Affirming Catholicism has responded to the covenant consultation paper initiated some time ago by the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and of the Primates’ Meeting, with a press release, Covenant could cause division and a more lengthy document, available here in Word format.
Affirming Catholicism is also holding a day conference in January to discuss ‘Anglicanism: Unity and Diversity’.
The document “Towards an Anglican Covenant”, to which this is responding can be found at the ACO website. See also this ACNS press release.
InclusiveChurch has also responded to the ACO request, and its response ‘Towards an Anglican Covenant’: A Response from InclusiveChurch By Rev. Canon Vincent Strudwick can be found here and here.
I’m not sure what the Sec Gen’l intends by saying that CANA “is not a BRANCH of the Anglican Communion as such”. Does anyone know if the term “branch” has canonical significance in Anglican polity?
To go ahead and use the metaphor, we’d say that TEC is a “branch” of the Communion (right?). But we’d say that the Diocese of Virginia is NOT a “branch as such”–rather, I suppose, it’s a twig on the TEC branch. There’s no denying that the Church of Nigeria is a “branch” of the communion (right?), so isn’t CANA a twig on that Nigerian branch?
Toxicodendron rydbergii, perhaps?
Vol 4.2 Journal of Anglican Studies has an in depth article on the Covenant by Darren C Marks: RThe Windsor report – a Theological Commentary. Marks argues that the theology of Scripture is the true strength of Windsor, which needs to be clarified in furutre discussions on Anglican ecclesiology. Without falling prey to schism (which is what the alternative covenant seems to desire) “the Protestant voice” (as articulated in Windsor) “its appeal, theology and account of Scripture, and subsequent employment of the means or instruments of unity as ‘Guardians and Witnesses’ to that Word must be more open than subterranean.… Read more »