Members of synod for the Episcopal Church of Cuba narrowly voted in favour of returning to the church’s former affiliation with The Episcopal Church at their recent meeting last month in Cardenas, Cuba.
The move came two months after the historic decision by the United States and Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations after a 54-year hiatus. The Cuban church had been part of a province in The Episcopal Church until the 1959 revolution, which made travel and communication between the two churches difficult. The Metropolitan Council of Cuba (MCC)””which includes primates of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Province of West Indies and The Episcopal Church””was subsequently created to provide support and oversight.
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Archdeacon Michael Thompson, general secretary, attended the synod””which ran from Feb. 19 to 22””as representatives of the MCC.
Hiltz said the vote on that resolution, which was 39 in favour and 33 against, showed that the synod was divided on the issue. “When the results of the vote were announced, there was just absolute silence,” he said. “There were some people that were feeling a sense of victory and others who were feeling a real sense of loss.”
Two things: First, who in the world is Bp. Delgado del Carpio? Her name pops up with no explanation and she is never mentioned again. Second, it appears the Pension Fund remains the glue that holds TEC together. It is a sad commentary that the church of Cuba, or at least 39 of its leaders, don’t seem to have any qualms about TECs theology so long as they can part of the Pension Fund.
ACNA and NALC should work together to establish a work in CUBA. Like the Church of South India!
Mother Violet,
ACNA does have a work in Cuba. The Reformed Episcopal Church has a diocese (Western Canada and Alaska) which has under its authority, the “Mission District of Cuba” with over 20 churches and a total of over 900 attendees in Cuba. (Even with the long name, the Diocese has only once church remaining in Canada and none in Alaska, so it is really the diocese of Cuba). The Diocese recently consecrated (in 2014) The Right Reverend Raul William Mendez Suarez as Bishop. The REC has been working in Cuba since 2003. In fact, the ACNA has a “Cuba Task Force” with the following members:
Hugo Blankingship, Chair
Gustavo Clavo+
+Charles Dorrington
Claudia Dorrington
Jorge Finlay+
Gamaliel Garcia+
+Royal Grote
Bill Jerdan+
+Frank Lyons
+Leonard Riches
+Trevor Walters
I finally had time to look up Bishop Delgado del Carpio. She is the Anglican Bishop of Cuba. Apparently they are not currently in any province but the AB of Canada acts in the capacity of primatial oversight, administratively.
REC should talk to those 33 who don’t want TEC.
Mother Violet,
Yes, but they wanted to stay under Canada/TEC/West Indies Triad. Also, since they are led by a female bishop, they would not be happy in the REC. The folks who started the REC in Cuba left the Episcopal Church of Cuba because of WO and Prayer Book (They use 1928/1662/1962 Canada translated into Spanish.) as well as the fact they wanted more orthodoxy than they were getting. Several of the pastors were “guests” of the Cuban Government.