{"id":41308,"date":"2013-12-03T19:01:39","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T19:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/site\/2017\/2\/1985\/polity_primer_aci_response\/"},"modified":"2013-12-03T19:01:39","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T19:01:39","slug":"polity_primer_aci_response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=41308","title":{"rendered":"Polity \u201cPrimer\u201d\u009d: ACI Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by: The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc.
\nFriday, November 29th, 2013
An \u201cEcclesiology Committee\u201d\u009d committee advising the House of Bishops has released a \u201cPrimer<\/a>\u201d\u009d on polity prepared with the assistance of various consultants identified at the end of the document. The identity of those preparing this document\u201d\u201dmost have participated as counsel or witnesses or have been listed as potential witnesses in the various lawsuits\u201d\u201dmakes obvious that the primary purpose of this document is its perceived usefulness in litigation. ACI principals have also appeared as witnesses in this litigation. This is our response to the claims asserted in this Primer.<\/p>\n

1. Claim:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cFinal authority in matters concerning all was vested in General Convention and, in due course, Executive Council between Conventions [5]\u201d\u00a6. From the beginning until now, [the General Convention] has limited its decisions with respect to specific local situations, but in making decisions for the whole church, its authority is supreme [9]\u201d\u00a6. Episcopalians have, since 1785, consistently assigned final authority and function in our church to the General Convention itself [10].\u201d\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

ACI Response:<\/b><\/p>\n

It is likely that the sole purpose of this Primer is to make these two (related) claims about final authority and supremacy. We note the following:<\/p>\n

\u201d\u00a2\tAs first written and submitted to the House of Bishops this document read: \u201c\u201d\u02dcMetropolitical authority\u2019 (see below) was vested in General Convention and, in due course, Executive Council between Conventions\u201d\u00a6 [5]\u201d\u009d and \u201cEpiscopalians have, since 1785, consistently assigned the metropolitical authority and function of our church to the General Convention itself [10].\u201d\u009d But this language met considerable objection from the bishops who reviewed it in September and it had to be deleted. A vague \u201cfinal authority in matters concerning all\u201d\u009d was subsequently substituted by the drafters of the document, one implication of which is that \u201cfinal authority\u201d\u009d concerning diocesan matters rests with the diocese. And the history of this document and its drafting demonstrate that even the assembled bishops cannot agree with their own \u201cEcclesiology Committee\u201d\u009d as to the nature of TEC polity. In any event, none of the terms \u201csupreme,\u201d\u009d \u201cmetropolitical authority,\u201d\u009d or \u201cfinal authority\u201d\u009d is found in TEC\u2019s Constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201d\u00a2\tMany in TEC assert and sincerely believe these claims about General Convention\u2019s authority, but others do not. This is not new. The nature of TEC\u2019s polity has been the subject of debate for two centuries. TEC\u2019s own expert witness, Bruce Mullin, testified at the recent trial in Quincy that \u201cthe question, of course, is how hierarchical it is, and that’s a long-standing debate\u201d\u00a6.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by: The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc. Friday, November 29th, 2013An \u201cEcclesiology Committee\u201d\u009d committee advising the House of Bishops has released a \u201cPrimer\u201d\u009d on polity prepared with the assistance of various consultants identified at the end of the document. The…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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