PRIMATES TO MEET IN FEB. '05: GRISWOLD'S BROKEN PROMISES, PA., CT., AND MORE

By David W. Virtue

"The vocation of the church is to proclaim the Gospel, not to defend the American way of life, not to 'build socialism,' not even to 'build a just society'—because, quite apart from the fact that we don't really know what this is, our notions of justice are fallible and finally marred by Sin." — The Fabricated Luther by Uwe Siemon-Netto

The cat is out of the bag. The 38 Primates will meet next February in Newcastle, County Down, Ireland to discuss, perhaps finalize, the fate of the Anglican Communion.

It is interesting to note that it is in the backyard of Robin Eames the liberal Commission's head and it will be overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Eames told the Belfast Telegraph: "I am very pleased that the Primates Meeting will be coming here in February. A number of venues were considered and Northern Ireland was deemed to be the most suitable on this occasion." That will make the liberals happy but not necessarily the orthodox.

The final draft of the Lambeth Report will be sent up early in October, and then there will be four months for the spin to begin. Once the Anglican Communion Office gets a hold of the document the spin cycle will begin in earnest.

If the document calls for overt disciplinary measures against Frank Griswold, ECUSA's Presiding Bishop, you can be sure there will be much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth by Eames, the Anglican Consultative Council, even Dr. Rowan Williams himself.

But it will be showdown time at the Anglican Communion corral. If the Global South primates stick to their guns and DEMAND that Griswold repent or be disciplined then that will depend on what that actually means. If discipline means "no vote, no voice" and Griswold still remains in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, then this will amount to little more than a slap on the wrist. Griswold has argued all along that that is all he is interested in.

The question is whether that will prove acceptable to the Global South Primates. If it is then nothing essentially changes. Griswold will not repent, be temporarily cast out, (but privately Rowan will smooth his feathers), and the need for some sort of discipline will have taken place.

But the CAPA bishops have issued a directive saying that Griswold has 90 days to repent.

Of course we know he won't, and then we wait and see what will happen. The ball is no longer in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury but Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

How tough will they get—that is the only question that remains? All the signs coming from Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola are that he will play hard ball with the ultimate declaration that he, with his fellow African Primates will split from Canterbury and form a new Communion with headquarters elsewhere. A quick visit to the Queen and it is all over.

Could it happen? Most of the African Primates and not a few of its bishops have already publicly disassociated themselves from the Episcopal Church, most are now refusing its money, so what have the Africans got left to lose in not blowing off the Anglican Communion as it is now constituted. Canterbury offers them nothing but history, but history is not enough when it comes to the salvation of souls and the Africans have made that very clear.

Whatever happens we will see history in the making, the like of which we have not seen since the Reformation.

AND IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND THIS WEEK: Virtuosity's prediction that money would be used to punish St. Alban's for allowing Dr. Jeffrey John to become its next dean has come true. The Church of England's largest diocese, London, is leading an unprecedented revolt, preparing to withhold more than £100,000 ($187,000) in protest over spiraling costs. Evangelical parishes will cap their quotas in protest at the Church's policy on homosexuality and using money as a weapon.

In the US, in the DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT, six orthodox priests have come under fire from their bishop Andrew D. Smith over their request for DEPO, and he has ordered all of them to appear before him on or before July 24th. The bishop has refused to meet all six clergy and their vestries jointly, demanding that they meet with him separately at Diocesan House.

In the DIOCESE OF EASTERN MICHIGAN, 25 members of the AAC Mid-Michigan chapter have written a letter to Bishop Ed Leidel blasting him for allowing a non-celibate homosexual supply priest to function in the diocese. Furthermore three orthodox priests in the Flint River Convocation (Deanery) have resigned over the consecration of V. Gene Robinson and three more are weighing their options. The diocese is in free fall.

In the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE a reader noted that The Church of the Redeemer (ECUSA) in Rochester, New Hampshire has given birth to three continuing church congregations: Trinity Anglican Church (ACA), an ACC congregation meeting at Emmanuel Church, and Saint Michael's—the name adopted by the most recent departure from Redeemer.

In the DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA, Bishop Charles E. Bennison has shown his "dark side" when he came to depose Fr. David Moyer. He summoned two priests to witness him signing the sentence of "deposition." To get them in the mood, he began to tell jokes. When all three were smiling, a photographer was summoned to take a picture of the smiling Charles Bennison signing the "deposition."

In his visit to St. Luke's, Newtown, Bennison said that from 1992-1997 the Episcopal Church was the fastest growing church of the mainline protestant denominations in the US. Not so, said a numbers cruncher who consulted The Episcopal Church Annual-2004: from 1992 the number of baptized members was 2,491,996, but by 1997 that figure was 2,339,113—down 6%.

IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE a group of Anglicans have formed a new fellowship called the Anglican Fellowship in Knoxville (AFK). They held a historic meeting on July 11, 2004. The group are considering affiliation with the "Anglican Communion Network" as a separate parish or aligning with an established "Anglican Continuing Church." The Anglican Fellowship in Knoxville meets again on August 8, 2004 at 5:30 PM EDT at the Deane Hill Recreation Center.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH through its Northern California Bishop Jerry Lamb has sent out an Open Communion Letter to all Bishops in the Episcopal Church, soliciting their insights on administering the Eucharist to those who have not been baptized.

Bishop V. Gene Robinson of the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE asked gays, lesbians and transgendered people to give the church another chance during a sermon at St. Paul's Cathedral in Burlington as part of the gay pride celebration.

THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT failed with Episcopalian senators evenly divided. In a procedural vote, the tally was 50 to 48—12 votes short of the number needed to end debate.

The Reverend Phyllis Nesbitt, national director of the CANADIAN BIBLE SOCIETY, is accusing Ottawa of curtailing freedom of religion. The federal government has told the Canadian Bible Society to end its 50-year tradition of offering the New Testament to new Canadians at citizenship ceremonies.

A NIGERIAN ANGLICAN BISHOP says cell phones should be banned in churches. The Anglican bishop-elect of the Ukwa diocese in south-eastern Nigeria has banned the use of mobile phones during his services, saying the love of the electronic instruments is becoming a new form of idolatry.

In CHINA authorities detained and interrogated well-known house church leader Samuel Lamb after recent worship services. Ten of his co-workers were also detained and interrogated. This is the first time in 14 years that Chinese authorities have taken repressive steps against Pastor Lamb, who reportedly hosts 3,000 worshippers per week at his new meeting place in Guangzhou.