According to leaked documents seen by The Mail on Sunday, at least three senior African archbishops have privately urged conservative colleagues to shun the gathering.
In the documents, the Primate of Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, said he recommended that ”˜we show our commitment to the Anglican Communion by being present for the service at Canterbury Cathedral”‰.”‰.”‰. but do not participate in the “collegial time” being proposed by Archbishop Welby’.
He said the new Archbishop of Canterbury had ”˜given us no clear indication of the matters for discussion’ and that primates ”˜who have led the way in promoting false teaching’ will be welcomed by Dr Welby.
Read it all remembering the source.
I hope that the only person/s present will be +++Welby and his staff. What a statement that would make!
no. 1 that’s hardly going to happen; i’m sure tec delegation will show up and the libs in the CofE
[blockquote] “Last night, the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, became the most senior Church of England cleric to urge the Church to bless gay couples in civil partnerships.” [/blockquote]
Interesting. And where are the bishops of CofE who claim to be evangelical? I don’t read of their voices raised in protest at such calls by their colleague the bishop of Liverpool, yet they claim the right to lead the evangelical constituency….???
With such spineless “leadership”, it is no wonder that orthodox evangelicals are looking at ways to practice Anglicanism outside of the Church of England.
Can someone say whether the position of +Liverpool is ‘bless civil partnerships and eschew the language of marriage’?
The fact that the public may conflate these two things does not require that the CofE (in some quarters) is attempting to differentiate them. I say this not out of approval/disapproval but to determine what the playing field looks like.
To answer my own question (sorry) it does sound like +Jones wants to distinguish the sacrament of marriage from blessing what the UK allows as a legal partnership. Whether one thinks this a good idea; or a meaningful distinction; it does not satisfy the progressives. It is on the order of TEC’s ‘provisional blessing’ services — that is, maybe a ‘step in the right direction’ (the view of more patient and irenic liberals) or a toxic failure to do what is just.
What an odd place to find anglicanism. I often wondered if +RDW assumed some sort of compromise like this would fly, only to find those on his own left angry he wasn’t more enlightened.
I do suspect this is the place where the battle now is. The CofE will try to hold the line on the sacrament of marriage (in some quarters) and (in some quarters) concede ad hoc blessing ceremonies, while the hard progressive throw it back in their face and demand that this is mean and unjust.
The US will have its own unique state-by-state version of this culture war.
Well, MichaelA, if they’re evangelicals, then they’re hiding in the closet and are afraid to speak out. Some churchmen [i]they[/i] are!