America: The Episcopal Rift
The problem, however, is not homosexual clergy. The problem is ecclesiology. The much vaunted "via media" that Anglicans pride themselves on has hit a fork in the road. If it had not been the issue of homosexuality it would have been another issue. They need to make a decision that is binding on the whole church, but they have no mechanism for doing so. They need a Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as it were, but they very idea seems so un-British. Or, they need to decide that the Baptists and Congregationalists were right all these years, that the local church alone should guide its own destiny and that thoughts of a universal communion are delusional.
The statements coming from the Episcopal Church’s General Convention were purposely not inflammatory, but they did pass a resolution that dug in on their position. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the other Primates of the Anglican Communion, assuring them that the new resolution affirming gays was no news at all. But for conservatives the Rubicon was already crossed. They want a guarantee of orthodoxy and the Anglican church, as a whole, cannot provide it.
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The statements coming from the Episcopal Church’s General Convention were purposely not inflammatory, but they did pass a resolution that dug in on their position. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the other Primates of the Anglican Communion, assuring them that the new resolution affirming gays was no news at all. But for conservatives the Rubicon was already crossed. They want a guarantee of orthodoxy and the Anglican church, as a whole, cannot provide it.
Read it all
posted by t19elves at 3:20 PM
5 Comments:
America is not even close to being my favorite catholic magazine. That said, this article is dead on. The Anglican Communion claims to be part of the catholic church spoken of in the creed. But it has repudiated the instruments employed by the Church for keeping order and preventing schism or heresy. I am not Roman Catholic and don't regard the Pope as essential. but the OEcumenical Councils were and are definitive in matters of doctrine. Could the Anglican Communion convene a great council of the Church and pronounce anathema on a modern heresy?
I think we all know the answer to that question.
ICXC NIKA
John
America praising the CDF - and the need for it - is just too delicious!
Words Matter,
The Romans are (mostly) right here. But yea, the irony in the message coming from this particular publication is pretty thick. But as they say, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
ICXC NIKA
John
Isn't it interesting how few comments there are now about all this...has everyone just given up?
I suspect the dearth of comments is in part due to the problems with the blog. There are at least three (that I know of) T-19 sites. One is down, the second is down sometimes and then there is this one. I am sure Kendal and the elves are pulling their hair out trying to fix the main site. But until it gets back up I think we will continue to see this. A lot of people probably don't even know where the back up blogs are.
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