Primates from the 38 national churches which comprise the Anglican Communion met recently in Northern Ireland over the growing rift caused by the ordination of an openly homosexual bishop in the Episcopal Church U.S.A., and the blessing of same-sex unions by clerics in both the American church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
The senior bishops of the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members worldwide, asked both the U.S. and Canadian churches to withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council, a global, elected advisory body which next meets in June. That sanction will remain in place until 2008, when the Anglican Communion will hold its once-in-a-decade meeting in England.
The primates also gave both North American churches three months to explain their positions on openly gay clergy and same-sex unions, and urged a moratorium on both policies.
That resulted in a subsequent six-day meeting, called by bishops of the 2.3-million-member Episcopal Church in Texas.
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church adopted “A Covenant Statement” that called for a temporary halt to the naming of all bishops, and the establishment of formal blessings for same-sex couples, at least until the church’s next General Convention in June, 2006.
Presiding Episcopal Bishop Frank Griswold said, approval of the document was a “conciliatory step” toward the leaders of some Anglican churches, especially in Africa, who have cut ties to the U.S. church since openly homosexual Bishop V. Gene Robinson was consecrated, in November, 2003.
Griswold, who supported Robinson’s election, called the moratorium “an amazing, positive and life-giving moment for the bishops.”
“There was overwhelming support and very much a sense that, if there’s going to be a moratorium, we should all fulfill it, bearing one another’s burdens,” Griswold told Religion News Service.
Since Robinson became bishop, Episcopal leaders have apologized for causing anguish to other Anglicans, but have not said they were wrong. The “Covenant Statement” takes a similar approach, expressing “deep regret for the pain that others have experienced.”
Robinson helped craft the all-inclusive moratorium, which was worded so as not to discriminate against our “gay brothers and sisters.” Although the Covenant Statement is technically in compliance with the directive from the Anglican archbishops, it left a loophole for Episcopal priests to conduct blessings of same-sex unions on their own authority.
A “Word to the Church” was issued by the House of Bishops following the conclusion of their meeting.
“We believe that the Covenant Statement we have made has been achieved under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our covenant expresses remarkable convergences among us during these days and emerged from our mutual desire to speak as one House, embracing widely divergent points of view. We sensed a profound solidarity and willingness to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
We pray that this Covenant Statement will be seen by brother and sister Anglicans as responding to some of their concerns. We pray that our overwhelming support for the Covenant may be a sign to them of our unwavering commitment to life in communion.
We pray as well that our Covenant will be useful for us all in healing relationships and opening the way for renewed solidarity in the service of Christ’s work of reconciliation. We believe our Covenant Statement is a reflection of a fresh spirit of mutual forbearance and reconciliation among us. We faced into our deep divisions with an openness that has not characterized our recent past. We believe this marks the beginning of a new day in our life together as bishops and as the Episcopal Church.”
The head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, commended the U.S. bishops’ response to the disunity within Anglicanism.
“I welcome this constructive response from ECUSA’s House of Bishops. They have clearly sought to respond positively to the requests made of them in the Windsor Report and in the Communique issued after the recent Primates Meeting. It is clear that there has been a real willingness to engage with the challenges posed,” Williams said.
However, the Rev. David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council, which stands for orthodoxy in the church, issued a sharp response to the communications issued by the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops.
“The Covenant Statement and the Word to the Church issued by the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops is insulting to the Primates of the Anglican Communion. While it aims at specific requests of the 2004 Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communique, it fails to fulfill clear expectations outlined therein.
Bishops also declared a moratorium on blessings of same-sex unions, but J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, violated the spirit of this pledge before the sun set on the covenant’s passage. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said he would ‘not impose his conscience’ on priests in the six-county Los Angeles diocese. ‘They are free to bless same-sex unions if they wish,’ he said. Episcopal News in Los Angeles clearly underscored the loophole in their report as well: ‘The bishops said they themselves would refrain from performing such blessings for the time being. Clergy in dioceses that already practice same-sex blessings will be allowed to choose whether to continue the practice.’
How can faithful Episcopalians view such doublespeak from Episcopal leaders as anything but duplicitous?
With regard to the so-called moratoriums on consecrations, I am outraged that the House of Bishops drew equivalence between single or married individuals with those living in homosexual partnerships. To place a moratorium on all consecrations not only takes the episcopacy hostage to the homosexual agenda, but also places several dioceses in crisis. Canon law requires that bishops must retire at age 72–what happens in those dioceses where their bishop faces mandatory retirement? Revisionist bishops will be placed in dioceses rather than individuals duly elected by diocesan convention. This is an appalling idea that represents a great threat to biblically faithful dioceses and congregations.
In summation, the House of Bishops claims a desire to remain part of the worldwide communion, but seems not to understand what that entails. The Covenant fails to offer long-term, sustainable solutions, and, at best, simply postpones inevitable conversations about the clear and ultimate choice before us–walking together or walking apart. The mandate of the primates is before us all: Choose this day whom you shall serve,” Anderson stated.
Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, leader of the Anglican Communion Network, a group of several conservative Episcopal dioceses, said, the House of Bishops’ action fell short of what world church leaders wanted.
“I believe the real news from this meeting of the House of Bishops is that we have finally begun to be honest about what we did at General Convention 2003 and what the consequences are. Moreover, we began openly to engage the thought that our differences within the Anglican Communion may be irreconcilable. In particular, we examined the complete breakdown of trust among some groups within the House, and perceptions of abuses and power on the one hand, and unhelpful tactics on the other, which have brought us to the breaking point.
The Anglican Communion Network remains resolute in its commitment to full compliance with the Primates expectations as outlined in their communiqué, as well as to the historic Christian faith and order as concerns human identity and holy matrimony under the Word of God, written as the ultimate rule and standard. We are also seeking to work as closely and collaboratively as possible with other Episcopal Church leaders to find a way forward that will fully address the depth of the crisis we face, while seeking to honor the conscience and concerns of all in the Body of Christ,” Duncan said.
The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, an advocacy group for gay Episcopalians, was pleased that the House of Bishops issued a moratorium on the naming of any new bishops, not just homosexual ones.
“We perceive this as a bold move that brings the whole Episcopal Church into solidarity with those who suffer because of the sin of homophobia. However, it is inevitable that clergy across the land will continue to respond pastorally to the needs of same-sex couples by conducting public blessings of their relationships. Any step back from the blessing of unions communicates a second class status to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) people–which Integrity believes grieves the heart of God and hampers the church’s evangelism efforts.
Integrity remains committed to nothing less than the full inclusion of all the baptized in the Body of Christ. We will continue to advocate in every way possible for the equality of same-sex couples in the church and civil society,” Russell said.
Leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada were to meet late this month to respond to the requests made by the Anglican primates.
Also, the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Rochester, New Hampshire, celebrated its last Mass on Easter Sunday of this year, and closed on April 2.
The century-old church fractured and finally collapsed over whether to accept Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.
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