The Anglican Communion Office has issued this statement:
From the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion
‘In response to a number of queries, and following consultation with The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion has issued the following statement:
“The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) is, to my knowledge, a “mission” of the Church of Nigeria. It is not a branch of the Anglican Communion as such but an organsation which relates to a single province of the Anglican Communion. CANA has not petitioned the Anglican Consultative Council for any official status within the Communion’s structures, nor has the Archbishop of Canterbury indicated any support for its establishment.”’
The Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon
If you are wondering why this statement was thought necessary, you need to go here, and read the statement by Mary Springmann or read this shorter explanation.
Update Anglican Mainstream has published a response to this from CANA (perhaps it will appear on the CANA website later) which can be read here.
Further Update Yes, it is now on the CANA site here.
Updated 13 December
See earlier reports here and here.
The Richmond Times Dispatch has Episcopal churches may split and the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star has Will Neck church.
Truro Church’s Mary Springmann has a letter on the church’s website Why CANA? Convocation of Anglicans in North America (PDF file).
Jim Naughton contests the truth of the claims made in that letter in Another dubious claim from Truro. TA’s August report on the 2004 events that Jim mentions is here.
Mark Harris considers that Truro’s Vestry has gone round the bend.
BabyBlue (Mary Ailes) has published a photograph of the letter she got yesterday from Bishop Peter Lee. (You might need to click on it to show it full size.) Mary is unhappy about the letter.
The media have been given this instruction. (PDF file).
The Living Church added a report: National Church May ‘Retain Interest’ in Virginia Church Properties.
A statement from the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia
The following reports are delayed as the site was unreachable for me for several days:
Washington Times Julia Duin
8 Dec Virginia churches stuck in middle
12 Dec Episcopal Church sees first defection
It’s increasingly difficult to keep up. Several reports today:
The Church Times has a report by Doug LeBlanc about the San Joaquin convention: Californian diocese votes to move from ECUSA.
One assertion in that report is, I believe, inaccurate. I do not think that the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA has uttered the words attributed to her here. I think this is a reference to what a spokesman said, as reported by the New York Times.
The Senior Wardens of Truro Parish and The Falls Church have responded jointly, in fairly strong terms, to the earlier letter they and others received from the Bishop of Virginia. The response is in a PDF file and can be found here.
Update there is now an html copy of this document available here.
Stand Firm has published an interview with Neal Michell from the Diocese of Dallas.
And last but by no means least, a Press Release from the Anglican Alliance of North Florida states that the Bishop of Florida has deposed six of his clergy. The letter itself is available as a PDF file here.
Update Saturday Florida Times-Union report on this: Episcopal bishop revokes 6 priests
2 CommentsFurther comments on ECUSA that are worth noting:
Diana Butler Bass was online at the Washington Post website on Wednesday discussing the State of the Episcopal Church.
Fr Jake wrote about the Network and the Global South, and asks Is There a Plan?
Jim Naughton followed this up with Disarray on the right?
Mark Harris asks Where Have All the Flowers Gone? and also later has Venables of the Southern Cone.
Episcopal Majority weighed in with The San Joaquin Matter Heats Up and ++Akinola Unhappy?
And much earlier in November, Harold Lewis wrote this essay for the magazine of Calvary Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh where he is Rector: Ironies, Ideologies, and Inconsistencies.
0 CommentsSeveral people have analysed what Mark Lawrence wrote to standing committees and bishops in connection with their forthcoming decisions on whether or not to consent to his election as bishop of South Carolina:
Mark Harris has written twice: first here, and then here. Tobias Haller wrote about this also, here. And also Andrew Gerns is here.
Addition Monday 11 Dec
I apologise for inadvertently omitting this Living Church report of 6 December: Bishop-elect Lawrence Sees Election Resistance in Broader Context which contains his own comments on the approval process.
Updated again Friday morning
The Associated Press has a lengthy article Historic Episcopal parishes in Va. moving toward break.
The local paper in Falls Church, the Falls Church News-Press has an article, Voting Begins Sunday on Pulling Out Of Denomination at F.C. Episcopal.
In response to the above, Matt Thompson at Political Spaghetti has written Archbishop Akinola DEFINITELY supports legislation in Nigeria that calls for prison sentences for homosexual activity.
Martyn Minns has written this on the website of Truro Parish, in response to an earlier news report in the Washington Post:
A Statement of Clarification
In a recent Washington Post article, Archbishop Peter J. Akinola was characterized as “an advocate of jailing gays.” That is not true.
Archbishop Akinola believes that all people—whatever their manner of life or sexual orientation—are made in the image of God and deserve to be treated with respect. “We are all broken and need the transforming love of God,” Archbishop Akinola said to me during a recent conversation.
Archbishop Akinola also said, “Jesus Christ is our example for this. He refused to condemn the woman caught in adultery instead he said. ‘Go now and sin no more.’ That is an essential part of the message of the Gospel and the teaching of our congregations.”
Your brother in Christ,
Martyn
Update this statement now also appears on the CANA website: A Statement of Clarification
Jim Naughton at daily episcopalian has responded strongly to Bishop Minns with a piece headlined Martyn Minns, clarifier.
Meanwhile, the CANA website has after a long interval had an update and now provides a Frequently Asked Questions page with answers to (currently) 25 questions.
Addition The Truro Parish website has a page headed The Vote.
This is your electronic resource center for Truro’s congregational vote December 10–17. Click on the links below for resources to help you be an informed voter.
Further addition Friday This PDF file contains information about The Anglican District of Virginia of CANA full text reproduced below the fold.
Update
Matt Thompson has more to say at Oh, Martyn.
Fr Jake has commented Does Abp. Akinola Want to Jail All Gays?
Mark Harris has also commented Bishop Martyn Minns defends Archbishop Akinola at an opportune time.
26 CommentsUpdated Thursday evening
In no particular order:
The Vestry of Truro Church in Northern Virginia issued a Statement on 28 November: The Sources of Division.
…It is our hope and intention to bring clarity and transparency as to how we have come to the reluctant but ultimately firm conclusion that we should recommend that Truro Church sever its ties with The Episcopal Church…
The Living Church has a report by George Conger Archbishop Venables: Primates Coalition Will Support Second U.S. Jurisdiction. The video referred to in this report can be found at Archbishop Greg Venables speaks to Diocese of San Joaquin.
Update The full text of the remarks by Southern Cone Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables is now on the San Joaquin website here. (Scroll down for earlier items). Another copy of the text is now at Global South Anglican.
Beliefnet reported on the San Joaquin convention a bit differently to the New York Times: Calif. Episcopal Diocese Decides Against Split.
Earlier, the Living Church also carried this opinion piece by Jack Estes: Irreconcilable Differences.
And Christianity Today has published an excerpt from Philip Jenkins’ new book, The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South. The excerpt is headlined “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?”
11 CommentsThere has been a great deal of discussion concerning the confirmation of Mark Lawrence as Bishop of South Carolina. See, for example, here.
He has written a document, addressed to bishops and standing committees of ECUSA dioceses, containing his answers to various questions that have been put to him.
You can read this document in full here.
43 CommentsUpdated again Monday evening
Episcopal News Service has published: Presiding Bishop comments on San Joaquin actions:
…I lament the actions of the Bishop and Convention of the Diocese of San Joaquin to repudiate their membership in the Episcopal Church. While it is clear that this process is not yet complete, the fact that the Bishop and Convention have voted to remove the accession clause required by the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church would seem to imply that there is no intent to terminate this process before it reaches its full conclusion. Our task as the Episcopal Church is God’s mission of reconciling the world, and actions such as this distract and detract from that mission.
I deeply lament the pain, confusion, and suffering visited on loyal members of the Episcopal Church within the Diocese of San Joaquin, and want them to know of my prayers and the prayers of many, many others.
I continue to consult with others involved in responding to this extracanonical action…
Update The ENS report of this also includes additional comment by Bonnie Anderson, and other information, see here.
On the East Coast, the Washington Post has a report Episcopal Churches To Vote on Departure by Michelle Boorstein.
Earlier, the Washington Times had Episcopalians warned against leaving diocese.
On the West Coast, the Fresno Bee has this report Valley diocese votes to separate by Ron Orozco.
Episcopal Majority has published a letter it has received from Rowan Williams, in reply to two letters sent by Bill Coats. Read all the correspondence at The Archbishop Responds.
Update The Living Church later reported on this correspondence here.
Doug LeBlanc wrote a column in Episcopal Life about Why Canterbury matters.
Sarah Dylan Breuer wrote a commentary on current events in San Joaquin and elsewhere, titled increasing chaos among breakaway movements.
13 CommentsUpdated again Monday
The Diocese of San Joaquin today voted for a different amendment to its constitution than the one previously published.
The resolution actually passed can be seen here.
The previous proposal can be seen here.
The Associated Press reported it this way: Calif. Diocese Snubs Episcopal Church. Reuters has U.S. diocese favors break with Episcopal Church.
The Living Church says California Dioceses Take Opposing Sides on Human Sexuality.
The bishop’s address to the convention is on the diocesan site.
The New York Times has its own report on this: Episcopal Diocese Votes to Secede From Church by Laurie Goodstein in New York and Carolyn Marshall in Fresno, Calif. They write in part:
…The vote by the diocese is one more step in a carefully planned strategy by conservative Episcopalians in the United States and primates of Anglican provinces, many in the developing world, to unite the conservatives, claim the mantle of Anglicanism and isolate the Episcopal Church, the 2.3-million-member American branch in the Anglican communion, which claims 77 million members worldwide…
…The Bishop of San Joaquin, John-David Schofield, told the convention on Thursday, “This amending process is the first step in the removal from our constitution of any reference to the Episcopal Church because, in our opinion, they have decided to walk apart from the Anglican Communion.”
The wording of the resolutions was changed at the last minute, leading to widespread confusion among the delegates. But Bishop Schofield told the convention that the wording was changed after a recent meeting in Virginia between conservative American bishops and other leaders and conservative primates from other provinces in the Anglican Communion. The global primates advised the Americans to “remain flexible and allow them to provide the necessary leadership for us,” by holding off on specifying what structure, or bishop or province, would replace the church’s relationship with the diocese.
One crucial amendment effectively erases the borders of the diocese so that it could eventually absorb parishes in other parts of the state or elsewhere in the country that wish to break with the church, Mr. Petz said.
Another amendment says that if the bishop and his coadjutor bishop are absent, unable to act or removed, the standing committee, a lay group, would become the “ecclesiastical authority.” The thinking behind this provision, Mr. Petz said, is that it could prevent the church from taking over the diocese by removing the bishop and coadjutor…
Update Monday
Episcopal News Service has published its report of this: San Joaquin convention seeks to sever diocese from Episcopal Church
Press release issued by the diocese:
On Friday, Dec. 1, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Peter James Lee, sent a letter to the rectors, vestries and wardens of congregations known to have engaged in a “40 Days of Discernment” program to consider their place in The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia. Some of those congregations have chosen to conclude that program with votes, to be held this month, to determine their future affiliation with the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia
In his letter, Bishop Lee highlighted that the members of those congregations are cherished members of the Diocese and the Episcopal Church, and that he and the Standing Committee hope they will decide to continue to worship as one, unified family.
“I pray you will remain in communion with your brothers and sisters in Virginia and take your full place in the life of the Diocese of Virginia,” he wrote. “Ours is a faith historically defined by our ability to bring together people with different theological emphases within traditional faith and order,” he added. Bishop Lee also stated his concern that any decision to leave the Episcopal Church will be a source of regret for future generations.
The letter also explained some of the potential legal and canonical consequences of a decision to separate from the Episcopal Church, addressing issues of property and personal liability.
“Along with the damaging effects any split would have on the Diocese as a whole and these churches in particular, we are concerned that these congregations may not fully understand the potential legal consequences of their actions,” said Russell Palmore, chancellor of the Diocese of Virginia. “The decision to leave the Diocese should be a fully informed one.”
Read the letter in full here. It includes this paragraph:
21 CommentsI remind you that absent a negotiated settlement of property, an attempt to place your congregation and its real and personal property under the authority of any ecclesial body other than the Diocese of Virginia and the bodies authorized by its canons to hold church property will have repercussions and possible civil liability for individual vestry members.
The American Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes or Anglican Communion Network has published this map, showing at the time of writing a total of 737 parishes that are said to be affiliated with them in some way.
Curiously though, the same website also says:
We are currently ten dioceses and six convocations stretching from coast to coast, border to border. As of January 2005, ACN dioceses and parishes count 200,000 Episcopal Christians in more than 800 congregations, and the number of affiliated parishes grows weekly.
The Network’s leader, Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh, recently gave an interview to the Florida Times-Union in which he stated:
“There are 10 dioceses comprising about 175,000 Episcopalians, and in those 10 dioceses are 650 congregations.”
Then Bishop Duncan says:
“Beyond those dioceses are another 350 congregations.”
By now you are right to be confused. 650 and 350 would total 1000 not 800.
Not all Episcopalians in the ten dioceses support the Network. Not all of those additional congregations are ECUSA churches — or ever were.
The Network defines three membership categories:
Other older data on the same website shows at this writing
That’s less than 250 total once the duplications within Network dioceses are removed.
Also, while I am at this, Common Cause Partners are:
American Anglican Council
Anglican Coalition in Canada
Anglican Communion Network
Anglican Essentials Canada
Anglican Mission in America
Anglican Network in Canada
Anglican Province of America
Convocation for Anglicans in North America (Church of Nigeria)
Forward in Faith North America (a duplication of the FiFNA Convocation of the Network?)
Reformed Episcopal Church
Beyond NACDAP, that’s three Canadian organizations, three “not-in-communion” churches (I include AMiA here), and the Church of Nigeria. Few out of all these congregations are “ex-ECUSA”.
So what is the right number of congregations or members for the Network itself? I would welcome better information.
8 CommentsThe ACNS has published this: Archbishop of Canterbury – Cautious welcome for TEC proposals
Update here is the LamPal copy: Archbishop – cautious welcome for TEC proposals
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has given a cautious welcome to proposals outlined by the Episcopal Church in the United States to offer alternative forms of oversight to dissenting parishes and dioceses. Dr Williams said that the proposals would contribute to the process of determining future relationships.
“The meeting in New York to consider the questions raised by requests for ‘alternative primatial oversight’ has produced some imaginative proposals which represent, potentially, a very significant development.
“I am glad to see these positive suggestions and shall be giving them careful consideration. I hope that they will mark a step forward in the long and difficult process of working out future relationships within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in a manner faithful to the gospel requirements of forebearance and generosity.”
8 CommentsUpdated again Friday evening
The Anglican Communion Network issued a press release at 3.30 pm (EST assumed?) which was headlined National Church “Response” Falls Short and subtitled From the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The same release is also available here.
The Episcopal News Service today released a proposal responding to the request by seven Episcopal dioceses for Alternative Primatial Oversight (APO). It suggests that a “primatial vicar” be appointed by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to serve as her “designated pastor in such dioceses.” The “primatial vicar” would be accountable to Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and perform those functions she chooses to delegate, such as episcopal ordinations.
“We are heartened that the national leadership of The Episcopal Church has realized the time has come for structural change. We will study this proposal,” said Bishop Robert Duncan, bishop of Pittsburgh and moderator of the Anglican Communion Network. “However, at first glance what is proposed is neither primatial, nor oversight, nor is it an alternative to the spiritual authority of one who, by both teaching and action, has expressly rejected the Windsor Report and its recommendations. This is obviously not what was asked for.” Bishop Duncan also observed that what is proposed is in fact less than what was offered and rejected at the first meeting held in New York during September.
Bishop Duncan reiterated his commitment to find a mediated solution to the crisis in The Episcopal Church. “We really do want to talk about all the issues. We want to protect everyone who is unable to travel down the path the majority of The Episcopal Church has clearly chosen, not just those in dioceses that have requested APO. We want to have this conversation and find a way forward that allows all of us to get on with our mission. We are committed to remaining in the mainstream of the Anglican Communion as we proclaim the faith once delivered to the saints,” he said.
Press reports:
The Living Church had Bishops Propose Primatial Vicar for Petitioning Dioceses, and then Network Bishops Reject ‘Primatial Vicar’ Offer; Recommit to Mediated Solution.
Associated Press Rachel Zoll Episcopalians Reach Out to Conservatives
Update successive versions of this story have caused some confusion. Please read this possible explanation.
Both Jim Naughton and Sarah Dylan Breuer have commented on their blogs. SDB also here. And Mark Harris.
Stand Firm has published an email sent by Bishop Jack Iker to his Fort Worth clergy, and also a comment by David Anderson of the American Anglican Council.
Integrity responded here.
The Anglican Communion Institute responded with ACI’S PROPOSAL FOR AN INTERIM ARRANGEMENT WHILE AWAITING A CONCILIAR COMMUNION COVENANT:
17 CommentsEpiscopal News Service and Anglican Communion News Service have both released Bishops develop proposal responding to ‘Appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury’.
A group of bishops, including Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has developed a proposal responding to “An Appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury” addressing what other petitioning bishops and dioceses have termed “alternative primatial oversight” or “alternative primatial relationship.” Full texts of the group’s response and accompanying statement follow here.
A Response to “An Appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury”
Some bishops and dioceses of the Episcopal Church have requested that the Archbishop of Canterbury provide what they have variously called “alternative primatial oversight” or an “alternative primatial relationship.” In consultation with the Presiding Bishop, the Archbishop of Canterbury proposed that a number of bishops from the Episcopal Church meet to explore a way forward. A first meeting took place in September, and a second meeting in November developed the following proposal that seeks to address the concerns of those parishes and dioceses which for serious theological reasons feel a need for space, and to encourage them to remain within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.
1. Taking seriously the concerns of the petitioning bishops and dioceses, the Presiding Bishop, in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, will appoint a Primatial Vicar in episcopal orders to serve as the Presiding Bishop’s designated pastor in such dioceses. The Primatial Vicar could preside at consecrations of bishops in these dioceses. The Primatial Vicar could also serve the dioceses involved on any other appropriate matters either at the initiative of the Presiding Bishop or at the request of the petitioning dioceses.
2. The Primatial Vicar would be accountable to the Presiding Bishop and would report to an Advisory Panel that would consist of the designee of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Presiding Bishop’s designee, a bishop of The Episcopal Church selected by the petitioning dioceses, and the President of the House of Deputies (or designee).
3. This arrangement for a Primatial Vicar does not affect the administrative or other canonical duties of the Presiding Bishop except to the degree that the Presiding Bishop may wish to delegate, when appropriate, some of those duties to the Primatial Vicar. The Primatial Vicar and the Advisory Panel shall function in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
4. Individual congregations who dissent from the decisions of their diocesan leadership are reminded of the availability of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight and its process of appeal.
5. This arrangement is provisional in nature, in effect for three years, beginning January 1, 2007. During that time, the Presiding Bishop is asked to monitor its efficacy and to consult with the House of Bishops and the Executive Council regarding this arrangement and possible future developments.
15 CommentsThe Bishop of San Joaquin has published his reply to the earlier letter from the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA. You can read it in full on his diocesan website or there is a PDF here which looks more likely to endure as a URL.
27 CommentsAn open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury Regarding requests for “alternative primatial oversight” has been posted here. Signatures from within ECUSA are invited.
The covering notice says:
The following letter originated from The Consultation Steering Committee, a network which includes representatives from the following organizations in The Episcopal Church: Integrity, Episcopal Urban Caucus, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Episcopal Women’s Caucus, Union of Black Episcopalians, Episcopal Ecological Network, National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, Province VIII Indigenous Ministries, Episcopal Church Publishing Company, Episcopal Network for Economic Justice, Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry Advocates, and Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission.
A further note concerning the provenance of this letter can be found here. Also:
16 CommentsAn advance copy of the letter was sent in early November to Archbishop Williams, with copies to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and to Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies. The Consultation Steering Committee will send a formal letter with signatures to the Archbishop of Canterbury after it has been available online for signatures.
Earlier this month, the Witness published a lengthy article about the new American Presiding Bishop.
Katharine Jefferts Schori Takes Office on a Wing and a Prayer.
Sarah Dylan Breuer draws from an interview with the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori as well as experience of serving alongside her in two church bodies for an in-depth profile of the 26th Presiding Bishop and some personal predictions of what the church might expect in her tenure.
More recently, the New York Times Magazine published an interview with her headlined State of the Church. Some of this drew criticism, but as Fr Jake explained both here and here, her replies are factually correct.
11 CommentsThe Living Church has a report Bishop Sauls: Not All APO Requests Violate Canons that tells us something about what the House of Bishops’ Task Force on Property Disputes thinks.
…Despite the fact that both Central Florida and South Carolina have appealed for alternative oversight, Bishop Sauls said neither diocese is under scrutiny.
“Appeals for alternative primatial oversight are not in and of themselves a problematic action,” Bishop Sauls said, “It doesn’t rise to the same level. We see no evidence that the leadership in either diocese is attempting to change its name or take property held in trust for the national church…”
An earlier Living Church report is here: Bishops’ Task Force Identifies ‘Problem’ Dioceses which lists them as:
…Dallas, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Quincy, Rio Grande,
San Diego, San Joaquin, and Springfield.
This topic is also covered in an earlier report from ENS.
2 CommentsUpdated Tuesday afternoon
The Presiding Bishop of ECUSA has made public a letter she has sent to the Bishop of San Joaquin. You can read it in full on Episcopal News Service.
The wording of this letter is blunt. Here is an extract:
I have seen reports of your letter to parishes in the Diocese of San Joaquin, which apparently urges delegates to your upcoming Diocesan Convention to take action to leave the Episcopal Church. I would ask you to confirm the accuracy of those reports. If true, you must be aware that such action would likely be seen as a violation of your ordination vows to “uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them.” I must strongly urge you to consider the consequences of such action, not only for yourself but especially for all of the Episcopalians under your pastoral charge and care.
I certainly understand that you personally disagree with decisions by General Conventions over the past 30 and more years. You have, however, taken vows three times over that period to uphold the “doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.” If you now feel that you can no longer do so, the more honorable course would be to renounce your orders in this Church and seek a home elsewhere. Your public assertion that your duty is to violate those vows puts many, many people at hazard of profound spiritual violence. I urge you, as a pastor, to consider that hazard with the utmost gravity…
The letter to which Bishop Katharine refers can be read in full here. TA’s own report is here.
The letter still has not appeared on the diocesan website. Here however is a local Bakersfield Californian news report of last Friday: Area diocese plans split with church.
The Living Church has reported: Presiding Bishop Urges San Joaquin Bishop to Reverse Course.
San Joaquin: What Can We Do? contains an appeal from Remain Episcopal, a group in the San Joaquin diocese. This was issued before the Presiding Bishop’s letter was published.
61 Comments