and an abomination.
Alan Harper, who was speaking at the Anglicans in World Mission conference in Swanwick, England, called on members of the church to return to the core principles of the faith in order to resolve the controversy over gay marriages.
Mr Harper also said it was important to distinguish parts of the Bible that were considered the direct word of God and other elements that were human interpretations of his teachings in the context of the time.
"Rulings that may have applied and been deemed valid at one time and in one specific circumstance need not necessarily retain that applicability and validity at another," he said. Read more
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ABps 'can do nothing' about lack of Conservative bishops
General Synod, Friday 4th July
[...] A question was asked about the observations and proposals in the Pilling Report that conservative evangelicals are discriminated against in relation to episcopal appointments (ie there are no conservative evangelicals in the House of Bishops and probably only one in the College of Bishops). The response of the Archbishop of Canterbury was in effect to say that whilst he and the Archbishop of York understand the issue there is nothing they can really do about it. Read more
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Church of England urged to "disagree in love" over women bishops
The Church of England has been urged to be an example of how Christians can "disagree in love" as it debates plans for women bishops that threaten to tear it apart.
At the General Synod's opening at the University of York, the Rev Prebendary Kay Garlick acknowledged the outcome would inevitably bring "hurt" to some members.
But she said the Synod should present a model of how Christians who disagree can respect and care for each other.
Around 1,300 traditionalist clergy, who believe ordaining female bishops goes against the bible's teachings, have threatened to leave the Church raising the prospect of a damaging schism. Read more
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Church in the lurch
[...] In the Church of England, the General Synod endorsed the principle of women bishops years back. What the present row is about is the measures the church will introduce to provide for those who wish to remain in the Church of England but who say they cannot, on grounds of conviction, accept this development.
Three options are before the meeting. The one endorsed by the House of Bishops, which its critics describe as a "like it or lump it" option, proposes the change be introduced with a code of conduct on how to accommodate the conservative dissenters. It would abolish the practice of "flying bishops" introduced when women were first ordained in 1994 to minister to opponents of women priests. The other clear proposal is for "non-geographical" dioceses to minister to such priests and parishes. Opponents say they would be a church within a church.
In between is a middle option, with four variants, for complex relationships with "complementary bishops" to work within the existing structure. This is the option which no faction prefers but which might be agreed.
"Those who disagree with women bishops are only a small minority but they make a lot of noise," says Christina Rees, who favours the bishops' recommendation. "They are a very small tail wagging a very big dog." Only 2 per cent of parishes ever asked for flying bishops, she says, and only 7 per cent said they weren't prepared to have a woman as their next vicar.
Anglo-Catholics have threatened to leave in large numbers. "We're trying to find a way to stay in, not to leave," says Canon David Holding, leader of the catholic group opposed to females in the episcopacy. He wants a separate non-geographical diocese for dissenters. "It's the only option that will give us adequate protection; [the middle-way option with] all the variations will be incredibly complicated to implement."
The liberals are dead set against that. "The non-geographical diocese would be a bridgehead for a Gafconite takeover," says Dr Giles Fraser. The conference in Jerusalem has made the liberals far less likely to concede that option. Gafcon's closing statement may have insisted that it was not a breakaway from the Anglican Communion, nor an attempt to take over its institutions by hardliners who think the CofE ought to be out there campaigning to convert British Muslims. But many liberals just do not believe them. "You can dress an elephant in a tutu and insist that it's a ballerina," one liberal blogger said, "but it still poops big and eats peanuts." Read more
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Friday, 4 July 2008
How to solve the question of female bishops
In the coming days, the General Synod of the Church of England is debating again the subject of female bishops. No one could ever accuse the established church of moving with undue haste although most agree that the debate has shifted from the "if" question of women bishops to the "how" question.
Anyone with some knowledge of Anglicanism might be forgiven for thinking that the answer to the "how" question of women bishops is quite simple. The first woman to be made a bishop in the Church of England will receive the laying on of hands from one of the archbishops and at least two other bishops at her consecration. The Archbishop of Canterbury or York will pray to God for her to receive the gift of the holy spirit for "the office and work of a bishop in your Church". It is a solemn, holy and profound moment. We Anglicans are fond of saying that the way of praying is the way of believing (lex orandi, lex credendi). So, by our own reasoning, the answer to the "how" question couldn't be more straightforward. We've done this thousands of times before; we have, one can say confidently, a certain competence.
But the actual "how" at the centre of the debate concerns the safeguards (a revealing choice of words) of the minority opposed for a variety of reasons to women serving as priests and bishops. These range from continued provision of bishops uncompromised by close association with women priests and bishops to the creation of entirely new separatist, non-geographical dioceses. The language is emotive and, at times, frankly manipulative, as is often the case when positions are strongly held.
What is striking, however, is the adoption of the language of "pain" by those opposed to an ordained ministry in which men and women may both serve. Striking because before the Church of England approved woman as priests in 1992, opponents constantly told supporters that the pain of women excluded from the priesthood must have nothing to do with our corporate decision making – that would be to give into mere feelings. The debate should be fought on theological grounds; pain is not an "argument". Read more
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Let a church so fond of division test its worth in the marketplace of belief
Those eager for small talk with Gordon Brown should try Scots Presbyterian schismatism, on which he is remarkably well informed. British rulers since the days of Trollope have found the politics of religion an absorbing relief from the trials of office. It usually means someone in even bigger trouble.
But the show has always stayed on the road through the remarkable tolerance of the Anglican community, "broad of church and broad of mind, broad before and broad behind". From Anglo-Catholics to happy-clappies, old codgers to gays and lesbians, the ever benign Church of England embraced them all, no questions asked.
Now those versed in these things tell us that the elastic has stretched too far. The church is on the brink of snapping apart. Need we care?
The scenario is near unbelievable. At a meeting last week in Jerusalem a dissident body called the Global Anglican Future Conference summoned 300 bishops and archbishops from round the world to set up a Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, within or without the "70-million strong Anglican communion". So-called Gafcon and Foca might be from the satirical film Life of Brian. We read that Lagos is threatening to denounce Canterbury. Sydney is at loggerheads with Ottawa. America is threatening to create a "new province". All and sundry are castigating the saintly Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, for failing to show "moral leadership"; if he did, they would certainly refuse to follow.
Meanwhile, 1,300 English clergy are about to defect if gays or women are given equal rights (or rites), while 800 more are forming "a church within a church". St Bartholomew the Great is told that it may "disagree but not disregard" Lambeth Palace in blessing gay unions. Journalists must pore over the Book of Common Prayer to see how a blessing relates to a marriage, or an ordination to an enthronement. Read more
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Thursday, 3 July 2008
Women bishops row tops Synod agenda
Church of England General Synod members are gathering for a five-day meeting likely to be overshadowed by the divisive issue of women bishops.
Traditionalists are expected to clash with campaigners in favour of women bishops in key debates at the meeting of the Church's ruling body at the University of York.
The argument will centre on how far those clergy and parishioners who object to women bishops should have special arrangements, such as new "non-geographical" dioceses.
A House of Bishops motion will ask Synod members to back work on a national code of practice to cater for objectors.
Such a move would mean a repeal of legislation allowing parishes to vote against having a woman presiding over services in favour of arrangements set out in the code.
It would also mean ending the Act of Synod which allows for so-called "flying bishops" in the Church of England to minister to opponents of women priests.
Conservative Anglican groups such as Forward in Faith has said that without safeguards such as new dioceses for objectors the Church risks losing more than 1,000 clergy. Read more
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Church of England campaign to target young priests at General Synod
The Church of England is to launch a national campaign at this weekend's General Synod to encourage more young people to consider training to become priests.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will unveil the scheme which will target college-leavers with posters depicting young priests ministering in fashionable or exciting locations.
The initiative is being launched in response to falling numbers of young people coming forward for ordination, while total numbers of Church of England ordinations have been rising over the past decade.
The posters are linked by the slogan "There's more to ordained ministry than you think", with one featuring an Army chaplain in battle fatigues under the title "Touring The Parish - via Afghanistan". Another is strapped "Evening Service" and shows Lorraine Dixon, a nightclub chaplain and DJ.
In 1996, some 20 per cent of the 453 ordained in the Church of England were aged under 30 but by 2006 just 15 per cent of the 594 ordinations were of the same age group. Of the 595 people recommended for training in 2007, just 88 (14.8 per cent) were under 30. The trend for middle-aged ordinations has been steadily rising. Read more
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From the Rector of All Souls to the Editor of The Independent newspaper
Dear Sir
You published an article today under the headline "Anglican rebels punched gay rights activists". [Here.]
As the alleged incident took place at the church of which I am Rector I have spent some time today trying to track down details concerning the alleged incident. The following seem to me to be relevant.
1. The event was oversubscribed and no-one was therefore admitted without a ticket they had paid for. This was true regardless of rank, sexuality etc.
2. The activists attempted to enter through a fire door entrance, pushed one of my staff members who admits that he pushed them back out of the door and closed it. He denies any punch was thrown as does another member of staff who witnessed the event.
3. I have spoken to a number of people including two members of staff who had conversations with Peter Tatchell on the steps of the church and no reference was made to any of them about any alleged punch.
4. No member of staff that I can find, or anyone else that I have spoken to, was approached by your reporter to confirm or explain the allegation.
The fact that you have headlined this damaging allegation without checking or substantiating it seems at least unprofessional journalism and not the kind of reporting I would expect from a serious newspaper like The Independent. Would you please take steps to remedy the damage you have caused immediately.
Yours sincerely
Hugh Palmer
(Rector, All Souls Church)
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Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Correction in the Guardian
(Ed: Perhaps they'd now like to correct the stuff about 'breakaway factions' and 'Anglican rebels'.)
Here.
We misrepresented the views of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in reporting his response to a breakaway faction within the Anglican communion. We quoted him as saying: "If they [the teachings] are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them ... " He did not say this about the teachings of the Anglican communion, but about its institutional structures (Archbishop confronts Anglican rebels, page 1, July 1).
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Two new GAFCON petitions
The petition for English PCCs and other organizations wishing to express solidarity with GAFCON is now available online here.
Due to several non-English residents wishing to sign the petition for individuals, a 'Global' petition is now available here.
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Chris Sugden: Gafcon can save Anglicanism
For five years, the Episcopal church in US, the Anglican church of Canada, and elements of the Church of England and church in New Zealand have acted precisely like the student unions of the 1970s and Militant tendency in putting facts on the ground and defying the authorities to do anything about it. Some bishops and others have been presenting a different Christian gospel, expressed in disobedience to the teaching of the Bible, and continue to persecute and harass those who resist and object.
If the current dispute is merely a matter of different perspectives and emphases, as the Archbishop of Canterbury suggests, why are the bishops who are promoting this different gospel driving people out of their churches and removing licences from priests such as Dr Packer?
Gafcon became necessary following the persistent failure of the current authorities in the Anglican Communion to do anything about this deliberate flouting of Christian teaching and decisions of the whole Anglican Communion and its leadership. Read more
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GAFCON: for Parish Magazines and Newsletters
The article below may be useful for parish magazines and newsletters.
Is the Church of England ‘splitting’?
For the last week the news media have been full of stories about a ‘split’ in the Anglican Communion. Interest has focussed especially on the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) which took place in Jerusalem in the middle of June, and on a follow-up meeting in London on July 1st.
GAFCON was a response to a trend which has been affecting the Anglican Communion for over fifty years, but which came to a head with the consecration of a divorced priest in a homosexual relationship as Bishop of New Hampshire in the USA in 2003.
That trend may broadly be described as ‘theological Liberalism’. Liberal theology has in the past contributed much by way of thoughtful challenges and ideas. Without strong traditionalist foundations, teaching and leadership, however, the Church that builds on Liberalism soon finds it is resting on sand.
Asked in an interview with Time magazine whether belief in Jesus is “the only way to get to heaven,” the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, answered, “We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine.” Not only does this duck the question, but it reduces Jesus to some kind of spiritual ‘space shuttle’ to get you into God’s orbit — a far cry from the ‘true God of true God’ found in the Creed.
Another important feature of the new Liberalism is in the area of human sexuality, where there is growing acceptance of same-sex relationships. In North America, this has resulted in the blessing, and even the ordination, of many people in such relationships, quite contrary to the long traditions of the Church and to what the Bible has to say.
In 1998, the Lambeth Conference of bishops issued a statement which established the traditional, biblical, view of human sexuality as the ‘Anglican’ position. Since then, however, Anglicans in the USA and Canada, often supported by people in this country and other ‘Westernised’ parts of the Communion, have advanced an agenda to challenge this. Repeatedly there have been meetings at which bishops and Archbishops have agreed to ‘hold the line’, only for some of them to go home and do the exact opposite.
By late last year, it was obvious that as a result many bishops would be unwilling to come to this year’s Lambeth Conference. At the same time, in North America individuals, churches and even whole dioceses were leaving the denomination. In many cases this resulted in expensive legal action being taken against them.
GAFCON came about partly to resist the spread of this extreme Liberalism and partly to provide a haven for those who were in danger of leaving the denomination. GAFCON is not trying to create a split, but to contain it within the Anglican Communion by re-asserting traditional Anglican teaching and values. The Jerusalem Statement repeats what is found in our own Canon Law: “The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal.”
Quite what GAFCON will mean for us here in England remains to be seen. Certainly, however, the Church of England will never quite be the same again.
No comments will be posted without a full name and location, see the policy.Tuesday, 1 July 2008
GAFCON petition for individuals
"I stand in solidarity with the Jerusalem Declaration and Statement on the Global Anglican Future."
The Jerusalem Declaration and Statement may be read here.
The English Clergy joining the breakaway faction
Ed: Actually this is quite possibly the silliest piece of 'news' on this whole subject. If you go here you will find the Guardian has listed a number of clergy for no apparent reason other than that they were linked with this afternoon's post-Gafcon meeting at All Souls. The problem with the 'article' is (a) there were far more than just these clergy present and (b) rather more importantly, there is no breakaway faction.
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BBC News: Clergy reject gay 'false gospel'
Traditionalists within the Anglican church have promised an alternative to what they call a "false gospel" on issues such as homosexuality.
The group, the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, has been meeting to discuss setting up a "church within a church".
It says it may intervene in churches, including the Church of England, to combat liberal approaches to sexuality.
But the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has criticised the plans as "fraught with difficulty". Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Anglican Church 'in chaos' say rebel leaders
The Anglican church is in "chaos" with the "moral authority" of the Archbishop of Canterbury lying in tatters amid growing splits over homosexuality and women bishops, rebel leaders claim.
In a direct challenge to the leadership of Dr Rowan Williams, three leading Archbishops said they had decided to "take things in hand".
Leaders of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), a newly formed network for millions of Anglicans angered by the rise of liberal theology, denied that they planned to "seize power" within the church.
But Most Rev Henry Orombi, the Archbishop of Uganda, Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia, and Archbishop Greg Venables, Primate of South America's Southern Cone, said they planned to "reassert the authority of the Bible".
Dr Williams is facing a crisis on two fronts with traditionalists flexing their muscles over the issue of gay clergy within the 77 million-strong Anglican communion at the same time as threats of splits at home over the ordination of women bishops.
The three bishops made their comments after addressing hundreds of Church of England clergy in London about the formation of the new group at the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) in Jerusalem at the weekend.
In a sign of the strong emotions aroused, gay rights activist Peter Tatchell attempted to storm the meeting before being repelled by security. Read more
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Damian Thompson: Dr Rowan Williams is panicking
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the establishment of the Church of England have been thrown into a state of panic by the sudden emergence of a conservative church-within-a-church that isn't - quite - schismatic.
Just listen to this waffle, the Archbishop's "official response" that we report today: "It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion ... renew them rather than improvise solutions ... think very carefully about the risks entailed ..."
Etc. You get the picture. The poor man hasn't got a clue what to do next, has he? Read more
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Australian Primate "urges rebels to rethink"
THE Anglican Primate of Australia, Phillip Aspinall, has called on rebel Anglicans, including the Sydney Archbishop, Peter Jensen, to reconsider their boycott of Lambeth, the decennial conference of national church leaders, saying reform must come from within.
Responding to the conservatives' threat to create a breakaway faction within the global church, Dr Aspinall said there was room for diversity within the church's boundaries.
His guarded comments came as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, challenged the autonomy and legitimacy of the breakaway faction, the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, announced by conservatives angered by liberal thinking over homosexual clergy and same-sex blessings.
But Dr Williams said a primates council comprised of a self-selected group would not "pass the test of legitimacy for all in the Communion". And any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries was fraught with difficulties, theological and practical. Read more
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Bishop of Southwark: Anglicanism's militant tendency must be resisted
[...] Reading the manifesto, you would think that western Anglicans have capitulated totally to their culture. This, again, is nonsense. We are trying to relate the Christian gospel with its grace and challenge to the culture in which we are set. At an earlier Lambeth conference, when polygamy was a divisive issue, the conclusion was that we would trust the African bishops to tackle the issue in their own way, for they were best placed to do so. The cultures of east coast America or south London are not the same as in Nigeria. The Gafcon leaders should have the humility to trust church leaders ministering in very different environments to their own to know what they are doing.
Apparently, some of the authors of the manifesto are now coming to Britain to attempt to recruit English parishes and clergy to their movement. All I can say is that it was good, thoughtful, hardworking clergy from the evangelical tradition who, a couple of years ago, demanded that I took action against militant tendency evangelicals destructively planting congregations in their parishes. I cannot see them rushing to join such a global movement themselves.
It seems that the Archbishop of Canterbury has decided that enough is enough. In the face of hectoring unreason, he writes, in the traditional Anglican language of thoughtful holiness: "The Gafcon proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks involved."
I think that he is saying, "Don't go down this destructive path." Read more
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Online petition against 'Single Clause' option on women bishops passes 1,000 signatures
With the General Synod of the Church of England about to vote on how to introduce women bishops, over a thousand people have signed an online petition supporting the traditional view on church leadership and rejecting the ‘Single Clause’ approach which will be presented by the House of Bishops.
If adopted by Synod, this would abolish the present legal provisions for those who cannot accept the ministry of women priests and bishops. Parishes would not be able to opt out of having women priests appointed or visit to conduct services of Holy Communion and preach. Furthermore, the Provincial Episcopal Visitors (Flying Bishops) would be stood down, and parishes and clergy would revert to the direct oversight of diocesan bishops, including any women bishops who might be appointed in the future. In place of the legislation, there would be a ‘Code of Practice’, without legal support but to which the bishops would ‘have regard’.
The petition opposing the ‘Single Clause’ approach was set up deliberately to counter the letter circulated to numerous women clergy and two online petitions, one for male clergy and the other for laity, in support of that letter. It was initially reported that the letter had gathered ‘over 700’ signatures from women currently serving in the Church of England. Newspaper reports now say that number has risen to 1,276.
Meanwhile, the ‘pro-Single Clause’ petition for male clergy stands at 1,205 and that for the laity of both sexes at 1,998. Taken together, this would make 4,479 signatures — more than four times the 1,061 signatures on the petition opposing the ‘Single Clause’ approach.
Nevertheless, the figures indicate that a substantial proportion of the membership of the Church of England opposes the ‘Single Clause’ option, when compared with those in favour.
The Manchester Report, which forms the basis for the Bishops proposal, set out several ways in which provision might be made for those who could not accept the ministry of women bishops, up to and including the introduction of separate dioceses. It is known that a number of bishops favour that, but that the ‘Single Clause’ approach won approval in the House of Bishops by a bare majority.
Furthermore, the Manchester Report warned of the serious consequences that would accompany the introduction of a ‘Single Clause’ approach:
There is no doubt, therefore, that proceeding with legislation that removed the earlier safeguards would trigger a period of uncertainty and turbulence within the Church of England. Many priests and congregations would undoubtedly leave. The Church of England that emerged at the end of the process might possibly be more cohesive. It would undoubtedly be less theologically diverse.
Comparing the figures of the various petitions suggests that a very substantial percentage of the Church’s present membership would be alienated in the way that the Manchester Report warns.
John P Richardson
1 July 2008
The wording of the online petition is as below:
We, the undersigned, being members of the Church of England in England, agree with clause J6 of the Nottingham Statement, passed by the National Evangelical Anglican Congress in 1977.
With respect to the consecration of women as bishops in the Church of England, we regard the ‘Single Clause, Code of Practice’ option proposed in Annexe B of the Manchester Report as making insufficient provision for those who share this view.
We respectfully ask the House of Bishops and the General Synod to take this into account when considering legislation to consecrate women as bishops, and commend their consideration of the other options in the Manchester Report.
Clause J6 reads, “We repent of our failure to give women their rightful place as partners in mission with men. Leadership in the Church should be plural and mixed, ultimate responsibility normally singular and male.”
The petition may be found here at http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/reject-single-clause-option-manchester-report.html
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Daily Telegraph: Church of England faces split over women bishops
The Church of England faces a new split over the issue of women bishops after supporters of the plans vowed not to compromise ahead of a crucial vote on the issue at the General Synod in York next week.
Leading figures supporting the women's campaign from politics and the Church gathered at Westminster Abbey to warn legislators that the time has come to consecrate women as bishops, with no formal provision in law for traditonalists who object to the move on grounds of conscience.
More than 4,000 Anglicans have given their support to calls for the introduction of women bishops without special legislation to protect opponents of the move.
This includes 1,276 women clergy, whose signatures have been gathered in support of a letter written by Canon Lucy Winkett, precentor of St Paul's Cathedral, Canon Jane Hedges, Canon Steward of Westminster Abbey, and the Rev Rosemary Lain-Priestley, secretary of the National Association of Diocesan Advisers in Women's Ministry. Read more
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The Guardian: Church of England: Archbishop confronts Anglican rebels
The Archbishop of Canterbury last night directly challenged the rebel Anglicans who have launched a breakaway faction within the global communion. In unusually forthright language, he accused them of lacking legitimacy, authority and, by implication, integrity.
Breaking his silence over the conservative threat to the unity of the 77 million-strong communion, Williams warned the leaders of the conservative coalition that demolishing existing structures was not the answer to their concerns.
Responding to the creation at the weekend of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), a global network for millions of Anglicans unhappy with liberal teaching on matters such as homosexuality and women priests, Williams said: "If they [the teachings] are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve." Read more
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The Times: Church of England clergy plan mass exit over women bishops
More than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, have written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York to say that they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops.
As the wider Anglican Communion fragments over homosexuality, England’s established Church is moving towards its own crisis with a crucial vote on women bishops this weekend.
In a letter to Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, seen by The Times, the signatories give warning that they will consider leaving the Church if two crucial votes are passed to introduce female bishops.
The Church’s moderate centre is being pressured as never before by evangelicals opposed to gays, and traditionalists opposed to women’s ordination. The crisis is unprecedented since the Reformation devastated the Roman Catholic Church in England in the 16th century.
The General Synod, the Church’s governing body, meets in York on Friday, when clergy will decide whether legislation to consecrate women should be introduced, and whether it should have legal safeguards for traditionalists or a simple voluntary code to protect them.
The signatories to the letter – who represent 10 per cent of all practising clergy and hundreds of recently retired priests still active in the Church – will accept women bishops only if they have a legal right to separate havens within the Church. These would offer opponents of women bishops a network of parishes where they could worship under the leadership of exclusively male clergy and bishops. Read more
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Monday, 30 June 2008
TEC Presiding President responds to GAFCON statement
Much of the Anglican world must be lamenting the latest emission from GAFCON. Anglicanism has always been broader than some find comfortable. This statement does not represent the end of Anglicanism, merely another chapter in a centuries-old struggle for dominance by those who consider themselves the only true believers. Read more
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Archbishop of Canterbury Responds to GAFCON Statement
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has responded to the final declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference with the following statement:
The Final Statement from the GAFCON meeting in Jordan and Jerusalem contains much that is positive and encouraging about the priorities of those who met for prayer and pilgrimage in the last week. The 'tenets of orthodoxy' spelled out in the document will be acceptable to and shared by the vast majority of Anglicans in every province, even if there may be differences of emphasis and perspective on some issues. I agree that the Communion needs to be united in its commitments on these matters, and I have no doubt that the Lambeth Conference will wish to affirm all these positive aspects of GAFCON's deliberations. Despite the claims of some, the conviction of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and God and the absolute imperative of evangelism are not in dispute in the common life of the Communion
However, GAFCON's proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways, and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed.
A 'Primates' Council' which consists only of a self-selected group from among the Primates of the Communion will not pass the test of legitimacy for all in the Communion. And any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries is fraught with difficulties, both theological and practical – theological because of our historic commitments to mutual recognition of ministries in the Communion, practical because of the obvious strain of responsibly exercising episcopal or primatial authority across enormous geographical and cultural divides.
Two questions arise at once about what has been proposed. By what authority are Primates deemed acceptable or unacceptable members of any new primatial council? And how is effective discipline to be maintained in a situation of overlapping and competing jurisdictions?
No-one should for a moment impute selfish or malicious motives to those who have offered pastoral oversight to congregations in other provinces; these actions, however we judge them, arise from pastoral and spiritual concern. But one question has repeatedly been raised which is now becoming very serious: how is a bishop or primate in another continent able to discriminate effectively between a genuine crisis of pastoral relationship and theological integrity, and a situation where there are underlying non-theological motivations at work? We have seen instances of intervention in dioceses whose leadership is unquestionably orthodox simply because of local difficulties of a personal and administrative nature. We have also seen instances of clergy disciplined for scandalous behaviour in one jurisdiction accepted in another, apparently without due process. Some other Christian churches have unhappy experience of this problem and it needs to be addressed honestly.
It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion. If they are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve. This challenge is one of the most significant focuses for the forthcoming Lambeth Conference. One of its major stated aims is to restore and deepen confidence in our Anglican identity. And this task will require all who care as deeply as the authors of the statement say they do about the future of Anglicanism to play their part.
The language of 'colonialism' has been freely used of existing patterns. No-one is likely to look back with complacency to the colonial legacy. But emerging from the legacy of colonialism must mean a new co-operation of equals, not a simple reversal of power. If those who speak for GAFCON are willing to share in a genuine renewal of all our patterns of reflection and decision-making in the Communion, they are welcome, especially in the shaping of an effective Covenant for our future together.
I believe that it is wrong to assume we are now so far apart that all those outside the GAFCON network are simply proclaiming another gospel. This is not the case; it is not the experience of millions of faithful and biblically focused Anglicans in every province. What is true is that, on all sides of our controversies, slogans, misrepresentations and caricatures abound. And they need to be challenged in the name of the respect and patience we owe to each other in Jesus Christ.
I have in the past quoted to some in the Communion who would call themselves radical the words of the Apostle in I Cor.11.33: 'wait for one another'. I would say the same to those in whose name this statement has been issued. An impatience at all costs to clear the Lord's field of the weeds that may appear among the shoots of true life (Matt.13.29) will put at risk our clarity and effectiveness in communicating just those evangelical and catholic truths which the GAFCON statement presents.
© Rowan Williams
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Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, sidelined by new global Anglican movement
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been sidelined by a new orthodox movement which claims to represent almost half of the world's 80 million Anglicans.
Leaders of the organisation, that styles itself as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans, said Dr Rowan Williams would just be "recognised for his historic role" as the head of the worldwide Communion.
They added that in the "post-colonial reality" of a Church dominated by traditionalists in developing countries rather than England, he would no longer be the sole leader.
Organisers of the movement, which was formally announced at the end of the Gafcon summit in Jerusalem, also failed to mention the Archbishop of Canterbury in their declaration of the 14 central tenets. Read more
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REBELLION IN CHURCH OVER FEMALE AND GAY BISHOPS
THE Archbishop of Canterbury was facing a massive rebellion last night as his plans for gay and female bishops threatened to create a schism between Anglicans.
Dr Rowan Williams has been told to expect an 8,000-strong petition against women bishops just before the General Synod prepares to hold a crunch vote on the issue this Friday.
The bid to stop women breaking through the so-called stained-glass ceiling has been orchestrated by a woman – the wife of the Bishop of Burnley.
To add to Dr Williams’ woes, he was also having to deal with the unprecedented formation of another church within the Anglican community – and a clear challenge to the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Some religious commentators see Saturday’s formation of a new church representing more than half the world’s 80 million Anglicans as the most significant event in the church’s history since the Reformation.
The Gafcon movement, which stands for Global Anglican Future Conference, was launched by traditionalists who want to split from liberal churches in America and Canada.
In particular they are angry that Anglican leaders have failed to discipline churches that have openly consecrated gay bishops and blessed same-sex marriages.
Gafcon has vowed to create its own council of bishops as an alternative to churches it claims are preaching a “false gospel” of sexual immorality. Read more
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US General Convention is heralded as ‘magisterium’
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 2008, Church of England Newspaper
THE FULLNESS of God’s revelation is expressed in the councils of the Episcopal Church, the president of the US General Convention’s House of Deputies told reporters last week.
In a briefing on the forthcoming Lambeth Conference held on May 30, Bonnie Anderson explained the “the joint work of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops is the highest institutional expression of our belief that God speaks uniquely through laity, priests and deacons and bishops.”
The assertion of a magisterial authority for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church by Mrs Anderson follows upon a letter she sent on April 21 to deputies to the triennial gathering of the church’s synod.
“In the Episcopal Church the belief that God speaks uniquely through bishops, laity, priests and deacons, enables our participatory structure and allows a fullness of revelation and insight that must not be lost in this important time of discernment,” Mrs Anderson wrote, adding “the joint work of the Houses of Deputies and Bishops is the highest institutional expression of this belief.”
Critics of the American church’s liberalizing tendencies argue this usurpation of authority by General Convention - the gathering of clergy and lay deputies and bishops - has led to the church’s present theological and ecclesial morass.
Anglican commentator Dr Todd Granger notes Mrs Anderson’s teaching “goes well beyond what the Catholic Church teaches.”
While the Roman Magisterium “interprets the Word of God” as revealed in Tradition and Scripture, the “Episcopalian construal apparently creates a magisterium as an independent authority, uniquely receiving God’s Word,” Dr Granger notes. Such an understanding of authority offers a new understanding of the foundations of authority that bears little relation to traditional Anglican dogma, he said.
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Sunday, 29 June 2008
GAFCON approved final statement
Saturday, 28 June 2008
‘Gay row’ ordinand to be ordained in July
Richard Wood, the ordinand at the centre of a ‘gay row’ last year in the Diocese of Chelmsford, is to be ordained on Saturday 5th July by the Bishop of Barking acting on behalf of the Bishop of Chelmsford.
Richard’s ordination was halted at the last minute in 2007 when he said that he could not receive communion with the Bishop of Chelmsford over the latter’s role as a patron of the pro-gay campaign group, Changing Attitude. Richard, and his vicar, the Revd Mike Reith of Dagenham Parish Church, made it quite clear that although they accepted the lawful authority of the Bishop in his office, they did not feel able to share personal fellowship in the Lord’s Supper with someone they felt was imperilling people’s salvation and denying biblical teaching.
For the past twelve months, however, Richard has been working in Dagenham and living in the curate’s accommodation, whilst negotiations and discussions continued about his position.
It has now been accepted on all sides that there is no challenge to the Bishop’s authority from either Richard or Mike Reith, and no impediment to Richard’s ordination. The Bishop has accordingly given his direction that the ordination may proceed.
The ordination will take place at Dagenham Parish Church at 7.30pm.
Revd John Richardson
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Thursday, 26 June 2008
GAFCON: Principles, not personalities says British Bishop
Bishop Wallace Benn says the GAFCON discussions about the future of the Anglican Church will be about biblical principles, not personalities.
Bishop Benn of Lewes, England gave a GAFCON media briefing an update on the work being done by the Gospel and Leadership workshop and also explained why he turned down the invitation to attend the Lambeth conference. He said that skipping the decennial meeting is much less about personalities than principles.
“Servant leadership is not about status or elevation. It is following the steps of Jesus, being gospel-focussed and remaining faithful to apostolic teaching” he told international media.
“I do not think I can pretend to be in fellowship with those who have persecuted my friend Dr. Packer in the Diocese New Westminster, Canada. I cannot be in fellowship with those who have denied the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. But I also respect those faithful brethren who are going to Lambeth; I respect their decision and will not condemn it.”
Asked whether there were any other challenges the Anglican Communion was grappling with, other than the ordination of an openly gay bishop and blessings of same sex unions, Bishop Benn named the questioning in some quarters of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the contention in some others that, “the church wrote the Bible and therefore the church can re-write the Bible according to 21st Century fashion”. Read more
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Tuesday, 24 June 2008
The Times: Anglican Church schism recedes over gay issue with African leaders
The prospect of schism in the worldwide Anglican Church receded as African leaders meeting in Jerusalem stepped back from the brink and declared they are not seeking to start a new church.
Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, Primate of Kenya and leader of that country's four million Anglicans, and the Ugandan Primate Archbishop Henry Orombi confirmed last night that there will be no split.
Archbishop Nzimbi's comments are especially significant because he is heading the committee that will draw up the final communique to be issued on Sunday night.
It also confirms the word behind the scenes in Israel and as disclosed by The Times on Monday, that the agenda is now reform from within rather than starting a breakaway conservative Anglican church that excludes homosexuals or tried to "convert" them to heterosexuality.
The emerging figure that is crucial in the softening of the line on schism is the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, who has become the key player on the Anglican conservative wing, shifting the emphasis from the US and African conservatives to Australia. Significantly, the Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan, who heads the US conservative grouping Common Cause, is not in Israel although he is named as one of the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) leadership team in the programme. Read more
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GAFCON Live Video Stream
Guardian: Vicious hot air currents
Maybe it's being in a company of saints - a most un-Anglican communion of the like-minded. But the rhetoric of the gathering of conservative churchmen in Jerusalem seeking to wrest control of worldwide Anglicanism from the woolly nuances of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the wicked, gay-friendly liberalism of the Church of England and US Episcopal Church is already spiralling upwards on a vicious current of hot air.
Two days into the great realignment, we've already had the archbishops of Nigeria and Uganda denying that gays are ever persecuted in their countries - and failing to find the words to condemn the violence if they are; voices calling for biblically lethal punishment for homosexuals; and lip-smacking assertions that the old church has fallen prey to apostasy, brokenness and turmoil, in its attempt to "acquiesce to destructive modern, cultural and political dictates".
Adding to the fervour, Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester (who flies in today), has announced his tender conscience will not allow him to associate with those Americans who ordained the openly (as opposed to privately) gay bishop Gene Robinson five years ago. He also says he will boycott next month's gathering of the world's Anglican bishops, called by Williams in Canterbury.
You may find it hard to recognise the C of E in all this. It runs counter to most of the tolerant traditions Anglicanism espouses as part of its constitutional accommodation with the secular state that founded it. The trouble with the coalition of interests meeting in the Middle East - in defiance of the wishes of local bishops who thought more religious conflict was the last thing Jerusalem needed - is they have Got Religion. Read more
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Clergy find Anglican Church's investigation of gay ceremony 'disgraceful'
[...] The Church of England, like many other religious institutions, is experiencing a shuffling of policy towards the LGBT community. The consecration of openly gay priest Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire by the U.S. Episcopal Church—the U.S. branch of the Anglican Church—caused movements toward a potential schism by more socially conservative bishops.
In October 2007, an Anglican Church diocese in Canada voted for the approval of same-sex blessings. The vote is not binding since the Canadian church does not allow dioceses to decide whether or not perform gay blessings on the basis of "preserving unity." Nevertheless, the vote reflects the ongoing internal struggle within the church.
The Church of England is facing more internal strife after bishops voted to approve the consecration of women. Over 500 priests have threatened to leave the church in protest. Two women in Australia have already been ordained as bishops.
There is a struggle within the Church of England, but behind its religious veneer there is a struggle for equality and justice. The contradiction between backward religious beliefs and the advances made toward the liberation of women and the LGBT community has allowed more progressive clergy members to force a debate on topics long considered taboo.
Traditional institutions under capitalism represent the reactionary ideologies of a class system based on division and exploitation. A united, working-class movement against the system that espouses such ideologies must counter it with a scientific view of the world and wage a struggle against all forms of bigotry and inequality. Read more
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Guardian: Clerical errors
[...] Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria called on the church to "banish the errors plaguing our communion", not to "acquiesce to destructive modern cultural and political dictates" and to rescue the communion from "apostates". If significant sections of the communion cannot now even bring themselves to sit in the same room with the rest because of disagreements - a Lambeth boycott movement is gathering pace - then one has to ask if the ties that once bound are now meaningful. In that case, what is the point of keeping the communion together any longer?
The issue on which all of this currently hinges is the status of openly gay people. Over the past half century, civil society in many parts of the world, including ours, has broken free from the long tradition of hostility and discrimination against gay people - and both society and individual lives are immeasurably the better for it. Now, inevitably and rightly, the same process is taking place in the churches, with pressure for the election of openly gay clergy and bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions. In the past, the church has managed such issues by covering them up. But on this issue in these times, that is no longer possible.
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insert blockquote
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has battled to hold both his church and the wider communion together in the face of these pressures. That is one of his jobs - and it has not been a dishonourable effort. Yet it seems clear that it has only delayed an inevitable - and ultimately necessary - confrontation over this issue. Dr Williams has not, contrary to the views of Archishop Akinola, led the church into this. But, now that it is coming, he has a profound responsibility to lead the church out of it, happily and without fear. The question facing Anglicans - and facing other religious groups too - is whether theirs is a faith that is loving enough to treat gay people as equals. If the communion cannot hold together in the face of this question, then so be it. Unity matters as long as the cause is a good one. If the cause is not good, then maybe nor is the unity. Read more
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Monday, 23 June 2008
The Guardian: An unheavenly silence on homophobia
Barely 24 hours into the Global Anglican Futures conference (Gafcon) in Jerusalem and the assembled leaders have already exhausted every synonym for schism, without uttering the word itself, to describe the impact of actions taken by the US Episcopal church and the Anglican church of Canada. The meeting, lasting eight days and costing £2.5m, is the climax of ultimatums and summits, spanning a decade, about the ordination and consecration of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions.
Last night, the Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, said the Gafcon movement would liberate people from religious bondage and would offer a spiritual haven for those who could not live under a "revisionist leadership". It sounds appealing to the millions of Anglicans disillusioned with western churches. But a press conference revealed acute differences of opinion between the bishops, especially, and most worryingly, on the subject of raping and torturing homosexuals.
A question from Iain Baxter, a media representative from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, aroused expressions of disbelief and outright denial from the primates. The name of his organisation raised a discomfiting titter. Homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya and is punishable by a fine, imprisonment or death.
Archbishops from these countries were on the panel. They said they could not influence government policy on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) legislation, nor could they condone homosexual behaviour because their churches would be shut down. They added one could not break the taboos of African society without suffering the consequences.
Presumably, these cultural constraints justify the punishment meted out to Prossy Kakooza, Baxter's example of someone tortured because of her sexual orientation. She was arrested, marched naked for two miles to a police station, raped and beaten. Read more
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The Guardian: Williams accused of leading church into crisis
A senior Anglican archbishop last night accused Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, of apostasy, manipulation and leading the church into turmoil, as a summit of traditionalists convened in Jerusalem with a mission to "rescue" the Anglican church from its liberal leadership.
The Rt Rev Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, called for a new "roadmap" for the 77-million-strong Anglican communion on the opening day of an eight-day meeting that threatens to upstage next month's Lambeth conference, the summit meeting of Anglican bishops held every 10 years.
In the latest blow to Williams's plans for Lambeth, the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, became the most senior Church of England figure to decline an invitation, joining a growing boycott movement by scores of bishops unhappy with the liberal agenda of some provinces of the church.
Most of the 280 bishops at the Global Anglican Futures Conference (Gafcon) have declared their intention to stay away from Lambeth, but Nazir-Ali's rebellion is the greatest victory yet for conservative African and American religious leaders opposed to gay priests and same-sex marriages.
In a speech last night, Akinola set out the conservative case with an excoriating attack on Williams. During an hour-long address, he criticised Williams for his "revisionist leadership" and for leaving the communion in an "unprecedented brokenness and turmoil". Read more
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A N Wilsom: Gay Bishops have changed my mind
[...] For 30 years, Bishop Moore had a secret lover - whom Honor met after her father's death. The bishop dated other women, as well as having an alcohol-fuelled gay life. Obviously, for the daughter who revered her father, it was shattering stuff.
But the novelistic complexity of it all never once made me feel that he would have been a better man if - an impossible thing at that date - he had "come out" and continued in office as a practising gay bishop. Indeed, the "hypocrisy" and the torment were almost certainly part of what made him such a powerful pastor, preacher and bishop.
Then I turned to Bishop Gene Robinson's In the Eye of the Storm (Canterbury Press). This is the famous Bishop of New Hampshire, who is not being asked to the Lambeth Conference for fear of upsetting the bigots. Whereas I felt that the tormented Bishop Moore's life was marked with the sign of the cross, Bishop Gene's ministry appeared to come marked with one of those smiley faces with which some soppy girls dot their i's.
Like Bishop Moore, Bishop Robinson was married with children. Like Bishop Moore, he is alcoholic. But instead of thinking that torment and concealment and self-criticism are part of life, he seems to believe that the Christian gospel means God accepting everyone as they are - with no suggestion of denying the self, and taking up the cross.
Rather than seeing the collapse of his marriage as central to the story, he raises the issue of "sexuality" to a pinnacle of importance which makes it seem ridiculous. His book is that of an advanced egomaniac. He quotes 1 John 4:18 - "Perfect love casteth out fear" - thereby unintentionally reminding us of the old joke about the person who missed out the numeral 1 in that text, giving the quote not from John's First Epistle, but from the 18th verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel: "The man whom thou now hast is not thy husband". Read more
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