AKRON FIVE BISHOPS RESPOND TO BISHOP JENKINS

Special Report

By David W. Virtue

5/13/2005

FIVE bishops who participated in the irregular confirmation of 110 persons at a multi-congregational action in Akron, Ohio recently, have replied to a letter from the President of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice, saying they would assent to a meeting if it was "honest and open" not done in secret and that 10 additional people be invited to listen to the discussion but not to participate.

The five bishops include C. FitzSimons Allison, Maurice Benitez, William J. Cox, Alex B. Dickson and William C. Wantland.

In their letter to Bishop Charles E. Jenkins, the orthodox five said the Council of Advice would choose five and they would choose five. "Our hope and prayer is that our meeting can in some way help facilitate a reaffirmation of the Christian faith as the indispensable basis of our unity."

The five bishops then launched into what they viewed as the central issue regarding faith and order in The Episcopal Church.

"We appreciate your letter saying that you recognize that our commitment is to Christian Faith and Anglican Doctrine but your suggested agenda seems not to reflect this concern."

The five bishops argued that being "accountable to one to another" should be subordinate to the much more serious matter of our common accountability to the faith which we as bishops, have sworn to guard.

"Your claim that 'faith and order' are 'givens' and 'cannot be considered apart from one another' is generally and desirably the case. It is not true, however, of the history of Christianity in which catholic Christians, including St. Athanasius, clearly honored faith over territorial order in cases of heretical and schismatic bishops (cf. the Arian and Donatist schisms among others)."

"Since the time of Bishop Pike the House of Bishops has tended to reduce essential and substantial theological concerns to mere matters of 'how we treat each other' (to quote your concerns) and in the case of Pike, from his denial of Christology and Trinity, to his 'tone and manner.' Your suggestion of inviting a 'facilitator' ('with no theological agenda'), and the Presiding Bishop's assistant for 'Pastoral Development' seems to follow this same line of thinking. We do not wish the issue of faithful doctrine to be reduced to mere interpersonal relations. Our primary concern is not personal; and pastoral, as important as that may be, but objective, impersonal, and classical concerns for the faith that has been entrusted to us as bishops."

The five orthodox bishops sad they were willing to meet with the Council of Advice if "we are all committed to a discussion of the faith of the Church as the essential principle of unity."

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