Jordan Hylden Continues His Analysis of the Unfolding Future of ECUSA & the Communion

Stand Firm ^ | 11/27/2006 | Sarah Hey

[sionnsar]

"To her credit, Bishop Schori has always been quite forthright about her intentions. Prior to her election as presiding bishop, she told a liberal Episcopalian magazine that:

As a church we have got to be better self-differentiated. We have to decide what it is we are going to stand for and be clear about it, and then say “these are the consequences.” Yes, Anglicans don’t much like to do that, but we do do it about some things. . . . I think we are getting there about the issues that are dividing us right now.

In the Anglican world, which tends to treat theological fuzziness as a virtue (we call it “comprehensiveness”), these are fighting words. With great frequency and clarity, she has committed herself to the full affirmation of homosexual practice, including ordination to the episcopate and same-sex marriage. This, she has stated, is the “reasonable conclusion and consensus” of the Episcopal Church, regardless of the contrary decisions of the Anglican Communion as a whole and the continued objection of a sizeable minority within ECUSA. In fact, she has said that their continued objection is “schismatic,” distracts from the real mission of the church (i.e., social justice), and will no longer be tolerated."

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I disagree with Mr. Hylden about only one thing in his article and I am "leary" about another.

First, I am not in the least nostalgic for Frank Griswold. For one thing, I consider him to be a Liar. I believe that he used words, evacuated of meaning and "written in water", with a callous, deliberate, conscious, manipulative desire to pull the wool over traditional Episcopalians' eyes -- in the best tradition of so many parish priests -- while forging ahead with his clear revisionist agenda.

In contrast, Bishop Jefferts Schori is brazenly, defiantly clear in her language, in her intentions, and in her actions.

She is a Gift from God to us.

Second, I am "leary" about whether 815 believes that ECUSA will end up in a "final break" with Canterbury. I think they believe that they will "pull it off": drag everything out with no official Communion consequences for their defiance of the Windsor Report, wait out an interminable "covenant process", and then joyfully await the retirement of the current Archbishop of Canterbury some time around 2009/2010, only to begin the whole "process" again with a new ABC.

Hey -- I disagree with the Terminal Optimist Matt Kennedy, so I should certainly not give Mr. Hylden a pass on this!

Read the whole luscious analysis on the home page of First Things magazine, which incidentally is one of my top five favorite magazines. What about buying a few gift subscriptions of that, along with The Living Church and Mars Hill Audio for some of your more discriminating Episcopal friends? All of us could do with a bit of "larnin'". ; > )

EXCERPT:

"The problem is that she is on a direct collision course with the rest of the Anglican Communion. And, while she will not admit it in so many words, it has become increasingly clear that Bishop Schori and her supporters know perfectly well that their actions will end in a final break with Canterbury and the Global South. The church’s Executive Council has already proposed the formation of an “Anglican Convocation of the Americas,” comprising liberal churches such as ECUSA, Canada, and Brazil. Even the Episcopal Church’s name no longer officially includes reference to the United States, which Bishop Schori has stated reflects the “transnational” character (better put, “ambition”) of the church. Liberal voices from England and elsewhere have signaled their desire to join such a convocation, which almost certainly will set itself up as a “progressive” alternative to mainstream Anglicanism.

Quite obviously, this puts Episcopalians who wish to remain in full communion with Canterbury in a bind. This past September, nearly a quarter of diocesan bishops met at Camp Allen, Texas, and stated their firm desire to remain both Episcopalian and Anglican. The hope, which still is expressed by many, is that a compromise solution will be reached, allowing the Camp Allen bishops to provide a safe haven within the Episcopal Church for those who continue to profess Anglican orthodoxy.

That hope is not dead, but it is becoming more and more unlikely by the day. The actions of Bishop Schori have so far demonstrated that she does not intend to allow Episcopalians to do anything less than adhere fully to the decisions of General Convention, however they may conflict with the rest of the Communion. The Camp Allen bishops, if they are to have any chance at succeeding in their goal, must firmly and consistently articulate their opposition to what so clearly is happening to the Episcopal Church. If they do not do so, the rise of Bishop Schori will constitute the clearest example in years of the truth of Neuhaus’ Law: “Where orthodoxy is optional, it will sooner or later be proscribed.”

[sionnsar]

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