EPISCOPAL CHURCH BEGINS TO UNRAVEL

By David W. Virtue
6/29/2006

The Following resolutions have been submitted by the diocese of Pittsburgh, South Carolina, and San Joaquin appealing to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates of the Anglican Communion and the Panel of Reference for immediate primatial oversight and pastoral care. There is also a statement from the Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola

From the Diocese of Pittsburgh :

RESOLVED, that the Bishop and Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh in good faith hereby join with the other dioceses of the Episcopal Church who are appealing to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates of the Anglican Communion, and the Panel of Reference for immediate alternative Primatial oversight and pastoral care so that a unifying solution might be found to preserve an authentic Anglican community of witness within the United States of America and provide pastoral and apostolic care to biblically orthodox Anglicans in this country regardless of geographical location; and

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, pending final ratification by its 141st Annual Convention, withdraws its consent, pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution of the Episcopal Church, to be included in the Third Province of the Episcopal Church, seeking emergence of a new Tenth Province of the Episcopal Church which is fully Windsor compliant, positioned with that part of the Episcopal Church determined to maintain constituent status in the Anglican Communion.

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Bishop and Standing Committee commit to work with and care for all the congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh to prosper their local mission regardless of whether they remain in "constituent" status or might elect otherwise.

From the Diocese of South Carolina :

The Members of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina have received with great thankfulness the clear statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury issued to the whole Communion on June 27, 2006 in which he states that disagreements over human sexuality must be settled on the basis of "Holy Scripture and Historic Teaching" and not through "social and legal" considerations. The Archbishop makes it very plain that the dignity and worth of every person is not the question under discussion. Prejudice and bigotry are clearly wrong, and must be exposed and rejected. The rhetoric of "inclusion" has, however, often been used to obscure the Communion's teaching that, on the basis of Holy Scripture, the Church cannot bless same sex unions, nor can we ordain those engaged in homosexual practice.

For this reason, the consecration of Eugene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 created a crisis in the Communion. The election of a new Presiding Bishop who supported his consecration, and who has advocated and permitted same-sex blessings in her diocese is another painful complication. Archbishop Williams has given his conclusion that the actions of our recent General Convention have not produced a complete response to the challenges of the Windsor Report.

The Archbishop envisions a future for the Communion, through a covenant process, in which full membership will require adherence to those commonly held values found in Holy Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of the Church. Churches unable to agree to the terms of the covenant will be reduced to some kind of "affiliate" status. This work will begin immediately, but will take time for all the details to emerge. As this process unfolds, we wish clearly to number ourselves among the dioceses and parishes that seek full constituent membership in the Anglican Communion.

We also have a mandate to reassure the people of the Diocese of South Carolina that the status quo is now impossible. We have watched with great sadness as the Episcopal Church has, year after year, taken actions and adopted teachings which further and further distance it from the Faith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We are grieved that relationships have now been so strained that we are no longer in impaired, but rather broken communion. For that reason, we do hereby request of Archbishop Williams that he, in consultation with the Primates of the Communion and the Panel of Reference, speedily provide alternative Primatial oversight for the Diocese of South Carolina. In a spirit of humility, we acknowledge our own imperfection and sin. We renew our commitment to the Great Commission, to the Holy Scriptures, Creeds and Sacraments of the Church Catholic, and to the reconciliation of the Anglican Family of Churches by means of the full implementation of the Windsor Process.

From the Diocese of San Joaquin :

We affirm the statement made by the Bishop, Standing Committee, and Deputation of the Diocese of Fort Worth on June 19, 2006 regarding Primatial Oversight. Further, we reaffirm the Anglican Communion Recognition Resolution made by Bishop John-David Schofield and the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of San Joaquin on April 8, 2006:

"BE IT RESOLVED, that the Bishop and Diocesan Council of the Diocese of San Joaquin petition the following: 1) those Primates and Provinces of the Anglican Communion who remain unreservedly committed to classic Anglican formularies, teaching and practice, and 2) The Archbishop of Canterbury along with the Anglican Consultative Council for affirmation of its status as a legitimate Anglican diocese in the USA despite the current role of ECUSA, or what it has done heretofore or may do in the future. This petition envisions the continued recognition of this Diocese as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion by as many Primates and Provinces of the same, and by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who acknowledge the Diocese of San Joaquin without relying on subsidiary recognition from or through ECUSA."

Based on our April 8th Resolution, we ask that oversight and pastoral care be provided by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

And from the Province of Nigeria :

The Primate of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev Peter Akinola has announced the election of new Bishops in the Church of Nigeria.

The election was conducted at the Episcopal Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), which met on Wednesday, June 28 2006, at All Saints Church Wuse Abuja.

The Bishops-elect are:

The Rev Canon Christian Ideh, of Igbudu Christian Centre, Emevor, for the Diocese of Warri.

The Venerable Musa Tula, of St Stephen's Anglican Church Wange-Tula, Gombe State, for the Diocese of Bauchi.

The Very Rev Adebayo Akinde, of the Cathedral of St Peter Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State, for the newly created Diocese of Lagos Mainland. The inauguration of the diocese will come up in August.

The Rev Canon Martyn Minns of Truro Parish in Virginia, USA was also elected Bishop in the Church of Nigeria for the missionary initiative of the Church of Nigeria called Convocation of Anglican Churches in North America (CANA).

The Pittsburgh move is particularly significant. That diocese has removed its consent to be included in Province III and is "seeking emergence of a new Tenth Province of the Episcopal Church which is fully Windsor compliant, positioned with that part of the Episcopal Church determined to maintain constituent status in the Anglican Communion." Since no one expects TEC to be Windsor compliant any time soon, Pittsburgh has, for all practical purposes, declared its independence.

END