I received a letter from Bishop Adams this afternoon notifying me that I had been deposed for "Abandonment of the Communion of The Episcopal Church." I didn't know that pecusa was a communion unto itself; I was under the understanding that pecusa is a province of the Anglican Communion. Since I am no longer a priest of the Diocese of Central NY or pecusa, I wonder what authority these folks believe they have over me? I am a priest in good standing in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a missionary work of the Province of Nigeria with six bishops serving in the United States.
The formal notice says that I did not refute the claim by the DNCY that I "abandoned the Communion of this Church" despite the fact that I told the Rev. Holly Eden of the Standing Committee in a telephone conversation that she initiated that I was transferring my orders to CANA. I guess this gets back to the illusion that pecusa is a communion unto itself. That must be what all the national flags were about at the General Convention last summer. pecusa was declaring that they are not a province of the Anglican Communion, but a communion themselves with their various overseas dioceses. It was pecusa's way, like the depostion I received, of acknowledging that they are in fact walking apart from the Anglican Communion. Meanwhile, I will continue to serve St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Vestal, NY as a priest of CANA, under missionary bishop Martyn Minns, Suffragan Bishop David Bena, and Archbishop Peter Akinola.
This just goes to show that pecusa isn't any better at interpreting the canons than they are at interpreting the Scriptures. If you are still in pecusa and fed up with the dishonesty of the bishops, priests and elected lay leaders of pecusa, you are welcome at St. Andrew's Anglican Church, 1013 Front St. in Vestal. If you wonder why the items posted here are never (NEVER) mentioned by your rector as pecusa evolves into unitarianism, you may find yourself better suited to be among the saints of St. Andrew's. Despite what you may have heard, St. Andrew's is a warm and welcoming congregation.
4 comments:
I wish you well on your continuing ministry! May God continue to bless and guide you in the way He would have you go.
I understand the point you are trying to make about The Episcopal Church not being its own "communion" in the same sense as the Anglican Communion and it is well-taken.
The language of the canons, however, is not claiming this status. When the canons speaking of "abandonment of communion" it is very clearly defined as departing from the doctrine, discipline, and (one would assume "or" here, also) order of The Episcopal Church. Think of "communion" in this case as meaning "fellowship" or "membership" in The Episcopal Church. The term has nothing to do with the Anglican Communion.
So, while it may be personally painful to receive such a letter (and I do pray you every peace during this time), it is clear that you have departed ("abandoned") The Episcopal Church for CANA, so the statement from the Episcopal diocese is correct.
Blessings as you continue to serve God as you feel called!
Robert, thank you for your comment and your good wishes. I understand what you are saying and I have heard similarly from others. However, the common practice for as long as the Anglican Communion has existed is that a transfer to another province does not bring about a deposition from the sending province. Granted, pecusa did not send me, but then again, when a priest tranfers from pecusa to the Anglican Church of Canada, pecusa does not normally depose that priest. pecusa to this point has not said that she is not in communion with Nigeria, so this deposition makes no sense except that pecusa is guarding turf.
With respect, Tony, in general a priest transferring his canonical residence from an American diocese to a Canadian would concurrently be translating his/her physical self as well.
If you "leave" the Diocese of Central New York without "leaving" the Diocese of Central New York, it is likely that people where you live would think you still represented the Episcopal Church where you are. The Episcopal Bishop of Central New York has no other way to assert with clarity that you are not an Episcopal priest.
Malcolm, I don't know why it is so important to the bishop to assert this since it has been first page news in our area that our parish, including the rector, has left the pecusa. People who visit our website see in our banner that StAndrewsVestal is an Anglican church. Those who visit us at 1013 Front St. see on our sign, St. Andrew's Anglican Church. They see our bulletin with the same information. I don't think that there is any confusion that we are no longer a part of pecusa. In fact, newcomers to our parish generally come to us because they too don't want to be associated with pecusa. No, it's not likely that people are confused about our current identity, nor is there confusion about whether or not I am still a pecusa priest. We clearly identify our relationship with CANA, the Anglican Communion Network and the American Anglican Council. In no place do we mention any relationship with pecusa.
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