Melnyk’s problems within the Episcopal Church began when he was ”˜exposed’ by a conservative Christian website seeking more ammunition for attacking the Episcopal Church’s consecration of a gay priest as Bishop. They accused Melnyk of taking part in rituals celebrating the Divine Feminine. Although he never practised anything but orthodox rites in his church, steadfastly maintained that he was not “in conflict with the Baptismal Covenant and the historical Creeds of the Church,” and had the support of the majority of his parishioners, he felt he had no option but to resign his ministry. ”I was told I could stay if I agreed to sever ties with my friends and never again write about Druidry,” Melnyk said. “But I knew The Apple and the Thorn was on the way, and I would not agree to being silenced.”
“Like Eosaidh, I found myself suddenly at odds with the faith I had grown up in,” he explains. “Like the new group of ’Christians’ who found their way to the Isle of Mist, many Church leaders were quick to demonise Druidry and my connection with this ancient ancestor of Anglicanism. It is not only the gay rights issue that currently threatens conservatives in the Church; they are even more fearful of the threat they perceive in the free marketplace of inter-faith dialogue. Today I continue to be a walker between both worlds, celebrating the two faiths that have formed me but, when the Church told me I had to choose between my priesthood and my friends in the Druid community, I chose the path that honored relationship.”
“In the final analysis,” Melnyk continues, “this is not a novel about Druidry or the Church. It is a tale of human relationships and the choices they entail. Eosaidh and Vivian are able to convert one another because they care about one another. Characters in the tale who do not care about human relationship remain captive to their own dogmas. In matters of theology it is always the underlying human equation that matters. Christians and Pagans alike will find challenges in this tale. I hope they will also find joy”
I will consider posting comments on this article submitted first by email to Kendall’s E-mail: KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com–KSH.
From JG:
The poor, poor fellow. If you look at the website for the book he’s written with his (partner? girlfriend? co-author?), you can see that his statements here are quite disingenuous. His point is embedded in the so-called roots of Anglicanism in Paganism, which to the degree that they exist are merely geographic, but not liturgical (if it were so, the Sarum liturgy would be sodden with the influences Mr. Melnyk bathes in), nor theological (it’s an insult to Bede and Wilfred and Paulinius to hint that they’re Druidically influenced).
His bottom line is not so much in ancient Druidry, but in a very modern “why can’t i have it both ways?” plaint.
From EvangelicalAnglican:
This is an interesting article. As a teacher of high school English who is currently covering the British Romantic poets, I am reminded of their intense attraction to paganism. That attraction certainly inspired some beautiful poetry.
But regarding religion: how is Druidry the ancestor of Anglicanism?
Certainly Druidry was a predecessor to Christianity in the British Isles, but not actually an ancestor.