More to follow – limits to ecumenical involvement for the Episcopal Church. No restriction imposed on Anglican Church of Canada.
Early information being heard. Confirmation of details to follow when available.
Update:There is an important clue here in those who know how to read between the lines..
.@anglicanink Acting within the love&grace of Jesus Not about sanctions but consequences in context of unanimous commitment to walk together
— Arun Arora (@RevArun) January 14, 2016
IMPORTANT UPDATE
There may already be a ban on representatives of TEC particpating in Anglican Communion ecumenical activities – which we do not recollect having been rescinded.
FURTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE
The Archbishop of Canterbury in his May 2010 Pentecost Letter imposed an exclusion on the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church from serving on Anglican Communion Ecumenical Dialogues:
I am therefore proposing that, while these tensions remain unresolved, members of such provinces ”“ provinces that have formally, through their Synod or House of Bishops, adopted policies that breach any of the moratoria requested by the Instruments of Communion and recently reaffirmed by the Standing Committee and the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) ”“ should not be participants in the ecumenical dialogues in which the Communion is formally engaged. I am further proposing that members of such provinces serving on IASCUFO should for the time being have the status only of consultants rather than full members. This is simply to confirm what the Communion as a whole has come to regard as the acceptable limits of diversity in its practice. It does not alter what has been said earlier by the Primates’ Meeting about the nature of the moratoria: the request for restraint does not necessarily imply that the issues involved are of equal weight but recognises that they are ”˜central factors placing strains on our common life’, in the words of the Primates in 2007. Particular provinces will be contacted about the outworking of this in the near future.
However, the ACO ignored the ban in relation to Toronto, Canada and
The Episcopal Church
I am waiting to see whatever statement comes out, and would encourage people to be careful.
Strong concern felt by yours truly.
I wonder if it is possible to quantify TEC and ACC sanctions on orthodox clergy and congregations (lost income, property, etc,) and compare that with the meh stuff coming out of Canterbury.
Where was this “love and grace of Jesus” for North American orthodox Anglicans?
The devil is in the details in terms of wording and actions.
Kendall,
I wish you had conveyed that message to whomever posted the original headline.
Oh I think the headline quite apt. And the results eminently predictable too, as indeed they were.
It also appears to mandate TEC’s exclusion from the Anglican Consultative Council, according to Conger.
The entire result may indeed be “small beer,” but do all of you who are complaining think “small beer” is worse than nothing at all – or that it would have been better to have a Delphi-driven statement supportive of unBiblical practice and teaching, coupled with a boot applied to Abp Foley Beach’s backside on Day 1?
Sophy the problem with your comment is it implies those were the only alternatives–they were not. If you are going to fight a battle, you need to fight it in the right place.
There are repeated stories of people in war being unable to find the front lines so I understand how it can happen, but that doesn’t mean it is right.
I think Sophy is right on the money.
The alternative would have been to leave the AC (which is mainly propaganda value these days, but that’s still important) to the liberals.
This is an on-going fight; anyone who can’t stomach that should have been long gone. There will be more meetings, with more witnessing by the orthodox, and more attempts to suborn by the apostates.
A bit more:
There is a real battle going on in many parts of the Anglican Communion. Provinces which a few years ago would say nothing at all about TEC are being forced off the fence.
There is also a battle going on in North America, and its main outcome depends on the extent to which ACNA can maintain its vision to plant churches.
There is also a battle going on in England, at several levels.
Here is the text of the last Primates meeting to issue a statement, at Alexandria in 2009: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/68372/Pastoral-Letter.pdf
I would have thought that the 2016 statement is a significant improvement, from an orthodox perspective.
AH HA! Those were the droids I was looking for! Lets keep it simple: Empty pews, Millions spent on law suits, 750 deposed priest, and the formation of the ACNA are consequences. Told you can’t play in the sandbox for three years is punishment, sanction, and the newest word in 21st century Anglicanism: Accountability.