We are deeply saddened by today\u2019s decision of the Ottawa diocesan synod. Unfortunately, the synod has chosen to reject the pleas of the global Anglican Communion, and \u201d\u02dcwalk apart\u2019 from the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide.<\/p>\n
We are grateful that Bishop Chapman has not made a hasty decision to endorse this action and pray that he will see the wisdom of listening to the Primates\u2019 call. The Primates have asked the Canadian and US Churches for an unambiguous endorsement of traditional Church teaching on sexuality and an end to same-sex blessings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a minimum, we hope the Bishop will provide a period of time to allow parishes and clergy to discuss their futures without fear of reprisal and with the confidence that the Bishop will honour the need for such reasonable and legitimate discussion,\u201d\u009d says the Right Reverend Donald Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada. \u201cThere must be care for people who uphold Biblical teaching and are Communion minded. We need a charitable way forward.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Should the Bishop agree to this request, the diocese will abandon historic Anglican teaching and signal that it does not value walking with the global Anglican Communion. This would only widen the split and fuel the crisis in the Communion.<\/p>\n
This crisis is fundamentally a theological dispute about core Christian and historic Anglican teaching. It is about how we understand the nature, authority and truth of the Scripture. The question for the church is: are we going to view the culture through the lens of Scripture or will we view the Scripture through the lens of our culture. These are irreconcilable views of the Scripture that have led us to the brink of schism in the Anglican Communion. The Ottawa diocesan decision shows that the Anglican Church of Canada has a de facto \u201clocal option\u201d\u009d policy for same sex blessings which is the opposite of what the Primates of the Anglican Communion requested in their Dar es Salaam Communiqu\u00c3\u00a9. This will also violate the conscience of many biblically faithful Anglicans in Canada.<\/p>\n
The Network supports biblically-faithful, Communion-committed Canadian Anglicans. We are committed to remaining true to historic Anglican orthodoxy as articulated in the founding principles of Anglicanism in Canada, the Lambeth Conference and the Primates\u2019 Communiqu\u00c3\u00a9s. We stand firm in the mainstream of Anglican tradition and Christian teaching \u201d\u201c together with the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We are deeply saddened by today\u2019s decision of the Ottawa diocesan synod. Unfortunately, the synod has chosen to reject the pleas of the global Anglican Communion, and \u201d\u02dcwalk apart\u2019 from the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide. We are grateful that…<\/span><\/p>\n