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In one hour of work by the House of Deputies on Tuesday afternoon, there was a double triumph for the New Episcopal Religion, and a double punch in the face of the Anglican Communion of Churches. First of all, two major requests of The Windsor Report were refused. The Resolution, which urged the cessation of the consecration of actively homosexual persons and of the blessing of same-sex couples, (but which also apologized to the Lesbian and Gay people of the pain they feel) was clearly defeated and thus it was not sent on to the House of Bishops. It is...

Two months from this date, on June 21, the Episcopal Church's General Convention will be ending. The Episcopal Church will have a Presiding Bishop, and, more importantly, the General Convention will have taken action on the Windsor Report. The Episcopal Church has before it the recommendations of a special commission that was called to study the relationship of the Episcopal Church to the Anglican Communion, and to begin the process of crafting a response from the General Convention to the Windsor Report. StoryReport It's possible to read into this report that it's a good start. Ha! Before you get your...

Has ECUSA blinked? Sitting in the airport, waiting to catch a plane back to Phoenix from the North Carolina House of Bishops meeting gives me a chance to add my own unofficial “Word to the Church” as an introduction to the official published document, which I have included below in case you have not already seen it. There were several large and important issues we dealt with at this meeting. We were very much aware that many in our own country, not to mention the wider Anglican Communion, were waiting to see how we would react to the Windsor Report...

"Primates should take lead in forming new Anglican Communion if no discipline available and no official instrument for reform is forthcoming" The Lambeth Commission in its Windsor Report "recommended and urged the primates to consider the adoption by the churches of the Communion of a common Anglican Covenant which would make explicit and forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection which govern the relationships between the Churches of the Communion" [Windsor Report, pp. 62-64]. A Covenant for Communion in Mission. News Analysis By David W. Virtue www.virtueonlline.org BIRMINGHAM, AL. (1/14/2006)--There is a race on in the Anglican Communion to produce...

The Report of the Lambeth Commission is flawed fundamentally because it refuses to take up the substantial issue that caused its coming into existence: the issue of homosexuality. "Process" statements will not suffice at this juncture in Anglican church history. Theological "conservatives" can take heart from most of the findings of the Report, although it is deficient in equating the New Hampshire consecration with the crossing of diocesan boundaries on the part of "orthodox" bishops and primates. Two further problems with the Report are its ambiguous use of the Bible in relation to an issue on which the Bible is...

The following letter was sent to the Senior Wardens in all ECUSA churches in Dean D.O. Smart’s Anglican Communion Network 20 state area, called a convocation. It has the ACN logo and the ACN title prominently at the top.———————————-To: Senior Wardens within the ACN Mid-Continental ConvocationBeloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, There has never been a more critical time in the lives of the people in the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) is a part. It appears increasingly likely that, at its General Convention in June 2006, the Episcopal Church USA will...

As the anniversary of the Windsor Report comes and goes, one is compelled to ask: what has been accomplished? The answer, it seems, is precious little.Let’s rehearse a brief history of the run-up to the Windsor Report.• August 1998: The Lambeth Conference, by an overwhelming majority, passes Resolution 1.10 on Human Sexuality, stating that homosexual practice is “contrary to Scripture” and “cannot be advised.” • May 2002: The Diocese of New Westminster approves same-sex blessings, and the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada affirms the integrity of same-sex relationships in June 2004. • August 2003: In spite of...

In February of this year, the Primates of the Anglican Communion suggested that the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) ask “representatives” of ECUSA to “set out the thinking behind the recent actions of their Province”, “in accordance with paragraph 141 of the Windsor Report”.   This paragraph, in turn, had asked that ECUSA “demonstrate to the rest of the Communion why [proposed rites for same-sex blessings] meet the criteria of scripture, tradition and reason” and “how public Rites of Blessing for same sex unions would constitute growth in harmony with the apostolic tradition as it has been received”.  Kenneth Kearon, whose office...

Representatives of the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) gathered for their second annual Council meeting April 18 – 20, 2005 in Bedford, Texas. In addition to delivering and hearing reports on the substantial growth and progress of the ACN, participants addressed issues related to their missionary focus, including church planting, global mission, ministry to youth, and outreach to the poor. “We recognize that our future in Anglicanism contains great possibilities, and we are preparing for it in many ways,” said ACN Moderator Robert Duncan. “Our meeting was marked by a sense of passion and purpose as well as tremendous energy and...

Judging from the following press release in response to the House of Bishops' statement, Integrity is pretty clear about a couple of things: 1. If everyone can't get on board with its agenda, then everyone should be made to suffer.2. There will be no moratorium on same-sex blessings.In other words, they no longer wish to remain part of the Anglican Commuinion.The Windsor Report and the Dromantine Communique make it crystal clear: The Anglican Communion requests that ECUSA, in the interest of maintaining unity in the communion, cease developing or performing same-sex blessings. It's unlikely that a lady as smart as...

Bishops of the Episcopal Church U.S.A., under pressure from leaders in the international Anglican communion not to approve another openly gay bishop, went a step further and agreed not to approve any new bishops for a year. The bishops said that they needed to take such an "extraordinary action" in order to "contribute to a time of healing" in the global communion, where fractures over homosexuality deepened after the American church consecrated an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire in 2003. After a six-day retreat and meeting in Navasota, Tex., that ended today, the American bishops also pledged not to...

Traditionalist Anglicans around the world reacted to the news the primates of the Anglican Communion had suspended the Episcopal Church from membership in the 70 million member bodies' international council with a mixture of elation and caution. Conservative leader Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh called the February 25 communiqué an "epochal" moment in the life of the church, while the archbishop of Sydney adopted a wait-and-see attitude. The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, summoned the leaders of the 38 member churches of the Anglican Communion to Newry, Northern Ireland, to discuss the Windsor Report. The study, released in October, was...

FOR WAYWARD SHEPHERDS, A WELL-EARNED REPROACH National Post Monday 28 Feb 2005 Page: A14 Section: Editorials By Ian Hunter Church pronouncements -- at least those from the hierarchy of the Anglican Church -- are usually phrased in a gelatinous and unctuous prose that obscures meaning. A striking exception is last week's communique from the 35 global primates (i.e., senior bishops from around the world) after they met for a week in Northern Ireland. The sections of their communique that deal with homosexuality in the Church are remarkably free of ecclesiastical bafflegab. And that is bad news for the Anglican Church...

nglican Essentials Canada welcomes the communique issued this evening by the Primates of the Anglican Communion gathered together in Northern Ireland. Of particular interest to us are points 14 and 15: 14. Within the ambit of the issues discussed in the Windsor Report and in order to recognise the integrity of all parties, we request that the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference. During that same period we request that both churches respond through their relevant constitutional bodies...

A Statement by the American Anglican Council and the Anglican Communion Network February 24, 2005 For Immediate Release February 24, 2005 Contact: Cynthia P. Brust 202-412-8721 A Statement by the American Anglican Council and the Anglican Communion Network “We are thankful for the work of the Primates of the Anglican Communion in addressing the complicated issues before them this week. This is a pivotal moment in Anglican history in which Biblical faithfulness has been reaffirmed. At last a clear and unequivocal choice has been presented to the Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada. Being asked voluntarily to...

LONDON (AP) -- Anglican primates agreed Thursday that the U.S. Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada would withdraw from a key body of the global Anglican Communion after failing to overcome internal church disagreements about the election of a gay bishop in the United States and the blessing of same-sex unions there and in Canada.

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

NEWRY, Northern Ireland (2/24/205)--The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada could face suspension from the Anglican Communion, 35 Primates have decided in closed door meetings at the Dromantine center a secluded Roman Catholic retreat house. Disciplinary action has been taken, and the two provinces' membership is under review following their actions over gay ordinations and same sex blessings. After three days of open, honest and very frank discussion by the Primates, VirtueOnline was told that the Primates had "reached a conclusion." Both provinces could face suspension at the end of three months if they fail to implement...

ACNS 3948 | ACO | 24 FEBRUARY 2005 The Anglican Communion Primates’ Meeting Communiqué, February 2005 1. As Primates of the Anglican Communion and Moderators of the United Churches, we gathered at the Dromantine Retreat and Conference Centre, Newry, in Northern Ireland, between 20th and 25th February, 2005, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Thirty-five of us were present at this meeting (i). We are extremely grateful for the warmth of the welcome to Dromantine that we have received from members of the Roman Catholic Society of African Missions who run the Retreat Centre, and...

Gathered this week in Northern Ireland, senior bishops of the Anglican Communion are seeking to maintain unity in the global body amid the most difficult circumstances in the denomination's history. They are meeting for the first time since the release of a major report which called for the Episcopal Church, the US branch of Anglicanism, to repent for consecrating a gay bishop and allowing same-sex ceremonies, and to agree to a moratorium on such actions. Anglican leaders in developing nations have threatened schism if appropriate action is not taken. ....... US mainline churches have been riven by the debate for...