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"I do not see the Anglican Church of Canada coming out of this without a split"
Bishop Don Harvey was interviewed by a Canadian TV Station 100 Huntley Street at the Anglican Network in Canada conference.
The interview is not verbatim.
It was produced by Anglican Mainstream Canada
November 24, 2007
The Network has come under the jurisdiction of the Southern Cone because it was the nearest of the Provinces we talked to, and happens to be in the same time zone as Newfoundland where I live. The short term arrangement we have come to could last for years, certainly as long as necessary.
The main objective is to preserve the truth of Scripture. We could have become independent churches but we wanted to be part of the Worldwide Anglican Fellowship. There are certain joys in being part of such a fellowship.
Our objective was also to separate ourselves from the Anglican Church of Canada which is not faithful and is under judgement. Nothing else changes, only our allegiance to the Anglican Church of Canada. We now owe allegiance to the Province of the Southern Cone, an orthodox province and part of the worldwide body.
We are not schismatic because the schismatic is not the one who leaves but the person who perpetrates the reason for the separation. We are continuing in the Anglican Communion as we have known it. It is the Anglican Church of Canada which is schismatic. It has not been faithful.
They are turning a blind eye to their deviation from the rest of the Anglican world. We need to be aware that all the Anglicans in Canada make up less than 1% of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. It is arrogance for that 1% to say that we will do what we like and that others should catch up with us. The tail should not wag the dog. We have innovated nothing new.
We have not left anything. Those who stay loyal to the Anglican Church of Canada are the schismatic ones who are breaking away from the doctrine and teaching of the Anglican Communion. When the Church of England was established as the Church of England, was it a schism?
We can speak of schism, reformation and revolution. In the case of the last two we have to speak up. We cannot go in the direction in which the leaders are going because they are not being loyal to the foundation documents of the Communion.
I am no longer allowed to exercise any ministerial function in Canada . I can no longer celebrate Holy Communion, or take a wedding.
I have been received into the Southern Cone. My question is whether all their bishops will be ostracised in Canada as well? The most hurtful thing was to hear the letter read in church last Sunday which declared that my basic right to celebrate the Holy Communion has been stripped from me.
The provisions under which this has been done were set in the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Canada to address the situation of those relinquishing their orders. It has made me appreciate how Luther felt. There was no softening of the blow, no "I regret to have to do this" in the letter.
As far as the Anglican Church of Canada is concerned I am Mr Donald Harvey. I have no authority to do anything in Canada . If a clergyman I trained or pastored were to die, I cannot take their funeral. It was such that people thought that I had voluntarily decided to move out of ministry altogether.
I have not heard anything from any member of the House of Bishops. My own reaction is one of sorrow, not of regret. I was raised in the Anglican Church of Canada all my life.
I do not see the Anglican Church of Canada coming out of this without a split. The polarities are so extreme. To negotiate you have to give up something. What we are standing for are the essentials. If something is essential, then we cannot negotiate it away. To quote T.S. Eliot, in order to get better our sickness must get worse. But for us, the battle has been won already. We will have to go through a messy period before we can prove it.
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