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AUSTRALIA: The Murray Bishop Responds to Consecrations of Chislett and Moyer

The Anglican Church of Australia

DIOCESE OF THE MURRAY

STATEMENT TO CLERGY AND LAITY OF THE MURRAY by the Bishop of The Murray, The Right Reverend Ross Davies

Concerning the consecrations of Bishops Chislett and Moyer

2nd March 2005

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Church of England and her daughter churches in the Anglican Communion have always maintained that they continue a valid and true expression of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

While the Elizabethan Settlement in the sixteenth century managed a compromise which enabled a 'broad' approach across the divide between Catholic and Protestant sympathizers within the C of E, it was done so in fidelity to the Apostolic inheritance of Bishop/Priest/Deacon (the 'three-fold order').

This 'three-fold order' is a ministry which we have claimed to share in common with the universal Catholic Church - most obviously in the great communions of West (Roman Catholic Church) and East (the Churches of Eastern Orthodoxy).

Our great historical claim of being both 'catholic' and 'reformed' was rooted in a truly Catholic sacramental ministry carried on as part of the Apostolic Succession. This was part of the impetus to the Oxford Movement of the 19th century and ultimately in the establishment of the Anglican and Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) in its desire that its "serious dialogue founded on the Gospels and on the ancient common traditions may lead to that unity in truth for which Christ prayed." (ARCIC, 'The Malta Report', Anglican/Roman Catholic Preparatory Commission, 1968)

A BREAK WITH TRADITION

In 1992, the Church of England broke with that tradition when it legislated to allow for women to be ordained to the apostolic ministry of the priesthood. In the same year the Anglican Church of Australia enacted similar legislation. This serious breach of the Catholic tradition had been sparked in churches like the Episcopal Church of the USA and elsewhere. It was done in provinces and dioceses without a universal Anglican consensus on the issue.

Within England itself, an Act of Synod catered for conscientiously catholic and traditionally minded Anglicans with legislation providing 'flying bishops'; called 'Provincial Episcopal Visitors'. These are orthodox Bishops who have not ordained women.

THE 'ISSUE' OF THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN

The ordination of women 'issue' is not primarily about personal opinion, it is rather a matter of discerning what is the will of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostolic tradition, which our Lord founded, upheld the dignity of both men and women in equality but with distinct vocations. Within the life of the Church, after the pattern of Jesus himself, men would be set aside for specific tasks within the Body of Christ - sacramentally in the iconic representation of Jesus the High Priest at the altar in the Eucharist. The priest (and indeed the bishop and the deacon) are ministers of the divine and fatherly love of God. In this way, priests and bishops came to be called 'Father'. Just as a man could not become a 'mother' (spiritually or physically), so a woman could not become a 'father' (spiritually or physically).

With the new novelty of 'ordained' women, the apostolic tradition has been thrown aside for the sake of a new agenda of 'equality' without properly understanding that equality can have 'distinctions'.

However, whatever reasons we may argue, the issue remains one of fidelity to the example of Christ and the unbroken tradition of the Church.

ALTERNATIVE EPISCOPAL OVERSIGHT

The reason for the need for such 'flying bishops' (or alternative episcopal oversight) is this: For an Anglican to remain true to the Catholic tradition in its fullness, one must be in full communion with a Bishop who has not broken with either Catholic faith or order. Unfortunately, the introduction of a whole new 'ordained' ministry of women affects Catholic faith and is a direct break with Catholic order. As regards Catholic faith, the ordination of women brings about a new iconography of what the priest is and who the priest represents. The male priesthood has always been understood to be a Christian ministry of the fruits of salvation to both genders and is inclusive of both. To suggest that Jesus might do things differently today; or that Jesus was constrained by a dominant patriarchal culture of his own time, is to challenge the sovereign wisdom and authority of Jesus our Lord. It can be seen in places like Canada and the USA, that where the ordination of women is embraced, the same hermeneutic (interpretation of scripture) is quickly applied to issues such as homosexuality or the reality of the resurrection. As regards Catholic order, it has emerged from the major ecclesial communities of East and West that the view of the majority of the Christian Church is this: The Church has no authority to change the traditional patterns of ordained ministry. The physical matter of any of the sacraments is only valid if it is part of the apostolic inheritance from Christ. (For example, water is used in Baptism and to suggest the use of something else would be to break with what Jesus himself gave us; or again in the Eucharist, He gave us bread and wine and we have no authority to change those physical signs into apples and lemonade.) Hence it is that the male gender was given by Christ for the carrying on of his apostolic ministry and therefore to break with such a sacramental tradition is to break with the expression of Catholic order in a dramatic and novel way.

So, an Anglican who is trying to be a faithful catholic Christian while remaining in the Church of his or her baptism (and continuing in the classically Anglican expression of Christian faith with its own liturgical and devotional gifts), has no choice but to seek out alternative episcopal oversight if their bishop has broken with 'Catholic faith and order' as was discussed above. Ie This is not a matter of personal opinion but of conscience. By this discussion, we are not necessarily calling into question the validity of male bishops who have 'ordained' women but of their claim to be 'in communion' with the mind of the Church universal.

As the 'ordination' of women has become more widely accepted in smaller Anglican jurisdictions of the first world (such as USA, Canada, England, New Zealand and Australia), groups such as Forward in Faith (FIF) have been established to help protect catholic Anglican consciences by seeking an ecclesial structure in which the Catholic orders of Bishop and Priest continue for the sake of future generations of Anglicans.

Forward in Faith accepts that some Anglican jurisdictions sincerely believe that ordaining women is the will of God. However, sincere belief itself does not mean that an action is correct, and hence FIF has requested that 'flying bishops' be provided wherever there are Anglicans in danger of not being able to receive the sacraments of Jesus in their own Church because they are no longer in 'full communion' with their own diocesan bishop.

The whole matter takes an even more serious spiritual turn when one considers the sacramental consequences of a 'purported' ordination which is not valid. Women, according to classical catholic teaching, are not simply 'preferably' not called to be priests, but are actually unable to be ordained into the sacred priestly ministry. This means that many women, whatever else their fine and valuable spiritual and pastoral gifts might be, and however much they may seem 'priestly', are not actually priests. Even if they are clothed in priestly vestments and offer the words of the Eucharistic prayer over bread and wine, there is every probability that it is not the Holy Communion of Christ's Body and Blood that one would receive at their hands. In this way, the matter is actually a salvation issue, because the sacraments of salvation are called into doubt.

What is terribly sad is that over the last thirteen years (since 1992), this basic request for respect of conscience has fallen on deaf ears in most parts of the Anglican world where women were purportedly ordained. While Anglican Churches which refused to submit to the new concept of ordained women continue to grow in numbers (particularly in third world nations like Nigeria), Anglican Churches which have accepted ordained women priests have begun to decline rapidly. The fruits of ordaining women as priests have certainly not been a growth in numbers. Priestly vocations (particularly among the young) have dropped to a crisis level and the Anglican Church in places like Australia has become disproportionately feminine in gender representation.

MY VIEWS

As Bishop of The Murray, my orthodox views were well known long before my episcopal election and consecration. Since my enthronement, I have endeavored to ensure that all Anglicans in my Diocese are valued regardless of their personal opinions on any of the above matters.

THE TRADITIONAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION

As these matters have come to the fore, many Anglicans around the world (although on a far smaller numerical level in Australia than elsewhere) have felt 'pushed' out of their Church to continue as Anglicans in Churches grouped together as the Traditional Anglican Communion. I have every certainty that their clergy are validly ordained, their liturgy is genuinely Anglican and their hope is for a renewal of Anglican orthodoxy and of course for the reunion of all Christians in one Church.

Unfortunately, people like me (whether in FIF or the TAC or simply catholic or evangelical Anglicans who cannot accept the ordination of women) elsewhere in Australia have generally not been valued in the same manner. In fact, I have watched as more and more Anglicans in recent years have been outright persecuted simply for holding an opinion that is officially respected and upheld by the Church of England Synod and legislated for by the British Parliament. The Lambeth Conference also affirmed the right of those who did not accept ordination of women to an equal place of integrity in our Church.

THE CONSECRATIONS

Consequently, in 2004, the TAC elected the Vice-Chairman of FIF Australia, the Reverend David Chislett to be consecrated a bishop. Soon after, FIF put Fr Chislett's name forward as a priest they believed was acceptable for the role of 'flying bishop'. This was in conjunction with ongoing representations to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, all of which included serious dialogue with the Primate of the TAC. Furthermore, the Reverend Doctor David Moyer, Rector of Good Shepherd Rosemont in the USA, was similarly elected. Both Fr Davids were consecrated bishops to serve and minister to disenfranchised orthodox Anglicans who cannot receive an authentic episcopal ministry in its Catholic fullness otherwise. The Archbishop of Canterbury was informed of the elections and the intention of Archbishop Hepworth to go ahead.

It should be kept in mind that the first women ordained priest in Australia were so ordained before a canon of General Synod was passed. This action forced the matter and has been a long standing grievance for traditional Anglicans.

After thirteen years of exasperation, I (in conjunction with FIF and the TAC), felt that orthodox Anglicans need to be provided for. Hence it was that we attempted to break the 'log-jam' by the consecration of Fathers David Chisett and David Moyer on 16th February this year.

Another Anglican Communion diocesan bishop joined me in this consecration - The Right Reverend Dr Maternus Kapinga, Dio of Ravuma in Tanzania.

A bishop is a bishop for the whole Church and not just for his own diocese. I am free to exercise my episcopate for the good of the whole church.

Some practical notes: The costs of my journey to the USA were funded by a layperson. On this my third anniversary of being your bishop, I think that you should know that I have never yet been able to take my full holiday entitlements and I spend the 'lion share' of my time ministering in and for the welfare of my diocese.

THE MURRAY Bishop David Chislett has risked his livelihood, his job and future for the sake of standing on a matter of Christian principle. While I have taken a risk of unpopularity, it is important for all members of our Diocese to understand that my legal advice from the Chancellor of The Murray, Lay Canon John Harley, preceding the consecration, informed me that I was doing nothing un-canonical or illegal. Furthermore, I believe my actions are consonant with Holy Scripture, the patristic tradition of the Church as well as clearly stated positions of Catholic doctrine on holy order in recent times. Nor have I done anything immoral or unethical; merely unpopular with some people.

I hope that the Diocese will understand that my actions were also preceded by serious prayer. I am much comforted by the fact that the Primates of the Anglican Communion at the February meeting this year called for Alternative Episcopal Oversight for minorities throughout the Communion.

In matters to do with our diocesan life, I have maintained an open and involved process of decision making together with priests and people, however I will continue to proclaim what I believe to be true and am not prepared to compromise with cultural movements of our day which are antithetical to scripture and catholic order.

Some have worried that my actions places the Diocese outside the 'mainstream' and we will have trouble attracting new clergy. Historically, we are in the mainstream.

On the matter of attracting priests to this Diocese: As it happens, precisely because of my stand, we are having a steady growth in attracting younger priests to this diocese as well as faithful older priests who are not interested in the theological liberalism of some dioceses elsewhere. As part of this same issue, although I may be on the 'outside' with many Australian bishops, we must remember that the majority of active Anglicans in the world are in third world regions where women priests have not been introduced. Eg. Nigeria where on average they are growing by a diocese a year (as I understand it)! So we should have no fear of losing or not attracting evangelistic, enthusiastic clergy. In fact, if we were to ask the opinions of our younger clergy in the diocese, especially those who come from dioceses where women have been ordained, we would find they are the most vocal in opposition to departures from our scriptures and tradition like the ordination of women.

Furthermore, in relation to the Diocese in general, anybody, whether they agree with me or not is free to contact me and discuss these matters. There is no diocesan 'party line.'

THE FUTURE

My actions in participating in the consecration of bishops for the TAC and the Anglican Communion are my statement that I wish for a closer union between orthodox Anglicans in both ecclesial groupings in the future. My immediate hope is that the Anglican bishops of Australia will see the desperate need now for alternative episcopal oversight to be provided as a matter of urgency and I hope will see in Bishop David Chislett a worthy and faithful Anglican bishop who can minister to orthodox minorities with love and pastoral care.

It is important to see that in no way do my actions reflect negatively or even affect the day to day life of the Diocese. If anything, we can now more boldly declare our desire that all Anglicans be cared for the sake of the Gospel, Christian unity and of course, conscience.

AND FINALLY

I wish to make the point that my stand on scripture and catholic faith as received by the Church of England at the Reformation from the universal church is not merely a one-issue stand on the ordination of women. Theological liberalism which has brought us the divisiveness of women's ordination has also brought the Anglican Communion the deep division over the blessing of homosexual unions, and of course the undermining of central tenets such as the Resurrection, Virgin Birth and the authority of Holy Scripture. There is a battle on to convince people that Christianity is in fact true. My stand for traditional, or orthodox or non-liberal or classical, or catholic in relation to being Anglican is a multi issued stand and I hope my clergy and people will come to see how serious is the challenge we now face in the 21st Century if we are to make converts. Our evangelism must be built on a sure and certain foundation. That foundation can only be found in continuing to maintain the catholic faith, order and moral teaching which the Anglican Church received from the universal Church, grounded and witnessed in Holy Scripture.

+Ross The Murray

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