At this point it is hard to know what to make of this – well, let’s call it what it is, a spiritual mess – and to know exactly how to unring the many bells that have now already been rung. I will note for the record that I am a bishop of CANA/Nigeria and of the ACNA, and that as President of the AAC, my organization is comprised of AMiA and non-AMiA members, and I will further note that at GAFCON, MaryAnne and I chose to ride on the bus that had all AMiA (except us) members on board, because we enjoy their company. When AMiA decided to move from ACNA member status to “mission partner” status, I was disappointed in the distancing that I felt.
With all of this said, I first sensed alarm when the letter of the Washington, DC AMiA members was posted publicly, as it gave evidence that all was not well in the Anglican Mission, as it is currently called. Then additional letters, most of which have been posted on Stand Firm in Faith or TitusOneNine websites began to come in, some from Rwanda, and some from Chairman Murphy in response. There has been a communications train wreck unfolding in slow motion. It would seem that Rwanda is not pleased with the new direction that +Chuck Murphy wishes to take the Mission, and in taking it out of Rwanda proper. They told him to stop his action and repent or resign from the AMiA chairmanship.
The following comment on Dr Robert Munday’s blog “To all the world” on the same topic says it all (and note it is from an African Anglican clergyman:
“The truth is bitter; as for me, their kind Christianity is questionable; they only come to Africa to get purple; that is what they need them for. They claimed that they left Episcopal Church because of heresy; what is now their excuse for not coming together with Duncan? Even some of them that claimed to be with Duncan; their relationship is just like that of cat and rat; very confusing; they all have their own hidden agenda; everything is about them. Wakeup brethren, sings of the end time! 1 Cor. 10:12.Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall”.
The Rev. Canon Olugbenga Olajide
I had my hand slapped for saying this in another forum, but the departure of the AMiA bishops does seem to be to be indicative of a certain mindset which is not Catholic, but rather of the essence of Protestantism. However, I must shamefacedly acknowledge that Anglo-Catholics in our tradition are good at doing schism, as well.
Well, while I wish all the AMiA folk the best (as I wish for every Christian group, including TEC), I hate to say I told you so. I said when AMiA was formed that denominations or branches that form out of schism (that is to say they come into existence for the specific purpose of being [i]not[/i] that other group), set in motion a very dangerous precedent for future conflict within said group because the devil just has to wait for the honeymoon to wear off and then raise the next vexing theological or political issue, and poof! You’ve recreated the Protestant Reformation writ small.
Once the fabric is ripped, the second rip is always easier than the first.
But when a once-great Church is led into heresy and apostasy by leaders masquerading as Christians who are influenced and backed by those who are bent on undermining Christian values and imposing their values and lifestyle on others, what are faithful Anglican Christians supposed to do? Knuckle under and go with the flow? No! Bow down to them and accept the inevitable? No! When TEC’s leaders are confronted by the irresistable force of the Truth of Christ’s Gospel, they twist it into something entirely different; they ensure that their views never agree with ours, thereby ensuring that sooner or later, schism will occur.
“Shake the dust from
Does “shake the dust from your sandals” sound familiar?
Sure. But why do people have to then go jurisdiction shopping and jump from one Primate to another? Does “They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” sound familiar?
When I left TEC with my diocese, I didn’t leave because of light and transient reasons. I left because TEC’s hierarchy departed from the faith of Christ crucified. It was no longer the Church in which I spent 40 years of my adult life, and in whose teachings I had placed so much faith. I didn’t leave because I wasn’t hearing what I longed to hear; TEC deserted ME, as they deserted so many others.
When we left to help found the ACNA, it was as though a dark and menacing cloud had suddenly been blown away, and glorious rays of sunshine suddenly shone down upon us. On that day when we took the second and final vote to leave TEC, it felt like a huge and heavy burden had been lifted from us. We were FREE!
One can only agree with your reasons, Cen, which are impeccable. I was just wondering why some find it then necessary to subsequently jump around, to divide and subdivide, as in the case of so many Continuer jurisdictions (all of which I like and admire, btw). After a fashion, Archer’s last line is apposite. I doubt and pray that the ACNA will not go that way.
Senior Priest, I think we of the ACNA learned a very valuable lesson as a result of having been persecuted by TEC’s hierarchy and their supporters for so long, and we are not going to be so foolish as to ignore that lesson. We didn’t come all this way only to let ourselves split over perceived insults or differences of opinion, and certainly, personalities must never be permitted to assume so much importance as to detract from the mission of the Church.
Let us be honest about the state of our fallen-ness and agree that not everyone (including or perhaps especially clergy!) left TEC for reasons which Cennydd13 identified. People never leave their neurosis in the narthex – neither did they leave them with TEC. It is a bitter truth, but one everyone is better off remembering when reflecting on their own, and others, motivations.
Hopefully, the “new” ACNA prayer book will restore the 1662’s clear statement in MP that we should: “acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of Almighty God”.