With ever-increasing pressure from the society, the church needs not to be politically correct at the expense of the truth. The church resisted this from the early centuries and preferred to be faithful to the Gospel, even if this led to persecution and martyrdom. We are called to be“salt” and “light.” In other words, we are called to be distinctive. The modern societies of the “West” or “North” are pushing many issues, including same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. Should the church yield to the pressure of these societies and compromise the truth? I personally think that these issues are superficial symptoms of a much deeper illness which attempts to shake the foundation of our faith. This illness puts into question the essentials of faith like the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the doctrine of salvation. It ignores the primacy of Scripture and 2,000 years of church tradition. It is a spirit of individualism and cultural pride that ignores the fact that the whole truth is revealed to the whole church.
In both the theological and numerical differences, we need to affirm our interdependence as Anglican churches. What affects all should be decided by all. There is a great need to recover the conciliar nature of the Anglican Communion that is practiced through the Lambeth Conferences and the Primates Meetings. Losing our conciliar ethos will lead to disunity as churches take uncoordinated, independent and unilateral decisions.
Read it all thanks to Anglican Ink and there is a larger version here
Wonderfully well expressed. As is the adjacent message from the African and Southern Cone primates.
Thank you for posting.
+Mouneer Anis has no trouble expressing what is at the root of the problem within the Anglican Communion. I can only hope and pray that ++Welby will listen to +Anis and others like him to see the real problems and work for their solutions.
This is a remarkable letter, searching in its analysis of the root problems in the communion.
[blockquote] “One of the first challenges he will face is to understand how the nature of the Anglican Communion has changed in the last decades. Statistics show that there are now moreAnglicans in the “South†than in the “North.†There are also big theological gaps between the “South†and the “North.†The understanding of this new nature should help the new Archbishop to use a more collegial and participatory approach, rather than a central approach,when dealing with matters of the Communion.”
[/blockquote]
This will NOT be music to the ears of the Anglican Communion Office, who have been used to treating the Communion as their plaything.
++Anis points to the underlying issues, which go far beyond immediate issues like hmosexuality, women bishops or border-crossing:
[blockquote] “Should the church yield to the pressure of these societies and compromise the truth? I personally think that these issues are superficial symptoms of a much deeper illness which attempts to shake the foundation of our faith. This illness puts into question the essentials of faith like the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the doctrine of salvation. It ignores the primacy of Scripture and 2,000 years of church tradition. It is a spirit of individualism and cultural pride that ignores the fact that the whole truth is revealed to the whole church.” [/blockquote]
The Anglican Communion knows the way to go – the path was shown at Lambeth 98 when Resolution 1.10 was passed by a huge majority, and at Primates Meetings at Dar Es Salaam and Dromantine. Yet true collegiality and conciliarism has been derailed by a few misfits and schismatics, who are mainly to be found in leadership positions in CofE and TECUSA:
[blockquote] “In both the theological and numerical differences, we need to affirm our interdependence as Anglican churches. What affects all should be decided by all. There is a great need to recover the conciliar nature of the Anglican Communion that is practiced through the Lambeth Conferences and the Primates Meetings. Losing our conciliar ethos will lead to disunity as churches take uncoordinated, independent and unilateral decisions.” [/blockquote]
The root cause and responsibility for schism and doctrinal chaos in the Anglican Communion lies with western liberalism. Leaders like ++Anis have shown the way towards repentance, for the whole church.