Where do we go from here?

by the Rt. Rev. John H. Rodgers Jr. ThD.

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (Acts 2:42, ESV)

Introduction: Who we are

The task assigned to me is to suggest how we as faithful Anglicans are to
protect and live out the precious inheritance of Apostolic Christianity
which has been given and entrusted to us Anglicans by God. We are to do this
at a time when portions of the Anglican Communion are no longer faithful to
that inheritance and when the Communion's instruments of unity and oversight
have not proven capable to protect and advance this gift and calling. We need to list in a brief description what faithful Anglicanism is, so that we can indicate what we need to do in order to prove faithful in our situation. Faithful Anglicanism is an expression of reformed Catholicism.

The Anglican family has its roots in the early church and in the Western Catholic Church. We Anglicans have existed from the early days of the Church prior to the division between East and West, and before entering into a relationship of obedience to the Bishop of Rome, under whose oversight and care we Anglicans subsequently came. As such we are part of the Catholic Church. At the Reformation of the 16th Century, in obedience to the Apostles' teaching, we found that we could no longer remain in submission to unreformed papal authority, doctrine and practice in a number of areas.
This was centrally true in the application of God=92s grace to sinners, as the 39
Articles make clear. Thus we were reformed by the Apostolic Word. Hence faithful Anglicanism is apostolic, reformed Catholicism, seeking in all things to be faithful to the Word of God written.

As the Anglican family expanded around the Globe, five abiding marks of faithful Anglicanism arose. These are: 1, a common faith, 2, a common celebration of the Word and the sacraments of the Gospel, 3, a common ministry, 4, a common mission and 5, a common global family or communion.

Each of these marks has become problematic to one degree or another, resulting in a loss of unity in the Anglican Communion as a whole and in parts of the Communion resulting in internecine warfare. What we as faithful Anglicans need to do, can best be expressed in the context of a brief comment on each of the five marks.

II What we need to do

1. A Common Faith

Faithful Anglicanism is above all biblical. Canon A5 of the Church of England states: "The doctrine of the Church of England 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."

From 1571 until the 20th Century this would be an accurate description of the official Faith of Anglicans and remains the official Faith of many of the provinces to this day, though in some of those provinces the formularies are neglected in education and practice. In many of the Western provinces the Articles exercise no actual authority and are often contradicted by the prevailing popular theology taught in the seminaries and in the congregations. Since the Articles assert and apply the
Authority of Scripture, affirm the Catholic Creeds which are scriptural, and center in the great themes of grace to sinners as found in the Apostles teaching ( Articles 9 through 12 ), to neglect the Articles invites a fall from the Gospel into moralism, and a fall from Scriptural faithfulness into biblical ignorance. Therefore the Articles need to be restored to their proper prominence in stating the Common Faith of Anglicans.

(A complication addressed)
A word concerning the meaning and authority of the Anglican Formularies(the 39 Articles taken in conjunction with the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, its rubrics and the Ordinal) is in order. Some Anglicans of Evangelical and of Anglo-Catholic tendencies find that the Formularies are unduly limiting with respect to sacramental understanding and practice. Rather than causing further division or using a "Tract 90" type of hermeneutic to ease the difficulties, it would be preferable if we all endeavor to read the Formularies in their plain historical meaning and allow the local bishop the authority to grant such latitude in their application in the diocese, where it is asked for, as would ease these difficulties, provided that in such permitted teaching and practice the clear teaching of the Scripture is not contradicted, nor the nature of a sacrament be overthrown.)

There will also need to be ways in which the Scriptures, read in the interpretative context of the Creeds and Formularies, can be addressed to contemporary issues arising within the faithful Communion, such as is done in the Lambeth Conference resolutions. These, along with the Articles, will need to have genuine authority in the Communion. Therefore there will also need to be a process of discipline that can address departures in doctrine and ethics from the plain teaching of the Scriptures, the Creeds the Articles and the common mind of the Church.

Only by such clarity and discipline can the faithful unity and mission of the Church be maintained and furthered. We dare not be vague, for there is no unity except in Christ as He is known and confessed in accord with the Apostles teaching.

2. A Common Celebration of the Word and the Sacraments of the Gospel

From the time of Cranmer until the 20th Century, Anglicans have had a common prayer book tradition. The classic expression of this is the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal. This classic prayer book tradition is grace-centered to a unique degree. Cranmer surpassed all others in placing the Gospel in the center of the worship and prayers of the people. Until fairly recently all changes from this book were relatively minor.

Anglicans are, in principle, open to diversity of forms of worship "provided that the
Faith be kept entire." The books of common prayer presently used in the Anglican Communion, vary greatly. In some provinces permission is given for congregations to construct their own liturgical services even to rewriting the creeds. These services and creeds can, and some do, embody theological content that contradicts the Scripture and the Anglican Faith. In many places the Faith has certainly not been "kept entire." It is important that we declare the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal to be the official Anglican Book of Common Prayer for all Anglicans and that we require that all local alternative services conform to it theologically. Faithful
Anglicanism is biblical Anglicanism, therefore making certain that the liturgical services of the Church are faithful to Scripture is essential, since due to its repetition and use in the elevated context of worship, the liturgy has powerful informative power on the minds and hearts of the members of the Church.

3. A Common Ministry

Anglicans have maintained fellowship with the Apostles not only by apostolic teaching but also by an ordained ministry in the three orders of Deacon, Priest or Presbyter and Bishop. These have been, from earliest days, ordered by Bishops in the historic Episcopate. While there is no universal theology of the ordained ministry among Anglicans, there has been no change in the ordained ministry until the 20th Century, when first the Episcopal Church and then other Anglican Churches began to ordain women in all three orders.

This has caused a serious disagreement over the possibility and /or biblical and traditional appropriateness of women being so ordained. As a consequence a serious degree of impaired communion now exists within the Anglican Communion around this matter. What must be admitted by all is that the issue is not settled and that
we are in a period of testing or reception. During this time both positions must be respected and common, ongoing study and discussion on this matter must take place. In addition, local congregations and clergy should be permitted to align themselves with the nearest dioceses and bishops that share their convictions on this matter. It would also be appropriate that ordained men should preside at the Eucharist in gatherings of church synods and other such gatherings, for this would allow the fullest number of communicants to receive in good conscience. It need only be mentioned that those living in a life-style contrary to biblical and ecclesiastical moral norms should not exercise the ordained ministry.

4. A Common Mission

As apostolic Churches, Anglicans acknowledge that we have received from Christ the Great Commission, and are sent by the Lord to all the world, as were the Apostles. While Anglicans have at different times been more or less energetic in carrying out this mission, there has never been any doubt as to our calling to be active in the Great Commission to take the Gospel to all and to seek to draw all people to Christ. In recent days, however, this global mission has been denied. Some have replaced "making disciples" with the millennium goals, which are at best the outflow of the Gospel and not its replacement. These and others have also held that Christ is not "the way, the truth and the life" but rather "a way, a truth and a life," thereby
denouncing the Mission as "putting God in a box" and as an "imperialistic, imposition of our religion on peoples who already have a religion." Against these false tendencies in our Communion we need to clearly assert that the Great Commission lies at the heart of who we are as Anglicans and to see that we give mission high priority in our life and witness. It is too light a thing that we should be orthodox in theology and maintenance-minded in practice, as has sometimes been the case.

5. Common Global Family

Here we have our greatest challenge. Some provinces and dioceses in the Anglican Communion have departed from the plain teaching of Scriptures, the common Faith of the Communion and the express resolutions of Lambeth 1998. This has stretched if not torn the fabric of the Communion. This departure from the Faith has taken place in popular, pervasive teaching and practice and also in official actions such as, in the Episcopal Church, the dioceses' negative official response to Lambeth 1998 resolution 1:10, the decision of the judges in the Righter Trial to ban an appeal to the clear teaching of Scripture, and the extension of full resources of the Church to couples
living together while not being married, extended at the General Convention in 2003, with no call to repentance.

Therefore beginning in the 1980's we have had whole congregations leaving revisionist dioceses, while wishing to remain in the Anglican Communion and seeking for a way to do that. As the revisionism grew worse the departures increased and individuals were
leaving in large numbers. It was to meet this situation that the consecrations in
January of 2000 and subsequent consecrations took place. We have now proceeded to a point where we have entire orthodox dioceses and many congregations seeking to leave such provinces.

Several dioceses and a goodly number of clergy and congregations have already left or are about to leave in order to come under other Primates and to be accepted as members of those "overseas" provinces. All of this has taken place, after long and
various unsuccessful attempts to work within the normal structures to call the Church back to faithful Anglicism. Such attempts failed because the present structures of the Anglican Communion do not have sufficient authority to act, or are unwilling to exercise the authority they do have to discipline the errant "autonomous provinces" or because the provinces themselves have gone astray and are oppressing the faithful Anglicans. This has resulted in a messy, piecemeal realignment in the Communion.

Under the present circumstances, this pastoral, emergency and temporary realignment, while somewhat disorderly, was inevitable and is surely justified. The theological principle on which it is based is that faithfulness to the Gospel requires one to stand and not compromise, no matter the cost. This includes not remaining under heretical oversight, and if necessary being willing to cross institutional boundaries to protect and rescue faithful believers who are being persecuted by heretical bishops and primates for their Anglican Faith, while being driven from their
congregational settings. This principle is biblical, patristic and Anglican.

It is biblical because false teachers or heretical leaders are to be cast
out of the Church. ( See Galatians passim) and realignment is the only way a
faithful minority under oppression can find safety and call upon the faithful members of the Anglican Communion to cast out such false teachers. It is actually an unusual form of Church discipline and not schism. It is patristic as Athanasius made clear by his willingness to take congregations under his care, out from under the care of Arian bishops. In addition, the canons of Nicea concerning the duty of all bishops to respect the wishes of the local bishop were never designed to protect heretical bishops; they applied to orthodox bishops only. It is Anglican because if our
ecclesiastical forbearers had not acted on this principle there would be no
Anglican Communion today. It also accords with Article 19 on the nature of a
visible Church in which the pure word of God is to be preached and the sacraments be rightly administered, with Article 26 which refers to the deposing of evil ministers as well as Article 33 concerning excommunication and separation from those excommunicated.

The fact that this realignment has taken place within the Anglican Communion, by clergy and congregations finding other faithful Anglican jurisdictions within the Communion to provide Episcopal oversight, makes it clear that there was no desire to depart from the Anglican Communion, but rather to remain within it, assuming the Communion's faithfulness. In essence, these acts of realignment are a pastoral and temporary rescue operation as well as a mission outreach, intended to last in this
"disorderly fashion" only until such times as the issues can be resolved at the highest levels of the Communion, assuming that to be possible.

Now a new situation has arisen, for the departure from faithful Anglicanism has now come to involve not only local congregations and specific dioceses but also involves the official redefinition of doctrine and morals on the part of entire provinces. This has been done by popular teaching and practice and by public enactments and convention decisions. Since these revisionist provinces remain part of the Anglican Communion, we are compelled to address the question of the nature of the unity of
faithful, orthodox Anglicans in relation to the nature, faithfulness and unity of the
Anglican Communion itself. This is inescapable because the Anglican Communion's present form with its present instruments of unity has proven incapable of successfully addressing this terrible crisis. Some sort of reformation seems necessary. What then are we to do?

Taking the problems in North America first, we note that the largest of the various orthodox bodies and societies have joined together in the "Common Cause Partnership." (They are: the American Anglican Council, Anglican Coalition in Canada, Anglican Communion Network, Anglican Mission in America, Anglican Network in Canada, Convocation of Anglicans in North America, Forward in Faith North America, Reformed Episcopal Church) This is a federation, under a faithful, brief statement of the common Anglican marks, which allows for some common planning and cooperation while
retaining almost total autonomy for the several pastoral and mission-active member
bodies. This Federation needs to move as quickly as possible into the form of an appropriate, if somewhat unique, province with its several dioceses and its own primate, and to be recognized as such by the faithful, global Anglican family (Global South) preferably by then in conciliar form. It also needs to be certain that the values listed above in the discussion of the marks of faithful Anglicanism are built into the structures of its common life. Special emphasis needs to be placed upon mission, especially through church-planting and evangelism in addition to the ministry of service or "diakonia." At the same time the Episcopal Church and the Church of Canada, having both popularly and officially departed from faithful Anglicanism, should either repent and align with a faithful Anglican Covenant or be
asked to "walk apart" from the Anglican Communion. This would produce one province
in North America and end the issue of "crossing of boundaries." The resulting orthodox province in North America, would be part of the common, faithful, global, confessing Anglican family, and could operate in an orderly and mission- minded fashion.

Taking next, the issue of the Anglican Communion itself, it seems apparent that we need to change the form of the Anglican Communion and to reform it in the ways listed above in the 4 marks. We need a clear statement of our core doctrine and mission, of our normative worship and of the manner of addressing the period of reception regarding women in ordained ministry. We also need to have a discernment procedure and a body with authority to discipline those provinces and dioceses which violate the common marks of the faithful Anglican Family and, as a last resort, to dismiss them from the Communion if need be. This means, at the least, a clear Communion-wide
Decree detailing these things.

In addition, a number of us believe that it is time for us as Anglicans to move ahead to adopt the conciliar form of the Church for our common global Anglican family. Our present form is really more like a global family picnic than a council. The early Church from biblical times onward held councils, not picnics. While our present form has held us together when all of the 4 marks above were commonly understood and affirmed, it has never been fully catholic in form and it simply doesn't work now. In addition, with regard to ecumenical conversations, a conciliar form of Communion would enable clearer and more easily recognized conversations and cooperation.

Therefore, we should do this because it is biblical, traditional, catholic, missional
and ecumenical. We should do this because it is timely and another opportunity might not be available to us for decades or longer or never. What is to be the relation of the faithful Anglican Global Family, united around a GAFCON or GAFCON-like declaration, to the present Anglican Communion? If we assume that the present Anglican Communion will not be reformed in accord with the essential marks of faithful, apostolic Anglicanism at the 2008 Lambeth Conference, there are only two
possibilities: one possibility is some form of impaired communion and the other is that of two totally independent families, not in communion with one another.

Impaired communion would be one in which the faithful Anglicans, having formed themselves into a faithful global family, would remain in the Anglican Communion claiming to be its true expression while sitting lightly to the present official structures of the present Anglican Communion, hoping to influence it for good, and giving time for those provinces initially undecided to align themselves with the faithful family. Those so aligned would be fully out of fellowship with those provinces remaining in the Anglican Communion that are revisionist in character. It is hard to see how this impaired communion could or should last over a long period of time, since the departure from biblical Faith in the revisionist parts of the
present Anglican Communion is as radical as it is. The departure is not just
a matter of human sexuality, but of biblical authority, of the uniqueness of
Christ, of the depth of sin and the redemption by God's grace, of the mission of the Church. Everything is twisted and distorted by this "fallen theology" and the present ecclesial structures are used by the unorthodox, when they achieve the majority, to oppress those who are faithful to the marks of faithful Anglicanism. In addition this theological disease has spread to many, if not most, of the Western provinces of the Communion and to those provinces influenced by the Western provinces and will surely
find its way wider and wider in the present Anglican Communion in the days ahead.

Impaired Communion is a bold, but in the long run if lasting too long, a dangerous option. Some are reluctant to take the more radical step of forming a new and
different Anglican Communion, which is not in communion with the present Anglican Communion. One can understand that reluctance, for such separations are painful like a death and it is a fact that the orthodox family is the true bearer of historic, faithful Anglicanism. Rather the unbiblical innovators and revisionist should be the ones to repent or leave should they refuse to repent. But, alas, they have the majority of the positions of authority both in most of the Western Provinces of the Communion and in large measure in the structures of the Anglican Communion and they are of no mind to leave or relinqui sh their authority or to repent. Since this is the case, this writer believes that should Lambeth 2008 refuse to be reformed in
accord with the marks of faithful Anglicanism, that a new faithful Anglican
conciliar Communion should be formed as soon as possible. The alternative seems to be a delay of the inevitable and dangerous to the persistence and mission of reformed Catholic Anglicanism.

III How might we do it

1. The GAFCON Contribution

We at GAFCON can and should form, commit ourselves to, and recommend to all Anglicans a Declaration, which is a statement of commitment and intent, calling for a Council. The Declaration should embody the marks of faithful Anglicanism and a process of discipline, for all those that are prepared to align themselves with it. This Decree can and should be taken to Lambeth 2008 by those of us who are attending Lambeth 2008 with a call that the Communion to so reform itself. The present Windsor "proposed Anglican Covenant," in both its initial and second form, falls greatly short of
embodying the marks of faithful Anglicanism; it does not authoritatively embody the doctrines of grace of the Reformation and thus fails in devotion to the Apostles teaching, nor does it challenge the autonomous character of the present provinces, leaving us with a toothless tiger. This is no time for half measures.

As a suggestion, those attending GAFCON who have been invited to Lambeth 2008, and are going to Lambeth 2008 should seek to inform those attending of the seriousness of the issue and the necessity for reform. All at Lambeth 2008 need to know of our intention to live by such a Declaration as GAFCON has endorsed, whether endorsed by Lambeth or not. We must no longer allow ourselves to be hindered or distracted from carrying out the discipleship and mission to which the Great Commission calls us and for which the Holy Spirit enables us.

2. The Global South Contribution; the Fourth Trumpet

Should Lambeth fail to adopt the GAFCON Declaration or reform itself according to the marks of faithful Anglicanism, then the Global South, the orthodox body that has led the way all during this time of turmoil, at its 4th meeting in January of 2009, should initiate the steps to leading to a Council in two years which would affirm the marks of faithful Anglicanism as discussed above and would begin the reformed Global
Anglican Family comprised of all of those provinces, dioceses and congregations as
wished and were able to align with it. It would thus initiate the reformed Anglican Family allowing it to take its place in the world, unattached from the present Anglican Communion.

IV Conclusion: Moving ahead in faithful Unity, Global Fellowship and Mission

The days of weak response are past. Error and repeated evasion and delay have cost us in the execution of our mission. The issues are far too serious, too serious for the spread of the Apostolic Gospel, and too serious for the preservation and vital work of faithful Anglicanism to procrastinate. No matter the pain or no matter the cost, we are called by the Lord to devote ourselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers while living in vigorous apostolic mission. That is what faithful Anglicanism is at its heart.