EPISCOPAL PRIMATE?.....
Posted on 03/04/2005 8:51:22 AM PST by GMMAC
Same-sex issuing dividing church
THE LONDON FREE PRESS
Tue, March 1, 2005
By Rory Leishman
Following last week's closed-door meeting of Anglican primates in Northern Ireland, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, told the Anglican Journal he had feared the gathering would expel the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church of the United States from the worldwide Anglican Communion.
As it is, the primates stopped just short of declaring an outright schism by requesting that the Canadian and United States churches "voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference (in 2008)." The council is a representative body of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion that provides advice on church policy.
Bishop Michael Ingham of the Diocese of New Westminster helped bring on this crisis of unity in 2002 by authorizing a blessing rite for same-sex couples. In 2003, the Episcopal bishops in the United States aggravated matters by consecrating as bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson, a man who had left his wife and children to live in a conjugal union with another man.
In taking these actions, Ingham and the U.S. bishops violated the teachings of the church as reaffirmed by the Lambeth Conference of bishops in 1998 that Christians are obligated to display compassion and concern for homosexuals, yet insist that sexual intercourse should be confined within marriage between a man and a woman.
In an attempt to hold the diverse Anglican Communion together, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, appointed a special Lambeth Commission on Communion. In October, the commission asked Ingham and the U.S. bishops to express regret for their actions. Ingham and Griswold have refused to comply. In November, Hutchison said: "If two people want their relationship blessed, I don't have a problem with that. This isn't same-sex marriage; that's not on the radar screen. All we're talking about is just blessing same-sex relationships."
Is that right? In a report to Ralph Spence, the Bishop of Niagara, on Feb. 1, Canon Peter Scott of St. Mark's, Orangeville, observed: "Looking down the road, I think that the Anglican Church of Canada will allow for a local option to perform same-sex marriage and this, for me, would not be a reason to leave." In arriving at this flexible position, Scott was no doubt mindful that in November, the diocese of Niagara approved the blessing of same-sex unions.
Meanwhile, the orthodox primates have invited representatives of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church of the United States to a special meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in June to set out the thinking behind the divisive actions of their churches. The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that avoiding a split in the church "will require people somewhere along the line to say, 'Yes, we were wrong.' "
Will Hutchison and Griswold admit they were wrong?
That's doubtful.
While Griswold has reiterated his view that the ordination of Robinson was "right and proper," Hutchison has shown no sign of backing away from his support for an unprecedented resolution of the Canadian General Synod last June which affirmed "the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships."
Nine orthodox Canadian Bishops promptly denounced this extraordinary resolution as "contrary to the teaching of Scripture and the tradition of the undivided church, the clearly expressed conviction of the Anglican Communion at the Lambeth Conference of 1998, the overwhelming ecumenical consensus of the church inside Canada and abroad, and the 1997 guidelines of our own House of Bishops."
Clearly, the Anglican Church of Canada is a house divided. While the majority of bishops have conformed their thinking to current fashion of the world, the minority are determined to think with the eternal mind of Christ so that they might know what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
What will happen if, as Hutchison fears, the Anglican Church of Canada is expelled from the Anglican Communion? Faithful Anglicans in the pews can only hope and pray that the nine remaining orthodox bishops will help found a new Anglican Church in Canada dedicated to upholding the love and truth of Christ in continuing communion with the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
EPISCOPAL PRIMATE?.....
FYI
I bet the divide isn't anywhere close to 50-50.
The Lutheran Church (ELCA) needs to be added to the long list of churches that either are or will be thrown into crisis by the aggressiveness of gay right advocates.
Main Entry: pri'mate
Pronunciation: *pr*-*m*t or esp for 1 -m*t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English primat, from Old French, from Medieval Latin primat-, primas archbishop, from Latin, leader, from primus
Date: 13th century
1 often capitalized : a bishop who has precedence in a province, group of provinces, or a nation
2 archaic : one first in authority or rank : LEADER
3 [New Latin Primates, from Latin, plural of primat-, primas] : any of an order (Primates) of mammals comprising humans, apes, monkeys, and related forms (as lemurs and tarsiers)
-pri'mate-ship \-*ship\ noun
--pri-ma'tial \pr*-*m*-sh*l\ adjective
The conservatives seem to have fallen for the traditional liberal trick of delaying until they can arrange to get the result they want.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this moderately high-volume ping list (typically 3-7 pings/day).
This list is pinged by sionnsar and newheart.
Resource for Traditional Anglicans: http://trad-anglican.faithweb.com
Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
Last I heard, the ELCA hierarchy issued yet another official sidestep on the sexuality issue in order to keep the denomination from experiencing severe collection-plate hemorrhaging. Look for the Missouri Synod to pick up ELCA Lutherans who still read their Bibles.
There seems to be quite a few of us. Perhaps we will see entire nations return to Rome such as Uganda.
"Faith & Family" ping
"a former Anglo-Catholic now in full Communion with Rome"
Come on in! The water's terrible!
1 "Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD,
"Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
That they may add sin to sin; - Isaiah 30:1
If only they had cajones.
thanx
=== Gene Robinson, a man who had left his wife and children to live in a conjugal union with another man.
You've lost the war if you go to battle using words like "conjugal union" to describe homosexual relationships.
I didn't get the impression he did ... far from it.
But it's odd, is it not, that a society as consumed with sex as is ours has only the one word with which to describe all manner of wholly disparate sexual acts. "Anal sex" being one of the most appallingly common distortions at work today thanks to the increasingly homosexual conditioning of the American male through porn.
You would think we'd have as many "real words" for sexual acts as the Eskimos have for snow.
(The vulgarity and slang to which for-profit "Free Speech" has accustomed all being little more than the inarticulate grunting of the so-called Enlightened and Liberated Naked Ape.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.