In no way do I want to under estimate the seriousness of the present situation. Indeed the shocked response from those I would call the ”˜real liberals’ reveals just how nasty the atmosphere was in the General Synod. Though the situation is terrible and does not augur well, I do not believe that it is necessarily the end. There are few advantages in being old but one can remember the past. In 1992 the House of Bishops and the General Synod had on many occasions rejected any provision for us and although the atmosphere was not as unpleasant as that in the present Synod to all appearances everything was lost. In spite of that we ultimately ended up with the Act of Synod and 10 years of reasonable dignified life. To me that suggest that everything is not necessarily lost given that the Archbishops and many others are appalled at the Synod’s decision.
It is quite apparent that we are being subjected to what I would call institutional bullying of a kind that if it were found in the commercial world would be the subject of serious litigation. The atmosphere and the approach of some of those opposed to us reveals that not only are they not very good Christians; they are also not nice human beings.
The other thing that strikes me quite hard is that most of the assets of the Church of England in terms of buildings, schools and other property either come from the pre reformation Catholic Church or as a direct result of the Tractarian and Catholic Revival. This property is very much our heritage and inheritance and to suggest that many wish to steal it from us in a very unpleasant form of legalised theft would not be an understatement. I know that many people will be looking at the legal implications lying behind both these matters.
There is a lot of pressure for rapid decisions and quick answers. I have no desire to be part of either. We need to quietly and prayerfully analyse where we are and wait for the situation to unfold. As someone whose temperament has always been to shoot first and ask questions afterwards, I recognise this will not be easy but there is an enormous amount of literature coming from members of General Synod and others which we need to digest.
There will be an emergency meeting of the Forward in Faith Council here in Canterbury on Monday. We will be grateful for your prayers as we meet to take counsel together.
Every Blessing,
–(The Rt. Rev.) John Broadhurst is Bishop of Fulham
The Rt Rev john Broadurst wrote:
“It is quite apparent that we are being subjected to what I would call institutional bullying of a kind that if it were found in the commercial world would be the subject of serious litigation. The atmosphere and the approach of some of those opposed to us reveals that not only are they not very good Christians; they are also not nice human beings.”
Dear Bp Broadhurst, the Episcopal Church welcomes you. This has been our world.
Actually this is untrue. The historic Anglo-Catholic parishes in the United States : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Anglo-Catholic Churches_
and all those served by clergy of the Society of the Holy Cross i.e. the SSC have been largely unaffected and able to insulate itself from the prevailing madness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Anglo-Catholic_Churches
working link
Ok, I am being opaque I suppose, but precisely what side is he on? Who is he talking about who would steal out churches and the like?
I hope someone will clarify this for me. Larry
#2. While some of the “shrine” Anglo-Catholic parishes have been able to hang on by a finger-nail, the Anglo-Catholic movement has been suppressed, gutted, or compromised across most of TEC. One thinks of whole Dioceses (such as Long Island), once bastions of Catholic practice, that have been systematically done over by bishops who refuse to place orthodox clergy, impose radical candidates more to their liking, and simply close more uncooperative parishes. Fond du Lac has a woman-ordaining ordinary. Churches like St Mary the Virgin, NYC are now in the hands of Affirming Catholics who march in gay pride parades and send women to train for the priesthood. St Clement’s, Philadelphia or Ascension, Chicago have congregations hardly larger than the (still excellent) choirs. The whole of Forward in Faith has a budget barely the size of a mid-range parish.
The Anglo-Catholic movement may have “insulated” itself well enough in places, but its vision of transforming and renewing TEC no longer convinces. It no longer breaks out of its contracting wall to evangelize and remodel parishes. Only three bishops remain, all of them under threat. Frankly, I see no place for optimism of any kind, apart from encouraging developments in Rome.
#5 Austin
Much of what you say is spot on. However, why is it that in the churches like St. Clement’s (which is my favorite), and the others you mention (which don’t allow women behind the altar unless they are in the choir or in the altar guild) who are the most traditionally Anglo-Catholic have so few members? All the priests are members of the SSC and they are totally orthodox. I have wondered this myself when I go to visit.
Why? Beacuse the Anglo-Catholic movement was so successful in penetrating the wider Church and now Sunday eucharists, incense, work with the poor and so many of the hallmarks of the Anglo-Catholic movement have won the day in a majority of Episcopal churches.
It seems to me, and I lament the fact, that the pews are largely empty in such places because for what ever reasons people choose not to be there. Still, the paid choir and male only priests, deacons, acolytes and boat boys offer their praises even as they sink into oblivian while the Affirming Catholic movement thrives.
A Church needs these three to survive:
*Anglo-Catholics, to keep in touch with the apostolic tradition
*Evangelicals, to proclaim the Word of God, boldly
*Charismatics, to remind us all of the Holy Spirit whose gifts enable us to minister and walk in the Lord’s way
If any of these three ‘threads’ are lacking, the church tends to become lopsided, and looses its way, tending to over-emphasis on one or another thread.
Richard Foster puts forth seven streams of Christianity in his [url=http://www.renovare.org/]Renovare[/url] movement/organization. But, in my opinion (and others here on the forum) several of these ‘streams’ are sub-headings of the three I mentioned.
Still, the overall message is: the church cannot exist as a shattered, scattered movement. We must all be one as He is One and as He calls us to be one in Him. That means that from time to time, one thread may be over-emphasized to call the others back to attention.
Thus in the Episcopal Church, we have had the evangelical awakening; the Charismatic renewal; and the Anglo-Catholic revival.
Let’s make sure we don’t leave any out when we plan how to proceed forward.
Peace
Jim Elliott <><
I think he is right to emphasize the bullying. All the afflictions affecting traditionalists stem from the sin of Pride, which C.S. Lewis reminds us is the most serious sin of all for a Christian (more than sexual issues often seen as the presenting symptom). Pride is the most serious because it results in hardness of heart and provides the motivation for other selfish behavior. Perhaps Jesus bids us welcome persecution because it softens ours.
Don’t leave me hanging here. It is by no means clear to me whjich side he is on? Is he a conservative? Larry
#6 Frankly, if the Affirming Catholic model is thriving, I’d be interested to see what sick unto death looks like.
The dramatic withering of TEC has happened largely under their watch. Aff Cats have seized the commanding heights of seminaries and diocesan offices. But they seem only to consist largely of disaffected Roman Catholics, people who wish to explore non-christian forms of sexuality, and agnostics with a taste for ritual.
I don’t know why the orthodox Anglo-Catholics are so weak in the US–they are more vigorous in the UK than the mainstream. I suspect they may have given up, in large number, and fled to healthier communions. That’s what I did.
“As it turns out, the text of the chant was Christian, Trinitarian, if fact–a kind of doxology, or so the press was told at this morning’s briefing. The melody was from the Buddhist tradition.”
(from here: http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/2008/07/bishop-chants-at-close-of-sermon-snit.html
I don’t know if this can be trusted but it should at least be checked out considering the context this Bishop ministers in. The Catholics seem to handle this ethnic/cultural context stuff better than we do. Perhaps at heart we are all a bit (myself included) anglophile.
#10 austin
just what about this do you find “sick unto death”, from the Affirming Catholicism website: Affirming Catholicism is a movement for all members of the church. We invite you to join with us if you are passionate about:
+ The power of a lavish sacramental life.
+ The continuing unfolding of the mystery of Christ’s incarnation in the midst of the world.
+ The implications of the mystery of God-with-us for justice, mercy and inclusivity.
+ Keeping open a dialogue where differences do not mean exclusion, and where we speak with the reverent love that the Trinity displays as God’s very life.
+ Learning the riches of the Church’s tradition and their astonishing relevance for life today.
Catholic tradition is a living thing rooted in the revelation of Jesus Christ and growing in the experience of the Church.
archangelica,
Some of the comments on the Anglican Future site are getting quite snippy towards Bp Duncan’s “bigotry” and “jumping to conclusions”, even to the point of accusing him of un-Chrisitian behavior!
So far they haven’t printed my comment in support of him, an edited version of which was:
If the chant was ad-libbed and not part of the program, then no one can blame Bp Duncan for reacting as he did. If the chant was planned, and a) had not been publicized and b) a translation had not been provided, again Bp Duncan was justified.
It sounds like the translation is ONLY now coming out, much after the fact, which again, leads one to conclude Bp Duncan was justified in his wariness over the use of a Buddhist-style chant.
Peace
Jim Elliott <><
#12 libraryjim
You seem a very level headed man and I support your conclusions. This is why Lambeth is so important…I have been awed by the response Of Lawrence+ and his deep reverence for the sacred space in which he is worshiping for the first time, so soaked with the patina of prayer and how many thousands (millions?) of eucharists. He has also reported delighting in all the different ethnic/cultural examples of global Anglicanism with Bishops from many lands and far away places and the networks for ministry he is already creating. I think the current climate in the Communion has, the conservatives especially, so on heresy alert that the good Bishop from Sri Lanka, offering an Christian prayer in the cultural context of his country so quickly has many of us suspecting that he is calling down heathen gods in Canterbury Cathedral!
All of us inderstand why the suspicion is so high but if this ends up being the most scandalous part of Lambeth we will have experienced a fresh falling of the Holy Spirit indeed! I know that there are many reasserters here who stand by Lawrence+ Teatime’s comment was especially good.
I have every confidence that Bishop Duncan will set things right as soon as he has been assured (like so many of us) that the chant was not in fact intended to be an ungodly provocation.
God is sovereign today and always and this Church is His. I’m more blessed than I deserve even to belong and to be saved by His grace in Christ Jesus!
#11 Thank you; I’m sure you are well intentioned. I’m glad the website is vibrant and growing. I remain to be convinced that the movement is.
I would be tempted to reply “Vade retro, satane,” if the prospect of associating with Aff Cats were in the slightest enticing. As it is, I have had more brushes with such people than I care to recall, most of them distressing.
It is indeed a “movement for all members of the church,” I have found, whether one wants to be included or not.
The trouble is, we benighted traditionalists really, honestly, don’t agree with you. For example:
“The power of a lavish sacramental life” pales when the sacraments are sacrilegiously parodied by ladies impersonating priests;
“The continuing unfolding of the mystery of Christ’s incarnation in the midst of the world” in your movements seems to mean folding Christ mysteriously into the World (and the Flesh, and I’ll stop there for the sake of charity);
“The implications of the mystery of God-with-us for justice, mercy and inclusivity: are explored, except for those, like me, who are included out and treated with scant mercy or justice;
“Keeping open a dialogue where differences do not mean exclusion, and where we speak with the reverent love that the Trinity displays as God’s very life”Aff Cat principle: dialogue until everyone else surrenders;
“Learning the riches of the Church’s tradition and their astonishing relevance for life today” plays out as radically revising and impoverishing the Church’s traditions, creating new and nasty liturgies, and tailoring theology to the Zeitgeist.
Catholic tradition is indeed rooted in revelation–that’s why we don’t think Aff Cats can decide to reject and revise as they go along. And the experience of the Church, for us, means obedience to the tradition, not chucking it out when it becomes unfashionable.
I decided I had to choose between the smothering embrace of Affirming Catholics and submission to the magisterium. I’ll go off and be mildly passionate elswhere, thanks.