Posted on 12/09/2006 6:17:35 PM PST by sionnsar
African Church in "Severely Impaired Communion" with American Episcopal Church
Virtueonline has received the following statements from the Anglican Church in Tanzania
www.virtueonline.org
12/9/2006
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA
A STATEMENT OF THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA CONCERNING THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH (USA) IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR JUNE 2006 GENERAL CONVENTION
1. Mindful of the fact that the Anglican Church of Tanzania issued statements in 2003 following the election, confirmation and eventual consecration to the Episcopate of Gene Robinson a practicing homosexual clergyman, whereby we declared that henceforth we are not in communion, namely, communio in sacris, with:
i. Bishops who consecrate homosexuals to the episcopate and those Bishops who ordain such persons to the priesthood and the deaconate or license them to minister in their dioceses;
ii. Bishops who permit the blessing of same sex unions in their dioceses;
iii. Gay priests and deacons;
iv.Priests who bless same sex unions;
2. And because in their June 2006 General Convention, the Episcopal Church (USA) did not adequately respond to the requirement made to them by the Anglican Communion through the Windsor Report by their failure to register honest repentance for their actions that were contrary to the dictates of the Holy Scripture and the teaching of the Anglican Church as expressed in Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference and thereby indicating that they were deliberatively choosing to walk apart from the rest of the Anglican Communion;
3. Therefore after its meeting on 7th December 2006 in Dar es Salaam, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Tanzania hereby declares that its communion with the Episcopal Church (USA) is severely impaired but the Anglican Church of Tanzania remains in communion with those who are faithful to Biblical Christianity and authority of Scripture who remain in the Episcopal Church (USA) or have left or are considering leaving that church body for the same reasons that we have stated above.
4. Further to the consequent state of the severely impaired communion, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Tanzania declares that henceforth the Anglican Church of Tanzania shall not knowingly accept financial and material aid from Dioceses, parishes, Bishops, priests, individuals and institutions in the Episcopal Church (USA) that condone homosexual practice or bless same sex unions.
5. The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Tanzania declares that we are committed to concerted prayer for renewal in the Anglican Communion that will further the mission of Jesus Christ and will render greater glory to God.
6. Finally, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Tanzania hereby mandates the Primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania to forward this statement to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (USA), to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to all the Primates of the Anglican Communion.+++ 7th December 2006 DAR ES SALAAM
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA
A STATEMENT OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA CONCERNING THE CONSECRATION OF THE REV CANON GENE ROBINSON AS BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1. The Anglican Church of Tanzania hereby issues a statement opposing the action of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) in consecrating the Rev Canon Gene Robison, who is a homosexual, to the episcopate on the 2nd November, 2003. We declare that this is against the revelation of the Word of God and against the mind of the Anglican Church worldwide as expressed in the Lambeth Resolutions.
2. This statement of our Church springs from the fact that:
v. The Anglican Church of Tanzania remains obedient to the Word of God, that only a lawful union between a man and a woman constitutes marriage. This is the basis of the human family;
vi. The Anglican Church of Tanzania believes that homosexuality is contrary to the teaching of the Word of God. It is a sin.
3. Notwithstanding the fact that the Anglican Church of Tanzania warned ECUSA against consecrating Rev Canon Gene Robison, a homosexual, as Bishop, ECUSA went ahead and consecrated the man to the episcopate on 2nd November 2003.
4. Besides, although the Primates of the Anglican Church worldwide who met in London mid October, 2003, asked the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA to advise the Rev Canon Gene Robison not to accept the consecration to the episcopate in the Church, this advice has been ignored.
5. The act of consecrating a homosexual to the episcopate in the Church is contrary to the revelation of the World of God and pastorally very damaging. It amounts to the legitimization of sin instead of recalling the sinner to repentance. It has to be condemned unreservedly. This must be so because a Bishop is a leader of the Church and his lifestyle should witness to the ethics of the Gospel.
6. Because ECUSA has gone ahead and consecrated a homosexual person to the episcopate in the Church, the Anglican Church of Tanzania, hereby resolves and states:
b. We do not recognize the Rev Canon Gene Robison to be a bishop of the Church, nor shall we recognize any homosexual person who may be consecrated in future;
c. We shall not recognize the Ministry of Rev Canon Gene Robison as a Bishop of the Church because he is not; d. We declare that, henceforth we are not in communion, namely, communion in sacris, with:
i. Bishops who consecrate homosexuals to the episcopate and those Bishops who ordain such persons to the priesthood and the deaconate or license them to minister in their dioceses;
ii. Bishops who permit the blessing of same sex unions in their dioceses;
iii. Gay priests and deacons;
iv. Priests who bless same sex unions.
7. The Anglican Church of Tanzania recognizes that there are within ECUSA Bishops, priests and faithful people of God who are opposed to the consecration or ordination of homosexual persons in the Church of God. The Anglican Church of Tanzania assures them of her solidarity, support and unity and of the heartfelt desire to remain in communion with them in the unity of the true Christian faith.
8. The Anglican Church of Tanzania, therefore, resolves and states that:
e. It remains in communion with all faithful people of God in ECUSA; Bishops, priests and laity who oppose homosexuality and who uphold the orthodox faith of the Church and the teachings of the Anglican Church as contained, for instance, in the Lambeth Resolutions;
f. It asks ECUSA to make available to those who are opposed to the ministry of homosexuals to have access to pastoral care elsewhere. The Anglican Church of Tanzania is willing to offer such pastoral care, if requested to do so, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Primates of the Anglican Communion.++
The Most Reverend Donald Leo Mtetemela
ARCHBISHOP AND PRIMATE THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA
03 November 2003
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA
A STATEMENT OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA CONCERNING THE RESOLUTION OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE USA TO CONSECRATE A HOMOSEXUAL BISHOP
1. The Anglican Church of Tanzania, at a meeting of its Standing Committee held at Mtumba Rural Women Training Centre near Dodoma (Tanzania) on 31st October, 2003, has considered carefully the resolution of ECUSA at its 74th General Convention on 5th August, 2003, confirming Rev Canon Gene Robinson, who is a homosexual, as the new Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. 2. Rev Canon Gene Robinson divorced his wife and is now living with another man as husband and wife. This kind of relationship is what we refer in this Statement as homosexuality. 3. The Anglican Church of Tanzania has an obligation to issue a statement concerning the said resolution by ECUSA in recognition of the fact that this act goes against the revelation of the Word of God and against the mind of the Anglican Communion as expressed in the Lambeth Resolution (viz 1998).
4. The Standing Committee backs the stance of the Archbishop of Tanzania which he made clear in his recent letter to the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA expressing the pain and the anguish that the actions of ECUSA have caused our Church.
5. The issue of the ordination, even consecration, of homosexuals to the Holy Orders has been very much alive over the years in the Church in Europe and America. Eventually the issue of human sexuality and gay lifestyles was brought up at the Lambeth 1998 Bishops' Conference.
6. The Lambeth 1998 Conference, at which Bishops of the Anglican Church of Tanzania actively participated, and at which the Bishops of ECUSA were present too, issued a clear Statement in its Resolution 1:10:98 concerning human sexuality maintaining the teaching that:
a. In view of the teaching of the Scripture [the Anglican Church] upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage;
b. While rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, [the Church] calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sex orientation;
c. [The Church] cannot advise the legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions.
7. The position of the Anglican Church of Tanzania concerning human sexuality is the same as it has been revealed in the Holy Bible and as it was upheld at the Lambeth 1998 Conference. We believe that the homosexual lifestyle is contrary to the morality sanctioned by the Word of God and taught by the Church. 8. The Anglican Church of Tanzania embraces the teaching of the Word of God that marriage is the union between a man and a woman out of which union the human family is born. Homosexuality, on the contrary, cannot and will not be the basis of family life as sanctioned by the Will of God.
9. The Anglican Church of Tanzania declares that homosexuality is sin and that homosexuals lead sinful lives. These people need close pastoral care. They, like all other sinful persons, stand in need of love. They need to be helped out of their immoral lifestyle and not its legitimization.
10. The resolution of ECUSA confirming the Rev Canon Gene Robinson, who is a homosexual, as a Bishop runs contrary to Gospel's spirituality and the Lambeth Resolution quoted above. The decision is an act of disobedience both to the Word of God and to the Lambeth Resolution. It has been undertaken without any regard to its negative effects on the state of the unity of the Anglican Church worldwide. 11. The Anglican Church of Tanzania condemns unilateral acts of any Province that violate the foundations of the Anglican Church worldwide with little regard to the repercussions of such acts for the other Provinces in the Communion. One such example is the decision of the Diocese of New Hampshire to elect a homosexual person as Bishop, a decision that has been confirmed by ECUSA. Another example is the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada where rites for the blessing of same sex unions have been authorized.
12. The Anglican Church of Tanzania urges ECUSA to review and to retract its resolution to consecrate the Rev Canon Gene Robinson, who is a homosexual priest, or any other homosexual priest, to the episcopate. In doing so ECUSA would have respected the mainstream stance on the issue of human sexuality as required by the Word of God and the Lambeth Resolution. This way, ECUSA will help the Anglican Communion to avoid the looming danger of divisions within, a result of which will be a weakened unity.
13. In the spirit of Christian fraternal love we warn ECUSA that if they proceed with the consecration of Rev Canon Gene Robinson, the homosexual, to the episcopate they will be acting against the faith and order of the Church and, thereby separating themselves from the majority in the Anglican Church worldwide.
14. Even at this late hour, ECUSA can still take the opportunity of returning to the position acceptable to the Anglican Church on the divisive issue of human sexuality. Therefore, the Anglican Church of Tanzania again urges ECUSA, not to go ahead with its decision to consecrate the Rev Canon Gene Robinson, or any other homosexual person, for that matter, to the episcopate in the Church of God.++ The Most Reverend Donald Leo Mtetemela ARCHBISHOP AND PRIMATE THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA 01 November 2003
THE RESPONSE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TANZANIA ON THE WINDSOR REPORT 2004
A. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
1. The Anglican Church of Tanzania has received with appreciation the Windsor Report by the Lambeth Commission on Communion.
2. We extend our appreciation to the Chairperson of the Lambeth Commission, the Most Reverend Dr Robin Eames for undertaking this onerous task not only on behalf of the Anglican Communion but for the entire Church of Christ. Likewise, we thank all other members of the Commission.
3. We thank the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Douglas Williams for convening the Primates meeting in October 2003 and for establishing the Lambeth Commission. We also thank him for sending the Report to Provinces in October 2004 and for soliciting responses from each of the Provinces.
4. The Anglican Church of Tanzania has taken time to pray, consult, and reflect before responding to the Report so that our response reflects the desire and prayers of our people and the faith they have stood firm to uphold, live and defend. Therefore, although we decided not to respond specifically to the questionnaire that was distributed to Provinces, we believe that our response covers the questions raised in the questionnaire as well as some key issues and recommendations of the Report.
5. It is important that we do not loose sight of what has precipitated the current crisis in the Communion leading to the appointment of the Lambeth Commission on Communion. We should acknowledge that all this is a result of the following:
(a) Defiance of the Presiding Bishop of Episcopal Church (USA) and other key leaders of ECUSA to the plea of the Primates of our Communion not to proceed with the consecration of a person living in a homosexual relationship.
(b) Decision by the Episcopal Church (USA) to ignore Lambeth Resolution 1.10 which reaffirms the position of the Scripture and encapsulates the Anglican teaching on sexuality. Contrary to this, the Episcopal Church (USA) elected, confirmed, and consecrated a person living in a homosexual relationship as Bishop in the Church of God.
(c) The unilateral action and the unbiblical action of the Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada and the Diocese itself to authorise a rite for the blessing of same sex unions contrary to Scripture and the Anglican teachings on sexuality.
6. While noting the many areas covered in the Report, it is our view that the Report dwells more on the need for maintenance of unity of the Anglican Communion, than the issues of human sexuality that has led to appointment of the Commission on Communion. This has made the Report more abstract and academic and less accessible to many ordinary Anglicans, especially in our context.
B. ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WINDSOR REPORT
7. Like many other Anglican Churches worldwide, the Anglican Church of Tanzania accepts that the life of the Church should be based on Scripture, tradition and reason. However, our reading and understanding of the scripture is so crucial to our mission and ministry.
8. We acknowledge that no one approaches the Bible with an empty mind, and that a contextual reading of the Bible and Biblical interpretation is necessary. However, such interpretation can have a meaningful result only if the authority of the Bible and the tradition of the Church are recognized and upheld.
9. While the Anglican Church of Tanzania acknowledges that there may be different approaches to Biblical interpretation, and that there may be limitations of social, cultural and philosophical contexts when interpreting Scriptures, we firmly believe that the Bible does not compromise on issues such homosexuality and same sex unions.
10. On the need for a Covenant, it is our view as a Church that there is no need for such an arrangement at the moment if there is no mechanism in the Communion for insuring that Provinces would abide. Furthermore, we do not think that such a Covenant would be more significant than the Instruments of Unity that are already prone to violation (refer to the actions of the ECUSA and the Diocese of New Westminster). Those who have violated the existing Instruments of Unity, we believe, will also violate the Covenant, and will do so because in our opinion, they have departed from the Apostolic faith and the Church tradition we have inherited as Christians and Anglicans.
11. The Anglican Church of Tanzania is thankful to God that it is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. We pray and desire to continue to be members of the Anglican Communion. However, like so many other members of the Communion, especially in the Global South, we would like to emphasize the fact that the Communion, through its Instruments of Unity, should be in a position to reprimand its members who take unilateral decisions that compromise matters of great importance in Scriptures such as the meaning of marriage and family and sexuality thereby threatening the unity and integrity of the Communion.
12. The Anglican Church of Tanzania supports existence of the Anglican Communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury as the focus of unity. It is important for all Provinces to recognize the worldwide moral authority of the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Anglican Communion as a body and the potential such authority has for giving Christians a moral voice in societies where they carry out their mission and ministry, especially in contexts where Christians in general, and Anglicans in particular are a minority.
13. We would like to emphasize that it is the Good News of Christ that has not only given us eternal hope in Christ and courage in our sufferings of poverty and disease such as HIV & Aids pandemic, but has sustained us as we fight together with our partners to eradicate them.
14. The Anglican Church of Tanzania calls upon all members of the Communion to respect and use the Instruments of Unity - the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lambeth Conference; the Anglican Consultative Council; and the Primates Meeting.
15. The Anglican Church of Tanzania continues not to recognize Gene Robinson as Bishop not only because he is homosexual, but also because his homosexual life makes him neither acceptable nor translatable to many Provinces of the Communion (re. Para 131).
16. Mindful of what the report says (Para. 133), we request the Primates of the Communion to join the Anglican Church of Tanzania in refusing to recognise Gene Robinson as Bishop, and to urge the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (USA) to ask the Bishop of the See of New Hampshire to resign.
17. We further urge the Dioceses and Bishops of the Episcopal Church (USA) who consecrated Gene Robinson to repent for their defiance against the pleas of the Anglicans worldwide and for consecrating a homosexual as bishop and to repent to God for their sinful action since we believe homosexuality is contrary to teaching of the Scriptures.
18. We appreciate the call of the moratorium in the Windsor Report, that those who bless same sex unions be invited to express regret. Nonetheless, we believe that rather than expressing mere regret, Bishops, priests and Dioceses that authorize such rites should repent, and stop such actions. Indeed, continuation of such actions should be regarded by the rest of the Communion as a declaration of the intention to leave the Communion and self-exclusion from it.
19. On care of dissenting groups within the Episcopal Church (USA) and in the Diocese of New Westminster, we believe that it is unfair to call upon Bishops of the intervening Provinces and Dioceses to express regret because such a call does not take into consideration the root causes of the actions of such Bishops, namely the defiance of both the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Diocese of New Westminster.
C. WAY FORWARD AND CONCLUSION
20. Taking into consideration what has been said in the foregoing sections, including reflection on the Windsor Report and its recommendations, the Anglican Church of Tanzania would like to conclude and plead as follows:
(a) As stated in our statement in November 2003 we reiterate that we do not recognize Rev Canon V. Gene Robinson. Therefore we call upon him to repent and resign as Bishop of New Hampshire so as to allow the election of a new bishop who will be acceptable and translatable to the worldwide Anglican community. We believe that such resignation would help repair the damage caused and strengthen the Communion.
(b) We call upon the Presiding Bishop of the ECUSA and all the Bishops who participated in the consecration of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson; and the Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster to apologize and repent not for the consequences of the actions only but for condoning homosexuality, and for disregarding the Lambeth Resolution, the plea from the Primates, and for threatening the survival of the Anglican Communion.
(c) The Anglican Church of Tanzania recognizes the Anglican Network in America as a credible and legitimate body that caters for the Anglicans who feel marginalized within the structures of ECUSA but who want to remain part of the Anglican Communion.
(d) We urge the Primates of the Anglican Communion to accept and accommodate the Anglican Network in the workings of the Communion so as to bring all Anglicans in the United States of America to the Church of God.
(e) The Anglican Church of Tanzania is willing to provide pastoral care and Episcopal oversight to those who find themselves marginalized within the structures of the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Diocese of New Westminster.
(f) Officially, and nationally, the Anglican Church of Tanzania has not accepted requests for provision of pastoral care and Episcopal oversight from those who are marginalized within ECUSA and the Diocese of New Westminster because the Primates have not yet made an arrangement for provision of such care and Episcopal oversight. We therefore call upon the Primates of the Communion to provide for and make such an arrangement at the earliest possible time.
(g) We urge the Primates of the Anglican Communion to declare ECUSA and the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada as mission areas. By declaring ECUSA and the Diocese of New Westminster mission areas we believe we will be expressing our Christian obligation of love and charity and the fulfilling of the Gospel mandate.
(h) In our opinion, the Dioceses and parishes of ECUSA and the Diocese of New Westminster have become mission areas because they condone homosexuality and in doing so, have departed from the Apostolic faith and Anglican tradition on the status of homosexuals.
(i) We further ask the Primates of the Anglican Communion not to regard as intruders the Bishops from other Provinces who offer pastoral oversight to beleaguered Anglican orthodox congregations in Dioceses and parishes of ECUSA; and the Diocese of New Westminster, but as missionaries sent by God to re-evangelise ECUSA and the Diocese of New Westminster.
21. Finally, as has been indicated above, the Anglican Church of Tanzania will continue to support all that is aimed at strengthening the Communion but would like to state that the continuing existence of the Anglican Communion will be sustained not through legalism and formalism but through respect of the Holy Scripture and its authority, as well as decisions and recommendations of the Instruments of Unity.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. ping
I'm a bit confused. In some places this church says that communion is impaired with TEC and in others it declares that it is not in communion with various bishops within TEC. What exactly is "impaired communion with TEC"?
Bet the only thing that's going to upset Vicki Gene is that the Archbishop misspelled his name . . .
As I am not a member of any church that has declared "impaired communion," nor have I seen definition of the term, I can only guess. But this is what it looks like to me:
1. Tanzania has declared that they are not in communion with various bishops (etc.) in TEC. Not at all.
2. Tanzania has expressed support for and desire for (continued) communion with certain elements within TEC.
Inferred: Tanzania does not want to declare that they are out of communion with *all* of TEC, because of the elements in #2. Therefore "impaired communion" does not mean "we are in a degraded state of communion with all of you" -- it means "we wish to preserve communion with some of you but not all of you."
That's this Anglican engineer's reading of "impaired", anyway. Maybe a lawyer could do better...
Then again, this raises the question you've noted before of communion with some in a larger organization that's 'out' -- but I think you're trying to see an endpoint in what are the middle of some Entish-Anglican processes. It may be that "impaired" can be defined as a preliminary warning.
"Inferred: Tanzania does not want to declare that they are out of communion with *all* of TEC, because of the elements in #2. Therefore "impaired communion" does not mean "we are in a degraded state of communion with all of you" -- it means "we wish to preserve communion with some of you but not all of you."
You know, in a sense and at a very, very basic level, this is Orthodox. Orthodoxy teaches that the fullness of The Church is found in an individual diocese and that any structure beyond that is really administrative. The glue which holds The Church, in a global sense, is the communion among its bishops in various dioceses. That communion in a theological sense is horizontal while in a purely administrative sense it is within a patriarchate or autonomous church both horizontal and vertical and among the patriarchates and autonomous churches similarly horizontal. In practice, the breaking of communion by one synod of bishops is not done with individual bishops but rather with the primate of the other church and by extension with the bishops of his synod who remain in communion with him. This is because one may not be in communion with those who are in communion with heretics. This system could even work in a slightly different way, for example when a member of a synod of a church falls into heresy, the primate of another sui juris church might insist that the primate of the former church break communion with the heretic. If that primate refused to do so, communion would be broken with that primate, etc.
I wonder if that is, in fact, what we are seeing here, or at least the beginning of that process?
Here's how I read it...
The statement appears to differentiate communion between the apostate and the orthodox within TEC. The official hierarchy and TEC overall are in impaired communion, however, the orthodox within TEC who do not support the official TEC position can still be in full communion with the Tanzian church on a diocesan, parish or individual level.
Huber is correct, albeit without defining "impaired." I am guessing that we might all be agreed on this (at least until TEC comes forth with some statement that blows all this away...).
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.