Many claim that the issue which has brought the Anglican Church to this crisis is homosexuality. That is not entirely true; homosexuality is simply the attention-grabbing issue that sells newspapers and secures political and public support. The real issue is hermeneutics, how Scripture is rightly interpreted. All the other divisive issues arise from that one underlying question.
Many media reports suggest that the group in Canada and the U.S. which is now under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Primate of the Southern Cone (lower South America) is “breaking away” from the Anglican Church. That is totally inaccurate. Actually, it is the Anglican Church of Canada that has “broken away” from the worldwide Anglican Communion and “departed” from its own founding constitution through a series of political decisions which are contrary to the repeatedly stated standards of Anglican belief and practice. The Communion, through its National Archbishops (called Primates) and its various Councils, has repeatedly stated its position. It has asked that Canada withdraw from full participation in the Communion’s governing bodies because we acted inappropriately. Canadian Anglicans who wish to remain faithful to the historic standards of belief and practice in the worldwide Anglican Communion were forced by events in Canada to appeal to the worldwide Communion for pastoral care and oversight.
“Actually, it is the Anglican Church of Canada that has “broken away†from the worldwide Anglican Communion and “departed†from its own founding constitution through a series of political decisions which are contrary to the repeatedly stated standards of Anglican belief and practice.”
Well stated.
The situation discussed in this op-ed was created by and is fed and nurtured by ECUSA’s and the Anglican Church of Canada’s revisionists. The revisionists are the ‘schismatics.’
This has been said again and again by many Anglicans and needs to be repeated until the message is finally comprehended by the ‘fence staddling’ ‘pew sitters’ who refuse to accept reality.
Secular victory is their only goal and they intend to ‘steam roll’ anyone who disagrees with them.
This is often said, but I’ve equally often wondered about it. Isn’t a more fundamental issue the nature of scripture (which is in turn related to the substance and potency of God)? How we interpret scripture depends strongly on what we perceive scripture to be.