May 3, 2004
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
Dear Charles:
We thank you for the invitation to meet with the Council of Advice. Each of us has sworn to uphold the faith of the Church, the same faith that gave birth to and provides the unity of our Church. Only secondarily and derivatively do territory and canons hold us together. Since we believe this faith should be the first priority of the Episcopal Church we would be glad to meet with the Council of Advice with this as the first and foremost topic of discussion.
These are our concerns:
Does the House of Bishops intend to hold responsible those bishops who have publicly denied or attempted to rewrite the faith?
Is there any intention to hold accountable those 84 bishops who voted against the House of Bishops Resolution B001? For in so doing, they refused to affirm the authority of Scripture, the Creeds, the Sacraments, and the Apostolic Ministry, thereby denying the vows they made at their consecration as bishops.
Does the House of Bishops seek restoration of full communion with the 21 Provinces of the Anglican Communion by responding to their request to repent?
Does the House of Bishops seek to reclaim our broken ecumenical relations with Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and other Christian bodies?
Issues of polity cannot be resolved until we are unified in the faith which we have sworn to guard and pass to future generations.
We believe it necessary for any meeting to be an open one so that nothing will be regarded as done in secret. Not all of us are available on May 27 as you suggest, but if you agree that our first priority for discussion is the need of the House of Bishops to treat the essential issue of faith and doctrine before we move to the derivative issue of polity and territory, we will seek with you a suitable date to meet.
In His Name,
The Rt. Reverend C. FitzSimons Allison The Rt. Reverend Maurice M. Benitez The Rt. Reverend William J. Cox The Rt. Reverend Alex D. Dickson The Rt. Reverend William C. Wantland
Cc: The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold ECUSA House of Bishops Anglican Communion Primates
The American Anglican Council 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 800-914-2000 or 202-296-5360 Fax: 202-296-5361 E-mail: info@americananglican.org God Changes Lives for Good!
Comments