The Christian church in its homelands in the Middle East is undergoing a “rapid attrition”, the Anglican Bishop of Chichester has warned.

Bishop John Hind, in a House of Lords debate on religious persecution, pointed to the “extreme deprivation” suffered by Christians in Iraq.

“In places where different faiths have coexisted for centuries we see the rapid attrition of the Christian church in its ancestral homelands,” he said.

“In Iraq, Christians have suffered extreme deprivation, sometimes due to sheer religious hatred, sometimes just caught in the cross-fire, sometimes because, amazingly and quite wrongly, they are regarded as representatives of a western faith.

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The General Synod of the Church of England might not sound like a spiritual theme, for it, like all human assemblies, has its own share of politics and inevitably falls short of the Christian assembly it is supposed to be.

But the Christian faith is an incarnational religion, with at its heart the belief that the Universe is God’s creation, that human beings are created in the image of God, and that in Jesus God took our human nature and knew His creation and our human need from the inside. God did not stand aside from the sin and evil of the world, and therefore from the political and religious organisations that shape human history and human society.

The Church on which the Risen Christ breathed out his life-giving Spirit is not an abstract idea, but a visible society, called in its life and witness to point to God’s kingdom of justice, love and peace. A Church therefore needs, in responding to that call and to that mission, to meet, to pray and to wrestle with how that calling and mission is to be taken forward.

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On behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester and Chair of the Council of Christians and Jews, hosted a reception at Lambeth Palace on 17 February 2009 for the participants in the first Inter Parliamentary Conference on anti-Semitism.

The Conference which is the first of a series, follows the work of the ‘All Party Parliamentary Committee on anti-Semitism’ which produced a major report in 2007 and is chaired by Mr John Mann MP. Since then, the Committee has engaged with Parliamentarians concerned with anti-Semitism around the world to create a network and now an agreement to hold regular conferences under the auspices of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition on Combating anti-Semitism.

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As Chair of the House of Bishops Theological Group, I am glad to reaffirm the biblical teaching on the utter uniqueness of the God who reveals himself to Israel but also on the universal significance of this one God, the source and ground of all that exists, for all peoples and the whole world. The New Testament tells us, and the Catholic Creeds declare, that, in Jesus Christ, God himself has entered into human history and we encounter him in this human person. But because it is God who is encountered, the particular becomes full of universal significance.

Of course, it can be shown from Scripture that God reveals something of himself through the created order, in conscience and in the spiritual awareness of which everyone is capable. But we should note that such knowledge cannot save of itself not least because it is affected by human sinfulness and rebellion. The early Apologists for the faith believed that, even in midst of falsehood and superstition, people could know something of God because they were made in the divine image, because the Logos, the Eternal Word, incarnate in Jesus Christ, illuminates the minds and hearts of all (John 1:9), even if they turn away from this illumination, and because the Holy Spirit is everywhere and always convincing people of sin and righteousness and judgement (John 16:8-11). For the Apologists, however, such knowledge pointed to and was fulfilled in Jesus Christ; his Incarnation, Cross and Resurrection.

We recognise God’s presence and work in our world precisely and authentically only because of his revelation in the call, liberation and history of his Chosen People and supremely, of course, in Jesus Christ. This history of salvation and judgement is the touchstone, or canon, by which we are able to recognise God’s providence anywhere.

The Anglican formularies affirm such an understanding of salvation history. No-one can be saved by any ”˜natural’ knowledge of God, nor by religious observance but only by God’s graciousness, fully revealed in Jesus Christ.

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Church of England members who disagree on whether women bishops should be ordained must find a way to co-exist because neither group “will go away”, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said on Tuesday.

Some members may join another church, but many wanted to remain and the Anglican Church must find a way to accommodate them, he added.

Speaking at the General Synod meeting in London, the Church’s spiritual head said traditionalists and liberals recognised they had to tackle the issue.

“We may have imperfect communion, but we unmistakeably want to find a way of holding on to what we have and ‘intensifying’ it,” he said.

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Bishop John Gladwin, a former chairman of Christian Aid, used a debate on the Gaza situation in the House of Lords to call for a political process involving all parties.

He told peers: “Those of us who have been to the Holy Land will know the experience of passing through checkpoints on the West Bank that are staffed by young Israeli men and women who are barely out of school and controlling people old enough to be their grandparents.

“It makes you wonder what we are doing to the next generation of people and what people are thinking who have been involved in firing from tanks into Gaza, which has left young children and women dead or injured for life. There is a brutalising effect in all this.

“Then I think of the 1.5 million people on the Gaza Strip, half of whom are under the age of 21, I guess. What has happened to them now that thousands of their children have been traumatised by violence and brutality?”

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The Church of England is the broadest of churches. It has a reputation for carrying out an exhaustive search for compromise even if that means fudging difficult issues.

That’s what made the Synod’s substantial vote last summer to press ahead with the ordination of women bishops seem all the more decisive.

Traditionalists were left disappointed and angry when they were denied the legal right they had wanted to opt out of the control of women bishops.

The Synod clearly felt that ordaining women to the most senior posts was too important a principle to allow the pain of a minority of traditionalists to send it off course.

But when the Synod met this week for a passionate debate about the exact circumstances under which women were to be made bishops, determination seemed to have given way once again to an anxious search for the middle ground – and pessimism about the likelihood of finding it.

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In the past, the Anglican Communion “has been held together by a common history, similar ”¦ ways of worship and the so-called ‘bonds of affection,'” he said. “In a rapidly globalizing world and a fast-developing communion, these are no longer enough.”

Nazir-Ali was introducing a motion that synod “do take note” of a Church of England report that responds to the latest draft (St. Andrew’s Draft) of the Anglican covenant.

“The main purpose of the covenant is inclusion rather than exclusion,” Nazir-Ali said. “We cannot forget, nevertheless, that these questions have arisen for us because of the need for adequate discipline in the communion on matters which affect everyone.”

During a one-hour synod debate, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams disagreed with Nazir-Ali’s position on the covenant. “We mustn’t have excessive expectations of the covenant,” Williams said, cautioning against it being a legal instrument. “It’s part of an ongoing inquiry of what a global communion might look like. At every stage it is something which churches voluntarily are invited to enter into.”

However, the Rev. Canon Chris Sugden of the Diocese of Oxford said he believes that the covenant should be “far more than an expression of fellowship,” and instead be “a matter of legislation and a basis for governance.”

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So the Church of England opted for safety when it met to discuss the next stage in the ordination of women bishops, avoiding the cataclysmic result of a ”˜no’ vote.

More than 280 members of the General Synod, or governing body, voted in favour of sending draft legislation and a code of practice to a revision committee, ensuring its continued progress.

The church will still take its time over the legislation, with no woman bishop likely to be installed before 2014.

But as Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield, said: “I believe we must go forward today however slowly the progress may be.”

Failure to have voted in favour would not have killed off the prospect of women bishops – as the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said on Tuesday, the issue will not go away – but it could have delayed ordination for many years.

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Senior bishops have burst into song in protest at the plans of some English water companies to impose huge bills on churches and other community groups.

The Archbishop of Canterbury was among those who joined in a chorus of “the rains came down and the tax went up” at the Church’s annual general synod.

The synod voted to back campaigners who say the new “rain tax” has seen church drainage bills rise by up to 1,300%.

Water watchdog Ofwat says the charges are environmentally responsible.

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The ordination of women bishops has moved a step nearer after the Church of England’s General Synod voted to send draft legislation and a code of practice for further discussion.

But the two-hour debate yesterday once again revealed deep rifts in the church.

Anglicans opposed to women bishops have threatened to leave the church if adequate safeguards are not put in place to cater for them.

The compromise package being proposed is understood to include so-called “complementary bishops” who would minister to parishes which object to women bishops.

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The Church of England’s General Synod voted to a continue its work towards consecrating women bishops with an accompanying Code of Practice, as it voted on Wednesday to take the relevant Measure to revision in committee.

Despite being an unpopular middle ground at last July’s Synod, the Code of Practice Measure received 281 votes of support, against 114 with 13 registered abstentions. The Draft Amending Canon then received 309 votes of support against 79, with 14 registered abstentions.

This was after the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the chair of the Steering Committee for the draft legislation, had assured many of the options remained open. He also made clear the alternative, which would likely see the rescinding of the Act of Synod, would leave opponents of women in the episcopate even more vulnerable.

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Defenders of the Presiding Bishop claim that by her actions she has merely deprived him of a licence in the Episcopal Church. But surely the whole point is that after the deposition of Bob Duncan last September, Bishop Scriven’s ”˜licence’ was revoked. No, in fact it looks like Presiding Bishop Schori is attempting something much more sweeping here.

The Anglican Communion Institute again comments: “The Presiding Bishop’s action has profound consequences for TEC’s status as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion and its communion with the Church of England.” Her Declaration of Removal touches upon the ”˜ordinations’ conferred on him by the Church of England, not by The Episcopal Church, and therefore she is going down a very dangerous road by pretending to have the authority to pronounce on them. Furthermore, by prohibiting a bishop in good standing within the Church of England from ministering in The Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Schori is opening up the way for a diplomatic row.

Bishop Scriven, no doubt, will be laughing about this bizarre overstep by the Presiding Bishop, but the ramifications of this move should be examined further by English canon lawyers. It seems that The Episcopal Church is claiming to have an authority that it does not. And that, after all, is the root of the problem in the Anglican Communion.

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Bishop Scriven remained as a bishop in good standing in the Episcopal Church after Pittsburgh diocese realigned with the Southern Cone in November last year. He believed the diocese had democratically made its decision and ”” in a response to the Church Times which came too late for publication ”” described the Convention’s vote as conducted “in a very fair and grace-filled way”. He made himself available as a bishop to all congregations who invited him, regardless of how they had voted.

He said at that time: “We still pray sincerely that further lawsuits can be avoided, and I certainly intend to maintain all my close friendships with the vast majority of those who have chosen not to stay with the diocese.”

Bishop Scriven described the letter he received in November releasing him from his orders as “really weird”. He retained it but did not respond to it. The promised certificate releasing Bishop Scriven from his orders did not reach him personally, “though, to be fair, she might have tried as I was wandering round the world,” he said on Wednesday.

The correspondence is now in the public domain. “I had no desire to publish these letters until the thing was announced but was then very happy for them to be released,” Bishop Scriven said. “Hers was a very gracious letter but I was kind of boggled by the language really….”

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Defenders of the Presiding Bishop are scrambling to re-interpret her extraordinary action of depriving a bishop of the Church of England of the gifts and authority conferred in his ordination and removing him from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church. For example, the group supporting the Presiding Bishop in Pittsburgh stated that “[t]his is a routine way of permitting Bishop Scriven to continue his ministry.” In the strange world of TEC, renunciation of orders has become a routine way of continuing one’s ministry.

But it is not routine. Indeed, it has not been used for those transferring from TEC to another province in the Anglican Communion until the Presiding Bishop began what resembles a scorched-earth approach to her opponents within TEC. Not surprisingly, in the past such matters have been handled by letter. One can see the evolution of the Presiding Bishop’s “routine” policy in the treatment of Bishop David Bena, who was transferred by letter by his diocesan bishop to the Church of Nigeria in February 2007. A month later, the Presiding Bishop wrote Bishop Bena and informed him that “by this action you are no longer a member of the House of Bishops” and that she had informed the Secretary of the House to remove him from the list of members. That was all that needed to be done. A year later, however, as her current strategy emerged, she suddenly declared in January 2008 that she had accepted Bishop Bena’s renunciation of orders using the canon she now uses against Bishop Scriven. In other words, if this is now sadly routine, it has only become routine in the past year.

Not only is this not routine, it was not necessary.

“This action reflects profound confusion” say the authors. Is there a better phrase to describe the common life of TEC at present? Doctrinal and Structural incoherence abound. Read it all–KSH

There are 26 bishops in the Lords (the ”˜Lords Spiritual’) who, as well as reading prayers at the start of each day’s meeting, play a full and active role in the life and work of the Upper House. They provide an independent voice, a spiritual insight and a regional perspective in their contributions to the House, which is informed by their work in the dioceses. They regularly speak on a wide range of subjects and are active on committees and in all party groups.

This month in the Lords, the Archbishop of York challenged the Government about lifting the ban on the short selling of shares in the current financial crisis, while the Bishops of Chelmsford and Manchester voiced concerns about the use of violence in and around Gaza and the humanitarian response.

The new website section is designed for those who want to discover more about the bishops’ past and current contributions in the Lords, as well as providing helpful information about the bishops’ present and historic role in the Upper House.

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An article that appeared on Episcopal Life Online on January 23, 2009 reported that Bishop Henry Scriven, the former Assistant Bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, had renounced his orders and that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, had accepted that renunciation. Although the article may suggest otherwise, the Standing Committee understands that this action was not in any sense a disciplinary action or an action taken because of Bishop Scriven’s support for the attempt to realign the Diocese with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.

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The Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church has announced that she has deposed a bishop of the Church of England from the ordained ministry.

On Jan 23, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced that she had accepted the voluntary renunciation of ministry given to her by the Rt Rev Henry Scriven, Mission Director for South America of the newly merged South American Mission Society (SAMS) ”“ Church Mission Society (CMS) and removed him from the ranks of the ordained ministry.

Under the terms of American Canon law Bishop Scriven is now “released from the obligations of all ministerial offices, and is deprived of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority as a minister of God’s word and sacraments conferred in ordination.”

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DR STEVEN Croft has been ordained as the new Bishop of Sheffield in a packed service at York Minster.

Worshippers from churches across Sheffield joined Christians from around the region for the special ceremony led by Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

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Few voices in the Church of England have stood more boldly for biblical authority than the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester. In a special broadcast from the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston (SC), Dr. Mohler welcomes Bishop Nazir-Ali to the program for a broad conversation about the most pressing issues facing the Church of England.

You can either download it as a podcast or listen to it by following the links here.

DRAFT legislation for women bishops has drawn cautious responses since its publication last week…[earlier this month]. There is a prevailing desire not to question what the proposed Code of Practice could do before the General Synod examines it in detail in February.

The response of the traditionalist Catholic body Forward in Faith has been the most uncompromising. While it welcomed publication of the further report and associated documents, the organisation opposes in principle the Code that is at the heart of the proposals.

“We have consistently argued that a Code of Practice (with no transfer of jurisdiction) will not provide the security which tens of thousands of faithful and loyal Anglicans need in order to live with integrity in the Church of England after the ordina­tion of women to the episcopate. Nothing in these documents changes that situation,” a terse statement on its website said….

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The tenth Bishop of St Albans is to be the Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, Downing Street has announced this morning.

The Church of England’s first bishop to be appointed in 2009, Bishop Alan is also the first Church of England bishop to announce his appointment through a three minute You Tube video which can also be viewed on the Diocesan website. Bishop Alan came to St Albans Cathedral this morning for the announcement.

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Senior politicians are in favour of breaking up the all-male enclave of the 26 bishops in the House of Lords, the cleric tipped to become Britain’s first female Anglican bishop believes.

Canon Jane Hedges says that there is increasing discomfort at the highest levels of the Establishment that the power wielded in the Lords by bishops is entirely in the hands of men.

As Canon Steward at Westminster Abbey, she is in a position to know. She has access to the corridors of power and has met nearly everyone at the highest levels of the Establishment, from the Queen and the Prime Minister down.

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After years of bitter wrangling over the issue, a report was published last week that advocated creating a new class of clergy to cater for traditionalists who refuse to accept women’s ordination.

However, 41 per cent of respondents said they would not back such a solution, and a further eight per cent said they were undecided.

Figures on both sides of the debate argued that providing “complementary” or “flying” bishops for opponents of female bishops was unacceptable.

While traditionalists said that this did not represent a satisfactory safeguard, supporters of women bishops claimed it is too great a concession.

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In the straw poll of members of the General Synod, the Church’s parliament, an overwhelming majority of those questioned said that the bishops were right to speak out.

The survey also uncovered serious concerns over the state of British society and Labour’s lack of support for the family.

This newspaper questioned 71 members of the 467-strong Synod, one in seven of the total. Of those questioned, 86 per cent said the bishops had been “right to criticise the Government at this particular time”.

Nearly half, 48 per cent, said it was time for a change of government, while 45 per cent agreed with David Cameron’s claim that Britain is a “broken” society.

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Here is one:

SIR ”“ The bishops who accused New Labour of being “beguiled by money” hit the nail on the head (report, December 28). However, it is not just Government policies that shame Labour as the gap between rich and poor widens. Individual greed has also been allowed to flourish.

Nearly 30 former Labour ministers have taken second jobs in the private sector. For example, two former health ministers are consultants to companies that sell services to the NHS.

There has been a marked drop in confidence in the integrity of politicians: the growing exodus by ministers into the private sector since Labour came to power further contributes to our concern.

Alice Mahon
Halifax, West Yorkshire

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In the Wallace collection in London hangs one of Nicolas Poussin’s great paintings, A Dance to the Music of Time. As the winged and grey-bearded Father Time plays a lyre the allegorical figures of the Seasons of life, Poverty, Labour, Wealth and Pleasure, dance an eternal round to his music. It was a painting that provided an inspiration and title for Anthony Powell’s sequence of 12 novels. Nick Jenkins, the central character of the novels, reflects on Poussin’s painting: “The image of Time brought thoughts of mortality of human beings, facing outward like the Seasons, moving hand in hand in intricate measure, stepping slowly, methodically sometimes a trifle awkwardly, in evolutions that take recognisable shape: or breaking into seemingly meaningless gyrations, while partners disappear only to reappear again, once more giving pattern to the spectacle: unable to control the melody, unable, perhaps, to control the steps of the dance.”

Now, as we move from 2008 to 2009, there is a consciousness of the passing of time, of past, present and future, and perhaps a listening for what the music of time might be.

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In a New Year message, the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Michael Perham, said that his hope for the nation was “that we will find ways of supporting those most affected by the recession” and “learn the lessons that will create a society less obsessed with material wealth”.

The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, Dr Geoffrey Rowell, said that the economic crisis could be “as significant as the fall of the Berlin Wall in changing the world”.

Dr Williams, interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said that the credit crunch was a “reality check”. Sooner or later, people had “to ask what are we assembling or accumulating wealth for”.

Acknowledging that it was “suicid­ally silly” for him to com­ment on the economy, because he was “not an economist by any stretch of the imagination”, the Arch­bishop said that he wanted to ask where the “moral questions are in the economic discourse”.

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THE Bishop of Ripon and Leeds has played down the significance of the Church of England being disestablished.

The Rt Rev John Packer, whose sprawling diocese includes Leeds, Harrogate, Ripon and Richmond, is backing the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who contends that a separation would not be such a major step.

The bishops’ comments come after it was recently reported that Labour was pressing for a state split from the church.

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