Archbishop Venables: He came, He saw, He conquered

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
5/6/2008

The Most Rev. Gregory Venables, Archbishop of the Southern Cone, is, at this moment of ecclesiastical history, probably the most revered orthodox Archbishop in the Anglican Communion... and the most reviled.

No Anglican Archbishop in modern history has dived into the turbulent North American ecclesiastical waters of Anglicanism and managed to "offend" not one, but two heads of the most liberal provinces of the Anglican Communion with one single aim - to rescue whole dioceses from the clutches of a decaying, poisonous and self-destructive liberalism.

When he appeared on Canadian soil recently to inaugurate what might, in time, become a rival Anglican Communion, he was greeted with derision and scorn by the ultra-liberal leader of the Anglican Church of Canada, Fred Hiltz who told him in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome in his country and to get lost.

"Stop interfering in the life of this province," Hiltz roared at Venables. Undeterred, Venables noted, in his address to some 400 members of the Anglican Network in Canada, that the Anglican Communion now has two gospels, and that Hiltz has hold of the wrong one.

Venables continued, "It is important that I come because the integrity of the gospel is at stake, and these particular Anglicans are no longer under your authority. This occasion here in Vancouver is momentous. I see a glorious future for Anglicanism in these wonderful men and women."

Whatever "bonds of affection" might have existed between the two men evaporated faster than a used Canadian tea bag. Catholic collegiality and provincial autonomy disappeared into Vancouver's fabled English Bay even while the "faith once for all delivered to the saints" was being upheld in a Baptist Church. Simultaneously, it was being deep-sixed by the poisonous liberal Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, one Michael Ingham.

Venables seized the moment and was not about to let it go for a mess of heretical ecclesiastical pottage which has only served to benefit liberal and revisionist bishops bent on destroying the last vestiges of orthodoxy in their dioceses.

All the nice talk about alternative ecclesiastical oversight, only partially hid a gloved tyrannical fist. The Anglican Church of Canada has become, in the words of the famous Eagles hit, "Hotel California", a place where "You can check out any time, but you can never leave."

From Vancouver, Venables flew to the Diocese of San Joaquin where he was joyfully received with open arms by the bishop of that diocese, John-David Schofield, but not before the interloper bishop Jerry Lamb, who has been force fed to the diocese by Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, told Venables to stay out of the diocese. "I strongly protest your visit to this diocese without my invitation or permission," he wrote to Venables. "Your visit would violate the traditions of the ancient church as understood in the communion." Never mind that the "ancient church" would have severely protested the theology of Bishop Lamb and Mrs. Jefferts Schori. It would have held heresy trials to rid the church of their likes.

In blunt language, Episcopal interloper Lamb told the Argentine Archbishop to stay out the diocese and refrain from preaching and celebrating the Eucharist in St. James Cathedral. "I strongly urge that you cancel your meeting in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin... I also strongly urge you to refrain from interjecting yourself into the internal affairs of the Episcopal Church, the only Anglican Church in the United States."

Venables told VirtueOnline that he had no intention of canceling his trip and would "preach and celebrate the Eucharist" in what is now a diocese under his ecclesiastical authority. Again, the issue of cross-provincial actions was raised and ignored. From Venables' point of view, a defense of the faith is far more important than geographic boundaries. He no doubt sees it as a sort of reverse understanding of the parable of the lost sheep. The evangelical archbishop sallies forth to rescue saved sheep in order to protect them from false shepherds.

From San Joaquin, Venables flew to the Diocese of Ft. Worth, where he was met with open arms by Bishop Jack Leo Iker, but not before Mrs. Jefferts Schori chimed in calling Venables' visit an "invasion". She wrote to Venables saying that his visit to a special convocation of the diocese was "with the expressed purpose of describing removal to the Province of the Southern Cone is an unwarranted invasion of, and meddling in, the internal affairs of this Province."

Venables' message to the diocese was the same message he preached in Vancouver and San Joaquin, "doctrinal impurity leads to moral impurity," hence Bishop Gene Robinson. "But, I want you to know that the vast majority - 95% - of the people in the Anglican Communion believe that this book (holding up his Bible) is the word of God. If you choose to stand on this, you will be standing with the overwhelming majority. That doesn't make it all easy, but it will offer some comfort," he said to roaring approval by the overwhelmingly, predominantly Anglo-Catholic diocese.They couldn't have been happier.

Then Venables took off the gloves off and lit into The Episcopal Church. "In the Communion, 90% of the bishops gathered 10 years ago at Lambeth said what I just said. (Resolution I.10, where the vote was 527 for; 69 against.) The 10% who did not agree said, 'I don't agree with you and I don't care what you say.' The 10% cannot explain why they believe as they do. They will not or cannot tell us why they believe as they do. Believe me, I have asked. Many times.

"At every Primate's meeting, we produced a letter. Starting in Brazil, in the spring of 2003, when Gene Robinson was nominated in New Hampshire, we said, 'Don't do it.' In London after his election, we said, 'Don't do it.' In Dromantine in February of 2004, we said, 'Don't do it."'

"Your presiding bishop walked away from the meeting without telling us he did not agree and did it anyway. We said, 'Why didn't you talk to us about it Did you understand what we were saying to you'?

He responded, 'Yes, I did.'

We asked, 'Did you tell the people in the US what we said'

"He responded, 'No.'

"In Nottingham in 2006, we told your entire delegation that what they were doing was not right, especially with regard to gay marriage. It still continued. They have said that they don't care what we think and will do whatever they want anyway.

"Listening means talking to each other, not sending a small group out to lecture, like the Listening Process. Talking together and listening to each other. Jesus talked with his disciples and the tax collectors. He did this over food, just as we will talk over lunch in a few minutes. You can't listen to people who will not talk and cannot explain why they have adopted the path that they have. We must keep talking to each other today and speak with love and gentleness. Not all of us are in the same place on these issues and the challenge is to leave as friends, not enemies.

"In Tanzania one year ago, we requested alternative covering for the orthodox in the US and Canada. They said no. That's why we are where we are. The Orthodox tried to open the dialogue and they continually stonewalled us.

"In the Anglican Communion, we have no authority over us to resolve these issues. The Primates tried and were told they did not have the authority. The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that he is not a referee. In 1998, The Lambeth Conference spoke and we were ignored because the Communion system is run from the ideal of democratic inclusiveness. All ideas are equal and valid. This ideal is good for some things, but not in determining the Word of God."

When Venables finished, the diocese stood as one and applauded long and hard. There can be little doubt that The Episcopal Church contains and preaches two very different understandings of the Christian Faith, some might say two very different religions are at work; one orthodox, the other heterodox; one Trinitarian, the other fast approaching Unitarianism.

It is an intolerable situation, one that has seen one diocese leave TEC and has three more (Ft. Worth, Quincy and Pittsburgh) ready to leave after the Lambeth Conference in August. Any way the Episcopal Church continues to cut and spin its lies, using the 1% argument of Mrs. Jefferts Schori, the loss of four dioceses representing tens of thousands of dues paying Episcopalians is a loss from which the Episcopal Church will never, ever recover even if it wins all the property disputes. It will have to spends millions in legal fees to accomplish this.

The Episcopal Church has no compelling gospel and no message of saving faith. Rehashing secular UN Millennium Development Goals does not make parishes or dioceses grow. People want to hear more than the Metro section of the Sunday Times or the whine of pansexual behavior in church on a Sunday morning. They come to church to receive spiritual bread. Regrettably and sadly, all they get are stones.

END