Updated again Wednesday
The Guardian sent Stephen Bates to investigate, and his written report is headlined Church of England parish sings battle hymns as it plans move to Rome.
The BBC sent Robert Pigott and his video report is headlined Kent church to convert to Catholicism over women bishops row.
The BBC headline is misleading, for as Stephen Bates notes (emphasis added):
…His congregation heeded his advice, but Bould himself came out, clad in a cassock, to explain that the PCC’s decision had not been put to the congregation and he did not know how many would go over to Rome. Nor did he know what would happen to the 150-year-old parish church, or the school. “It would be wonderful if it were possible for people to continue to worship in this building,” he said…
What the PCC did say to the congregation can be read here.
At its meeting on September 28th, 2010, the Parochial Church Council of Folkestone St Peter unanimously requested the parish’s churchwardens to write to the Archbishop of Canterbury, our diocesan bishop, in order to arrange a meeting with him about the wish of many of the PCC and the congregation to join the English Ordinariate of the Catholic Church when it is erected. The PCC is anxious that this should be made as easy as possible, not only for them, but for the diocesan family of Canterbury that they will regretfully be leaving behind.
Updates
Not to be outdone, the Telegraph sent along its new religion correspondent, Tim Ross who produced The cracks are now showing in the Church of England.
And the Guardian has another view of the vicar of St Peter’s, see Viv Groskop Leave, with my blessing.
41 CommentsUpdated Monday afternoon
There was a lengthy discussion of the stories about St Peter’s Folkestone and Bishop Broadhurst on this morning’s BBC radio programme, Sunday.
The item runs for about 5 minutes, starting about 5 minutes in.
Listen to it via this link.
Earlier press reports gathered in this article.
Those who are interested in understanding how the ordinariate is supposed to work may find this link useful Complementary Norms for the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus
Church Mouse asks Is Bishop John Broadhurst ineligible to join the ordinariate? And he adds:
For what it’s worth, Mouse’s view of Bishop John Broadhurst’s speech at the FiF annual gathering, in which he announced his intention to join the ordinariate, is that it is in breach of the Clergy Discipline Measure. Bishop John said, “I don’t feel I have any choice but to leave the Church and take up the Pope’s offer. The General Synod has become vindictive and vicious. It has been fascist in its behaviour, marginalising those who have been opposed to women’s ordination.”
Does a bishop in the Church of England to describe the governing body of that church as vicious, vindictive and fascist qualify as “engaging in conduct that is unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of the clergy”?
Bishop Edwin Barnes has written When ’Tis Done, Then ’Twere Well It Were Done Quickly.
And even Bishop Jack Iker had something to say about it.
Once again, the links to audio recordings of the entire FiF Assembly are over here.
Updates
George Pitcher has written Why the Bishop of Fulham’s departure for Rome isn’t just about women bishops
The Mail Online has joined in though it has a problem with spelling, see Defecting bishop brands Church of England vicious and fascist in bitter row over plans to ordane women
Andrew Brown drew attention in a recent Church Times press column to a much earlier use of the F word by Bishop Broadhurst, in the New York Times. See Tensions Linger Between Pope and Anglicans.
22 CommentsSome traditionalists are drawn to the Roman Catholic Church’s top-down model. “The trouble with the Anglican Church is that it has adopted a parliamentary model and one that presumes change and presumes everyone can have a say,” said the Rev. John Broadhurst, a traditionalist Anglican. “I think it’s become a kind of fascist democracy.”
Readers of the article by John Richardson linked earlier today, on Why has Reform failed? may wish to follow his argument further and also read Why Resolution C is still the issue for REFORM.
He concludes (emphasis added):
I wonder, though, whether our Evangelical leadership has actually grasped this point? My impression is that whilst they have rallied to the ‘cause’ of proper provision, they have not grasped the small print of what this would mean in practical terms — basically that they will have to do in a few years time what they have resolutely not done for the last decade and a half.
Meanwhile, watch this space. It is where the equivalent of the Society for St Wilfred and St Hilda will soon emerge. No prizes, but is that Canterbury or Hippo?
An examination of the internet records for http://www.saintaugustinesociety.org shows that it is registered to Chris Sugden at Anglican Mainstream.
14 CommentsUpdated Sunday evening
The Church Times has a report Sydney synod defies Tribunal decision by Muriel Porter.
THE diocesan synod in Sydney has reaffirmed its 2008 decision to permit deacons to preside at holy communion, despite the recent majority decision by the national Church’s Appellate Tribunal that diaconal presidency is unconstitutional.
The synod rejected several attempts to amend a motion, brought by a Sydney regional bishop, Dr Glenn Davies, which “noted” what it described as “the advisory opinion” of the Tribunal but reaffirmed the 2008 motion that the Tribunal declared unconstitutional…
…Since 2008, Sydney diocese has implemented a permanent diaconate, ordaining clergy to the priesthood only when they become parish rectors. Assistant clergy and chaplains remain in deacon’s orders. The 215 active deacons in Sydney constitute just over one third of the licensed clergy, and are increasingly leading new congregations and church plants.
There are also reports on the finances of the diocese. A further Church Times report is subscriber-only until next Friday, but instead there are these accounts:
Church of England Newspaper Mixed report on growth and income given to Sydney synod
…The archbishop told the Synod the diocese was still reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis and the “financial issues are grave.”
“In round terms, it seems possible that the amount of money available” he said “to support diocesan works in the next few years is going to be reduced from the $7.5 million of 2010 to something like $4 million.”
The cutbacks in diocesan spending in 2008 were “only the beginning,” he said and warned that parishes might be asked to pick up a larger share of the diocese’s expenses in the years to come…
Sydney Morning Herald Anglicans warned church is on its knees
The Anglican Church in Sydney is in diabolical trouble. Already battered by the global financial crisis, the diocese is planning further savage spending cuts.
The archbishop, Peter Jensen, told the annual synod on Monday: “The financial issues are grave…”
Update
Here is the official Sydney diocesan version of the story about the tribunal decision: Sydney resolute on deacons celebrating Lord’s Supper.
15 CommentsAlan Wilson continues his BCP series in The Guardian with The Book of Common Prayer, part 8: Liturgy and society. “The BCP is defined far more by liturgical statements than dogmatic formularies, offering a distinctive concept of uniformity.”
Christopher Howse asks in the Telegraph Who’d be seen dead in an ill-dressed grave? and “rues the coming of new funerary rites that find a place for teddy bears”.
Stephen Tomkins and Nicholas Taylor write in The Guardian about Halloween: saints vs devils. “Catholic bishops think dressing up as saints, rather than devils, is a holier way to mark Halloween. What are the pros and cons?”
Sue Blackmore has been to a baptism and writes about it in The Guardian: Fighting talk in church. “At a family baptism I was appalled when the congregation was called to combat aggressive atheists – I don’t want to fight.”
Bernard Leikind writes in The Guardian that Job suffered alone – and so must we. “Many believe a caring, personal God has their welfare in mind, but the Book of Job provides little to support this view.”
Rowan Williams preached this sermon The purpose of fasting at a service of thanksgiving to mark the Global Day of Prayer for the millennium development goals at St Paul’s Cathedral in Kolkata. “Fasting is about more than going without food – it is connecting with reality and noticing the suffering of your neighbour.”
This is also available on the Archbishop’s website: Archbishop’s MDG sermon at Kolkota Cathedral.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times that Christianity is like being rescued.
John P Richardson (The Ugley Vicar) asks Why has Reform failed?
6 CommentsUpdated Saturday morning
The Diocese of South Carolina today approved six resolutions that the diocese said represent “an essential element of how we protect the diocese from any attempt at unconstitutional intrusions into our corporate life in South Carolina.”
See the ENS report SOUTH CAROLINA: Convention approves ‘protective’ resolutions.
[The Presiding Bishop said:] “I grieve these actions, but I especially grieve Bishop Lawrence’s perception of my heartfelt concern for him and for the people of South Carolina as aggression. I don’t seek to change his faithfully held positions on human sexuality, nor do I seek to control the inner workings of the diocese. I do seek to repair damaged relationships and ensure that this church is broad enough to include many different sorts and conditions of people. South Carolina and its bishop continue in my prayers.”
The Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the South Carolina diocese, told ENS that the convention’s action is “significant … in that it enables us to pursue the bishop’s vision of making biblical Anglicans for a global age while resisting the national leadership’s attempts to change our polity in violation of own constitution and the basic principles of justice and due process.”
See the diocesan news release about this: Diocese Votes Overwhelming in Favor of Resolutions; Lawrence remarks on Opportunities and Challenges
And the full text of Bishop Lawrence’s address is here.
For background on this, see the earlier article today, and also this previous report.
The diocese also announced the appointment of Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali as an Assisting Bishop in the diocese. TA understands that this is not a full-time appointment, but rather that Bishop Michael will spend periods of time in residency in the diocese, where he has been a regular visitor in the past. He will be “Visiting Bishop for Global Anglican Relations”.
Here is the text from the diocesan website:
19 CommentsMichael Nazir-Ali—Visiting Bishop in South Carolina for Anglican Communion Development
In May of this year, the Reverend Dr. Kendall Harmon and I traveled to Nashotah House to meet with the Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, retired Bishop of Rochester in England and one of the most respected figures in the Anglican Communion. We discussed the possibility of forming a relationship between him and the Diocese of South Carolina. Then in September the Reverend Jeffrey Miller and I met with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali in Washington D.C. to clarify the details of such a relationship. It is my great pleasure to announce at this Reconvened Annual Convention that he has agreed to be Visiting Bishop in South Carolina for Anglican Communion Relationships. Thus along with periodic visits here in the diocese for teaching and relational support, he will represent this diocese on his travels around the world. This creative and vital relationship will give us further opportunities to strengthen existing and form new and abiding missional relationships with others in the emerging Anglicanism in the 21st Century. It gives legs to our vision.
Updated yet again Sunday morning
According to the Catholic Herald Bishop of Fulham to take up Ordinariate
The Anglican bishop of Fulham and the chairman of Forward in Faith International has announced he will resign before the end of the year to join an Ordinariate.
Speaking at Forward in Faith’s National Assembly today, Bishop John Broadhurst, who is a senior figure in the Anglo-Catholic movement, said he intended to tender his resignation before the end of the year and join the Ordinariate in Britain when it is established. He has said that he will remain the chairman of Forward in Faith, which he says is not an Anglican organisation.
Bishop Broadhurst is a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of London. He said the Bishop of London would likely appoint someone new to fill the post Bishop Broadhurst is vacating.
He is the first senior Anglo-Catholic to announce publicly that he will join an Ordinariate when it is founded.
Two “flying bishops”, or bishops who are appointed to provide pastoral care for Anglicans who cannot in good conscience accept women priests, are also likely to tender their resignations before the end of the year in order to join an Ordinariate…
The Tablet also has a report on this, see Anglican bishop announces move to ordinariate
Bishop of Fulham has become the first Anglo-Catholic bishop to formally announce he will join an ordinariate. As predicted in The Tablet (News from Birtain and Ireland, 2 October) Bishop John Broadhurst told the annual assembly of Forward in Faith, the largest Anglo-Catholic group in the Church of England, that he will resign as bishop and enter the new church structure, set up by Pope Benedict XVI last year to enable disaffected Anglo-Catholics to join the Roman Catholic Church en masse. The ordinariate is due to be established in Britain in January 2011, and this week The Tablet reported that the Anglican parish, St Peter’s Folkestone, had made the first formal request to join.
Various speeches, including that of Bishop Broadhurst, from the Forward in Faith Assembly can be listened to via this page.
Subsequent reports and comment:
Telegraph Damian Thompson Earthquake in Anglo-Catholicism: Bishop of Fulham to convert to Rome; Forward in Faith ‘not part of Church of England’
Sunday Telegraph Jonathan Wynne-Jones and David Harrison Church of England is fascist and vindictive, says bishop defecting to Rome
This report also covers the story of St Peter’s Folkestone:
St Peter’s Church in Folkestone, Kent, has decided to join the Ordinariate, a system designed by the Vatican to allow Anglicans to convert while maintaining parts of their heritage…
…That time has come for the church of St Peter’s in Folkestone, where the Parochial Church Council (PCC) voted unanimously to move to the Catholic Church because of its fierce opposition to the decision to create women bishops.
The move is backed by most of the congregation, which averages 35 to 40 for the main Sunday Mass. St Peter’s has become a magnet for traditionalist Anglicans – in Folkestone and beyond – who oppose the Church of England’s liberalism….
Bishop Nick Baines Ups and downs and downs and ups
The Bishop of Fulham has announced he is to resign and join the Ordinariate (i.e. become a Roman Catholic). His announcement speech used extraordinary language, claiming ‘persecution’ of ‘traditionalists’. Someone should do a linguistic textual analysis of this stuff – for a start it cheapens the word and concept of ‘persecution’. But, the notions of ‘they are forcing us out’ and ‘we have no responsibility- it is all being done to us’ has reminded me of the posts I wrote about ‘future foreshortening’ and the hierarchies of victimhood.
As I have often expressed here, I understand something of the dilemma facing those who oppose the ordination of women; but they need to take responsibility for their decisions about the future and not do the unhealthy thing of simply identifying themselves as a victim of other people’s decisions. I know from personal experience something of the cost of such demanding dilemmas (twice: once in secular employment and once in the church) – and how important it is to stop blaming other people (or ‘the evil institution’ as the Bishop of Fulham puts it). The language is the give-away in all this and it will repay careful examination one day. Meanwhile we continue to pray and try to support those facing these dilemmas – everyone loses in processes such as this one.
Damian Thompson (again) Bishop Broadhurst is not helping the Ordinariate with his ridiculous attack on the ‘fascist’ Church of England
BBC Anglicans’ regret over bishop’s conversion to Rome
46 CommentsA traditionalist Anglican group has voiced regret after an Anglo-Catholic bishop said he would convert to Rome…
The Catholic Group on the CofE’s General Synod said it deeply regretted the decision by Bishop Broadhurst…
First, the Bishop of South Carolina, Mark Lawrence wrote this article in the Living Church: A Conservationist among Lumberjacks
…There is much axe swinging these days in the Episcopal Church. I have grown sad from walking among the stumps of what was once a noble old-growth Episcopalian grove in the forest of Catholic Christianity. It may surprise some, but I write not to bemoan the theological or moral teaching that is in danger of falling to the logger’s axe. I have done that elsewhere. My concern here is that as the church’s polity is felled only a few bother to cry “timber.”
I have space to raise three concerns, and these briefly: the presiding bishop’s threat to our polity —litigious and constitutional; the revisions to the Title IV canons; and, finally, a passing word about inhibitions and depositions to solve our theological/spiritual crisis…
Second, the Bishop of San Diego, James Mathes wrote a response for Daily Episcopalian: Nullification revisited
12 Comments…Bishop Lawrence feigns great sorrow at the changing landscape of the Episcopal Church. He writes, “I have grown sad from walking among the stumps of what was once a noble old-growth Episcopalian grove in the forest of Catholic Christianity.” Donning the mantle of ecclesial conservationist, Bishop Lawrence even quotes environmentalist, Aldo Leopold, “a conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke [of the ax] he is writing his signature on the face of his land.” The bishop adds, “far too many leaders in our church have never learned this lesson.” Indeed.
All of this is prelude to his main premise that the presiding bishop is threatening the polity of the Episcopal Church. He wants you to believe that the threat is manifested in three ways: because her chancellor has retained a South Carolina attorney to represent the wider Episcopal Church’s interests should they diverge from the Diocese of South Carolina’s interests; through the Title IV revisions from the 2009 General Convention; and by the manner in which the House of Bishops has dealt with bishops who have left the Episcopal Church…
The Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, Dr Kenneth Kearon, has issued the following statement, published today by ACNS:
The Secretary General writes: ‘Many of you will have read the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter to the Anglican Communion issued at Pentecost last (28 May 2010). Part of that letter addresses the current and ongoing tensions in the Anglican Communion – these tensions cluster around the three moratoria referred to in the Windsor Report.
‘In that letter the Archbishop made the following proposals:
“I am therefore proposing that, while these tensions remain unresolved, members of such provinces – provinces that have formally, through their Synod or House of Bishops, adopted policies that breach any of the moratoria requested by the Instruments of Communion and recently reaffirmed by the Standing Committee and the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) – should not be participants in the ecumenical dialogues in which the Communion is formally engaged. I am further proposing that members of such provinces serving on IASCUFO should for the time being have the status only of consultants rather than full members”.
‘At that time I wrote to the Primate of the Southern Cone, whose interventions in other provinces are referred to in the Windsor Continuation Group Report asking him for clarification as to the current state of his interventions into other provinces. I have not received a response.
‘Consequently, I have written to the person from the Province of the Southern Cone who is a member of the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order (IASCUFO), Bishop Tito Zavala, withdrawing his membership and inviting him to serve as a Consultant to that body.
‘These decisions are not taken easily or lightly, but relate to the gracious restraint requested by successive meetings of the Instruments of Communion and the implications for Communion bodies when these requests are not honoured.’
The Revd Canon Dr. Kenneth Kearon.
Episcopal Café has a list of all the other members of IASCUFO, with notes on their status, see Southern Cone stonewalls Kearon over interventions (scroll down)
ENS also has a report, Ecumenical sanctions imposed on Southern Cone province, which also lists the other provinces that are still engaged in cross-border interventions, but have not yet been affected by this policy of sanctions:
15 CommentsNigeria and Uganda, which have members on IASCUFO
Kenya and Rwanda, which do not.
The LGBT Anglican Coalition has issued an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Their press release is below, and the full text of the letter is below the fold.
LGBT Anglican Coalition Press Release 11 October 2010
Time to accept gay bishops, says Anglican Coalition
In a recent interview with The Times the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was unclear whether celibate but partnered gay clergy are acceptable as bishops in the Church of England. The archbishop stated his unwillingness to consider partnered gay men and lesbians as bishops because of their ‘particular choice of life, a partnership, and what the Church has to say about that.’
The LGBT Anglican Coalition believes that acceptance should be extended beyond those who are celibate, but says:
‘Your statement has also left ambiguity regarding those in loving life-long but celibate relationships. Such people would appear to be complying fully with the requirements of “Issues in Human Sexuality” and yet still seem to be excluded simply on the grounds of some other people’s disapproval. If this is not your intention, we ask you to clarify what you meant. Given that you said that you “have no problem” with gay bishops who are celibate, we would ask you to make clear your position on the acceptability for higher office of celibate gay clergy who are in civil partnerships.’
In a letter sent to the Archbishop, the Coalition criticizes the Archbishop’s remarks as ‘hurtful and undermining to the many lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people who have been called to ordained ministry but not to celibacy’. The Coalition calls the Church of England to a renewed study of sexuality in the light of modern scientific and theological understanding.
The letter is also highly critical of the culture of secrecy, fear and dishonesty around human sexuality which is blighting the Church of England, and damaging our witness to society, and which urgently needs to be dispelled. It says that, ‘in numerous Church of England parishes, worshippers fully accept LGBT people, whether single or partnered, and believe that all forms of ministry should be open to God’s children regardless of sexual orientation.’
ENDS
Notes for Editors
1. The Anglican Coalition is here to provide UK-based Christian LGBT organisations with opportunities to create resources for the Anglican community and to develop a shared voice for the full acceptance of LGBT people in the Anglican Communion.
2. The Coalition members are:
Accepting Evangelicals www.acceptingevangelicals.org
Changing Attitude www.changingattitude.org.uk
The Clergy Consultation www.clergyconsultation.org
Courage www.courage.org.uk
The Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians www.eflgc.org.uk
Inclusive Church www.inclusivechurch2.net
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement www.lgcm.org.uk
The Sibyls www.sibyls.co.uk
The votes in the elections to the Church of England General Synod will be counted this week. I will publish the names of the successful candidates here: General Synod List of members.
Please help me do this by sending election results to gs2010@peterowen.org.uk. I will only publish the names of successful candidates, so I do not need the details of the count (although you are welcome to send these to me as well).
24 CommentsUpdated Monday
The Right Reverend Michael Charles Scott-Joynt, MA, the Lord Bishop of Winchester, announced at his diocesan synod yesterday that he will retire on 7 May 2011. Congregations and parishes in the diocese are being informed today, and an announcement on the diocesan website is expected later this week.
Update Official announcement from diocese
52 CommentsThe Church Mouse asks Is Harvest Festival now redundant?
This prompted Kevin Holdsworth to write But when is Harvest? Please, please, when is it?
Giles Fraser writes in the Telegraph that Blessed are the children – as long as they keep it down. “The young often make a racket in church, but that’s no reason to kick them out”, he argues.
Vanessa Thorpe in The Observer profiles Karen Armstrong: The compassionate face of religion. “The former nun’s writing and theories about God and belief upset some, but she numbers the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu among her fans.”
Alan Wilson continues his series in The Guardian: The Book of Common Prayer, part 7: The joy of being a miserable sinner. “The gloomy prayers of the BCP are simply a communal stare over the precipice into an abyss, but from a place of grace.”
Mark Vernon writes in The Guardian about John Henry Newman’s last act of friendship. “Why the beatified cardinal wanted to be buried with Ambrose St John is disputed, but for me this was an act of ‘sworn brothers’.”
Graham Tomlin writes in the Church of England Newspaper about The End of the Pew? (He is in favour of getting rid of them.)
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Looking at the fearful, insular US.
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about Gauguin’s day to wrestle with God. “The most surprising thing about Gauguin is his interest in religion.”
16 CommentsAn announcement was made a few days ago of the names of those who are to serve on the group charged with drafting the new Code of Practice to accompany the legislation on Women in the Episcopate.
The Church Times reports today: Traditionalists unhappy with new working group
THE Catholic Group in the General Synod was described on Wednesday morning as “incandescent” about Tuesday’s announcement of the membership of the group that will prepare the draft code of practice to accompany the women-bishops Measure…
… Prebendary David Houlding, a leading member of the Catholic Group, said on Wednesday: “We are all so angry and dismayed. It’s clear from the compilation of this group that there is to be no honoured place in the Church of England for traditionalists — that we are not wanted. This group is set up to fail before it begins. It’s one [Bishop Martin Warner] against seven.
This is slightly odd, as the list also includes The Reverend Angus MacLeay, Vicar of St Nicholas Sevenoaks, who is certainly opposed to women bishops, though for rather different reasons.
There is a second report in the Church Times available at the same URL, but SCROLL DOWN for Flying bishops deny quick move to Rome, which updates the web-only story of last Friday:
…A report published in the parish magazine of All Saints’, Clifton, of a meeting of the Ebbsfleet Lay Congress, which took place in Somerset on 25 September, described Bishop Newton as saying that he “hopes to join the Ordinariate”, as “I no longer believe it is possible to be a Catholic in the Church of England.” He was reported as saying that he “expects . . . that the Ordinariate could start in January 2011”.
The report also said that Bishop Burnham favoured joining the Ordinariate, and was not optimistic about the new Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda for Catholic clergy and laity (News, 1 October).
Earlier this year, Bishop Burnham and Bishop Newton, with the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Revd John Broadhurst, travelled to Rome to meet members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (News, 7 May).
Bishops Burnham and Newton said in a statement to The Catholic Herald last week that the offer of the Ordinariate was not dependent on any action by the C of E’s General Synod. “The initiative should be judged on its own merit. It will require courage and vision on the part of those who accept the invitation, particularly among the first to respond.”
Meanwhile, Damian Thompson in the Telegraph continues to worry about SSWSH, see The mystery of SS Hinge & Bracket: is it something to do with married bishops?
53 CommentsAnd so the SS Hinge & Bracket sails on, stately as a galleon, captained by the “catholic” bishops of the Church of England, though it’s not clear who else is on board…
Last week’s Church Times press column contained an analysis by Andrew Brown of the interview by Ginny Dougary. See There are no rewards for honesty.
4 Comments…Yet there was one new and revealing thing that he said about the whole gay bishops business. “When I mention the statements that have been made about civil liberties and so forth, I think it’s important. It does mean that any local church that supports illegal discrimination or persecution of homosexuals is actually going against the Anglican Communion, and I have said that publicly.” One does wonder who is supposed to hear this, and who is supposed to believe it…
Updated
The Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda which sponsors AMiA recently elected a new primate.
ACNS Bishop Onesphore Rwaje elected Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda.
A news story in The New Times was headed Anglican Archbishop-Elect Vows to Fight Gay Marriage.
George Conger writes about it today in the Church of England Newspaper: Rwandan revamp of Anglican ecclesiology.
The paper by Kevin Donlon mentioned in the above can be found as a PDF over here. (Paul Bagshaw commented on it in 2008.)
Meanwhile, one of the largest AMIA congregations, Christ Church Plano is switching to ACNA, see Christ Church Making Canonical Transfer to ACNA.
Update see also Christ Church, Plano, TX Transfers to Anglican Church in North America, Joins Diocese of Pittsburgh
5 CommentsSupport for the Anglican Covenant (at least in its present form) is becoming increasingly hard to find.
The latest commentary from Ephraim Radner is titled Can the Instruments of Unity Be Repaired? includes this passage:
…Instead of the Primates’ Meeting, the leaders of the Global South – whether they are Primates or not — along with their mutually supportive colleagues, need to order their lives according to some other provisional gathering point: the Covenant sits there waiting. Its adoption in some form under the auspices of a definable group would allow other non-Global South Anglicans in the world in less coherent or even friendly settings to join in and have some visible linkages and mutual relations that formally sustain their continued witness and mission. Should the current text be revised? In an obvious sense, yes: Section 4 is no longer rational, given the role it gives to the ACC and through it a now clouded “Standing Committee”. But a gathering on the basis of Sections 1-3 is possible (altering little), with a view to revising Section 4 in a simple manner by replacing the Standing Committee with some provisional group representative of the Covenanting churches’ leadership, however that is determined. Those who have already adopted or confirmed the current Covenant text have shown their ability to deal expeditiously with any such simple revisions…
Bishop Christopher Epting of the Episcopal Church USA has written an article To “Covenant” or Not to “Covenant”.
I continue to be of two minds about the wisdom of the proposed Anglican Covenant. On the one hand it could be helpful, ecumenically, and otherwise, to have a fairly accessible summary of “the Anglican ethos” and what binds us together as members of this Communion. I don’t think there is a real threat here of us becoming a “confessional Church” in the ways Anglicans have not been in the past. The proposed Covenant falls far short (thankfully) of a Westminster or Augsburg Confession. The first three sections are not perfect, but I could certainly live with them as a short-hand way of stating who we have been and are historically.
On the other hand, I have a good deal of sympathy with those who remind us that Anglicans have been loathe to state that we hold or teach anything other than the creedal Faith of the “undivided” Church and that the Creeds, the Baptismal Covenant, and perhaps the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral should be all we need by way of “confessional” statements. But are they today?
Obviously, the most problemmatic portion of the proposed Anglican Covenant is Section Four which deals with processes and procedures should one Province or “instrument” of the Communion feel that another Province has failed to live into the implications of the Covenant and caused serious stress and strain for sisters and brothers elsewhere, stretching or even breaking the bond of Communion the Covenant is supposed to enhance…
Meanwhile, scepticism rules in English comments. See for example The Covenant: Antarctic Study Guide by Paul Bagshaw or Not a Coward by Adrian Worsfold.
And there is The Guide to the Anglican Covenant for Dummies at Lesley’s Blog, along with The Anglican Covenant – Monty Python Style?
Today’s Church Times has the headline If Jefferts Schori is at meeting, I won’t come, says Primate.
15 CommentsPRIMATES from the Global South are contemplating a boycott of the next Primates’ Meeting because the US Presiding Bishop, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be present.
The Archbishop of the Indian Ocean, the Most Revd Ian Ernest, has confirmed that he will not attend the meeting, due to take place in Dublin, 25-31 January…
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Christopher Thomas James Chessun, MA, Area Bishop of Woolwich, for election as Bishop of Southwark, in succession to the Right Reverend Thomas Frederick Butler, BSc, MSc, PhD, on his retirement on the 5th March 2010.
Notes for Editors
The Right Reverend Christopher Chessun (aged 54) studied for the ordained ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. His first curacy was at St Michael and All Angels, Sandhurst in Oxford Diocese between 1983 and 1987, and he become a Senior Curate at St Mary, Portsea in Portsmouth Diocese from 1987 to 1989. He then became Minor Canon and Chaplain of St Paul’s Cathedral from 1989 to 1993 and between 1991 and 1993 he was also a Vocations Adviser in the Diocese of London. From 1993 to 2001 he was Rector of St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney and Area Dean of Tower Hamlets from 1997 to 2001. He became Archdeacon of Northolt in 2001. Since 2005 he has been Area Bishop of Woolwich. In May 2010 the Archbishops of Canterbury and York appointed him Bishop for Urban Life and Faith in addition to his other Episcopal responsibilities.
Christopher Chessun has an identical twin, and his interests include music, history, travel, deaf – hearing integration, reconstruction in Zimbabwe and links with Churches overseas.
From Southwark: Tenth Bishop of Southwark is announced includes more details
Bishop Nick Baines writes: Bishop of Southwark
30 CommentsThe Crown Nominations Commission is now interviewing candidates. This was done for the first time last week, when candidates for Bradford were interviewed. This was announced by the Archbishop of York at General Synod in February this year, but we failed to pick it up at the time. The Archbishop’s statement is included in the Report of Proceedings: Volume 41 No.1 (February 2010) (pages 97 and 98). I have copied it below the fold. My thanks go to the Archbishops’ Senior Appointments Adviser for drawing my attention to this.
I have described the full process for appointing diocesan bishops here.
There is also a very useful Briefing for Members of Vacancy in See Committees prepared by the Archbishops’ Appointments Secretary which also describes the process, although this has not yet been updated to include the interviews.
21 CommentsNEWS from the Church of England
PR 87.10
05/10/2010
For immediate release
Women in the episcopate: working group for preparation of draft statutory code of practice
The membership has been announced today of a working group established by the House of Bishops’ Standing Committee to advise the House on the preparation of a draft statutory code of practice.
The members, three of whom served on the former Revision Committee on the legislation, are:
The working group has been asked to conclude its report for the House by next autumn having consulted the House and the legislative Steering Committee first.
The expectation is that the House will bring a draft of the code to Synod in February 2012, though the final version of the code cannot be drawn up by the House and approved by Synod until the legislation itself has received Royal Assent (which cannot in practice be before 2013).
ENDS
16 Comments