Conservative Anglicans have condemned a statement by the bishops of the Episcopal Church (TEC) last week, which they claim failed to clarify the US Church’s views on homosexuality, writes Timothy Lavin.
Primates of the Anglican Communion at a meeting in February demanded that the leaders of TEC, Anglicanism’s American wing, vow not to consecrate non-celibate gay bishops or approve an official blessing for gay unions. The American bishops, meeting in New Orleans last month to discuss the issue, said that they would continue to “exercise restraint” when naming bishops and would not approve a blessing for same-sex unions. But their statement fell far short of what many in the Anglican leadership had wanted.
“It was our expressed desire to provide one final opportunity for an unequivocal assurance from the Episcopal Church of their commitment to the mind and teaching of the Communion,” said Peter Akinola, the Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria and a prominent conservative. “We also made clear that it is a time for clarity and a rejection of what hitherto has been an endless series of ambiguous and misleading statements. Sadly it seems that
our hopes were not well founded.”
So, let’s recap. The HoB had a meeting in order to clearly respond to Dar es. The HoB, JSC, ACC, ACO, and ostensibly Archbishop Williams, as well as a host of liberal clerics have said the response was adequate. Virtually every other entity says the response was at best yet another re-warmed, refried rehash of the ultra-liberal line. The “ruling” party has demonstrated, time and again, precious little interest in “commitment to the mind and teaching of the Communion”. In chess, politics, and conflict – this is a stalemate. Stalemate is not a stable state of being, but rather loaded with volatile tension. This is NOT a tension that can be “lived into” (how I abhor that useless little phrase, live into). This stalemate requires resolution, otherwise, as in other unstable states, chaos will come to roost.
Personally, I, a lowly layperson, have sent Archbishop Williams a message imploring him to call an emergency Primates meeting to settle the situation. Far, far, far, far too much is at risk for a stalemate (chaos) to exist for much longer.
And from another area of the Anglican spectrum, we have this from +++Jensen:
Crisis’, ‘schism’, ‘division’, ‘break-up’ – this has been the language of the last five years in the Anglican Communion. Again and again we have reached ‘defining moments’, ‘crucial meetings’ and ‘turning points’, only to discover that they simply lead into another period of uncertainty.
Uncertainty is now over. The decisive moments have passed. Irreversible actions have occurred. The time has come for sustained thought about a different future. The Anglican Communion will never be the same again. The Windsor process has failed, largely because it refused to grapple with the key issue of the truth. A new and more biblical vision is required to help biblically faithful Anglican churches survive and grow in the contemporary world.
Some have still set their hopes on the Lambeth Conference. But that is to misunderstand the significance of our time. It can no longer either unify Anglicanism or speak with authority. The invitations have gone to virtually all, and it is likely that some of those not invited will still attend as guests. There are faithful Anglican bishops who are not invited, and there are others who cannot be present in good conscience. The solemn words of the 1998 Conference were ignored by the American Church in 2003, and any authority which we may have ascribed to the deliberations of the Bishops has been lost permanently. Not surprisingly, Lambeth 2008 is not going to attempt a similar exercise in conciliar pronouncements. Why would it? There is no vision here.
The remainder can be found here:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/6700/
No more fence sitting, all ye who proclaim orthodoxy in the Anglican world!!!
Jensen, hardly a model for Anglican unity.
Really, rob k, who has been more divisive, Jensen or ECUSA/TEC?
No. 4 – Admittedly a close call. They are both divisive,for different reasons. Sydney believes that priests are “ministers”, the Eucharist is just a memorial, and will push once again for lay presidency/celebration at/of the Eucharist. The huge issue still waiting to be confronted in Anglicanism is “what is the Church?’ Thx.