Ephraim Radner on TEC, the Covenant and the Constitution

From here:

ACI believes that, on the basis of the Constitution and Canons of TEC and their historical substance and meaning, dioceses have the power to withdraw from General Convention. We do not deny that there are probably legal complications involved in exercising that power, most of which are untested. But granting this””and defending the constitutional structure that might permit a San Joaquin or Pittsburgh or Fort Worth to withdraw as well as opposing as uncanonical the means by which bishops of these dioceses were disciplined””is not the same thing as approving of specific decisions here and there.

And there is a fundamental difference between what is at stake in CP dioceses adopting the Covenant and the actions of the dioceses mentioned above: in the former case, the dioceses in question would (and should) adopt the Covenant on the basis of their powers as laid out by the Constitution and Canons of TEC itself for its own dioceses. There is no question here of “leaving” TEC, but of TEC dioceses doing what they are meant to do.
Brian seems to think that doing this would cause a free-for-all among anglican churches in the world. But what is at issue is precisely that TEC’s polity is DIFFERENT from the polity of most other anglican churches. And its “provincial” personality exists only according to this unusual, even unique, polity. That personality operates according to individual diocesan decision-making, which either coheres or does not with the collective that is designated by the General Convention. The former shapes the latter, not the the other way around in terms of “hierarchical” powers.

Of course, not everyone agrees with this interpretation of our Constitution. But our argument is that is it not up to the Instruments of Unity to interpret our Constitution and Canons on behalf of American dioceses. Over and over, the Instruments have prescinded from such a task, and on principle. Unless the constituional question is resolved amongst the members of TEC themselves, it will finally be resolved in the civil courts of the United States. That, in fact, seems to be path now being taken.

Until such time, we have two vying interpretation as to who has the “authority” to adopt the Covenant within TEC: we argue that only dioceses can do this, in any final way; others have argued that only the General Convention can do this. No other Anglican Church has in fact exhibited such a disagreement, and none is anticipated given the shape of other churches’ constitutions. Those provinces who do end up adopting the Covenant will finally have to make the decision themselves as to who they will recognize as Covenant partners amongst those American Anglicans who formally express their desire to be party to this Covenant. But nothing now prevents, from a legal point of view, TEC dioceses from such formal expressions apart from General Convention. Nothing. It is not illegal, it is not rebellious, it is not unAnglican, it is not a declaration of war, it is not impertinent: it is rather the exercise of diocesan responsibilities, with its bishop, to remain faithful (as we see it) to the Anglican commitments of its formation and vocation.

We must go further, however. Theologically, the provincial system is itself flawed, or at least many believe it is, and I have argued along these lines recently in my paper “The Organizational Basis of the Anglican Communion”. These flaws are ones that have increasingly been noted within the Communion itself, despite our generally (but not uniformly!) provincial organization. The Christian Church ought properly to be ordered, I have argued, according to what I call “pastoral synodality”, which is episocopally centered and structurally ordered along what amount therefore to diocesan lines. Cultural, regional, and political considerations ought not to define the character of these structures, but rather the persuasive pastoral witness of self-expenditure that discples of Christ provide. There are good historical and theological reasons for seeing matters this way, and the Anglican Communion itself, I would argue, has long been evolving in this direction, and away from the national-provincial structures that were pragmatically and often unthinkingly and problematically adopted in the wake of colonial expansion and then ecclesial and national independencies. I would prefer to see the present turmoil less as a simple matter of a clash of theological commitments, than as the transformational pains of a more faithful adaptation to the Church’s intrinsic order.

It so happens that TEC’s Constitution is shaped more in accord with the character of pastoral synodality than some other Anglican churches! But it is not surprising, therefore, that this very Constitution and its implications is now being subverted by those whose theological commitments demand the justification of nationalistic and/or cultural priority over the authority of particular sanctified witness that pastoral synodality represents. That is, TEC’s leadership is promoting a new understanding of the Episcopal Church, and one that contradicts our Constitution, that demands subservience to a purported cultural revelation that General Convention has arrogated to itself and the PB the power to impose. The subversion is one of political convenience.

Any attempt to defrock bishops or priests who seek to uphold our Episcopal Constitution in opposition to these subversions would be meaningless in substance, and practically so unless and until any court ruled in favor of the defrockers. CP dioceses and bishops should adopt the Covenant when its text becomes recognized, and assuming its acceptability. If other covenanting churches do not wish to receive these dioceses and bishops as full covenanting partners, that will be to their shame.

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Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, Anglican Covenant, Anglican Identity, Episcopal Church (TEC), TEC Conflicts, TEC Polity & Canons

3 comments on “Ephraim Radner on TEC, the Covenant and the Constitution

  1. Stefano says:

    Thanks for reposting this discussion with Dr Radner. His thoroughness has been helpful in these discussions.

    I would like to ask some questions about some other things I’ve observed. During the discussions at the HOB in Anaheim a question was raised as to the Bishops authority and this was the reply:

    “Chair: well the bishop is the ordinary”

    So…. what is the presiding Bishop?

    Sewanee Professor of Pneumatology Robert Hughes cited the greatest fear we have when the Presiding Bishop goes to an international meeting on behalf of [TEC] that ‘they come back thinking they are a Primate. They are not.’ The professor is not considered a ‘conservative’ but he regarded by fellow academics as a stickler on points of church polity.

    As for Provinces, what are they? Dr. Radner has done a wonderful job of explicating the theology and practicality of Province and should be properly thanked. A short answer is essentially they are like Zip Codes. They have no metropolitan, they are not a diocese.

    SO going back to the fundamental unit of the Communion, the diocese and the essential authority, the Bishop ordinary. At this point, please note the definition and distinction between the ordinary and the suffragan. The ordinary has authority that is not delegated by another; it is intrinsic in the office. The suffragan’s authority derives from the ordinary.

    Soo…. lets ask again. ‘What is the presiding Bishop?’ Aside from being a parliamentary construct and one whose see is temporary they can be seen as functioning as a suffragan to the other bishops of the house. They have no other see unless you want to count the employees at 815.

    So what about extra provincial signing onto the Covenant? This question was raised before to Bp Gregory Cameron, then Canon to Archbishop Williams, who asserted that provision would have to be made for individual dioceses to sign or not sign the Covenant since the Diocese is the core unit of the Communion.

    A retired Bishop of Church has already called for the PB to “Tear Down this Wall!” of litigation and fear. Indeed a ‘communion’ held together by fear of litigation could hardly be a communion of the “bonds a mutual affection”.

    In fact I suggest the whole issue of the so-called Dennis Canon may fall apart on the issue of whether the canon is intrinsically possible. Much has been made of the non-juridical headship of Canterbury and the polity of the Church, so how can the highest-level unit (that is the Diocese) accede to something that is in fact not higher? Can a Governor of the State agree to be Deputy mayor of a City?

    So, who can sign? And who should sign? It is the Ordinary of the Diocese, the core unit and sine qua non of the Communion that should sign the Covenant. Counselors and Courts may disagree but as in other instances courts and councils may err. It may well prove that in attempting to establish a hierarchy where there is none, courts may well find themselves in conflict with the establishment clause of the Constitution as well as common sense, communion history and common decency.

  2. Br_er Rabbit says:

    I would have to classify this posting of Dr. Radner under the heading of Really Good News.

  3. Br. Michael says:

    Good points, but remember TEC is the entity with the power. And so far they have been able to make the Constitution and Canons say what TEC says that they say through the raw application of that power.