TitusOneNine has published a complete transcript of the recent address made by the Presiding Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Mouneer Anis. See Recovering the Word of God for the Anglican Communion. Bishop Anis is not attending the meeting in Dublin.
Fulcrum, which argued previously that the Presiding Bishop of TEC should not be invited to attend the Dublin meeting of the Anglican Primates has published an article by Andrew Goddard titled Actions and consequences: Reflections on the state of the Anglican Communion.
Summary: Reflecting on Fulcrum’s call not to invite the Presiding Bishop to the Primates’ Meeting in Ireland, the consequences of inviting her are highlighted: the widespread principled absence of many Global South primates. As it is still unclear why the Presiding Bishop was invited after the breach of the moratorium and the Pentecost Letter, three possible scenarios are outlined in the hope that the rationale for this decision may be made clear. Then, drawing on past Primates’ statements and statements from TEC, three justifications for non-invitation and grounds for non-attendance are outlined: developments in TEC are now indisputably a breach of the moratoria, TEC has displayed a lack of integrity in its dealings with the Communion and its own stance reveals a lack of coherence in teaching and practice while increasingly signalling a determination to re-define the Christian doctrine of marriage. After exploring some of the challenges of holding a meeting to address key issues in the Communion but with the leaders of most of the world’s Anglicans not present, possible future paths for the Communion are outlined in relation to both the need for serious theological discussion about sexuality and the need to reform the Instruments, all of which have seen their authority eroded through this crisis. The conclusion notes that various actions and inactions in recent years have had serious damaging consequences and highlights the need to pray that, while nothing said or done this week can be painless, the actions of this gathering of Primates may have positive consequences for the Communion’s future unity…
He and they ‘Recover the Word of God for the Anglican Communion’ by staying away, sending out missives and refusing to engage with others and the Other personally.
But the creative spirit he can’t suppress in others. And creativity means we feel the joy – like gay communities and individuals always have
lill’ outposts of the basileia among the marginalised….
Andrew Goddard goes on stamping his foot* ! — so much for his conversion to gay sensibility late in the day– and now it appears very
short lived….
* makes me think of ‘Legally Blond’ with Reese Witherspoon — and what a gospel film is that.
“developments in TEC are now indisputably a breach of the moratoria, TEC has displayed a lack of integrity in its dealings with the Communion and its own stance reveals a lack of coherence in teaching and practice” But, of course, equal breaches in terms of border-crossings don’t count. TEC has been completely honest and above-board in its dealings with the Communion…every step and decision has been made in the open and through its established polity. Finally, just because you disagree with something doesn’t mean it is incoherent. Once again, I suspect the real problem is a complete lack of understanding… Read more »
Apart from not mentioning AT ALL the offer of two tables as this meeting (with all that might have signified and achieved) this paper attacks Rowan and looks for a time when he will be superseded by a Primate or Primates, obviously from the Global South!
At last Fulcrum has shown its true colours, not that many of us have been in doubt before!!
Such gross disloyalty can only come now that Wright has resigned, but it was always there working under the surface.
This ACI/Fulcrum axis has done deep harm.
Lots of talk about Rowan Williams needing to resign to save the communion. Will he fall on his sword?
I suppose that those objecting to the U.S. Presiding Bishop’s attendance would applaud the attendance of the phony-Primate waiting in the wings from Pittsburgh. These people have dined out for a long time on hating gays. What amazing arrogance-to sugest that a whole Church or province should be punished in the eyes of the word and made the parish of Anglicans and Christians everywhere because they don’t publicly hate gay people. What message would be sent of she had been excluded? That the Anglican Communion behaves like a bnch of schoolgirls who don’t want someone they like sitting at their… Read more »
Ooh! and who are “key” Primates?
As next to ordinary, doesn’t wash very well, run of the mill everyday Primates? Or are we seeing some other game at hand here?
Are these “key” Primates those we can expect to usurp the authority of Canterbury?
I am tired of asking, but will ask again, what consequences result for those of the Global South who have crossed diocesan borders and aided and abbetted those who have tried to steal TEC property? Answer: Zilch. Zero. Nada.
Oh, cummon! The reason that the Primates don’t want TEC’s PB is that she the only GIRL in the lot and she can out think the whole bunch of them! Wake up, Anglicans, Patriarchy is falling!!!
Reading Andrew Goddard’s essay is, for me, like “falling down the rabbit hole” to awaken in “Wonderland”. That’s how different his reality is to mine. His presentation of the GAFCON Primates point of view is clear and very likely represents their thinking. The GAFCON Primates want the “Instruments of Unity” to evolve into international authoritarian bodies that will impose the views of their provinces on the Anglican Communion by excluding from the Communion TEC and any province that moves towards full inclusion of LGBT persons in their Churches. The GAFCON Primates want the power to excommunicate provinces by some mechanism… Read more »
At the risk of piling on, I also am amazed that the Fulcrum folks fulminate against TEC violations of the moratoria while ignoring Global South violations.
And their insistence on one, and only one, part of 1998 Lambeth 1.10, while ignoring the other sections is sheer hypocrisy. How many GLBT people have the Global South primates listened to? Any?
But then, I’m still trying to figure out how having XX genes instead of XY genes stops an omnipotent God in His/Her tracks.
Well, there’s the question of money and should the Episcopal Church assume a share of the costs of international meetings if their representatives are not invited?
And who believes that the same-sex blessings do not happen in the Church of England? And in the Anglican Church of Canada, for that matter, where the blessings are done in the open, as opposed to the the C of E, where the practice is to keep the blessings unacknowledged and pretend they’re not happening.
Pat,
I no longer think the problem is that those in certain quarters don’t understand that TEC (and ACoC) are not top-down organizations. Rather, they know it all too well, and are very much afraid that the idea that all the baptized are part of decision-making in the Body of Christ might spread to their realms.
Andrew Goddard seems trying to get his picture near the dictionary definition of “hysteria”! O_o
I suppose that those objecting to the U.S. Presiding Bishop’s attendance would applaud the attendance of the phony-Primate waiting in the wings from Pittsburgh. These people have dined out for a long time on hating gays. What amazing arrogance-to suggest that a whole Church or Province should be punished in the eyes of the world and made the pariah of Anglicans and Christians everywhere because they don’t publicly hate gay people. What message would be sent if the PB had been excluded? That the Anglican Communion behaves like a bunch of schoolgirls who don’t want someone they don’t like sitting… Read more »
Andrew Goddard’s (and Reform’s & Fulcrum’s) frail attempts to de-rail the Dublin Conference do not hold water – purely through the inconsistency of failing to recognise GAFCON’s own deliberate intention to undermine the jusridiction of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada by ordaining faux-bishops to head an alternative ‘Anglican’ Church in North America (ACNA). This is more potently an act of intentional divisiveness than any action taken by TEC and the A.C.of C. to include gay and lesbian bishops within their own jurisdiction or to bless same-sex unions. Goddard’s criticism of the actions of Archbishop Rowan, in inviting both… Read more »
fulcrum is ‘open to the: leadership of the Spirit in directing the church, gifts of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church importance of the sacraments, together with preaching, in creative liturgy, ordination of women to the three historic orders of the church, positive contribution made by other Anglican traditions, ecumenical partnership with other churches to further the Gospel, ongoing conversations between Anglicans and people of other faiths…’ until it doesn’t suit someone who speaks for them! Frankly, what’s the point of all this? ++Mouneer Anis picking through the relevant (to him) bits of the 39 Articles as… Read more »
They say “conciliar” when they mean “curial.”
Alas, AG and Fulcrum … what can one say now to those believers whose antigay (and covertly in seeming depth, anti-women?) arguments evidently live in a categorically different witness narrative from which nearly any modern educated person must be excluded, de jure or more likely, de facto. Drumming up global crisis because our flat earth notions about queer folks have been pretty much disproved? – there is no automatic or innate empirical or ethical base human detriment to being gay any more than there is, innate and consequential to being straight. And that I suspect is the core point, really.… Read more »
Jim:
You may indeed be more correct on this than I am; the fear of every authoritarian is that their subjects will discover free will.
“Second, the views of all Primates were sought and the consensus was that the Presiding Bishop should be invited as usual or there was no consensus. As a result, despite it being clear that some were so strongly opposed as to refuse to attend a meeting with her present, the status quo ante prevailed and she was invited.”
Guess those who want to pout can just stay out of the playground. Actions do have consequences you know.
And these people call themselves Christian.
“Once again, I suspect the real problem is a complete lack of understanding that TEC is NOT a top-down organization.”
Funny…why, then, do they keep making that argument in the court system when “all the baptized” of a particular parish or (gasp) diocese decide to break ranks with them?
Yeah.
Hi. Call me Cassandra.
Told you a loooong time ago what Goddard really was, what Fulcrum was about – self-aggrandizing-play-RCC – so, told you so.
Enjoy the big wooden horse.
“Funny…why, then, do they keep making that argument in the court system when “all the baptized” of a particular parish or (gasp) diocese decide to break ranks with them?” They don’t. They make the argument that the property belongs to the corporate entity or the national church, which includes the laity as well as the clergy, and which makes decisions with the input of laity as well as clergy. That’s not the same as claiming the bishop defines the diocese, which is the top down model. The drive to “break ranks” is mostly clergy-driven, authoritarian, and claiming a top-down model… Read more »
And here we are, Mouneer Anis tells us we are already at the point of division: ” I think we need now to take the lead, and we really look at the gathering of the bishops and the Primates of the Global South, with those bishops from dioceses that are orthodox in the West, as a Conciliar body. So that is, is going to happen, and that is happening now. This is a Conciliar body. We need to be like a faithful remnant that keeps the Word, that keeps the centrality and the authority of the Word in the middle… Read more »
Mark:
Thank you for replying to Fr. Chris’ challenge. I would add to your response that, by my understanding, the votes of these parishes and dioceses are suspect, because the rules to determine eligibility to vote were written so as to exclude–as much as possible–those likely to vote against departure.
“I would add to your response that, by my understanding, the votes of these parishes and dioceses are suspect, because the rules to determine eligibility to vote were written so as to exclude–as much as possible–those likely to vote against departure.”
Would you please elaborate?
“I would add to your response that, by my understanding, the votes of these parishes and dioceses are suspect, because the rules to determine eligibility to vote were written so as to exclude–as much as possible–those likely to vote against departure.”
I don’t know about that, but the congregations all used a “Forty Days of Discernment” guide that firly obviously predetermined the outcome. Each of the churches concluded their study and the next morning each filed identical legal work with their local courts.
What a coincidence.
Further to Fr. Larimer’s laughable attempt at spin: I have yet to hear of a case where “all the baptised” have supported the attempted coup d’eglise, nor have I heard of a case that was not entirely clergy driven. What I have heard more consistently is about various actions which made relatively influential folk who questioned the reactionary direction of the clergy choose to leave the parish, combined with intense and constant propaganda activities (like the 40 days of schism program). Further (and in reference to Bill’s request for elaboration, there have been reports from some supposedly departing parishes –… Read more »
xIker likes to call us (TEC) “the General Convention Church”, Chris L.
You should listen to him. Prayerfully discerning Scripture, Tradition and Reason, ***GC*** is where the buck stops. Not the Primates “above” or the dioceses/parishes “beneath”, but at GC. Persuade General Convention, Chris, and—for 3 years anyway!—you’ll change TEC. Unilateral parish/diocesan actions? No deal.
O.K. we “thinking Anglicans” all agree – so what are we going to do about it?
What Cynthia notes is what I referred to; basically that guide made it difficult for those opposed to schism to qualify to vote.
Pat, You are welcome. I just get so tired of seeing the Big Lie technique go unchallenged – and I say that and Godwin’ Law be damned! It is simply The Big Lie coupled with oily Doublespeak. I keep hearing liberals tell me I just *have* to respect the *principled* position of these opposition reactionaries – how CAN I when there is no evidence whatsoever of principles in anything they do? How do you respect someone who stands up and unblushingly lies to your face, knowing that you know it’s a lie? I guess it’s supposed to be like the… Read more »
Greetings to those of you in the Provinces of Canada and England, who seem confused about having 2 Primates within your jurisdictions. We in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa/New Zealand and Pacifica have for some time now had no less than 3 Primates – 1 for each cultural strand of our Church in the South Pacific. I don’t recall any great objection made by any other Province of the Communion when we quietly decided to allow the separate government of each of these 3 sectors to act under their own cultural ethos – but remaining United in Diversity. Those of… Read more »