Sunday, 25 October 2009 14:01
A Pastoral Exhortation to the Faithful in the Anglican Communion
1. We, under-shepherds of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church of
Jesus Christ, bring greetings to the faithful in the Anglican Communion.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
For in his great love for us, we are no longer foreigners and aliens, but
fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as
the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and
rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being
built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit
(Ephesians 2: 19-22).
2. The Vatican announcement on Apostolic Constitution (Note of The
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about Personal Ordinariates for
Anglicans entering the Catholic Church) gives us an occasion in making the
following pastoral exhortation.
3. We welcome Pope Benedict XVI's stance on the common biblical teaching on
human sexuality, and the commitment to continuing ecumenical dialogue.
4. At the same time we believe that the proposed Anglican Covenant sets the
necessary parameters in safeguarding the catholic and apostolic faith and
order of the Communion. It gives Anglican churches worldwide a clear and
principled way forward in pursuing God's divine purposes together in the
one, holy, catholic and apostolic church of Jesus Christ. We urge churches
in the Communion to actively work together towards a speedy adoption of the
Covenant.
5. In God's gracious purposes the Anglican Communion has moved beyond the
historical beginnings and expressions of English Christianity into a
worldwide Communion, of which the Church of England is a constitutive part.
In view of the global nature of the Communion, matters of faith and order
would inevitably have serious ramifications for the continuing well-being
and coherence of the Communion as a whole, and not only for Provinces of the
British Isles and The Episcopal Church in the USA. We urge the Archbishop of
Canterbury to work in close collegial consultation with fellow Primates in
the Communion, act decisively on already agreed measures in the Primates'
Meetings, and exercise effective leadership in nourishing the flock under
our charge, so that none would be left wandering and bereft of spiritual
oversight.
6. As Primates of the Communion and guardians of the catholic and apostolic
faith and order, we stand in communion with our fellow bishops, clergy and
laity who are steadfast in the biblical teaching against the ordination of
openly homosexual clergy, the consecration of such to the episcopate, and
the blessing of homosexual partnerships. We also urge them, as fellow
Anglicans, to continue to stand firm with us in cherishing the Anglican
heritage, in pursuing a common vocation, in expressing our unity and common
life, and in maintaining our covenanted life together.
7. In the closing words of the Anglican Covenant: With joy and with firm
resolve, we offer ourselves for fruitful service and binding ourselves more
closely in the truth and love of Christ, to whom with the Father and the
Holy Spirit be glory for ever. Amen. "Now may the God of Peace, who brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the
blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that
you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews
13.20, 21)
25th October 2009
Global South Primates Steering Committee:
President: The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, Nigeria General
Secretary: The Most Revd John Chew, Southeast Asia
Treasurer: The Most Revd Mouneer Anis, Jerusalem and the Middle East.
Members: The Most Revd Emmanuel Kolini, Rwanda
The Most Revd Stephen Than Myint Oo, Myanmar
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/weblog/comments/pastoral_exhort
ation/
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