From the Telegraph (UK):
By Joanna Corrigan and Martin Beckford
Last Updated: 12:41AM BST 30/06/2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been sidelined by a new orthodox movement which claims to represent almost half of the world's 80 million Anglicans.
Leaders of the organisation, that styles itself as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans, said Dr Rowan Williams would just be "recognised for his historic role" as the head of the worldwide Communion.
They added that in the "post-colonial reality" of a Church dominated by traditionalists in developing countries rather than England, he would no longer be the sole leader.
Organisers of the movement, which was formally announced at the end of the Gafcon summit in Jerusalem, also failed to mention the Archbishop of Canterbury in their declaration of the 14 central tenets.
They insist they have not declared a complete schism within the Church over their opposition to the liberal "re-writing" of the Bible, which has seen bishops in North America and Canada consecrate openly gay clergy and bless same-sex unions.
But their movement poses a direct challenge to Dr Williams as it will lead to a new Council of Primates – leaders from Church provinces around the world – and a separate province in North America and Canada to rival the "false Gospel" taught by liberal churches.
In addition, its clergy will only use the traditional 1662 Book of Common Prayer, ignoring more recent interpretations, and will train its own priests in hardline theological colleges.
The announcement puts the Archbishop under increasing pressure ahead of a meeting of the General Synod, the Church of England's governing body, on Friday where he is already due to face a row over the introduction of women bishops.
Gafcon leaders are also in London this week for a meeting at which hundreds of clergy could sign up to the new movement.
But Dr Williams would not comment on the development, which some claim is the most significant in the Church since the Reformation.
The Anglican Communion also refused to comment.
But the Very Rev Colin Slee, the Dean of Southwark, said: "This is contrary to the entire tradition on which the Church of England was founded."
Monday, June 30, 2008
From Bishop Iker of Fort Worth
June 29, 2008
It has been a joy to participate in the GAFCON experience in Jerusalem, and I welcome and endorse the proclamation that has been issued at the conclusion of our week of deliberation and prayer.
It is a positive contribution to the future direction of the Anglican Communion, as well as a very encouraging affirmation and validation of the realignment that has been taking place in the Communion over the past few years.
We stand in solidarity with the GAFCON movement and principles, and we in Fort Worth look forward to the continuing saga of this exciting development in our life together as faithful Anglicans.
May the Lord continue to bless and guide us in the challenging days ahead of us.
The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker
Bishop of Fort Worth
It has been a joy to participate in the GAFCON experience in Jerusalem, and I welcome and endorse the proclamation that has been issued at the conclusion of our week of deliberation and prayer.
It is a positive contribution to the future direction of the Anglican Communion, as well as a very encouraging affirmation and validation of the realignment that has been taking place in the Communion over the past few years.
We stand in solidarity with the GAFCON movement and principles, and we in Fort Worth look forward to the continuing saga of this exciting development in our life together as faithful Anglicans.
May the Lord continue to bless and guide us in the challenging days ahead of us.
The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker
Bishop of Fort Worth
pecusa gnosticism
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 2008, Church of England Newspaper
US General Convention is heralded as "magisterium"
THE FULLNESS of God's revelation is expressed in the councils of the Episcopal Church, the president of the US General Convention's House of Deputies told reporters last week.
In a briefing on the forthcoming Lambeth Conference held on May 30, Bonnie Anderson explained the "the joint work of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops is the highest institutional expression of our belief that God speaks uniquely through laity, priests and deacons and bishops."
The assertion of a magisterial authority for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church by Mrs Anderson follows upon a letter she sent on April 21 to deputies to the triennial gathering of the church's synod.
"In the Episcopal Church the belief that God speaks uniquely through bishops, laity, priests and deacons, enables our participatory structure and allows a fullness of revelation and insight that must not be lost in this important time of discernment," Mrs Anderson wrote, adding "the joint work of the Houses of Deputies and Bishops is the highest institutional expression of this belief."
Critics of the American church's liberalizing tendencies argue this usurpation of authority by General Convention - the gathering of clergy and lay deputies and bishops - has led to the church's present theological and ecclesial morass.
Anglican commentator Dr Todd Granger notes Mrs Anderson's teaching "goes well beyond what the Catholic Church teaches."
While the Roman Magisterium "interprets the Word of God" as revealed in Tradition and Scripture, the "Episcopalian construal apparently creates a magisterium as an independent authority, uniquely receiving God's Word," Dr Granger notes. Such an understanding of authority offers a new understanding of the foundations of authority that bears little relation to traditional Anglican dogma, he said.
US General Convention is heralded as "magisterium"
THE FULLNESS of God's revelation is expressed in the councils of the Episcopal Church, the president of the US General Convention's House of Deputies told reporters last week.
In a briefing on the forthcoming Lambeth Conference held on May 30, Bonnie Anderson explained the "the joint work of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops is the highest institutional expression of our belief that God speaks uniquely through laity, priests and deacons and bishops."
The assertion of a magisterial authority for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church by Mrs Anderson follows upon a letter she sent on April 21 to deputies to the triennial gathering of the church's synod.
"In the Episcopal Church the belief that God speaks uniquely through bishops, laity, priests and deacons, enables our participatory structure and allows a fullness of revelation and insight that must not be lost in this important time of discernment," Mrs Anderson wrote, adding "the joint work of the Houses of Deputies and Bishops is the highest institutional expression of this belief."
Critics of the American church's liberalizing tendencies argue this usurpation of authority by General Convention - the gathering of clergy and lay deputies and bishops - has led to the church's present theological and ecclesial morass.
Anglican commentator Dr Todd Granger notes Mrs Anderson's teaching "goes well beyond what the Catholic Church teaches."
While the Roman Magisterium "interprets the Word of God" as revealed in Tradition and Scripture, the "Episcopalian construal apparently creates a magisterium as an independent authority, uniquely receiving God's Word," Dr Granger notes. Such an understanding of authority offers a new understanding of the foundations of authority that bears little relation to traditional Anglican dogma, he said.
Archbishop of Canterbury responds to GAFCON statement
Anglican Communion News Service
Posted On : June 30, 2008 5:04 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: ACNS4417
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has responded to the final declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference with the following statement:
The Final Statement from the GAFCON meeting in Jordan and Jerusalem contains much that is positive and encouraging about the priorities of those who met for prayer and pilgrimage in the last week. The ‘tenets of orthodoxy’ spelled out in the document will be acceptable to and shared by the vast majority of Anglicans in every province, even if there may be differences of emphasis and perspective on some issues. I agree that the Communion needs to be united in its commitments on these matters, and I have no doubt that the Lambeth Conference will wish to affirm all these positive aspects of GAFCON’s deliberations. Despite the claims of some, the conviction of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and God and the absolute imperative of evangelism are not in dispute in the common life of the Communion
However, GAFCON’s proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways, and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed.
A ‘Primates’ Council’ which consists only of a self-selected group from among the Primates of the Communion will not pass the test of legitimacy for all in the Communion. And any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries is fraught with difficulties, both theological and practical – theological because of our historic commitments to mutual recognition of ministries in the Communion, practical because of the obvious strain of responsibly exercising episcopal or primatial authority across enormous geographical and cultural divides.
Two questions arise at once about what has been proposed. By what authority are Primates deemed acceptable or unacceptable members of any new primatial council? And how is effective discipline to be maintained in a situation of overlapping and competing jurisdictions?
No-one should for a moment impute selfish or malicious motives to those who have offered pastoral oversight to congregations in other provinces; these actions, however we judge them, arise from pastoral and spiritual concern. But one question has repeatedly been raised which is now becoming very serious: how is a bishop or primate in another continent able to discriminate effectively between a genuine crisis of pastoral relationship and theological integrity, and a situation where there are underlying non-theological motivations at work? We have seen instances of intervention in dioceses whose leadership is unquestionably orthodox simply because of local difficulties of a personal and administrative nature. We have also seen instances of clergy disciplined for scandalous behaviour in one jurisdiction accepted in another, apparently without due process. Some other Christian churches have unhappy experience of this problem and it needs to be addressed honestly.
It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion. If they are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve. This challenge is one of the most significant focuses for the forthcoming Lambeth Conference. One of its major stated aims is to restore and deepen confidence in our Anglican identity. And this task will require all who care as deeply as the authors of the statement say they do about the future of Anglicanism to play their part.
The language of ‘colonialism’ has been freely used of existing patterns. No-one is likely to look back with complacency to the colonial legacy. But emerging from the legacy of colonialism must mean a new co-operation of equals, not a simple reversal of power. If those who speak for GAFCON are willing to share in a genuine renewal of all our patterns of reflection and decision-making in the Communion, they are welcome, especially in the shaping of an effective Covenant for our future together.
I believe that it is wrong to assume we are now so far apart that all those outside the GAFCON network are simply proclaiming another gospel. This is not the case; it is not the experience of millions of faithful and biblically focused Anglicans in every province. What is true is that, on all sides of our controversies, slogans, misrepresentations and caricatures abound. And they need to be challenged in the name of the respect and patience we owe to each other in Jesus Christ.
I have in the past quoted to some in the Communion who would call themselves radical the words of the Apostle in I Cor.11.33: ‘wait for one another’. I would say the same to those in whose name this statement has been issued. An impatience at all costs to clear the Lord’s field of the weeds that may appear among the shoots of true life (Matt.13.29) will put at risk our clarity and effectiveness in communicating just those evangelical and catholic truths which the GAFCON statement presents.
Rowan Williams
Posted On : June 30, 2008 5:04 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: ACNS4417
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has responded to the final declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference with the following statement:
The Final Statement from the GAFCON meeting in Jordan and Jerusalem contains much that is positive and encouraging about the priorities of those who met for prayer and pilgrimage in the last week. The ‘tenets of orthodoxy’ spelled out in the document will be acceptable to and shared by the vast majority of Anglicans in every province, even if there may be differences of emphasis and perspective on some issues. I agree that the Communion needs to be united in its commitments on these matters, and I have no doubt that the Lambeth Conference will wish to affirm all these positive aspects of GAFCON’s deliberations. Despite the claims of some, the conviction of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Lord and God and the absolute imperative of evangelism are not in dispute in the common life of the Communion
However, GAFCON’s proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways, and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed.
A ‘Primates’ Council’ which consists only of a self-selected group from among the Primates of the Communion will not pass the test of legitimacy for all in the Communion. And any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries is fraught with difficulties, both theological and practical – theological because of our historic commitments to mutual recognition of ministries in the Communion, practical because of the obvious strain of responsibly exercising episcopal or primatial authority across enormous geographical and cultural divides.
Two questions arise at once about what has been proposed. By what authority are Primates deemed acceptable or unacceptable members of any new primatial council? And how is effective discipline to be maintained in a situation of overlapping and competing jurisdictions?
No-one should for a moment impute selfish or malicious motives to those who have offered pastoral oversight to congregations in other provinces; these actions, however we judge them, arise from pastoral and spiritual concern. But one question has repeatedly been raised which is now becoming very serious: how is a bishop or primate in another continent able to discriminate effectively between a genuine crisis of pastoral relationship and theological integrity, and a situation where there are underlying non-theological motivations at work? We have seen instances of intervention in dioceses whose leadership is unquestionably orthodox simply because of local difficulties of a personal and administrative nature. We have also seen instances of clergy disciplined for scandalous behaviour in one jurisdiction accepted in another, apparently without due process. Some other Christian churches have unhappy experience of this problem and it needs to be addressed honestly.
It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion. If they are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve. This challenge is one of the most significant focuses for the forthcoming Lambeth Conference. One of its major stated aims is to restore and deepen confidence in our Anglican identity. And this task will require all who care as deeply as the authors of the statement say they do about the future of Anglicanism to play their part.
The language of ‘colonialism’ has been freely used of existing patterns. No-one is likely to look back with complacency to the colonial legacy. But emerging from the legacy of colonialism must mean a new co-operation of equals, not a simple reversal of power. If those who speak for GAFCON are willing to share in a genuine renewal of all our patterns of reflection and decision-making in the Communion, they are welcome, especially in the shaping of an effective Covenant for our future together.
I believe that it is wrong to assume we are now so far apart that all those outside the GAFCON network are simply proclaiming another gospel. This is not the case; it is not the experience of millions of faithful and biblically focused Anglicans in every province. What is true is that, on all sides of our controversies, slogans, misrepresentations and caricatures abound. And they need to be challenged in the name of the respect and patience we owe to each other in Jesus Christ.
I have in the past quoted to some in the Communion who would call themselves radical the words of the Apostle in I Cor.11.33: ‘wait for one another’. I would say the same to those in whose name this statement has been issued. An impatience at all costs to clear the Lord’s field of the weeds that may appear among the shoots of true life (Matt.13.29) will put at risk our clarity and effectiveness in communicating just those evangelical and catholic truths which the GAFCON statement presents.
Rowan Williams
Leander Harding: Thoughts on the Jerusalem Statement of GAFCON
A Change in Tempo?
I have had a first look at the Jerusalem communiqué of GAFCON. I will be rereading it in days ahead but here are some initial reactions. GAFCON establishes itself as a confessing movement within the church based on an ecumenical definition of Christian orthodoxy and the historic Anglican formularies. GAFCON does not formally break with the Archbishop of Canterbury and describes itself as a movement for reformation and renewal. The statement asserts that Anglicanism is to be defined doctrinally. Canterbury is accorded respect but declared not to have the power to say who and who is not Anglican. This is an explicit rejection of the notion that to be an Anglican church all that is required is an invitation to the Lambeth conference. Rather Anglicanism is to be defined in terms of the common confession of creedal orthodoxy and adherence to the doctrinal heritage of the classical Anglican formularies. The language describing the significance of the 1662 BCP, the ordinal and the 39 articles is confessional and authoritative but is carefully worded to allow for some very modest interpretation and local adaptation of worship.
Those dioceses in North and South America that in word or deed have ceased to confess the uniqueness of Christ or promoted extra-biblical sexual morality are declared apostate and called to repentance. The existing instruments of communion are identified as an inadequate “colonial structure” and condemned for not promoting discipline within the communion. The primates who organized GAFCON are asked to create a council of primates and to enlarge this council with other confessing members and to recognize confessing Anglican jurisdictions whether they are in communion with Canterbury or not. The establishment of a new province for confessing Anglicans in North America based on the common cause partnership and to be recognized by the GAFCON movement is encouraged.
I do not read this as the break up of the Anglican Communion. I expect that many of the attendees at GAFCON will be attending Lambeth but I do see this conference and its statement as an important breakthrough in the impasse of the communion crisis. In the game of chess I believe there is a term called tempo. It has to do with which player is the one to which the other must respond. One player has the upper hand and then there is an exchange and the player who was setting the tempo is now the one who must respond. Until this meeting in Jerusalem the tempo was in the hands of the North American churches. They acted and the rest of the communion was in the position of responding to their actions. The existing instruments of communion including the Archbishop of Canterbury have in part by inaction and in part by intention, continually moved the tempo back to TEC and The Anglican Church of Canada. The emergence of GAFCON as a confessing group within the Anglican Communion which is willing to take bold action, though at this point action short of a formal break with Canterbury, changes the tempo. It is now the rest of the communion including its existing instruments of communion which must respond. It is the consensus of the emerging confessing majority in the communion which is now setting the agenda. If the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lambeth conference do not respond to this initiative in a meaningful way they are likely to become irrelevant to the future of global Anglicanism. Irrelevancy for Canterbury, Lambeth and the Anglican Consultative Council seem a greater risk at the moment than the risk of a formal break or repudiation of these instruments by members of GAFCON.
I have had a first look at the Jerusalem communiqué of GAFCON. I will be rereading it in days ahead but here are some initial reactions. GAFCON establishes itself as a confessing movement within the church based on an ecumenical definition of Christian orthodoxy and the historic Anglican formularies. GAFCON does not formally break with the Archbishop of Canterbury and describes itself as a movement for reformation and renewal. The statement asserts that Anglicanism is to be defined doctrinally. Canterbury is accorded respect but declared not to have the power to say who and who is not Anglican. This is an explicit rejection of the notion that to be an Anglican church all that is required is an invitation to the Lambeth conference. Rather Anglicanism is to be defined in terms of the common confession of creedal orthodoxy and adherence to the doctrinal heritage of the classical Anglican formularies. The language describing the significance of the 1662 BCP, the ordinal and the 39 articles is confessional and authoritative but is carefully worded to allow for some very modest interpretation and local adaptation of worship.
Those dioceses in North and South America that in word or deed have ceased to confess the uniqueness of Christ or promoted extra-biblical sexual morality are declared apostate and called to repentance. The existing instruments of communion are identified as an inadequate “colonial structure” and condemned for not promoting discipline within the communion. The primates who organized GAFCON are asked to create a council of primates and to enlarge this council with other confessing members and to recognize confessing Anglican jurisdictions whether they are in communion with Canterbury or not. The establishment of a new province for confessing Anglicans in North America based on the common cause partnership and to be recognized by the GAFCON movement is encouraged.
I do not read this as the break up of the Anglican Communion. I expect that many of the attendees at GAFCON will be attending Lambeth but I do see this conference and its statement as an important breakthrough in the impasse of the communion crisis. In the game of chess I believe there is a term called tempo. It has to do with which player is the one to which the other must respond. One player has the upper hand and then there is an exchange and the player who was setting the tempo is now the one who must respond. Until this meeting in Jerusalem the tempo was in the hands of the North American churches. They acted and the rest of the communion was in the position of responding to their actions. The existing instruments of communion including the Archbishop of Canterbury have in part by inaction and in part by intention, continually moved the tempo back to TEC and The Anglican Church of Canada. The emergence of GAFCON as a confessing group within the Anglican Communion which is willing to take bold action, though at this point action short of a formal break with Canterbury, changes the tempo. It is now the rest of the communion including its existing instruments of communion which must respond. It is the consensus of the emerging confessing majority in the communion which is now setting the agenda. If the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lambeth conference do not respond to this initiative in a meaningful way they are likely to become irrelevant to the future of global Anglicanism. Irrelevancy for Canterbury, Lambeth and the Anglican Consultative Council seem a greater risk at the moment than the risk of a formal break or repudiation of these instruments by members of GAFCON.
ANGLICAN COMMUNION FACES SPLIT
North American Province Will Become a Reality
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 28, 2008
Believing that God has called them to a "new work", Primates at the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) announced tonight that they have launched a movement of Confessing Anglicans that will, in effect, be a rival Anglican Communion.
Tomorrow, when orthodox Anglicans meet for their final day of pilgrimage, 1,200 representatives including 303 bishops of the Anglican Communion representing more than 70% of the Communion, will announce the formation of a new Anglican body that will affirm "'the faith once for all delivered to the saints"' as a bulwark against the growing and rampant liberalism in the mostly Western church.
While the word "schism" is not found in the text, it is, to all intents and purposes, a formal split from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the four Instruments of Unity.
The new global Anglican fellowship will act, for a time, within the present organization, but many see fragmenting synodical boundaries of the Church of England. In North America, a new North American Anglican Province will be set up to draw together members of Common Cause Partnership and various Anglican evangelical and Anglo-Catholics jurisdictions, setting it on a collision course with the liberal (some believe revisionist) Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada.
Coming as it does, just two weeks before some 600 bishops representing only 30% of the Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury, this fellowship meeting in the land of Jesus' birth, poses a direct challenge to the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, as well as to the Primate of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori and to Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church in Canada. Most of the Anglican bishops here will not attend Lambeth.
This momentous decision, the likes of which we have not seen in 500 years of Anglican history, made by representatives from all 38 provinces, will directly affect nearly half the total number of provinces in the communion including, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, India, Sydney, and the Southern Cone, which makes up two-thirds of all worshipping Anglicans.
Years of endless talking and listening have come to an end over a number of issues including the acceptance of pansexuality within the Episcopal Church, the Canadian and now the Church of England. These "pilgrims" want nothing more to do with the liberalism that has penetrated and bankrupted the Anglican Communion. Whole dioceses and parishes are now in serious decline. There is litigation against orthodox parishes wanting nothing more to do with liberalism.
The action taken by these mostly Evangelical Anglicans is the most devastating blow to the unity of the Anglican Communion in the West since the 16th Century Protestant Reformation.
These Anglicans will now forge ahead to meet the challenges by planting new churches among unreached peoples and to restore authentic Christianity to compromised churches.
The GAFCON theological leaders laid out a 14-point statement of theological orthodoxy which includes, among other things, affirming the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God, upholding the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as espressions of the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. They uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God's Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
The conveners say they want a "federation of provinces" which Dr. Rowan Williams has repeatedly resisted. He has staked his job on trying to keep the worldwide Communion together. Some believe his job might now be in jeopardy, as he has singularly failed to do this.
The orthodox Province of Nigeria has deleted all reference to Canterbury from its constitution. It appears other provinces will now follow. One Episcopal diocese (San Joaquin) has already fled The Episcopal Church. Three more dioceses are expected to make the break following Lambeth. Some 300 churches have left The Episcopal Church and attached themselves to a number of African jurisdictions. They argue that it is the liberals, not them, who have adopted innovations leading to the breakdown of the communion. They say liberals have abandoned the biblical faith and the teachings of Christianity.
It is unclear what the legal implications will be in England, where the Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church. In the U.S. and Canada, where parishes are fleeing The Episcopal Church, millions of dollars are being spent on litigation to keep properties in TEC. Most must close, once the parishioners have fled. Many have simply left their properties. Others are fighting to keep them.
It is expected that the new fellowship will include those churches that have separated from TEC since 1977 over such issues as Women's Ordination and other doctrinal matters.
Here at GAFCON, in Jerusalem, are bishops from the Church of England, Sydney, South Africa, the Southern Cone, US, India, TEC, Canada and the Reformed Episcopal Church in the US. There are also representatives from the American Anglican Council, Anglicans for Life, Anglican Relief and Development, and the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). US representatives from CANA, the Anglican Missions in the Americas, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda are also present. None of these latter bishops have been invited to Lambeth.
One report from the "London Times" says that more than 600 Church of England clergy, representing almost as many parishes, are expected to swear allegiance to the new body when they meet on Tuesday at All Souls, Langham Place, which is regarded as Britain's evangelical flagship.
The fellowship was given a boost in North America on Friday when a Virginia judge ruled that a group of 11 breakaway parishes could keep their property. Lawyers from the Episcopal Church will appeal. The case is being watched closely by dozens of other parishes. There are at least three dioceses also planning to break away, observed the Times.
One of the lightning rod issues for the new movement is the 2003 consecration of the non-celibate homogenital Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson. In addition to this, another issue has been the authorization of same-sex blessings in the ultra-liberal Diocese of New Westminster in Canada.
The key players in this new fellowship include the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali; the Archbishop of the Southern Cone, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables; the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi; the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Peter Jensen; and the Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Rev Benjamin Nzimbi, who led the committee drawing up the final communique in Jerusalem. Archbishop Venables says he will be at the Lambeth Conference.
Dr Jensen said, "American revisionists committed an extraordinary strategic blunder in 2003 . They did not think that there would be any consequences.
"Now, if they did not believe that there would be consequences, that is an arrogant thing, I have to say. But I don't know them, so I really cannot say. The consequences have been unfolding over the last five years. Now their church is divided. It looks as though there will be permanent division, one way or the other.
"All around the world, the sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism and orthodox Anglicanism has been aroused by what happened in Canada and the United States of America. It was an act of folly."
The fellowship will draw up its own Book of Common Prayer,using the original formularies as outlined by Thomas Cranmer, and incorporated into the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
END
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 28, 2008
Believing that God has called them to a "new work", Primates at the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) announced tonight that they have launched a movement of Confessing Anglicans that will, in effect, be a rival Anglican Communion.
Tomorrow, when orthodox Anglicans meet for their final day of pilgrimage, 1,200 representatives including 303 bishops of the Anglican Communion representing more than 70% of the Communion, will announce the formation of a new Anglican body that will affirm "'the faith once for all delivered to the saints"' as a bulwark against the growing and rampant liberalism in the mostly Western church.
While the word "schism" is not found in the text, it is, to all intents and purposes, a formal split from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the four Instruments of Unity.
The new global Anglican fellowship will act, for a time, within the present organization, but many see fragmenting synodical boundaries of the Church of England. In North America, a new North American Anglican Province will be set up to draw together members of Common Cause Partnership and various Anglican evangelical and Anglo-Catholics jurisdictions, setting it on a collision course with the liberal (some believe revisionist) Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada.
Coming as it does, just two weeks before some 600 bishops representing only 30% of the Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury, this fellowship meeting in the land of Jesus' birth, poses a direct challenge to the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, as well as to the Primate of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori and to Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church in Canada. Most of the Anglican bishops here will not attend Lambeth.
This momentous decision, the likes of which we have not seen in 500 years of Anglican history, made by representatives from all 38 provinces, will directly affect nearly half the total number of provinces in the communion including, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, India, Sydney, and the Southern Cone, which makes up two-thirds of all worshipping Anglicans.
Years of endless talking and listening have come to an end over a number of issues including the acceptance of pansexuality within the Episcopal Church, the Canadian and now the Church of England. These "pilgrims" want nothing more to do with the liberalism that has penetrated and bankrupted the Anglican Communion. Whole dioceses and parishes are now in serious decline. There is litigation against orthodox parishes wanting nothing more to do with liberalism.
The action taken by these mostly Evangelical Anglicans is the most devastating blow to the unity of the Anglican Communion in the West since the 16th Century Protestant Reformation.
These Anglicans will now forge ahead to meet the challenges by planting new churches among unreached peoples and to restore authentic Christianity to compromised churches.
The GAFCON theological leaders laid out a 14-point statement of theological orthodoxy which includes, among other things, affirming the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God, upholding the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as espressions of the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. They uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God's Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
The conveners say they want a "federation of provinces" which Dr. Rowan Williams has repeatedly resisted. He has staked his job on trying to keep the worldwide Communion together. Some believe his job might now be in jeopardy, as he has singularly failed to do this.
The orthodox Province of Nigeria has deleted all reference to Canterbury from its constitution. It appears other provinces will now follow. One Episcopal diocese (San Joaquin) has already fled The Episcopal Church. Three more dioceses are expected to make the break following Lambeth. Some 300 churches have left The Episcopal Church and attached themselves to a number of African jurisdictions. They argue that it is the liberals, not them, who have adopted innovations leading to the breakdown of the communion. They say liberals have abandoned the biblical faith and the teachings of Christianity.
It is unclear what the legal implications will be in England, where the Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church. In the U.S. and Canada, where parishes are fleeing The Episcopal Church, millions of dollars are being spent on litigation to keep properties in TEC. Most must close, once the parishioners have fled. Many have simply left their properties. Others are fighting to keep them.
It is expected that the new fellowship will include those churches that have separated from TEC since 1977 over such issues as Women's Ordination and other doctrinal matters.
Here at GAFCON, in Jerusalem, are bishops from the Church of England, Sydney, South Africa, the Southern Cone, US, India, TEC, Canada and the Reformed Episcopal Church in the US. There are also representatives from the American Anglican Council, Anglicans for Life, Anglican Relief and Development, and the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). US representatives from CANA, the Anglican Missions in the Americas, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda are also present. None of these latter bishops have been invited to Lambeth.
One report from the "London Times" says that more than 600 Church of England clergy, representing almost as many parishes, are expected to swear allegiance to the new body when they meet on Tuesday at All Souls, Langham Place, which is regarded as Britain's evangelical flagship.
The fellowship was given a boost in North America on Friday when a Virginia judge ruled that a group of 11 breakaway parishes could keep their property. Lawyers from the Episcopal Church will appeal. The case is being watched closely by dozens of other parishes. There are at least three dioceses also planning to break away, observed the Times.
One of the lightning rod issues for the new movement is the 2003 consecration of the non-celibate homogenital Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson. In addition to this, another issue has been the authorization of same-sex blessings in the ultra-liberal Diocese of New Westminster in Canada.
The key players in this new fellowship include the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali; the Archbishop of the Southern Cone, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables; the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi; the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Peter Jensen; and the Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Rev Benjamin Nzimbi, who led the committee drawing up the final communique in Jerusalem. Archbishop Venables says he will be at the Lambeth Conference.
Dr Jensen said, "American revisionists committed an extraordinary strategic blunder in 2003 . They did not think that there would be any consequences.
"Now, if they did not believe that there would be consequences, that is an arrogant thing, I have to say. But I don't know them, so I really cannot say. The consequences have been unfolding over the last five years. Now their church is divided. It looks as though there will be permanent division, one way or the other.
"All around the world, the sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism and orthodox Anglicanism has been aroused by what happened in Canada and the United States of America. It was an act of folly."
The fellowship will draw up its own Book of Common Prayer,using the original formularies as outlined by Thomas Cranmer, and incorporated into the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
END
Orthodox Score Three Significant Goals this week
News Analysis
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
6/29/2008
It was a week that orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans in the U.S and around the world might justly feel proud and not just a little vindicated.
The first major event was the guilty charges found against the revisionist Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison. An ecclesiastical court declared that he knowingly did nothing while his brother John Bennison, also a cleric, engaged in sexual relations with a minor. A court found him guilty 9 - 0. A second charge that he covered up his brother's sexual misbehavior also got a guilty verdict of 6 - 3, garnering the necessary two-thirds necessary vote for a guilty verdict.
He will appeal, of course. Bennison is a narcissist and sociopath so he sees he has done nothing wrong. A number of Episcopal bishops I spoke with here in Jerusalem say Bennison is toast. He will never get his See back again. He will fight the conviction, but he will not win. He walked away from charges that he mismanaged the diocese. In September, he faces civil charges, brought against him by Fr. David L. Moyer, that he committed fraud. He will be cross-examined by one of Philadelphia's most astute lawyers. It is being said that what Bennison experienced in the ecclesiastical court is just a taste of what he can expect at his civil trial.
The second major event, for which orthodox Anglicans in the US are rejoicing, is that a court decision in Fairfax, Virginia saw 11 faithful orthodox Anglican congregations, which broke with the U.S. Episcopal Church, win a second court decision. The latest ruling by a Virginia judge is part of the larger upheaval over orthodoxy in the global Anglican community.
These congregations broke with the Episcopal Church over the authority of Scripture and the consecration of Gene Robinson, the openly homoerotic Bishop of New Hampshire.
On Friday, Judge Randy Bellows of the Fairfax County Circuit Court ruled that the Virginia law under which the congregations want to keep the property is constitutional.
"We have maintained all along that our churches' own trustees hold title for the benefit of these congregations. It's also gratifying to see the judge recognize that the statute means what it says -- it's 'conclusive' of ownership," said Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, to which the traditionalist churches now belong.
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and its Bishop, Peter Lee promptly labeled the decision "regrettable" and said it still believes the law violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of church-state separation. They will, of course, continue to pursue every legal option available to them. They will need to raise several more millions of dollars to do so. They have already mortgaged a number of properties in the diocese to meet current legal bills, but sources tell VOL that, unless the national church steps in with a blank check book, Lee is on the hook for more fire sales to pay the fees. Two parishes, Falls Church and Truro, are said to be worth at least $25 million.
The third and most significant goal attained this week occurred here in Jerusalem where some 1200 pilgrims gathered to reaffirm the historic Christian Faith in the land of its birth.
Today, this fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has affirmed by acclamation a Declaration that they will uphold the faith, maintain the sanctity of marriage, use the classic Book of Common Prayer and form a Primates' Council to "oversee the transition process." In effect, they told the Archbishop of Canterbury that they don't need to go through him to get to Jesus and that the Anglican Communion is his to lose, if he does not discipline theologically and morally errant provinces like the U.S. Episcopal Church. For the future, they will no longer look to him for leadership of the Anglican Communion.
This is the worst-case scenario a leader of 56 million Anglicans could possibly face on the eve of the decennial gathering of bishops in Canterbury. To be told that he no longer speaks for 70% of the Anglican Communion is a personal humiliation that is hard to imagine.
This week is one that orthodox Anglicans around the world can rejoice in. They have been beaten down (but not out) and now they are on their way up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. A new day has dawned in the Anglican Communion, and as one Archbishop noted, "we have seen the good hand of God work mightily."
END
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
6/29/2008
It was a week that orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans in the U.S and around the world might justly feel proud and not just a little vindicated.
The first major event was the guilty charges found against the revisionist Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison. An ecclesiastical court declared that he knowingly did nothing while his brother John Bennison, also a cleric, engaged in sexual relations with a minor. A court found him guilty 9 - 0. A second charge that he covered up his brother's sexual misbehavior also got a guilty verdict of 6 - 3, garnering the necessary two-thirds necessary vote for a guilty verdict.
He will appeal, of course. Bennison is a narcissist and sociopath so he sees he has done nothing wrong. A number of Episcopal bishops I spoke with here in Jerusalem say Bennison is toast. He will never get his See back again. He will fight the conviction, but he will not win. He walked away from charges that he mismanaged the diocese. In September, he faces civil charges, brought against him by Fr. David L. Moyer, that he committed fraud. He will be cross-examined by one of Philadelphia's most astute lawyers. It is being said that what Bennison experienced in the ecclesiastical court is just a taste of what he can expect at his civil trial.
The second major event, for which orthodox Anglicans in the US are rejoicing, is that a court decision in Fairfax, Virginia saw 11 faithful orthodox Anglican congregations, which broke with the U.S. Episcopal Church, win a second court decision. The latest ruling by a Virginia judge is part of the larger upheaval over orthodoxy in the global Anglican community.
These congregations broke with the Episcopal Church over the authority of Scripture and the consecration of Gene Robinson, the openly homoerotic Bishop of New Hampshire.
On Friday, Judge Randy Bellows of the Fairfax County Circuit Court ruled that the Virginia law under which the congregations want to keep the property is constitutional.
"We have maintained all along that our churches' own trustees hold title for the benefit of these congregations. It's also gratifying to see the judge recognize that the statute means what it says -- it's 'conclusive' of ownership," said Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, to which the traditionalist churches now belong.
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and its Bishop, Peter Lee promptly labeled the decision "regrettable" and said it still believes the law violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of church-state separation. They will, of course, continue to pursue every legal option available to them. They will need to raise several more millions of dollars to do so. They have already mortgaged a number of properties in the diocese to meet current legal bills, but sources tell VOL that, unless the national church steps in with a blank check book, Lee is on the hook for more fire sales to pay the fees. Two parishes, Falls Church and Truro, are said to be worth at least $25 million.
The third and most significant goal attained this week occurred here in Jerusalem where some 1200 pilgrims gathered to reaffirm the historic Christian Faith in the land of its birth.
Today, this fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has affirmed by acclamation a Declaration that they will uphold the faith, maintain the sanctity of marriage, use the classic Book of Common Prayer and form a Primates' Council to "oversee the transition process." In effect, they told the Archbishop of Canterbury that they don't need to go through him to get to Jesus and that the Anglican Communion is his to lose, if he does not discipline theologically and morally errant provinces like the U.S. Episcopal Church. For the future, they will no longer look to him for leadership of the Anglican Communion.
This is the worst-case scenario a leader of 56 million Anglicans could possibly face on the eve of the decennial gathering of bishops in Canterbury. To be told that he no longer speaks for 70% of the Anglican Communion is a personal humiliation that is hard to imagine.
This week is one that orthodox Anglicans around the world can rejoice in. They have been beaten down (but not out) and now they are on their way up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. A new day has dawned in the Anglican Communion, and as one Archbishop noted, "we have seen the good hand of God work mightily."
END
Historic Moment As Orthodox Anglicans Ratify New Direction for Church
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 29, 2008
Describing it as a solemn and important moment, Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen told 1,200 pilgrims at the Renaissance Hotel that the Anglican Communion "is about to receive a dose of order."
Moments later, Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola stepped up to the podium and announced that a statement had been written and accepted by the leadership. Copies were then handed to all the participants. Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi proceeded to solemnly read it aloud.
At the conclusion of the Statement, the delegates rose to their feet as one and broke into applause.
Akinola then returned to the podium and asked, "Is it your will it be adopted. Cries of 'yes' resounded throughout the ballroom."
The Archbishop of Tanzania, the Rt. Rev. Valentino Mokiwa then rose and asked for the people's prayers. Immediately, Archbishops Peter Akinola (Nigeria), Henry Luke Orombi (Uganda) Greg Venables, (Southern Cone) and Emmanuel Kolini (Rwanda) stepped up to the podium and publicly signed the document. Archbishop Mokiwa (Tanzania) still needs to obtain clearance from his House of Bishops, but indicated that would not be a problem. Archbishop Peter Jensen also affirmed the document, but could not sign it as he is not a Primate. Archbishop Justice Akrofi (West Africa) also signed it.
"That glorious future we have been looking forward too has been borne," cried Akinola. The 1200 pilgrims then stood as one and broke out in the doxology.
The Nigerian Primate then gave the final blessing. The delegates roared "Amen" and sang an African hymn. Following this, they all broke out and sang, "To God be the God I don't think this is right but I don't know what it should be glory great things he has done."
Dr. Os Guinness, author, social critic, and plenary speaker told VOL, "This is an historic moment. 200 years of slow hemorrhaging of faith from the liberal revisionism of the Enlightenment has finally been staunched by a major movement of faith and truth."
What has happened here today in Jerusalem is momentous. A new day has dawned for world Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion will never be the same again.
What they told the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, was clear and unequivocal. They will not tolerate a global communion with a colonial structure. They then said Dr. Williams had overturned the conciliar authority of the Communion by deflecting the Primates' demand in 2003 for discipline of TEC. Above all, they stated that they don't need to go through Canterbury to get to Jesus. The participants also affirmed the need for a new North American Anglican province, which will undoubtedly get Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop, riled up and consulting her attorney, David Booth Beers. Since none of the U.S. bishops here signed the document, there is not a lot she can do.
What the participants heard today, they will carry back to their parishes and dioceses in the US and Canada. What they say will only hasten the schism started by liberals and revisionists with their actions in 2003.
At a press conference, the five primates, including Bishop David Anderson of CANA, were questioned on the statement with one reporter asking if the statement was more magisterial than expected. Archbishop Orombi replied that it was within the framework of the Anglican Communion with recognition, for the moment, that Dr. Rowan Williams was still the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola said that with the turmoil in the Anglican Communion this Declaration is "a fresh hope and fresh beginning. We are going to send it out with a covering letter as a chance to renew... to start all over again and march on."
Asked if GAFCON is "a church within a church" Akinola said "No". "I don't agree with that description. We are part of the worldwide church."
He said that history has been made. "What we have today is not just Global South members, but a global coming together of faithful Anglicans from around the world. What the official Instruments of the Communion have not been able to do this conference has done."
Questioned about who would support a new North American Anglican orthodox Province, Bishop David Anderson said all the Episcopal bishops present were on board. "There was an overwhelming consensus. Our hope is for a re-gathering of a portion of the church that has scattered. Heterodoxy is untenable."
He said that the new province will not be just the US and Canada, but it will be transnational in character. Asked about a timeline, Anderson said, "We want to go home and figure out what needs to be done."
Questioned about the American Anglican Council and the American Anglican Network, Anderson said, "to the extent that they are part of the communion, they are all signatories of Common Cause and Bishop Robert Duncan is moderator of both AAN and CCP.
Asked about the implications of the province being a new legal entity, Anderson said they would have to explore that over the coming months.
"The Province is in a proto stage. It has gone a long way and we would need to see how that plays out. Perhaps, by the end of the year, we will have a petition to lay before the Primates."
END
www.virtueonline.org
June 29, 2008
Describing it as a solemn and important moment, Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen told 1,200 pilgrims at the Renaissance Hotel that the Anglican Communion "is about to receive a dose of order."
Moments later, Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola stepped up to the podium and announced that a statement had been written and accepted by the leadership. Copies were then handed to all the participants. Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi proceeded to solemnly read it aloud.
At the conclusion of the Statement, the delegates rose to their feet as one and broke into applause.
Akinola then returned to the podium and asked, "Is it your will it be adopted. Cries of 'yes' resounded throughout the ballroom."
The Archbishop of Tanzania, the Rt. Rev. Valentino Mokiwa then rose and asked for the people's prayers. Immediately, Archbishops Peter Akinola (Nigeria), Henry Luke Orombi (Uganda) Greg Venables, (Southern Cone) and Emmanuel Kolini (Rwanda) stepped up to the podium and publicly signed the document. Archbishop Mokiwa (Tanzania) still needs to obtain clearance from his House of Bishops, but indicated that would not be a problem. Archbishop Peter Jensen also affirmed the document, but could not sign it as he is not a Primate. Archbishop Justice Akrofi (West Africa) also signed it.
"That glorious future we have been looking forward too has been borne," cried Akinola. The 1200 pilgrims then stood as one and broke out in the doxology.
The Nigerian Primate then gave the final blessing. The delegates roared "Amen" and sang an African hymn. Following this, they all broke out and sang, "To God be the God I don't think this is right but I don't know what it should be glory great things he has done."
Dr. Os Guinness, author, social critic, and plenary speaker told VOL, "This is an historic moment. 200 years of slow hemorrhaging of faith from the liberal revisionism of the Enlightenment has finally been staunched by a major movement of faith and truth."
What has happened here today in Jerusalem is momentous. A new day has dawned for world Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion will never be the same again.
What they told the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, was clear and unequivocal. They will not tolerate a global communion with a colonial structure. They then said Dr. Williams had overturned the conciliar authority of the Communion by deflecting the Primates' demand in 2003 for discipline of TEC. Above all, they stated that they don't need to go through Canterbury to get to Jesus. The participants also affirmed the need for a new North American Anglican province, which will undoubtedly get Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop, riled up and consulting her attorney, David Booth Beers. Since none of the U.S. bishops here signed the document, there is not a lot she can do.
What the participants heard today, they will carry back to their parishes and dioceses in the US and Canada. What they say will only hasten the schism started by liberals and revisionists with their actions in 2003.
At a press conference, the five primates, including Bishop David Anderson of CANA, were questioned on the statement with one reporter asking if the statement was more magisterial than expected. Archbishop Orombi replied that it was within the framework of the Anglican Communion with recognition, for the moment, that Dr. Rowan Williams was still the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola said that with the turmoil in the Anglican Communion this Declaration is "a fresh hope and fresh beginning. We are going to send it out with a covering letter as a chance to renew... to start all over again and march on."
Asked if GAFCON is "a church within a church" Akinola said "No". "I don't agree with that description. We are part of the worldwide church."
He said that history has been made. "What we have today is not just Global South members, but a global coming together of faithful Anglicans from around the world. What the official Instruments of the Communion have not been able to do this conference has done."
Questioned about who would support a new North American Anglican orthodox Province, Bishop David Anderson said all the Episcopal bishops present were on board. "There was an overwhelming consensus. Our hope is for a re-gathering of a portion of the church that has scattered. Heterodoxy is untenable."
He said that the new province will not be just the US and Canada, but it will be transnational in character. Asked about a timeline, Anderson said, "We want to go home and figure out what needs to be done."
Questioned about the American Anglican Council and the American Anglican Network, Anderson said, "to the extent that they are part of the communion, they are all signatories of Common Cause and Bishop Robert Duncan is moderator of both AAN and CCP.
Asked about the implications of the province being a new legal entity, Anderson said they would have to explore that over the coming months.
"The Province is in a proto stage. It has gone a long way and we would need to see how that plays out. Perhaps, by the end of the year, we will have a petition to lay before the Primates."
END
CSM: Difficult Future for pecusa
Of the articles I've posted today the one from the Christian Science Monitor below gives the best perspective on the Anglican crisis that was initiated by pecusa. The Archbishop of Canterbury has allowed the Lambeth Conference to be shaped by pecusa so that the meeting will make no decisions on the controversial actions of pecusa and the Anglican Church of Canada. The bishops meet once every ten years, there is a crisis, and the ABC, along with his North American allies, have chosen to stall rather than to act. The Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) has made it clear that the leaders of the majority of the Anglican Communion will not allow this.
The Windsor Report has not been heeded nor has the Dar es Salaam Communique of the primates been heeded. When the ABC Rowan Williams, stepped away from the definite date set by the primates for compliance or discipline it became clearer than ever that the Anglican Communion through the four instruments of unity was incapable of discipline. As the Jerusalem Declaration of GAFCON pointedly put its, "there has been a failure to honour promises of discipline, the authority of the Primates' Meeting has been undermined and the Lambeth Conference has been structured so as to avoid any hard decisions. We can only come to the devastating conclusion that 'we are a global Communion with a colonial structure'."
GAFCON is the direct result of the lack of discipline and more importantly, the lack of adherence to the apostolic and catholic gospel. As the GAFCON Declaration states there is an "acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different 'gospel' (cf. Galatians 1:6-8) which is contrary to the apostolic gospel."
A realignment has started with North American parishes and dioceses leaving pecusa and uniting with foreign provinces that hold to the apostolic and catholic gospel. Despite what secular and liberal Christian sources have repeatedly said, GAFCON was not about schism. GAFCON is about continuing the realignment of worldwide Anglicanism. A key sentence in the Jerusalem Declaration is this one:
"While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The GAFCON pilgrims have said that if the ABC shirks the responsibility of his office, his office is diminished and worldwide Anglicanism will necessarily have to be reconfigured. The ABC has shirked his responsibility and GAFCON is part of the restructuring of Anglicanism. A Primates' Council will be set up to take responsibility in the wake of the current leadership vacuum.
Another key sentence of the GAFCON Declaration states,
"We recognise the desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion, except in those areas where churches and leaders are denying the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread, and in a few areas for which overlapping jurisdictions are beneficial for historical or cultural reasons."
This is certainly the case in North America. The Anglican Church of Canada and pecusa are suing orthodox parishes and promoting a false gospel. The ABC would not act to correct this scandal to the Church; GAFCON has filled that leadership vacuum.
Praise be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
The Windsor Report has not been heeded nor has the Dar es Salaam Communique of the primates been heeded. When the ABC Rowan Williams, stepped away from the definite date set by the primates for compliance or discipline it became clearer than ever that the Anglican Communion through the four instruments of unity was incapable of discipline. As the Jerusalem Declaration of GAFCON pointedly put its, "there has been a failure to honour promises of discipline, the authority of the Primates' Meeting has been undermined and the Lambeth Conference has been structured so as to avoid any hard decisions. We can only come to the devastating conclusion that 'we are a global Communion with a colonial structure'."
GAFCON is the direct result of the lack of discipline and more importantly, the lack of adherence to the apostolic and catholic gospel. As the GAFCON Declaration states there is an "acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different 'gospel' (cf. Galatians 1:6-8) which is contrary to the apostolic gospel."
A realignment has started with North American parishes and dioceses leaving pecusa and uniting with foreign provinces that hold to the apostolic and catholic gospel. Despite what secular and liberal Christian sources have repeatedly said, GAFCON was not about schism. GAFCON is about continuing the realignment of worldwide Anglicanism. A key sentence in the Jerusalem Declaration is this one:
"While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The GAFCON pilgrims have said that if the ABC shirks the responsibility of his office, his office is diminished and worldwide Anglicanism will necessarily have to be reconfigured. The ABC has shirked his responsibility and GAFCON is part of the restructuring of Anglicanism. A Primates' Council will be set up to take responsibility in the wake of the current leadership vacuum.
Another key sentence of the GAFCON Declaration states,
"We recognise the desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion, except in those areas where churches and leaders are denying the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread, and in a few areas for which overlapping jurisdictions are beneficial for historical or cultural reasons."
This is certainly the case in North America. The Anglican Church of Canada and pecusa are suing orthodox parishes and promoting a false gospel. The ABC would not act to correct this scandal to the Church; GAFCON has filled that leadership vacuum.
Praise be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Traditionalists lay out bold challenge to Anglican leadership
At their meeting in Jerusalem, Orthodox leaders reject authority of churches that teach a 'false gospel,' signaling an intention to vie for influence within Anglicanism.
By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the June 30, 2008 edition
Threats of schism in the Anglican Communion are a thing of the past, but the world's third-largest Christian community faces a historic challenge over who will shape its future.
That's the message from a gathering of 1,200 orthodox Anglican bishops, clergy, and lay people from several continents who met in Jerusalem over the past week to hammer out a response to what they see as "revisionist" liberal thinking within some churches.
The traditionalists have decided to replace schism threats – sparked in recent years by Western support for gay clergy and blessing of same-sex unions – with a new movement to reform the Anglican Communion from within. But the statement released Sunday by the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), while positive in tone, constitutes a shot across the bow of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the US Episcopal Church.
"Our fellowship is not breaking away," the group says. But "we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The conference has launched the Gafcon movement of orthodox Anglicans, formed a council of leaders that is likely to sever ties with liberal Western churches, and called for creation of a North American province within the Communion to include the US parishes and dioceses that have pulled away from the Episcopal Church and built a separate network.
"The North American initiative will only make a current hot zone much hotter," says the Rev. Kendall Harmon, a US traditionalist. "They are basically saying that they intend to compete for the Anglican franchise of North America."
Those heading the movement include leading African, Australian, South American, and English bishops, who aim to rebuild the Communion "on a foundation of biblical truth."
The statement details 14 tenets of orthodoxy in a "Jerusalem Declaration" and rejects the authority of churches that teach a "false gospel."
The conservatives feel that Anglican leadership has failed them in their bid to discipline the churches in the United States and Canada over issues of homosexuality, which are symptomatic of broader differences on biblical authority.
After the Episcopal Church consecrated a gay bishop in 2003, American traditionalists balked and refused to follow US leadership. Bishops in developing countries, in turn, began to provide oversight for those American traditionalists. As tensions rose, the Communion set up a process for addressing them.
But after a series of meetings, ultimatums, and responses, the Gafcon group says, the process "failed to exercise discipline in the face of overt heterodoxy.... We can only come to the conclusion we are a global Communion with a colonial structure."
For many in the developing world, the end of that structure is overdue. The struggles in the Communion come at a time when growth in Anglicanism is concentrated in the "global south." While churches in England and the US are losing members, African membership has soared to 43 million, or 55 percent, of the 77 million-strong Communion.
The Jerusalem meeting was called after several African leaders said they would boycott the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade global gathering of more than 800 Anglican bishops hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lambeth, which is scheduled for July 16-Aug. 3, has traditionally involved passage of resolutions on major issues facing the Anglican churches. In 1998, a conference resolution reiterated that homosexual practice is not compatible with Christian teachings.
This year, Lambeth has been restructured to focus on small-group discussion and will not involve resolutions.
"You have a family in crisis ... and they structured the meeting so that the crisis will not be addressed," says Dr. Harmon. "They basically want to punt the ball down the field for another 10 years, but that never works."
The Rev. Ian Douglas of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., who is on the Lambeth planning committee, counters that, "Bible study and groups which call for genuine discussion on difficult issues provide much greater opportunity to deal with the question than passing resolutions in a body of 800."
Now Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Lambeth face a major challenge of how to respond to Gafcon. (A small number of the 280 bishops in Jerusalem will attend Lambeth.)
And the Episcopal Church, which is already caught up in lawsuits over property with the dioceses and parishes that are departing the church, faces an even more difficult future.
By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the June 30, 2008 edition
Threats of schism in the Anglican Communion are a thing of the past, but the world's third-largest Christian community faces a historic challenge over who will shape its future.
That's the message from a gathering of 1,200 orthodox Anglican bishops, clergy, and lay people from several continents who met in Jerusalem over the past week to hammer out a response to what they see as "revisionist" liberal thinking within some churches.
The traditionalists have decided to replace schism threats – sparked in recent years by Western support for gay clergy and blessing of same-sex unions – with a new movement to reform the Anglican Communion from within. But the statement released Sunday by the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), while positive in tone, constitutes a shot across the bow of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the US Episcopal Church.
"Our fellowship is not breaking away," the group says. But "we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The conference has launched the Gafcon movement of orthodox Anglicans, formed a council of leaders that is likely to sever ties with liberal Western churches, and called for creation of a North American province within the Communion to include the US parishes and dioceses that have pulled away from the Episcopal Church and built a separate network.
"The North American initiative will only make a current hot zone much hotter," says the Rev. Kendall Harmon, a US traditionalist. "They are basically saying that they intend to compete for the Anglican franchise of North America."
Those heading the movement include leading African, Australian, South American, and English bishops, who aim to rebuild the Communion "on a foundation of biblical truth."
The statement details 14 tenets of orthodoxy in a "Jerusalem Declaration" and rejects the authority of churches that teach a "false gospel."
The conservatives feel that Anglican leadership has failed them in their bid to discipline the churches in the United States and Canada over issues of homosexuality, which are symptomatic of broader differences on biblical authority.
After the Episcopal Church consecrated a gay bishop in 2003, American traditionalists balked and refused to follow US leadership. Bishops in developing countries, in turn, began to provide oversight for those American traditionalists. As tensions rose, the Communion set up a process for addressing them.
But after a series of meetings, ultimatums, and responses, the Gafcon group says, the process "failed to exercise discipline in the face of overt heterodoxy.... We can only come to the conclusion we are a global Communion with a colonial structure."
For many in the developing world, the end of that structure is overdue. The struggles in the Communion come at a time when growth in Anglicanism is concentrated in the "global south." While churches in England and the US are losing members, African membership has soared to 43 million, or 55 percent, of the 77 million-strong Communion.
The Jerusalem meeting was called after several African leaders said they would boycott the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade global gathering of more than 800 Anglican bishops hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lambeth, which is scheduled for July 16-Aug. 3, has traditionally involved passage of resolutions on major issues facing the Anglican churches. In 1998, a conference resolution reiterated that homosexual practice is not compatible with Christian teachings.
This year, Lambeth has been restructured to focus on small-group discussion and will not involve resolutions.
"You have a family in crisis ... and they structured the meeting so that the crisis will not be addressed," says Dr. Harmon. "They basically want to punt the ball down the field for another 10 years, but that never works."
The Rev. Ian Douglas of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., who is on the Lambeth planning committee, counters that, "Bible study and groups which call for genuine discussion on difficult issues provide much greater opportunity to deal with the question than passing resolutions in a body of 800."
Now Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Lambeth face a major challenge of how to respond to Gafcon. (A small number of the 280 bishops in Jerusalem will attend Lambeth.)
And the Episcopal Church, which is already caught up in lawsuits over property with the dioceses and parishes that are departing the church, faces an even more difficult future.
Jensen says Anglican church hasn't split
From theage.com.au:
June 30, 2008 - 1:47PM
Sydney Anglican leader Dr Peter Jensen says the church hasn't split despite a new grouping establishing a separate council of archbishops and a new statement of theology.
The new conservative grouping will also help bishops cross parish borders to adopt congregations that object to the direction of the mainstream church.
Archbishop Jensen was a key figure behind the Global Anglican Futures held in Jerusalem, last week.
Dr Jensen said the organisation aimed to rescue those who supported the old rather than modern ways of the church.
"The homosexual crisis is only symbolic of a whole way of looking at the world, which many in the church had taken on as well, I call this post-modernity," he told ABC radio.
"We have decided to rescue people in the West who want to stand for the old ways, who want to stand on the Bible.
"Secondly, we've decided to protect ourselves against this post-modern and relativistic world view that will come our way through the internet and other communicational revolutions."
The group, which features a significant number of bishops from Africa, plans to set up its own global network to combat modern trends such as the ordination of gay clergy.
In the US, a number of conservative parishes already have bishops living in Africa.
Dr Jensen said the 2003 move by the US church to ordain a gay bishop had been a step too far.
"It has led to today," he said.
"A sort of a sleeping giant has been aroused where biblical and gospel Christians, which are the vast majority in the Anglican communion, have said we are not going to put up with this."
Dr Jensen said the move should not be viewed as a split in the church.
"It's true in Anglicanism now," he said.
"There are two bishops in the same geographical area in Europe for example.
"It's only imagination that makes this into a split."
June 30, 2008 - 1:47PM
Sydney Anglican leader Dr Peter Jensen says the church hasn't split despite a new grouping establishing a separate council of archbishops and a new statement of theology.
The new conservative grouping will also help bishops cross parish borders to adopt congregations that object to the direction of the mainstream church.
Archbishop Jensen was a key figure behind the Global Anglican Futures held in Jerusalem, last week.
Dr Jensen said the organisation aimed to rescue those who supported the old rather than modern ways of the church.
"The homosexual crisis is only symbolic of a whole way of looking at the world, which many in the church had taken on as well, I call this post-modernity," he told ABC radio.
"We have decided to rescue people in the West who want to stand for the old ways, who want to stand on the Bible.
"Secondly, we've decided to protect ourselves against this post-modern and relativistic world view that will come our way through the internet and other communicational revolutions."
The group, which features a significant number of bishops from Africa, plans to set up its own global network to combat modern trends such as the ordination of gay clergy.
In the US, a number of conservative parishes already have bishops living in Africa.
Dr Jensen said the 2003 move by the US church to ordain a gay bishop had been a step too far.
"It has led to today," he said.
"A sort of a sleeping giant has been aroused where biblical and gospel Christians, which are the vast majority in the Anglican communion, have said we are not going to put up with this."
Dr Jensen said the move should not be viewed as a split in the church.
"It's true in Anglicanism now," he said.
"There are two bishops in the same geographical area in Europe for example.
"It's only imagination that makes this into a split."
GAFCON Declaration Calls for Reformed Communion
From The Living Church:
Posted on: June 28, 2008
In their “Statement on the Global Anglican Future” released today, participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) declared that they see the Jerusalem conference as the beginning of “a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it.”
“GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit,” the statement said.
The group’s “Jerusalem Declaration” was published as the basis of “a fellowship of confessing Anglicans,” the statement said, and the group agreed to “chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world.” That declaration includes 14 points of agreement on belief, mission and ministry. The declaration also rejected “the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.”
The Living Church News Service will be providing additional coverage and analysis of GAFCON and the “Statement on the Global Anglican Future.”
Posted on: June 28, 2008
In their “Statement on the Global Anglican Future” released today, participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) declared that they see the Jerusalem conference as the beginning of “a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it.”
“GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit,” the statement said.
The group’s “Jerusalem Declaration” was published as the basis of “a fellowship of confessing Anglicans,” the statement said, and the group agreed to “chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world.” That declaration includes 14 points of agreement on belief, mission and ministry. The declaration also rejected “the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.”
The Living Church News Service will be providing additional coverage and analysis of GAFCON and the “Statement on the Global Anglican Future.”
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Jerusalem Declaration Signals New Reality for Anglican Communion
From GAFCON:
Anglican leaders representing a clear majority of the world's practising Anglicans, joyously affirmed the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration at the end of the conference on Sunday June 29. The document addresses the crisis gripping the Anglican Communion over scriptural authority. It calls for the creation of a new council of primates overseeing a volunteer fellowship committed to mission and biblical Anglicanism as well as a new structure of accountability based on the Jerusalem Declaration. It also signals the move of most of the world's practicing Anglicans into a post-colonial reality, where the Archbishop of Canterbury is recognized for his historic role, but not as the only arbiter of what it means to be Anglican.
The primates' council will initially be formed by the six Anglican primates participating in the GAFCON from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Southern Cone, Uganda and West Africa. Also the Anglican Church of Tanzania delegation to GAFCON is in agreement with the statement but will need the endorsement of their House of Bishops before their archbishop join the council. The primates council is tasked with recognizing and authenticating "confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith." From the outset, the statement recognizes the "desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion except in areas where churches and leaders have denied the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread." Speaking specifically to Anglican Christians in North America, the statement goes on to say that GAFCON believes "time is now ripe for the formation of a province in North America for the federation currently known as Common Cause Partnership to be recognised by the Primates' Council."
The statement describes those participating in this new movement as "A fellowship of confessing Anglicans." It asserts the intention of all those involved to remain Anglican. "Our fellowship is not breaking away from the Anglican Communion. We, together with many other faithful Anglicans throughout the world, believe the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism, which defines our core identity as Anglicans, is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said
Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal."
Finally, the statement makes clear that worldwide Anglicanism has now entered a post-colonial phase. Instead of continuing to rely solely on the colonial structures that have served the Anglican Communion so poorly during the present crisis, it states the movement's intent to accept all those as Anglicans who affirm the Anglican standard of faith. "While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The GAFCON Statement concludes: "The primary reason we have come to Jerusalem and issued this declaration is to free our churches to give clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ. It is our hope that this Statement on the Global Anglican Future will be received with comfort and joy by many Anglicans around the world who have been distressed about the direction of the Communion. We believe the Anglican Communion should and will be reformed around the biblical gospel and mandate to go into all the world and present Christ to the nations."
The Jerusalem Declaration was produced at GAFCON with the participation of all 1148 delegates who came on pilgrimage to Jerusalem June 22 – 29. They represent more than 35 million of practicing Anglicans worldwide.
Anglican leaders representing a clear majority of the world's practising Anglicans, joyously affirmed the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration at the end of the conference on Sunday June 29. The document addresses the crisis gripping the Anglican Communion over scriptural authority. It calls for the creation of a new council of primates overseeing a volunteer fellowship committed to mission and biblical Anglicanism as well as a new structure of accountability based on the Jerusalem Declaration. It also signals the move of most of the world's practicing Anglicans into a post-colonial reality, where the Archbishop of Canterbury is recognized for his historic role, but not as the only arbiter of what it means to be Anglican.
The primates' council will initially be formed by the six Anglican primates participating in the GAFCON from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Southern Cone, Uganda and West Africa. Also the Anglican Church of Tanzania delegation to GAFCON is in agreement with the statement but will need the endorsement of their House of Bishops before their archbishop join the council. The primates council is tasked with recognizing and authenticating "confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith." From the outset, the statement recognizes the "desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion except in areas where churches and leaders have denied the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread." Speaking specifically to Anglican Christians in North America, the statement goes on to say that GAFCON believes "time is now ripe for the formation of a province in North America for the federation currently known as Common Cause Partnership to be recognised by the Primates' Council."
The statement describes those participating in this new movement as "A fellowship of confessing Anglicans." It asserts the intention of all those involved to remain Anglican. "Our fellowship is not breaking away from the Anglican Communion. We, together with many other faithful Anglicans throughout the world, believe the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism, which defines our core identity as Anglicans, is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said
Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal."
Finally, the statement makes clear that worldwide Anglicanism has now entered a post-colonial phase. Instead of continuing to rely solely on the colonial structures that have served the Anglican Communion so poorly during the present crisis, it states the movement's intent to accept all those as Anglicans who affirm the Anglican standard of faith. "While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury."
The GAFCON Statement concludes: "The primary reason we have come to Jerusalem and issued this declaration is to free our churches to give clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ. It is our hope that this Statement on the Global Anglican Future will be received with comfort and joy by many Anglicans around the world who have been distressed about the direction of the Communion. We believe the Anglican Communion should and will be reformed around the biblical gospel and mandate to go into all the world and present Christ to the nations."
The Jerusalem Declaration was produced at GAFCON with the participation of all 1148 delegates who came on pilgrimage to Jerusalem June 22 – 29. They represent more than 35 million of practicing Anglicans worldwide.
Dr Williams says Anglican structures are incoherent
Church of England Newspaper 6.27.08 p 6. June 26, 2008
Posted by George Conger
The structure of the Anglican Communion is incoherent and lacks “theological seriousness,” the Archbishop of Canterbury said in a paper presented to the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius at their annual meeting in New York.
The Rev. Jonathan Goodall, Dr. Rowan William’s ecumenical advisor read the address entitled “Rome, Constantinople, Canterbury: Mother Churches?” prepared by Dr. Williams to the meeting of Anglican and Orthodox scholars and churchmen on June 5 at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in New York.
Addressing the theme of primacy within the church, Dr. Williams offered his views on the “many-layered issue” of the relationship between the local and denominational church and the charism of the episcopacy. While not directly addressing the divisions within the Anglican Communion, his remarks illustrate the reasons for his actions in relation to the Bishop of New Hampshire and the American bishops under African jurisdiction.
In its essence, “the life of the local congregation is founded on something received, not discovered or invented” he said, for local churches come into being as “part of a continuous stream of life being shared” in Christ.
The local church can therefore not lay claim of being “complete and self-sufficient,” in itself, but must be in relation with a wider body. “A local church is indeed at one level a community to which is given all the gifts necessary for being Christ’s Body in this particular place; but among those gifts is the gift of having received the Gospel from others and being still called to receive it,” he said.
Following upon Tertullian’s dictum that ‘one Christian is no Christian,’ Dr. Williams argued that we should say that “one bishop is no bishop” and “one local church alone is no church.”
A bishop does not represent the local church as if where were acting as “politician for his constituency. The bishop is above all the person who sustains and nourishes within the local church an awareness of its dependency on the apostolic mission, on the gift from beyond its boundaries.”
This understanding of the nature of primacy or Episcopal leadership “is why it is problematic if a local church so interprets the gift it has received that it cannot fully share it beyond its own cultural home territory - an issue for both ‘left’ and ‘right’ in our churches,” Dr. Williams said.
This is why the “local assembly and its chief pastor” must not act in such a way so as to “lose its recognisability or receivability to other communities - across the globe and throughout history,” he said.
The Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican understandings of primacy were incomplete. The Vatican was “still labouring to discover how to disentangle the missionary apostolic charism of the See of Peter from juridical anomalies and bureaucratic distortion.”
Orthodox have often ‘frozen’ the concept of primacy in an antiquarian defence of the ‘pentarchy’ as the structure of the church, thus allowing non-theological power struggles rooted in nationalism and ethnocentrism to flourish with damaging effect,” he said.
Anglicans, Dr. Williams observed, had “failed to think through primacy with any theological seriousness.” This had given us a “not very coherent or effective international structure that lacks canonical seriousness and produces insupportable pluralism in more than one area of the church’s practice.”
The archbishop urged all to “rethink the meaning of primacy in relation to mission and in relation to what episcopal fellowship really means.”
Posted by George Conger
The structure of the Anglican Communion is incoherent and lacks “theological seriousness,” the Archbishop of Canterbury said in a paper presented to the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius at their annual meeting in New York.
The Rev. Jonathan Goodall, Dr. Rowan William’s ecumenical advisor read the address entitled “Rome, Constantinople, Canterbury: Mother Churches?” prepared by Dr. Williams to the meeting of Anglican and Orthodox scholars and churchmen on June 5 at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in New York.
Addressing the theme of primacy within the church, Dr. Williams offered his views on the “many-layered issue” of the relationship between the local and denominational church and the charism of the episcopacy. While not directly addressing the divisions within the Anglican Communion, his remarks illustrate the reasons for his actions in relation to the Bishop of New Hampshire and the American bishops under African jurisdiction.
In its essence, “the life of the local congregation is founded on something received, not discovered or invented” he said, for local churches come into being as “part of a continuous stream of life being shared” in Christ.
The local church can therefore not lay claim of being “complete and self-sufficient,” in itself, but must be in relation with a wider body. “A local church is indeed at one level a community to which is given all the gifts necessary for being Christ’s Body in this particular place; but among those gifts is the gift of having received the Gospel from others and being still called to receive it,” he said.
Following upon Tertullian’s dictum that ‘one Christian is no Christian,’ Dr. Williams argued that we should say that “one bishop is no bishop” and “one local church alone is no church.”
A bishop does not represent the local church as if where were acting as “politician for his constituency. The bishop is above all the person who sustains and nourishes within the local church an awareness of its dependency on the apostolic mission, on the gift from beyond its boundaries.”
This understanding of the nature of primacy or Episcopal leadership “is why it is problematic if a local church so interprets the gift it has received that it cannot fully share it beyond its own cultural home territory - an issue for both ‘left’ and ‘right’ in our churches,” Dr. Williams said.
This is why the “local assembly and its chief pastor” must not act in such a way so as to “lose its recognisability or receivability to other communities - across the globe and throughout history,” he said.
The Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican understandings of primacy were incomplete. The Vatican was “still labouring to discover how to disentangle the missionary apostolic charism of the See of Peter from juridical anomalies and bureaucratic distortion.”
Orthodox have often ‘frozen’ the concept of primacy in an antiquarian defence of the ‘pentarchy’ as the structure of the church, thus allowing non-theological power struggles rooted in nationalism and ethnocentrism to flourish with damaging effect,” he said.
Anglicans, Dr. Williams observed, had “failed to think through primacy with any theological seriousness.” This had given us a “not very coherent or effective international structure that lacks canonical seriousness and produces insupportable pluralism in more than one area of the church’s practice.”
The archbishop urged all to “rethink the meaning of primacy in relation to mission and in relation to what episcopal fellowship really means.”
Anglicans poised to split from church
Move on gays short of schism
George Conger, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Sunday, June 29, 2008
JERUSALEM | Conservative Anglicans will declare a split from the U.S. Episcopal Church on Sunday, but will stop short of schism with the archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
”There will be permanent division, one way or the other,” said Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia, one of the organizers of the weeklong Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), adding that he expected “long-term consequences” for the Anglican Communion.
Archbishop Jensen pinned the blame for the schism on the Episcopal Church, calling its 2003 consecration of a practicing homosexual as bishop of New Hampshire “an extraordinary strategic blunder” that has divided the church.
In a statement to be released here Sunday morning, the GAFCON churches, mostly from Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, are expected to form a “church within a church,” breaking with the liberal churches of North America that also have permitted the blessing of same-sex unions.
Relations with the office of the archbishop of Canterbury will not be severed, but it appears likely that they will be qualified in some form.
The new “church within a church” will force the 80-million member Anglican Communion either to become a weak federation of independent churches or, in the unlikely event that Canterbury either kicked out the GAFCON churches or the North American churches, will produce one of the most far-reaching Christian schisms since the Protestant Reformation.
If the Episcopal Church “did not believe that there would be consequences” for consecrating an openly practicing homosexual as a bishop, “that was an arrogant thing,” Archbishop Jensen said, adding that the “consequences have been unfolding over the last five years. Now their church is divided.”
“All around the world, the sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism and orthodox Anglicanism has been aroused” and will break with the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, he said.
The GAFCON meeting includes more than 1,200 Anglican bishops, clergy and lay leaders at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem from churches that make up the majority of the communion's members.
The meeting also will announce new structures for parishes in the U.S. and Canada that no longer wish to be in communion with their national churches - an act made possible in church law and custom by the declaration that unity with the North American churches no longer exists. In addition, more than 600 Church of England clergy will reportedly swear allegiance to the new GAFCON body at a meeting next week in London.
GAFCON comes a month before the Anglican Communion summit in Lambeth, England. The Anglican churches of Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya are present here, but will boycott the once-per-decade Lambeth Conference.
It will also put forward a declaration of common doctrinal principles and lay out plans for a new Book of Common Prayer based on the historic Church of England 1662 prayer book. Nigerian Bishop John Akao said the GAFCON churches also will pursue a common way of reading and interpreting the Bible and work on a definitive catechism.
Bishop Gregory Venables of Argentina said that previous meetings with the North American archbishops and bishops had proved fruitless in resolving the disputes, which center on Biblical authority and interpretation and which played out most obviously in disputes over sex and sexuality.
“We got frustrated. We talked and talked, but where did we go?” Bishop Venables said, saying the liberal churches were quite willing to meet and discuss issues, but then continued to act as they wished. “If only they would have come and talked to us and listen to us,” a schism could have been avoided.
The Sydney archbishop, leader of the largest group of Anglicans in Australia, said he had been unsure at the start of the conference whether it would succeed.
GAFCON resembled a “ramshackle airplane, and I was never sure it was going to land,” he said, but it turned out to be one of the most “extraordinary spiritual experiences I have ever had.”
George Conger, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Sunday, June 29, 2008
JERUSALEM | Conservative Anglicans will declare a split from the U.S. Episcopal Church on Sunday, but will stop short of schism with the archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
”There will be permanent division, one way or the other,” said Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia, one of the organizers of the weeklong Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), adding that he expected “long-term consequences” for the Anglican Communion.
Archbishop Jensen pinned the blame for the schism on the Episcopal Church, calling its 2003 consecration of a practicing homosexual as bishop of New Hampshire “an extraordinary strategic blunder” that has divided the church.
In a statement to be released here Sunday morning, the GAFCON churches, mostly from Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, are expected to form a “church within a church,” breaking with the liberal churches of North America that also have permitted the blessing of same-sex unions.
Relations with the office of the archbishop of Canterbury will not be severed, but it appears likely that they will be qualified in some form.
The new “church within a church” will force the 80-million member Anglican Communion either to become a weak federation of independent churches or, in the unlikely event that Canterbury either kicked out the GAFCON churches or the North American churches, will produce one of the most far-reaching Christian schisms since the Protestant Reformation.
If the Episcopal Church “did not believe that there would be consequences” for consecrating an openly practicing homosexual as a bishop, “that was an arrogant thing,” Archbishop Jensen said, adding that the “consequences have been unfolding over the last five years. Now their church is divided.”
“All around the world, the sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism and orthodox Anglicanism has been aroused” and will break with the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, he said.
The GAFCON meeting includes more than 1,200 Anglican bishops, clergy and lay leaders at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem from churches that make up the majority of the communion's members.
The meeting also will announce new structures for parishes in the U.S. and Canada that no longer wish to be in communion with their national churches - an act made possible in church law and custom by the declaration that unity with the North American churches no longer exists. In addition, more than 600 Church of England clergy will reportedly swear allegiance to the new GAFCON body at a meeting next week in London.
GAFCON comes a month before the Anglican Communion summit in Lambeth, England. The Anglican churches of Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya are present here, but will boycott the once-per-decade Lambeth Conference.
It will also put forward a declaration of common doctrinal principles and lay out plans for a new Book of Common Prayer based on the historic Church of England 1662 prayer book. Nigerian Bishop John Akao said the GAFCON churches also will pursue a common way of reading and interpreting the Bible and work on a definitive catechism.
Bishop Gregory Venables of Argentina said that previous meetings with the North American archbishops and bishops had proved fruitless in resolving the disputes, which center on Biblical authority and interpretation and which played out most obviously in disputes over sex and sexuality.
“We got frustrated. We talked and talked, but where did we go?” Bishop Venables said, saying the liberal churches were quite willing to meet and discuss issues, but then continued to act as they wished. “If only they would have come and talked to us and listen to us,” a schism could have been avoided.
The Sydney archbishop, leader of the largest group of Anglicans in Australia, said he had been unsure at the start of the conference whether it would succeed.
GAFCON resembled a “ramshackle airplane, and I was never sure it was going to land,” he said, but it turned out to be one of the most “extraordinary spiritual experiences I have ever had.”
Saturday, June 28, 2008
STATEMENT ON THE GLOBAL ANGLICAN FUTURE
Praise the LORD!
It is good to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. (Psalm 147:1-2) Brothers and Sisters in Christ: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, send you greetings from Jerusalem!
Introduction
The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which was held in Jerusalem from 22-29 June 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it. The movement is global: it has mobilised Anglicans from around the world. We are Anglican: 1148 lay and clergy participants, including 291 bishops representing millions of faithful Anglican Christians. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God’s providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20).
GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit, and we hereby:
- launch the GAFCON movement as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans
- publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of the fellowship
- Encourage the GAFCON Primates to form a Council.
The Global Anglican Context
The future of the Anglican Communion is but a piece of the wider scenario of opportunities and challenges for the gospel in 21st century global culture. We rejoice in the way God has opened doors for gospel mission among many peoples, but we grieve for the spiritual decline in the most economically developed nations, where the forces of militant secularism and pluralism are eating away the fabric of society and churches are compromised and enfeebled in their witness. The vacuum left by them is readily filled by other faiths and deceptive cults. To meet these challenges will require Christians to work together to understand and oppose these forces and to liberate those under their sway. It will entail the planting of new churches among unreached peoples and also committed action to restore authentic Christianity to compromised churches.
The Anglican Communion, present in six continents, is well positioned to address this challenge, but currently it is divided and distracted. The Global Anglican Future Conference emerged in response to a crisis within the Anglican Communion, a crisis involving three undeniable facts concerning world Anglicanism. The first fact is the acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different ‘gospel’ (cf. Galatians 1:6-8) which is contrary to the apostolic gospel. This false gospel undermines the authority of God’s Word written and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the author of salvation from sin, death and judgement. Many of its proponents claim that all religions offer equal access to God and that Jesus is only a way, not the way, the truth and the life. It promotes a variety of sexual preferences and immoral behaviour as a universal human right. It claims God’s blessing for same-sex unions over against the biblical teaching on holy matrimony. In 2003 this false gospel led to the consecration of a bishop living in a homosexual relationship.
The second fact is the declaration by provincial bodies in the Global South that they are out of communion with bishops and churches that promote this false gospel. These declarations have resulted in a realignment whereby faithful Anglican Christians have left existing territorial parishes, dioceses and provinces in certain Western churches and become members of other dioceses and provinces, all within the Anglican Communion. These actions have also led to the appointment of new Anglican bishops set over geographic areas already occupied by other Anglican bishops. A major realignment has occurred and will continue to unfold. The third fact is the manifest failure of the Communion Instruments to exercise discipline in the face of overt heterodoxy. The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada, in proclaiming this false gospel, have consistently defied the 1998 Lambeth statement of biblical moral principle (Resolution 1.10). Despite numerous meetings and reports to and from the ‘Instruments of Unity,’ no effective action has been taken, and the bishops of these unrepentant churches are welcomed to Lambeth 2008. To make matters worse, there has been a failure to honour promises of discipline, the authority of the Primates’ Meeting has been undermined and the Lambeth Conference has been structured so as to avoid any hard decisions. We can only come to the devastating conclusion that ‘we are a global Communion with a colonial structure’. Sadly, this crisis has torn the fabric of the Communion in such a way that it cannot simply be patched back together. At the same time, it has brought together many Anglicans across the globe into personal and pastoral relationships in a fellowship which is faithful to biblical teaching, more representative of the demographic distribution of global Anglicanism today and stronger as an instrument of effective mission, ministry and social involvement.
A Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, are a fellowship of confessing Anglicans for the benefit of the Church and the furtherance of its mission. We are a fellowship of people united in the communion (koinonia) of the one Spirit and committed to work and pray together in the common mission of Christ. It is a confessing fellowship in that its members confess the faith of Christ crucified, stand firm for the gospel in the global and Anglican context, and affirm a contemporary rule, the Jerusalem Declaration, to guide the movement for the future. We are a fellowship of Anglicans, including provinces, dioceses, churches, missionary jurisdictions, para-church organisations and individual Anglican Christians whose goal is to reform, heal and revitalise the Anglican Communion and expand its mission to the world. Our fellowship is not breaking away from the Anglican Communion. We, together with many other faithful Anglicans throughout the world, believe the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism, which defines our core identity as Anglicans, is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. We intend to remain faithful to this standard, and we call on others in the Communion to reaffirm and return to it. While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Building on the above doctrinal foundation of Anglican identity, we hereby publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of our fellowship. Global Anglican Future Statement, 29 June 2008 3 The Jerusalem Declaration In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity.
1. We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.
2. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.
3. We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
4. We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
5. We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.
6. We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
7. We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.
8. We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.
9. We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity.
10. We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.
11. We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognise the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.
12. We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.
13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.
14. We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.
The Road Ahead
We believe the Holy Spirit has led us during this week in Jerusalem to begin a new work. There are many important decisions for the development of this fellowship which will take more time, prayer and deliberation.
Among other matters, we shall seek to expand participation in this fellowship beyond those who have come to Jerusalem, including cooperation with the Global South and the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa. We can, however, discern certain milestones on the road ahead. Primates’ Council We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, do hereby acknowledge the participating Primates of GAFCON who have called us together, and encourage them to form the initial Council of the GAFCON movement. We look forward to the enlargement of the Council and entreat the Primates to organise and expand the fellowship of confessing Anglicans. We urge the Primates’ Council to authenticate and recognise confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith. We recognise the desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion, except in those areas where churches and leaders are denying the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread, and in a few areas for which overlapping jurisdictions are beneficial for historical or cultural reasons. We thank God for the courageous actions of those Primates and provinces who have offered orthodox oversight to churches under false leadership, especially in North and South America. The actions of these Primates have been a positive response to pastoral necessities and mission opportunities. We believe that such actions will continue to be necessary and we support them in offering help around the world.
We believe this is a critical moment when the Primates’ Council will need to put in place structures to lead and support the church. In particular, we believe the time is now ripe for the formation of a province in North America for the federation currently known as Common Cause Partnership to be recognised by the Primates’ Council.
Conclusion: Message from Jerusalem
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, were summoned by the Primates’ leadership team to Jerusalem in June 2008 to deliberate on the crisis that has divided the Anglican Communion for the past decade and to seek direction for the future. We have visited holy sites, prayed together, listened to God’s Word preached and expounded, learned from various speakers and teachers, and shared our thoughts and hopes with each other.
The meeting in Jerusalem this week was called in a sense of urgency that a false gospel has so paralysed the Anglican Communion that this crisis must be addressed. The chief threat of this dispute involves the compromising of the integrity of the church’s worldwide mission. The primary reason we have come to Jerusalem and issued this declaration is to free our churches to give clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ.
It is our hope that this Statement on the Global Anglican Future will be received with comfort and joy by many Anglicans around the world who have been distressed about the direction of the Communion. We believe the Anglican Communion should and will be reformed around the biblical gospel and mandate to go into all the world and present Christ to the nations.
Jerusalem
Feast of St Peter and St Paul 29 June 2008
It is good to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. (Psalm 147:1-2) Brothers and Sisters in Christ: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, send you greetings from Jerusalem!
Introduction
The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which was held in Jerusalem from 22-29 June 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it. The movement is global: it has mobilised Anglicans from around the world. We are Anglican: 1148 lay and clergy participants, including 291 bishops representing millions of faithful Anglican Christians. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God’s providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20).
GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit, and we hereby:
- launch the GAFCON movement as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans
- publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of the fellowship
- Encourage the GAFCON Primates to form a Council.
The Global Anglican Context
The future of the Anglican Communion is but a piece of the wider scenario of opportunities and challenges for the gospel in 21st century global culture. We rejoice in the way God has opened doors for gospel mission among many peoples, but we grieve for the spiritual decline in the most economically developed nations, where the forces of militant secularism and pluralism are eating away the fabric of society and churches are compromised and enfeebled in their witness. The vacuum left by them is readily filled by other faiths and deceptive cults. To meet these challenges will require Christians to work together to understand and oppose these forces and to liberate those under their sway. It will entail the planting of new churches among unreached peoples and also committed action to restore authentic Christianity to compromised churches.
The Anglican Communion, present in six continents, is well positioned to address this challenge, but currently it is divided and distracted. The Global Anglican Future Conference emerged in response to a crisis within the Anglican Communion, a crisis involving three undeniable facts concerning world Anglicanism. The first fact is the acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different ‘gospel’ (cf. Galatians 1:6-8) which is contrary to the apostolic gospel. This false gospel undermines the authority of God’s Word written and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the author of salvation from sin, death and judgement. Many of its proponents claim that all religions offer equal access to God and that Jesus is only a way, not the way, the truth and the life. It promotes a variety of sexual preferences and immoral behaviour as a universal human right. It claims God’s blessing for same-sex unions over against the biblical teaching on holy matrimony. In 2003 this false gospel led to the consecration of a bishop living in a homosexual relationship.
The second fact is the declaration by provincial bodies in the Global South that they are out of communion with bishops and churches that promote this false gospel. These declarations have resulted in a realignment whereby faithful Anglican Christians have left existing territorial parishes, dioceses and provinces in certain Western churches and become members of other dioceses and provinces, all within the Anglican Communion. These actions have also led to the appointment of new Anglican bishops set over geographic areas already occupied by other Anglican bishops. A major realignment has occurred and will continue to unfold. The third fact is the manifest failure of the Communion Instruments to exercise discipline in the face of overt heterodoxy. The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada, in proclaiming this false gospel, have consistently defied the 1998 Lambeth statement of biblical moral principle (Resolution 1.10). Despite numerous meetings and reports to and from the ‘Instruments of Unity,’ no effective action has been taken, and the bishops of these unrepentant churches are welcomed to Lambeth 2008. To make matters worse, there has been a failure to honour promises of discipline, the authority of the Primates’ Meeting has been undermined and the Lambeth Conference has been structured so as to avoid any hard decisions. We can only come to the devastating conclusion that ‘we are a global Communion with a colonial structure’. Sadly, this crisis has torn the fabric of the Communion in such a way that it cannot simply be patched back together. At the same time, it has brought together many Anglicans across the globe into personal and pastoral relationships in a fellowship which is faithful to biblical teaching, more representative of the demographic distribution of global Anglicanism today and stronger as an instrument of effective mission, ministry and social involvement.
A Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, are a fellowship of confessing Anglicans for the benefit of the Church and the furtherance of its mission. We are a fellowship of people united in the communion (koinonia) of the one Spirit and committed to work and pray together in the common mission of Christ. It is a confessing fellowship in that its members confess the faith of Christ crucified, stand firm for the gospel in the global and Anglican context, and affirm a contemporary rule, the Jerusalem Declaration, to guide the movement for the future. We are a fellowship of Anglicans, including provinces, dioceses, churches, missionary jurisdictions, para-church organisations and individual Anglican Christians whose goal is to reform, heal and revitalise the Anglican Communion and expand its mission to the world. Our fellowship is not breaking away from the Anglican Communion. We, together with many other faithful Anglicans throughout the world, believe the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism, which defines our core identity as Anglicans, is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. We intend to remain faithful to this standard, and we call on others in the Communion to reaffirm and return to it. While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Building on the above doctrinal foundation of Anglican identity, we hereby publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of our fellowship. Global Anglican Future Statement, 29 June 2008 3 The Jerusalem Declaration In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity.
1. We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.
2. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.
3. We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
4. We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
5. We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.
6. We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
7. We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.
8. We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.
9. We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity.
10. We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.
11. We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognise the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.
12. We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.
13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.
14. We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.
The Road Ahead
We believe the Holy Spirit has led us during this week in Jerusalem to begin a new work. There are many important decisions for the development of this fellowship which will take more time, prayer and deliberation.
Among other matters, we shall seek to expand participation in this fellowship beyond those who have come to Jerusalem, including cooperation with the Global South and the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa. We can, however, discern certain milestones on the road ahead. Primates’ Council We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, do hereby acknowledge the participating Primates of GAFCON who have called us together, and encourage them to form the initial Council of the GAFCON movement. We look forward to the enlargement of the Council and entreat the Primates to organise and expand the fellowship of confessing Anglicans. We urge the Primates’ Council to authenticate and recognise confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith. We recognise the desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion, except in those areas where churches and leaders are denying the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread, and in a few areas for which overlapping jurisdictions are beneficial for historical or cultural reasons. We thank God for the courageous actions of those Primates and provinces who have offered orthodox oversight to churches under false leadership, especially in North and South America. The actions of these Primates have been a positive response to pastoral necessities and mission opportunities. We believe that such actions will continue to be necessary and we support them in offering help around the world.
We believe this is a critical moment when the Primates’ Council will need to put in place structures to lead and support the church. In particular, we believe the time is now ripe for the formation of a province in North America for the federation currently known as Common Cause Partnership to be recognised by the Primates’ Council.
Conclusion: Message from Jerusalem
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, were summoned by the Primates’ leadership team to Jerusalem in June 2008 to deliberate on the crisis that has divided the Anglican Communion for the past decade and to seek direction for the future. We have visited holy sites, prayed together, listened to God’s Word preached and expounded, learned from various speakers and teachers, and shared our thoughts and hopes with each other.
The meeting in Jerusalem this week was called in a sense of urgency that a false gospel has so paralysed the Anglican Communion that this crisis must be addressed. The chief threat of this dispute involves the compromising of the integrity of the church’s worldwide mission. The primary reason we have come to Jerusalem and issued this declaration is to free our churches to give clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ.
It is our hope that this Statement on the Global Anglican Future will be received with comfort and joy by many Anglicans around the world who have been distressed about the direction of the Communion. We believe the Anglican Communion should and will be reformed around the biblical gospel and mandate to go into all the world and present Christ to the nations.
Jerusalem
Feast of St Peter and St Paul 29 June 2008
An Eastern Orthodox Persective on Unity and Division of the Church
The Attributes of the Church
by St. Justin (Popovich)
The attributes of the Church are innumerable because her attributes are actually the attributes of the Lord Christ, the God-man, and, through Him, those of the Triune Godhead. However, the holy and divinely wise fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council, guided and instructed by the Holy Spirit, reduced them in the ninth article of the Symbol of Faith to four—I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. These attributes of the Church—unity, holiness, catholicity (sobornost), and apostolicity—are derived from the very nature of the Church and of her purpose. They clearly and accurately define the character of the Orthodox Church of Christ whereby, as a theanthropic institution and community, she is distinguishable from any institution or community of the human sort.
I. The Unity and Uniqueness of the Church
Just as the Person of Christ the God-man is one and unique, so is the Church founded by Him, in Him, and upon Him. The unity of the Church follows necessarily from the unity of the Person of the Lord Christ, the God-man. Being an organically integral and theanthropic organism unique in all the worlds, the Church, according to all the laws of Heaven and earth, is indivisible. Any division would signify her death. Immersed in the God-man, she is first and foremost a theanthropic organism, and only then a theanthropic organization. In her, everything is theanthropic: nature, faith, love, baptism, the Eucharist, all the holy mysteries and all the holy virtues, her teaching, her entire life, her immortality, her eternity, and her structure. Yes, yes, yes; in her, everything is theanthropically integral and indivisible Christification, sanctification, deification, Trinitarianism, salvation. In her everything is fused organically and by grace into a single theanthropic body, under a single Head—the God-man, the Lord Christ. All her members, though as persons always whole and inviolate, yet united by the same grace of the Holy Spirit through the holy mysteries and the holy virtues into an organic unity, comprise one body and confess the one faith, which unites them to each other and to the Lord Christ.
The Christ-bearing apostles are divinely inspired as they announce the unity and the uniqueness of the Church, based upon the unity and uniqueness of her Founder—the God-man, the Lord Christ, and His theanthropic personality: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 3:11).
Like the holy apostles, the holy fathers and the teachers of the Church confess the unity and uniqueness of the Orthodox Church with the divine wisdom of the cherubim and the zeal of the seraphim. Understandable, therefore, is the fiery zeal which animated the holy fathers of the Church in all cases of division and falling away and the stern attitude toward heresies and schisms. In that regard, the holy ecumenical and holy local councils are preeminently important. According to their spirit and attitude, wise in those things pertaining to Christ, the Church is not only one but also unique. Just as the Lord Christ cannot have several bodies, so He cannot have several Churches. According to her theanthropic nature, the Church is one and unique, just as Christ the God-man is one and unique.
Hence, a division, a splitting up of the Church is ontologically and essentially impossible. A division within the Church has never occurred, nor indeed can one take place, while apostasy from the Church has and will continue to occur after the manner of those voluntarily fruitless branches which, having withered, fall away from the eternally living theanthropic Vine—the Lord Christ (Jn. 15:1-6). From time to time, heretics and schismatics have cut themselves offend have fallen away from the one and indivisible Church of Christ, whereby they ceased to be members of the Church and parts of her theanthropic body. The first to fall away thus were the gnostics, then the Arians, then the Macedonians, then the Monophysites, then the Iconoclasts, then the Roman Catholics, then the Protestants, then the Uniates, and so on—all the other members of the legion of heretics and schismatics.
II. The Holiness of the Church
By her theanthropic nature, the Church is undoubtedly a unique organization in the world. All her holiness resides in her nature. Actually, she is the theanthropic workshop of human sanctification and, through men, of the sanctification of the rest of creation. She is holy as the theanthropic Body of Christ, whose eternal head is the Lord Christ Himself; and Whose immortal soul is the Holy Spirit. Wherefore everything in her is holy: her teaching, her grace, her mysteries, her virtues, all her powers, and all her instruments have been deposited in her for the sanctification of men and of all created things. Having become the Church by His incarnation out of an unparalleled love for man, our God and Lord Jesus Christ sanctified the Church by His sufferings, Resurrection, Ascension, teaching, wonder-working, prayer, fasting, mysteries, and virtues; in a word, by His entire theanthropic life. Wherefore the divinely inspired pronouncement has been rendered: "... Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27).
The flow of history confirms the reality of the Gospel: the Church is filled to overflowing with sinners. Does their presence in the Church reduce, violate, or destroy her sanctity? Not in the least! For her Head—the Lord Christ, and her Soul—the Holy Spirit, and her divine teaching, her mysteries, and her virtues, are indissolubly and immutably holy. The Church tolerates sinners, shelters them, and instructs them, that they may be awakened and roused to repentance and spiritual recovery and transfiguration; but they do not hinder the Church from being holy. Only unrepentant sinners, persistent in evil and godless malice, are cut off from the Church either by the visible action of the theanthropic authority of the Church or by the invisible action of divine judgment, so that thus also the holiness of the Church may be preserved. "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (I Cor. 5:13).
In their writings and at the Councils, the holy fathers confessed the holiness of the church as her essential and immutable quality. The fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council defined it dogmatically in the ninth article of the Symbol of Faith. And the succeeding ecumenical councils confirmed it by the seal of their assent.
III. The Catholicity (Sobornost) of the Church
The theanthropic nature of the Church is inherently and all-encompassingly universal and catholic: it is theanthropically universal and theanthropically catholic. The Lord Christ, the God-man, has by Himself and in Himself most perfectly and integrally united God and Man and, through man, all the worlds and all created things to God. The fate of creation is essentially linked to that of man (cf. Romans 8:19-24). In her theanthropic organism, the Church encompasses: "all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" (Col. 1:16). Everything is in the God-man; He is the Head of the Body of the Church (Col. 1:17-18).
In the theanthropic organism of the Church everyone lives in the fullness of his personality as a living, godlike cell. The law of theanthropic catholicity encompasses all and acts through all. All the while, the theanthropic equilibrium between the divine and the human is always duly preserved. Being members of her body, we in the Church experience the fullness of our being in all its godlike dimensions. Furthermore: in the Church of the God-man, man experiences his own being as all-encompassing, as theanthropically all-encompassing; he experiences himself not only as complete, but also as the totality of creation. In a word: he experiences himself as a god-man by grace.
The theanthropic catholicity of the Church is actually an unceasing christification of many by grace and virtue: all is gathered in Christ the God-man, and everything is experienced through Him as one's own, as a single indivisible theanthropic organism. For life in the Church is a theanthropic catholicization, the struggle of acquiring by grace and virtue the likeness of the God-man, christification, theosis, life in the Trinity, sanctification, transfiguration, salvation, immortality, and churchliness. Theanthropic catholicity in the Church is reflected in and achieved by the eternally living Person of Christ, the God-man Who in the most perfect way has united God to man and to all creation, which has been cleansed of sin, evil, and death by the Savior's precious Blood (cf. Col. 1:19-22). The theanthropic Person of the Lord Christ is the very soul of the Church's catholicity. It is the God-man Who always preserves the theanthropic balance between the divine and the human in the catholic life of the Church. The Church is filled to overflowing with the Lord Christ, for she is "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23). Wherefore, she is universal in every person that is found within her, in each of her tiny cells. That universality, that catholicity resounds like thunder particularly through the holy apostles, through the holy fathers, through the holy ecumenical and local councils.
IV. The Apostolicity of the Church
The holy apostles were the first god-men by grace. Like the Apostle Paul each of them, by his integral life, could have said of himself: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20). Each of them is a Christ repeated; or, to be more exact, a continuation of Christ. Everything in them is theanthropic because everything was recieved from the God-man. Apostolicity is nothing other than the God-manhood of the Lord Christ, freely assimilated through the holy struggles of the holy virtues: faith, love, hope, prayer, fasting, etc. This means that everything that is of man lives in them freely through the God-man, thinks through the God-man, feels through the God-man, acts through the God-man and wills through the God-man. For them, the historical God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the supreme value and the supreme criterion. Everything in them is of the God-man, for the sake of the God-man, and in the God-man. And it is always and everywhere thus. That for them is immortality in the time and space of this world. Thereby are they even on this earth partakers of the theanthropic eternity of Christ.
This theanthropic apostolicity is integrally continued in the earthly successors of the Christ-bearing apostles: in the holy fathers. Among them, in essence, there is no difference: the same God-man Christ lives, acts, enlivens and makes them all eternal in equal measure, He Who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Through the holy fathers, the holy apostles live on with all their theanthropic riches, theanthropic worlds, theanthropic holy things, theanthropic mysteries, and theanthropic virtues. The holy fathers in fact are continuously apostolizing, whether as distinct godlike personalities, or as bishops of the local churches, or as members of the holy ecumenical and holy local councils. For all of them there is but one Truth, one Transcendent Truth: the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, the holy ecumenical councils, from the first to the last, confess, defend, believe, announce, and vigilantly preserve but a single supreme value: the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The principal Tradition, the transcendent Tradition, of the Orthodox Church is the living God-man Christ, entire in the theanthropic Body of the Church of which He is the immortal, eternal Head. This is not merely the message, but the transcendent message of the holy apostles and the holy fathers. They know Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ ascended. They all, by their integral lives and teachings, with a single soul and a single voice, confess that Christ the God-man is wholly in His Church, as in His Body. Each of the holy fathers could rightly repeat with St. Maximus the Confessor: "In no wise am I expounding my own opinion, but that which I have been taught by the fathers, without changing aught in their teaching."
And from the immortal proclamation of St. John of Damascus there resounds the universal confession of all the holy fathers who were glorified by God: "Whatever has been transmitted to us through the Law, and the prophets, and the apostles, and the evangelists, we receive and know and esteem highly, and beyond that we ask nothing more... Let us be fully satisfied with it, and rest therein, removing not the ancient landmarks (Prov. 22:28), nor violating the divine Tradition." And then, the touching, fatherly admonition of the holy Damascene, directed to all Orthodox Christians: "Wherefore, brethren, let us plant ourselves upon the rock of faith and the Tradition of the Church, removing not the landmarks set by our holy fathers, nor giving room to those who are anxious to introduce novelties and to undermine the structure of God's holy ecumenical and apostolic Church. For if everyone were allowed a free hand, little by little the entire Body of the Church would be destroyed."
The holy Tradition is wholly of the God-man, wholly of the holy apostles, wholly of the holy fathers, wholly of the Church, in the Church, and by the Church. The holy fathers are nothing other than the "guardians of the apostolic tradition. " All of them, like the holy apostles themselves, are but "witnesses" of a single and unique Truth: the transcendent Truth of Christ, the God-man. They preach and confess it without rest, they, the "golden mouths of the Word." The God-man, the Lord Christ is one, unique, and indivisible. So also is the Church unique and indivisible, for she is the incarnation of the Theanthropos Christ, continuing through the ages and through all eternity. Being such by her nature and in her earthly history, the Church may not be divided. It is only possible to fall away from her. That unity and uniqueness of the Church is theanthropic from the very beginning and through all the ages and all eternity.
Apostolic succession, the apostolic heritage, is theanthropic from first to last. What is it that the holy apostles are transmitting to their successors as their heritage? The Lord Christ, the God-man Himself, with all the imperishable riches of His wondrous theanthropic Personality, Christ—the Head of the Church, her sole Head. If it does not transmit that, apostolic succession ceases to be apostolic, and the apostolic Tradition is lost, for there is no longer an apostolic hierarchy and an apostolic Church.
The holy Tradition is the Gospel of the Lord Christ, and the Lord Christ Himself, Whom the Holy Spirit instills in each and every believing soul, in the entire Church. Whatever is Christ's, by the power of the Holy Spirit becomes ours, human; but only within the body of the Church. The Holy Spirit—the soul of the Church, incorporates each believer, as a tiny cell, into the body of the Church and makes him a "co-heir" of the God-man (Eph. 3:6). In reality the Holy Spirit makes every believer into a God-man by grace. For what is life in the Church? Nothing other than the transfiguration of each believer into a God-man by grace through his personal, evangelical virtues; it is his growth in Christ, the putting on of Christ by growing in the Church and being a member of the Church. A Christian's life is a ceaseless, Christ-centered theophany: the Holy Spirit, through the holy mysteries and the holy virtues, transmits Christ the Savior to each believer, renders him a living tradition, a living life: "Christ who is our life" (Col. 3:4). Everything Christ's thereby becomes ours, ours for all eternity: His truth, His righteousness, His love, His life, and His entire divine Hypostasis.
Holy Tradition? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man Himself, with all the riches of his divine Hypostasis and, through Him and for His sake, those of the Holy Trinity. That is most fully given and articulated in the Holy Eucharist, wherein, for our sake and for our salvation, the Savior's entire theanthropic economy of salvation is performed and repeated. Therein wholly resides the God-man with all His wondrous and miraculous gifts; He is there, and in the Church's life of prayer and liturgy. Through all this, the Savior's philanthropic proclamation ceaselessly resounds: "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Mt. 28 20): He is with the apostles and, through the apostles, with all the faithful, world without end. This is the whole of the holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church of the apostles: life in Christ = life in the Holy Trinity; growth in Christ = growth in the Trinity (cf. Mt. 28: 19-20).
Of extraordinary importance is the following: in Christ's Orthodox Church, the Holy Tradition, ever living and life-giving, comprises: the holy liturgy, all the divine services, all the holy mysteries, all the holy virtues, the totality of eternal truth and eternal righteousness, all love, all eternal life, the whole of the God-man, the Lord Christ, the entire Holy Trinity, and the entire theanthropic life of the Church in its theanthropic fullness, with the All-holy Theotokos and all the saints.
The personality of the Lord Christ the God-man, transfigured within the Church, immersed in the prayerful, liturgical, and boundless sea of grace, wholly contained in the Eucharist, and wholly in the Church—this is holy Tradition. This authentic good news is confessed by the holy fathers and the holy ecumenical councils. By prayer and piety holy Tradition is preserved from all human demonism and devilish humanism, and in it is preserved the entire Lord Christ, He Who is the eternal Tradition of the Church. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (I Tim. 3 16): He was manifest as a man, as a God-man, as the Church, and by His philanthropic act of salvation and deification of humanity He magnified and exalted man above the holy cherubim and the most holy seraphim.
Originally published in Orthodox Life, vol. 31, no. 1 (Jan.-Feb., 1981), pp. 28-33. Translated by Stephen Karganovic from: The Orthodox Church & Ecumenism (in Serbian) by Archimandrite Justin (Popovich) (Thessalonica: Chilandar Monastery, 1974), pp. 64-74.
by St. Justin (Popovich)
The attributes of the Church are innumerable because her attributes are actually the attributes of the Lord Christ, the God-man, and, through Him, those of the Triune Godhead. However, the holy and divinely wise fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council, guided and instructed by the Holy Spirit, reduced them in the ninth article of the Symbol of Faith to four—I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. These attributes of the Church—unity, holiness, catholicity (sobornost), and apostolicity—are derived from the very nature of the Church and of her purpose. They clearly and accurately define the character of the Orthodox Church of Christ whereby, as a theanthropic institution and community, she is distinguishable from any institution or community of the human sort.
I. The Unity and Uniqueness of the Church
Just as the Person of Christ the God-man is one and unique, so is the Church founded by Him, in Him, and upon Him. The unity of the Church follows necessarily from the unity of the Person of the Lord Christ, the God-man. Being an organically integral and theanthropic organism unique in all the worlds, the Church, according to all the laws of Heaven and earth, is indivisible. Any division would signify her death. Immersed in the God-man, she is first and foremost a theanthropic organism, and only then a theanthropic organization. In her, everything is theanthropic: nature, faith, love, baptism, the Eucharist, all the holy mysteries and all the holy virtues, her teaching, her entire life, her immortality, her eternity, and her structure. Yes, yes, yes; in her, everything is theanthropically integral and indivisible Christification, sanctification, deification, Trinitarianism, salvation. In her everything is fused organically and by grace into a single theanthropic body, under a single Head—the God-man, the Lord Christ. All her members, though as persons always whole and inviolate, yet united by the same grace of the Holy Spirit through the holy mysteries and the holy virtues into an organic unity, comprise one body and confess the one faith, which unites them to each other and to the Lord Christ.
The Christ-bearing apostles are divinely inspired as they announce the unity and the uniqueness of the Church, based upon the unity and uniqueness of her Founder—the God-man, the Lord Christ, and His theanthropic personality: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 3:11).
Like the holy apostles, the holy fathers and the teachers of the Church confess the unity and uniqueness of the Orthodox Church with the divine wisdom of the cherubim and the zeal of the seraphim. Understandable, therefore, is the fiery zeal which animated the holy fathers of the Church in all cases of division and falling away and the stern attitude toward heresies and schisms. In that regard, the holy ecumenical and holy local councils are preeminently important. According to their spirit and attitude, wise in those things pertaining to Christ, the Church is not only one but also unique. Just as the Lord Christ cannot have several bodies, so He cannot have several Churches. According to her theanthropic nature, the Church is one and unique, just as Christ the God-man is one and unique.
Hence, a division, a splitting up of the Church is ontologically and essentially impossible. A division within the Church has never occurred, nor indeed can one take place, while apostasy from the Church has and will continue to occur after the manner of those voluntarily fruitless branches which, having withered, fall away from the eternally living theanthropic Vine—the Lord Christ (Jn. 15:1-6). From time to time, heretics and schismatics have cut themselves offend have fallen away from the one and indivisible Church of Christ, whereby they ceased to be members of the Church and parts of her theanthropic body. The first to fall away thus were the gnostics, then the Arians, then the Macedonians, then the Monophysites, then the Iconoclasts, then the Roman Catholics, then the Protestants, then the Uniates, and so on—all the other members of the legion of heretics and schismatics.
II. The Holiness of the Church
By her theanthropic nature, the Church is undoubtedly a unique organization in the world. All her holiness resides in her nature. Actually, she is the theanthropic workshop of human sanctification and, through men, of the sanctification of the rest of creation. She is holy as the theanthropic Body of Christ, whose eternal head is the Lord Christ Himself; and Whose immortal soul is the Holy Spirit. Wherefore everything in her is holy: her teaching, her grace, her mysteries, her virtues, all her powers, and all her instruments have been deposited in her for the sanctification of men and of all created things. Having become the Church by His incarnation out of an unparalleled love for man, our God and Lord Jesus Christ sanctified the Church by His sufferings, Resurrection, Ascension, teaching, wonder-working, prayer, fasting, mysteries, and virtues; in a word, by His entire theanthropic life. Wherefore the divinely inspired pronouncement has been rendered: "... Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27).
The flow of history confirms the reality of the Gospel: the Church is filled to overflowing with sinners. Does their presence in the Church reduce, violate, or destroy her sanctity? Not in the least! For her Head—the Lord Christ, and her Soul—the Holy Spirit, and her divine teaching, her mysteries, and her virtues, are indissolubly and immutably holy. The Church tolerates sinners, shelters them, and instructs them, that they may be awakened and roused to repentance and spiritual recovery and transfiguration; but they do not hinder the Church from being holy. Only unrepentant sinners, persistent in evil and godless malice, are cut off from the Church either by the visible action of the theanthropic authority of the Church or by the invisible action of divine judgment, so that thus also the holiness of the Church may be preserved. "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (I Cor. 5:13).
In their writings and at the Councils, the holy fathers confessed the holiness of the church as her essential and immutable quality. The fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council defined it dogmatically in the ninth article of the Symbol of Faith. And the succeeding ecumenical councils confirmed it by the seal of their assent.
III. The Catholicity (Sobornost) of the Church
The theanthropic nature of the Church is inherently and all-encompassingly universal and catholic: it is theanthropically universal and theanthropically catholic. The Lord Christ, the God-man, has by Himself and in Himself most perfectly and integrally united God and Man and, through man, all the worlds and all created things to God. The fate of creation is essentially linked to that of man (cf. Romans 8:19-24). In her theanthropic organism, the Church encompasses: "all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" (Col. 1:16). Everything is in the God-man; He is the Head of the Body of the Church (Col. 1:17-18).
In the theanthropic organism of the Church everyone lives in the fullness of his personality as a living, godlike cell. The law of theanthropic catholicity encompasses all and acts through all. All the while, the theanthropic equilibrium between the divine and the human is always duly preserved. Being members of her body, we in the Church experience the fullness of our being in all its godlike dimensions. Furthermore: in the Church of the God-man, man experiences his own being as all-encompassing, as theanthropically all-encompassing; he experiences himself not only as complete, but also as the totality of creation. In a word: he experiences himself as a god-man by grace.
The theanthropic catholicity of the Church is actually an unceasing christification of many by grace and virtue: all is gathered in Christ the God-man, and everything is experienced through Him as one's own, as a single indivisible theanthropic organism. For life in the Church is a theanthropic catholicization, the struggle of acquiring by grace and virtue the likeness of the God-man, christification, theosis, life in the Trinity, sanctification, transfiguration, salvation, immortality, and churchliness. Theanthropic catholicity in the Church is reflected in and achieved by the eternally living Person of Christ, the God-man Who in the most perfect way has united God to man and to all creation, which has been cleansed of sin, evil, and death by the Savior's precious Blood (cf. Col. 1:19-22). The theanthropic Person of the Lord Christ is the very soul of the Church's catholicity. It is the God-man Who always preserves the theanthropic balance between the divine and the human in the catholic life of the Church. The Church is filled to overflowing with the Lord Christ, for she is "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23). Wherefore, she is universal in every person that is found within her, in each of her tiny cells. That universality, that catholicity resounds like thunder particularly through the holy apostles, through the holy fathers, through the holy ecumenical and local councils.
IV. The Apostolicity of the Church
The holy apostles were the first god-men by grace. Like the Apostle Paul each of them, by his integral life, could have said of himself: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20). Each of them is a Christ repeated; or, to be more exact, a continuation of Christ. Everything in them is theanthropic because everything was recieved from the God-man. Apostolicity is nothing other than the God-manhood of the Lord Christ, freely assimilated through the holy struggles of the holy virtues: faith, love, hope, prayer, fasting, etc. This means that everything that is of man lives in them freely through the God-man, thinks through the God-man, feels through the God-man, acts through the God-man and wills through the God-man. For them, the historical God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the supreme value and the supreme criterion. Everything in them is of the God-man, for the sake of the God-man, and in the God-man. And it is always and everywhere thus. That for them is immortality in the time and space of this world. Thereby are they even on this earth partakers of the theanthropic eternity of Christ.
This theanthropic apostolicity is integrally continued in the earthly successors of the Christ-bearing apostles: in the holy fathers. Among them, in essence, there is no difference: the same God-man Christ lives, acts, enlivens and makes them all eternal in equal measure, He Who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Through the holy fathers, the holy apostles live on with all their theanthropic riches, theanthropic worlds, theanthropic holy things, theanthropic mysteries, and theanthropic virtues. The holy fathers in fact are continuously apostolizing, whether as distinct godlike personalities, or as bishops of the local churches, or as members of the holy ecumenical and holy local councils. For all of them there is but one Truth, one Transcendent Truth: the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, the holy ecumenical councils, from the first to the last, confess, defend, believe, announce, and vigilantly preserve but a single supreme value: the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The principal Tradition, the transcendent Tradition, of the Orthodox Church is the living God-man Christ, entire in the theanthropic Body of the Church of which He is the immortal, eternal Head. This is not merely the message, but the transcendent message of the holy apostles and the holy fathers. They know Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ ascended. They all, by their integral lives and teachings, with a single soul and a single voice, confess that Christ the God-man is wholly in His Church, as in His Body. Each of the holy fathers could rightly repeat with St. Maximus the Confessor: "In no wise am I expounding my own opinion, but that which I have been taught by the fathers, without changing aught in their teaching."
And from the immortal proclamation of St. John of Damascus there resounds the universal confession of all the holy fathers who were glorified by God: "Whatever has been transmitted to us through the Law, and the prophets, and the apostles, and the evangelists, we receive and know and esteem highly, and beyond that we ask nothing more... Let us be fully satisfied with it, and rest therein, removing not the ancient landmarks (Prov. 22:28), nor violating the divine Tradition." And then, the touching, fatherly admonition of the holy Damascene, directed to all Orthodox Christians: "Wherefore, brethren, let us plant ourselves upon the rock of faith and the Tradition of the Church, removing not the landmarks set by our holy fathers, nor giving room to those who are anxious to introduce novelties and to undermine the structure of God's holy ecumenical and apostolic Church. For if everyone were allowed a free hand, little by little the entire Body of the Church would be destroyed."
The holy Tradition is wholly of the God-man, wholly of the holy apostles, wholly of the holy fathers, wholly of the Church, in the Church, and by the Church. The holy fathers are nothing other than the "guardians of the apostolic tradition. " All of them, like the holy apostles themselves, are but "witnesses" of a single and unique Truth: the transcendent Truth of Christ, the God-man. They preach and confess it without rest, they, the "golden mouths of the Word." The God-man, the Lord Christ is one, unique, and indivisible. So also is the Church unique and indivisible, for she is the incarnation of the Theanthropos Christ, continuing through the ages and through all eternity. Being such by her nature and in her earthly history, the Church may not be divided. It is only possible to fall away from her. That unity and uniqueness of the Church is theanthropic from the very beginning and through all the ages and all eternity.
Apostolic succession, the apostolic heritage, is theanthropic from first to last. What is it that the holy apostles are transmitting to their successors as their heritage? The Lord Christ, the God-man Himself, with all the imperishable riches of His wondrous theanthropic Personality, Christ—the Head of the Church, her sole Head. If it does not transmit that, apostolic succession ceases to be apostolic, and the apostolic Tradition is lost, for there is no longer an apostolic hierarchy and an apostolic Church.
The holy Tradition is the Gospel of the Lord Christ, and the Lord Christ Himself, Whom the Holy Spirit instills in each and every believing soul, in the entire Church. Whatever is Christ's, by the power of the Holy Spirit becomes ours, human; but only within the body of the Church. The Holy Spirit—the soul of the Church, incorporates each believer, as a tiny cell, into the body of the Church and makes him a "co-heir" of the God-man (Eph. 3:6). In reality the Holy Spirit makes every believer into a God-man by grace. For what is life in the Church? Nothing other than the transfiguration of each believer into a God-man by grace through his personal, evangelical virtues; it is his growth in Christ, the putting on of Christ by growing in the Church and being a member of the Church. A Christian's life is a ceaseless, Christ-centered theophany: the Holy Spirit, through the holy mysteries and the holy virtues, transmits Christ the Savior to each believer, renders him a living tradition, a living life: "Christ who is our life" (Col. 3:4). Everything Christ's thereby becomes ours, ours for all eternity: His truth, His righteousness, His love, His life, and His entire divine Hypostasis.
Holy Tradition? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man Himself, with all the riches of his divine Hypostasis and, through Him and for His sake, those of the Holy Trinity. That is most fully given and articulated in the Holy Eucharist, wherein, for our sake and for our salvation, the Savior's entire theanthropic economy of salvation is performed and repeated. Therein wholly resides the God-man with all His wondrous and miraculous gifts; He is there, and in the Church's life of prayer and liturgy. Through all this, the Savior's philanthropic proclamation ceaselessly resounds: "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Mt. 28 20): He is with the apostles and, through the apostles, with all the faithful, world without end. This is the whole of the holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church of the apostles: life in Christ = life in the Holy Trinity; growth in Christ = growth in the Trinity (cf. Mt. 28: 19-20).
Of extraordinary importance is the following: in Christ's Orthodox Church, the Holy Tradition, ever living and life-giving, comprises: the holy liturgy, all the divine services, all the holy mysteries, all the holy virtues, the totality of eternal truth and eternal righteousness, all love, all eternal life, the whole of the God-man, the Lord Christ, the entire Holy Trinity, and the entire theanthropic life of the Church in its theanthropic fullness, with the All-holy Theotokos and all the saints.
The personality of the Lord Christ the God-man, transfigured within the Church, immersed in the prayerful, liturgical, and boundless sea of grace, wholly contained in the Eucharist, and wholly in the Church—this is holy Tradition. This authentic good news is confessed by the holy fathers and the holy ecumenical councils. By prayer and piety holy Tradition is preserved from all human demonism and devilish humanism, and in it is preserved the entire Lord Christ, He Who is the eternal Tradition of the Church. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (I Tim. 3 16): He was manifest as a man, as a God-man, as the Church, and by His philanthropic act of salvation and deification of humanity He magnified and exalted man above the holy cherubim and the most holy seraphim.
Originally published in Orthodox Life, vol. 31, no. 1 (Jan.-Feb., 1981), pp. 28-33. Translated by Stephen Karganovic from: The Orthodox Church & Ecumenism (in Serbian) by Archimandrite Justin (Popovich) (Thessalonica: Chilandar Monastery, 1974), pp. 64-74.
Moving forward
From Saints and Scholars (the Reform Ireland blog):
Today was a short day at GAFCON, but a highly significant day. Details will be released later by the GAFCON leadership, but what can be said is that decisions are being taken by those at GAFCON in a very tangible atmosphere of prayer, joy and worship. Not only is there a deep sense of fellowship in Christ, but also there is a huge desire to move forward under the Lordship of Christ to accomplish his mission in the world.
Yesterday, a wonderful aspect of the corporate worship of GAFCON was the marvellous singing led by the members of the Mothers’ Union Choir of Nigeria. But even that was trumped by a choir of four south American bishops, one toting a guitar, leading in a time of joyful praise - in spanish! Joyful as the fellowship is at GAFCON, it is most certainly not a spiritual ‘jamboree’. There is a serious determination to be about the heavenly Father’s business and this is expressed in the workshops, the plenary sessions, and in casual conversations.
Those who profess faith in Christ and are suspicious, or dismissory, or sceptical, or fearful, or downright hostile to GAFCON, should pause to think what exactly they are doing. Here at GAFCON are joyful, committed believers in Christ, faithful Anglicans, intensely loyal to the teachings of the Scripture as expressed in the formularies of Anglicanism: here, amongst the throng at GAFCON are some of Anglicanism’s best scholars and leaders; here are some of Anglicanism’s best evangelists; and here are people committed to godly living in Christ Jesus. What’s bad about that? Are those who sneer at or dismiss GAFCON jealous of the vitality and christian determination of the churches represented here? Do they feel threatened by the Gospel emphasis of GAFCON? If so, how then can they claim with any integrity to really have faith in Christ? They should be rejoicing at GAFCON, not keeping it at arm’s length!
GAFCON represents a movement that, under God, will renew Anglicanism and take it forward in serving Christ in the world. Isn’t that what those who have the Gospel at heart and the best interests of the Church of Ireland want to do? Then, if that is so, the decisions and statements of GAFCON should rejoice the heart and cause us in the Church of Ireland to want to align ourselves in joyful committment to the Gospel imperatives they reflect.
Today was a short day at GAFCON, but a highly significant day. Details will be released later by the GAFCON leadership, but what can be said is that decisions are being taken by those at GAFCON in a very tangible atmosphere of prayer, joy and worship. Not only is there a deep sense of fellowship in Christ, but also there is a huge desire to move forward under the Lordship of Christ to accomplish his mission in the world.
Yesterday, a wonderful aspect of the corporate worship of GAFCON was the marvellous singing led by the members of the Mothers’ Union Choir of Nigeria. But even that was trumped by a choir of four south American bishops, one toting a guitar, leading in a time of joyful praise - in spanish! Joyful as the fellowship is at GAFCON, it is most certainly not a spiritual ‘jamboree’. There is a serious determination to be about the heavenly Father’s business and this is expressed in the workshops, the plenary sessions, and in casual conversations.
Those who profess faith in Christ and are suspicious, or dismissory, or sceptical, or fearful, or downright hostile to GAFCON, should pause to think what exactly they are doing. Here at GAFCON are joyful, committed believers in Christ, faithful Anglicans, intensely loyal to the teachings of the Scripture as expressed in the formularies of Anglicanism: here, amongst the throng at GAFCON are some of Anglicanism’s best scholars and leaders; here are some of Anglicanism’s best evangelists; and here are people committed to godly living in Christ Jesus. What’s bad about that? Are those who sneer at or dismiss GAFCON jealous of the vitality and christian determination of the churches represented here? Do they feel threatened by the Gospel emphasis of GAFCON? If so, how then can they claim with any integrity to really have faith in Christ? They should be rejoicing at GAFCON, not keeping it at arm’s length!
GAFCON represents a movement that, under God, will renew Anglicanism and take it forward in serving Christ in the world. Isn’t that what those who have the Gospel at heart and the best interests of the Church of Ireland want to do? Then, if that is so, the decisions and statements of GAFCON should rejoice the heart and cause us in the Church of Ireland to want to align ourselves in joyful committment to the Gospel imperatives they reflect.
Singing Bishops and firm words
From SydneyAnglicans.net
Karin Sowada | 28 June 2008
Today, two momentous events occurred - one of significance to Sydney, and the other of great importance to global Anglicanism.
The first was Archbishop Peter Jensen suddenly bursting into song in front of 1148 GAFCONers. He was evidently moved by the example of Nigerian Bishop Michael Fape this morning, who sang three times during his sermon on Luke 24. In what must be a regular occurrence in African churches, everyone joined Bishop Fape in his musical exhortations. Then during his regular house-keeping announcements, our Archbishop suddenly threw off the shackles of purse-lipped Sydney Anglicanism and spontaneously led the ballroom in a rousing chorus. Let’s hope that this example follows Archbishop Jensen back to Sydney and generates a new form of episcopal ecclesiology.
The second was the release of the draft GAFCON communique late this morning to conference participants. While its content must remain confidential, it was received by all with great acclaim and rejoicing. Everyone stood and clapped loudly, many raised their hands praising God; an African bishop repeatedly leaped in the air, others held Bibles aloft and I even saw one Sydney bishop weeping with joy.
After lunch, we moved into a discussion group with the New Zealanders to provide feedback for Bishop Glenn Davies, who is on the statement working party. Good comments ensued and he will doubtless do his best to inject these into the communique before Sunday.
Ten years have led to this point. The GAFCON response to developments in the global Anglican communion is, I believe, carefully measured, humble, and yet strikes the correct note of a church no longer prepared to tolerate error. How the wider Communion reacts remains to be seen.
Karin Sowada | 28 June 2008
Today, two momentous events occurred - one of significance to Sydney, and the other of great importance to global Anglicanism.
The first was Archbishop Peter Jensen suddenly bursting into song in front of 1148 GAFCONers. He was evidently moved by the example of Nigerian Bishop Michael Fape this morning, who sang three times during his sermon on Luke 24. In what must be a regular occurrence in African churches, everyone joined Bishop Fape in his musical exhortations. Then during his regular house-keeping announcements, our Archbishop suddenly threw off the shackles of purse-lipped Sydney Anglicanism and spontaneously led the ballroom in a rousing chorus. Let’s hope that this example follows Archbishop Jensen back to Sydney and generates a new form of episcopal ecclesiology.
The second was the release of the draft GAFCON communique late this morning to conference participants. While its content must remain confidential, it was received by all with great acclaim and rejoicing. Everyone stood and clapped loudly, many raised their hands praising God; an African bishop repeatedly leaped in the air, others held Bibles aloft and I even saw one Sydney bishop weeping with joy.
After lunch, we moved into a discussion group with the New Zealanders to provide feedback for Bishop Glenn Davies, who is on the statement working party. Good comments ensued and he will doubtless do his best to inject these into the communique before Sunday.
Ten years have led to this point. The GAFCON response to developments in the global Anglican communion is, I believe, carefully measured, humble, and yet strikes the correct note of a church no longer prepared to tolerate error. How the wider Communion reacts remains to be seen.
Friday, June 27, 2008
JERUSALEM: No Split from Communion but New Permanent Structures in Place
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
6/26/2008
Leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), in a preliminary statement, say that while there will be no formal split from the Anglican Communion, permanent structures are being put into place to be true to the Bible, to continue the work of mission and to do so as Anglicans.
Kenya Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the four Instruments of Unity had "betrayed and abandoned" the Anglican Communion and therefore new structures are necessary.
"GAFCON is a movement, not a moment in time. We need an agreed upon theological framework and appropriate structures to sustain its growth into the future. Permanent structures will be put in place to sustain its growth."
The leaders recognize the need for a new North American province "for faithful Anglicans who live in provinces that have abandoned the traditional teaching of the Bible."
The statement concluded by saying that GAFCON leaders will reach out to other Anglicans around the Communion "who share our common faith".
Asked by VOL if the Queen of England, as the supreme Governor of the Church of England, had been approached about worsening conditions in the Anglican Communion and the possibility of a new structure being formed, Archbishop Nzimbi replied that GAFCON leaders are not fighting the Queen.
"We respect the Queen, but the present structures have departed from the traditions of the Church of England and so when those structures have betrayed us, we need to say we must wait on it. We need to go back to what we have received."
Asked about possible names for this future entity, Nzimbi simply said GAFCON. Another source said Global Anglican Conference.
Questioned about homosexuality, panel member Dr. John Akao, a bishop from Nigeria, said both the Old Testament and New Testament forbade it. "We cannot practice that which is not allowed. It is repugnant to the Scriptures." He also said, in answer to a question about who was financing whom, that provinces would be self-supporting.
Nzimbi said every pilgrim has had multiple opportunities to provide concerns, hopes, and suggestions to the statement committee throughout the week.
The first draft of the statement will be read to all pilgrims on Friday, June 27. The statement will be finalized before GAFCON ends on June 29.
GAFCON leaders say they will meet again in two years to reflect and expand on the structures.
END
www.virtueonline.org
6/26/2008
Leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), in a preliminary statement, say that while there will be no formal split from the Anglican Communion, permanent structures are being put into place to be true to the Bible, to continue the work of mission and to do so as Anglicans.
Kenya Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the four Instruments of Unity had "betrayed and abandoned" the Anglican Communion and therefore new structures are necessary.
"GAFCON is a movement, not a moment in time. We need an agreed upon theological framework and appropriate structures to sustain its growth into the future. Permanent structures will be put in place to sustain its growth."
The leaders recognize the need for a new North American province "for faithful Anglicans who live in provinces that have abandoned the traditional teaching of the Bible."
The statement concluded by saying that GAFCON leaders will reach out to other Anglicans around the Communion "who share our common faith".
Asked by VOL if the Queen of England, as the supreme Governor of the Church of England, had been approached about worsening conditions in the Anglican Communion and the possibility of a new structure being formed, Archbishop Nzimbi replied that GAFCON leaders are not fighting the Queen.
"We respect the Queen, but the present structures have departed from the traditions of the Church of England and so when those structures have betrayed us, we need to say we must wait on it. We need to go back to what we have received."
Asked about possible names for this future entity, Nzimbi simply said GAFCON. Another source said Global Anglican Conference.
Questioned about homosexuality, panel member Dr. John Akao, a bishop from Nigeria, said both the Old Testament and New Testament forbade it. "We cannot practice that which is not allowed. It is repugnant to the Scriptures." He also said, in answer to a question about who was financing whom, that provinces would be self-supporting.
Nzimbi said every pilgrim has had multiple opportunities to provide concerns, hopes, and suggestions to the statement committee throughout the week.
The first draft of the statement will be read to all pilgrims on Friday, June 27. The statement will be finalized before GAFCON ends on June 29.
GAFCON leaders say they will meet again in two years to reflect and expand on the structures.
END
JERUSALEM: Pittsburgh Bishop Sees North American Orthodox Province Soon
News Analysis
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 25, 2008
Good News is coming for North American orthodox Episcopalians. A new province is on the way. It is only a matter of time now before it comes into existence.
The "separate ecclesiastical structure in North America", called for at Kigali by the Global South Primates in November 2006, is not far off, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan wrote in a paper delivered to pre-GAFCON theological leaders in Amman, Jordan.
Drawing upon the history of North American efforts to establish an orthodox beach head in the U.S. Duncan noted that when founded in 2003, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (Anglican Communion Network, or just The Network) proclaimed the vision of "a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America."
"We were given clarity that our work was to connect all the orthodox together, whether still inside the Episcopal Church or, increasingly, outside in various fragments as rescue efforts were undertaken by various Anglican Provinces. Local circumstances and missionary relationships were producing Rwandan, Ugandan, Nigerian, Kenyan and Southern Cone enclaves all across the continent. It was also clear that several of the historically separated Anglican bodies - the "Continuing Churches" and Reformed Episcopal Church - shared the same Faith as all the rest of us."
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council and a CANA (Nigerian) bishop, believes that it is more accurately a proto Province one that will bring together the multiple Anglican affiliations that are spread across the country that will, in time, become a full blown province. "We are moving inexorably in that direction. It is no longer a matter of if but when," he told VOL. Given the ever-growing population of American Anglicans under overseas jurisdictions, two issues have emerged: First, since Anglican congregations in some of our major cities are under different Episcopal jurisdictions, how will they work together? If these congregations find a way to serve together for the sake of serving their regions, then mission and evangelism will flourish. However, if they do not find ways to collegially work together to serve their regions, then these congregations will never get beyond being chaplaincies to those who choose to affiliate with them.
Secondly, a more serious issue arises which is that if a new, national Anglican province is actually formed, then who, if necessary, will be willing to lay down his claim to episcopacy for the sake of the visible and structural unity of this new province? How flexible will these new bishops (and the archbishops they serve) be for the sake of reaching the United States with the Gospel? Or, to put it negatively, how stuck will this new province be in old TEC models that are committed to maintaining personal and structural power, no matter what the cost?
While there are no simple answers to these questions there will be much sorting and sifting out about who will or will not belong to such a proto province.
Will the issue of those who are willing to ordain women to the priesthood continue to be a stumbling block to those who theologically refuse to accept the legitimacy of such ordinations?
Can evangelicals who ordain women and those who don't coexist comfortably with Anglo-Catholics who steadfastly see this as a profoundly theological communion-compromising issue and not just a pastoral one? Time will tell.
Will the newly formed Anglican Network in Canada throw their lot in with such a province? There seems no reason why they shouldn't.
One thing is for certain, the face and landscape of North American Anglicanism has changed forever. There is no going back, there will be no faux reconciliation, no leaving the lights on in the hope that the "lost" will make their way back to 815 Second Ave., rending their miters and cassocks in sackcloth and ashes asking for forgiveness. That day too, is done. More dioceses are ready to flee TEC's ecclesiastical embrace after the Lambeth Conference convinced that Episcopal Church leaders have gone astray.
Evangelicals/Anglo-Catholics and liberal/revisionists are on two different planets. There will be no intersecting of opinions, no more polite "conversation" or "listening". This GAFCON gathering is living witness to that. Defiance and rebellion against the moral order is written deeply into the warp and woof of The Episcopal Church. That will not change. General Convention 2009 will reinforce and enshrine the new Episcopal religion forever. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola has called them "apostates" and so they are. Gene Robinson's ecclesiastical imprint and DNA is forever enshrined in the body of Episcopal Church history. There is no way orthodox folk will have any truck with him. It is over. A new province is aborning.
All that remains to be seen is how this will play out. Even if no formal declaration of a new communion is announced here, GAFCON will encourage North Americans to move forward in order to be proper stewards of money and resources. Bishop Robert Duncan and Common Cause Partnership leaders are looking for legitimacy and a stamp of approval from key GAFCON leaders who are themselves Primates and, I am told, they will get it. The face of North American Anglicanism has changed forever, it only remains to be seen now how the bigger picture emerges.
END
By David W. Virtue in Jerusalem
www.virtueonline.org
June 25, 2008
Good News is coming for North American orthodox Episcopalians. A new province is on the way. It is only a matter of time now before it comes into existence.
The "separate ecclesiastical structure in North America", called for at Kigali by the Global South Primates in November 2006, is not far off, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan wrote in a paper delivered to pre-GAFCON theological leaders in Amman, Jordan.
Drawing upon the history of North American efforts to establish an orthodox beach head in the U.S. Duncan noted that when founded in 2003, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (Anglican Communion Network, or just The Network) proclaimed the vision of "a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America."
"We were given clarity that our work was to connect all the orthodox together, whether still inside the Episcopal Church or, increasingly, outside in various fragments as rescue efforts were undertaken by various Anglican Provinces. Local circumstances and missionary relationships were producing Rwandan, Ugandan, Nigerian, Kenyan and Southern Cone enclaves all across the continent. It was also clear that several of the historically separated Anglican bodies - the "Continuing Churches" and Reformed Episcopal Church - shared the same Faith as all the rest of us."
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council and a CANA (Nigerian) bishop, believes that it is more accurately a proto Province one that will bring together the multiple Anglican affiliations that are spread across the country that will, in time, become a full blown province. "We are moving inexorably in that direction. It is no longer a matter of if but when," he told VOL. Given the ever-growing population of American Anglicans under overseas jurisdictions, two issues have emerged: First, since Anglican congregations in some of our major cities are under different Episcopal jurisdictions, how will they work together? If these congregations find a way to serve together for the sake of serving their regions, then mission and evangelism will flourish. However, if they do not find ways to collegially work together to serve their regions, then these congregations will never get beyond being chaplaincies to those who choose to affiliate with them.
Secondly, a more serious issue arises which is that if a new, national Anglican province is actually formed, then who, if necessary, will be willing to lay down his claim to episcopacy for the sake of the visible and structural unity of this new province? How flexible will these new bishops (and the archbishops they serve) be for the sake of reaching the United States with the Gospel? Or, to put it negatively, how stuck will this new province be in old TEC models that are committed to maintaining personal and structural power, no matter what the cost?
While there are no simple answers to these questions there will be much sorting and sifting out about who will or will not belong to such a proto province.
Will the issue of those who are willing to ordain women to the priesthood continue to be a stumbling block to those who theologically refuse to accept the legitimacy of such ordinations?
Can evangelicals who ordain women and those who don't coexist comfortably with Anglo-Catholics who steadfastly see this as a profoundly theological communion-compromising issue and not just a pastoral one? Time will tell.
Will the newly formed Anglican Network in Canada throw their lot in with such a province? There seems no reason why they shouldn't.
One thing is for certain, the face and landscape of North American Anglicanism has changed forever. There is no going back, there will be no faux reconciliation, no leaving the lights on in the hope that the "lost" will make their way back to 815 Second Ave., rending their miters and cassocks in sackcloth and ashes asking for forgiveness. That day too, is done. More dioceses are ready to flee TEC's ecclesiastical embrace after the Lambeth Conference convinced that Episcopal Church leaders have gone astray.
Evangelicals/Anglo-Catholics and liberal/revisionists are on two different planets. There will be no intersecting of opinions, no more polite "conversation" or "listening". This GAFCON gathering is living witness to that. Defiance and rebellion against the moral order is written deeply into the warp and woof of The Episcopal Church. That will not change. General Convention 2009 will reinforce and enshrine the new Episcopal religion forever. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola has called them "apostates" and so they are. Gene Robinson's ecclesiastical imprint and DNA is forever enshrined in the body of Episcopal Church history. There is no way orthodox folk will have any truck with him. It is over. A new province is aborning.
All that remains to be seen is how this will play out. Even if no formal declaration of a new communion is announced here, GAFCON will encourage North Americans to move forward in order to be proper stewards of money and resources. Bishop Robert Duncan and Common Cause Partnership leaders are looking for legitimacy and a stamp of approval from key GAFCON leaders who are themselves Primates and, I am told, they will get it. The face of North American Anglicanism has changed forever, it only remains to be seen now how the bigger picture emerges.
END
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