The Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, is set to succeed the Most Reverend Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury.
The new archbishop becomes head of the Anglican Communion at a time when major divisions exist over issues such as the ordination of women bishops and same-sex marriage.
Here are the opinions of some observers of the Church and people within it about what his priorities should be as he starts the job….
A lot of egocentric clamour. Maybe the next Archbishop would want to be in prayer to be a Shepherd who will be more Christocentric.
Uhm. Mildly interesting article. Is there anyone in the CoE who is concerned about salvation, the alternative to which was once called spending eternity in Hell? Does the CoE still believe in Heaven and Hell?
It is plain those who have stated their views of the “need -to- do” list of the new ABC are following right down the same path to perdition as the leaders of ECUSA.
Interesting article – only one of the persons interviewed seems to have any connection with orthodox Anglicanism, yet it is the orthodox who carry almost the whole burden of maintaining and increasing the membership of the CofE.
This throws into stark relief the comment by Bishop Graham Kings:
[blockquote] “It seems to me that key priorities for the new Archbishop of Canterbury may well be to promote the growth of congregations in numbers and in depth of discipleship.” [/blockquote]
The truth of that cannot be gainsaid. But how is it to be achieved? +Kings next comment cuts the ground from under his own argument:
“Secondly, he should expedite the process of legislation on women bishops, which will transform the face and the heart of the Church of England.”
Yes it certainly would “transform the face” of the CofE. What +Kings does not suggest is that this would be a change for the better. And it is likely to wreck his first priority (growth) because the groups in CofE who generally most effective at growing the church are the very ones most opposed to women bishops. +Kings would like to drive out the people whom the CofE desperately needs in order to grow the church!
This comment by Christina Rees was hilarious:
[blockquote] “If the general synod votes in favour of having women bishops in November, he will have to stand up to the bullies and say, we can accommodate those who disagree – but we are not going to allow them to subvert the primary legislation.” [/blockquote]
Ms Rees is one of the liberal bullies who is determined to drive out traditionalists who believe that the Bible teaches that women should not be bishops. And she, of all people, accuses others of bullying!
Very witty, Christine. Now, back to reality…
1. One can be hopeful, can’t one, Stefano?