Archbishops representing three-quarters of the Anglican world are rallying for firm action against two Western Churches for ”˜celebrating’ homosexuality.
The decision by the top leadership of the Global South of the Anglican Communion was prompted by the recent election by The Episcopal Church (U.S.) of a partnered lesbian as a bishop.
Heads of Churches in the Anglican Global South will be persuading their representative assemblies to reconsider communion with the North American Churches. This is “until it becomes clear there is genuine repentance,” in the words of a communiqué. The ”˜Fourth Trumpet’ was released Friday after an Anglican Global South summit held throughout the week at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Hmmm. Though this report comes from Singapore, the author, Edumund Chua, doesn’t seem to know much about Anglicanism. Numerous factual errors mar the article. The GSE4 conference wasn’t just attended by archbishops. It called on the ABoC to disinvite the American and Canadian primates from attending the Primates’ Meeting they called for as a matter of urgency, not from the Lambeth Conference that won’t meet again for almost a decade. And perhaps the most glaring blooper of all, the other three instruments of unity/communion in the AC aren’t made up just of English bishops. Nor have Anglican churches in Nepal and Myanmar experienced “phenomenal growth,” although what growth they have seen, despite fierce persecution, is pretty dramatic and miraculous all right.
This appears to be an evangelical’s appreciation for the strong stand for Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxis taken by the GS leaders in Singapore. It’s sincere, but poorly informed. But the point is that the event left a totally positive impression. And I’m glad for that.
David Handy+
True, a fairly typical demonstration of the Press’ mastery over this subject. Overall, though, it seems to be “going to plan” on all sides. Events since roughly +Pike have been playing out like something written by Sophocles. A history written in 75 years or so will likely remark on this.
I enjoyed this article. Its main outline, its “big picture,” is right. “Its soul is right,” as Browning says.