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ACNA Missionaries Face Opposition in Syria // Bp Null to Deliver 2026 Kuehner Lecture   Probably the greatest tragedy of the church throughout its long and checkered history has been its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture. — John Stott   The See of Canterbury must be returned to those who actually believe what the Church has always taught. — Bishop Ceirion Dewar   Everything the GSFA communiqué articulates maps directly onto what I have elsewhere called the Remnant Church thesis. — Rev. Dr. Ronald H. Moore   Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none; a God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time, but will make no distinction between good and bad in eternity. Such a God is an idol of your own, as truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple. The hands of your own fancy and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible, and beside the God of the Bible there is no God at all. — J. C. Ryle   Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org January 30, 2026   She came, she saw, she conquered; by that we mean she met the legal requirements to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury . Dame Sarah Mullally is now the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, without qualifier. Her elevation to the office was marked on January 27 with a ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.   But does she meet the spiritual and theological requirements for the job? Not according to one priest, the Rev. Paul Williamson, who railed against her appointment in the cathedral. You can read my take on this here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/st-paul-s-london-church-of-england-priest-disrupts-archbishop-s-ceremony . VOL had earlier published his takedown of her appointment here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/first-woman-appointed-archbishop-of-canterbury-faces-safeguarding-criticism-bishop-sarah-mullally-s   The Daily Express called him a "heckler" when he objected to her appointment. He was swiftly escorted from the ceremony.   But Williamson's objections are not without foundation. They include appalling safeguarding failures by Mullally, which when examined by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, were quickly dismissed. This is ironic because he himself was charged with similar failings. His boss at the time, Archbishop Justin Welby, resigned over his safeguarding failings.   Williamson also highlighted concerns from orthodox African Anglican bishops, many of whom do not recognize the ordination of women as bishops and oppose same-sex marriage.   Cottrell said that a "full opportunity" had been given for lawful objections, but none had been received and the process would therefore continue. Of course, the show must go on.   The British are known for their pageantry even if there is not much theology behind it. The music included hymns and readings, the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral singing an anthem by Elgar, and the gospel choir of Christ's Hospital School performing a Xhosa South African chant, "Thuma Mina" (Send Me, Lord). But where and to whom?   "These are times of division and uncertainty for our fractured world. I pray that we will offer space to break bread together and discover what we have in common—and I pledge myself to this ministry of hospitality. I want us to be a Church that always listens to the voices of those who have been ignored or overlooked, among them victims and survivors of church abuse who have often been let down. I am committed to equipping the Church to be a kind and safe place that cares for everyone, especially those who are vulnerable, as we rise to the challenge of God's call to justice, equity, peace and the care of creation."   We have heard all this before. Shades of Frank Griswold: "I am the presiding bishop of all." Words like "hospitality," "community," and "pluriform truths" could regularly be heard from Griswold's lips... and then it all crashed and burned.   GAFCON bishops of the Global South won't even recognize her authority, and the GSFA bishops, while not splitting from Canterbury, will doubtlessly not let her into their provinces for fear of reprisals from their own people.   Here is what Bishop Ceirion Dewar, a Missionary Bishop serving the Missionary Diocese of Providence (UK), had to say: "We are invited—once again—to mistake ceremony for substance, pageantry for piety, and novelty for faithfulness. We are asked to believe that the mere occupation of a throne confers apostolic authority, that legality can substitute for legitimacy, and that the historic See of Canterbury may be treated as a laboratory for ideological experiment rather than the spiritual anchor of English Christianity."   Let us speak plainly.   The See of Canterbury is not a prize to be won, nor a platform upon which to rehearse the slogans of the age. It is the ancient guardian of doctrine, the steward of a received faith, the watchman charged with handing on—not reinventing—the deposit entrusted once for all to the saints. When the Archbishop becomes a curator of contemporary opinion rather than a custodian of catholic truth, the office is hollowed out from within.   This moment is presented to us as one of "hope." Hope for whom? For the faithful clergy and laity who have watched orthodoxy sidelined, Scripture relativized, and the moral teaching of the Church dissolved into the acid of accommodation? Or hope for a managerial class that confuses numerical decline with "progress" and imagines that abandoning the faith will somehow make the Church relevant again?   What we are witnessing is not renewal but replacement. Not reform but rupture.   The Church of England is collapsing not because it has been too rooted in tradition, but because it has been ashamed of it. It has chased the approval of the world and forfeited the confidence of its own people. The result is empty churches, disillusioned priests, and a generation taught that Anglicanism stands for nothing in particular—and therefore means nothing at all.   The See of Canterbury must be returned to those who actually believe what the Church has always taught.   Returned to bishops who affirm the authority of Holy Scripture without embarrassment. Returned to shepherds who preach repentance, sin, salvation, and sanctification without footnotes or apologies. Returned to men formed by prayer, sacrament, and continuity with the undivided Church—not by ideological activism dressed up as compassion.   This is not about personalities. It is about faithfulness.   The Confirmation of Election may satisfy canon lawyers and politicians, but it does not silence the growing cry from the pews and the parishes: Enough. Enough with the pretense that departure from orthodoxy is courage. Enough with the fiction that contradiction of Scripture is progress. Enough with the idea that Canterbury can survive while severed from the tradition that made it what it is.   Canterbury belongs to the catholic and apostolic faith—or it belongs to nothing at all.   And until it is restored to traditional Anglicans who will guard that faith without fear or favor, every such ceremony will ring hollow, every speech about "hope" will sound rehearsed, and every claim to moral authority will continue to drain away like water through cracked stone.   The throne is ancient. The faith is older. And it will outlast those who think they can redefine it.   As a senior cleric in the CofE wrote and told VOL: There is no gospel of repentance and redemption. It is now absent throughout the higher echelons of the CofE—as well as among most of the clergy. "It's just a job; what does religion have to do with it?"   There you have it.   *****   ANGLICANISM IS AT A CROSSROADS , writes the Ven. Alex Uzor. The Anglican Communion is living through one of the most significant seasons in its history. Anyone paying attention knows that the shape of worldwide Anglicanism is shifting. What once looked like a single global family gathered around Canterbury now looks more like two distinct expressions of Anglican identity. One is centered in the historic institutions of the West. The other is rising from the Global South with strong conviction, missionary zeal, and a firm commitment to the Scriptures.   What we see today is a Communion where Canterbury still has a historical place but no longer speaks for the majority of Anglicans. Most Anglicans now belong to churches that stand with GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship. These churches have made it clear that authentic Anglican identity comes from faithfulness to Scripture, not from institutional loyalty. You can read his take here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/anglicanism-at-a-crossroads-the-rise-of-the-global-anglican-communion-and-the-future-of-canterbury   *****   BY THE NUMBERS. Ryan Burge, political scientist, statistician, and compiler of statistics, has come out with a new finding. Here is what he recently wrote: "This should come as a shock to no one who is vaguely aware of American religion—Episcopalians are old. In fact, two-thirds of their adult members have celebrated their 60th birthday. In contrast, just 6% are under the age of thirty. Put simply: for every young adult Episcopalian in the pews this Sunday, there will be about ten retirees. Oof."   *****   NOBODY IS GUILTY OF SAFEGUARDING FAILURES IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. The Archbishop of York will not face disciplinary action over his handling of a priest who faced sexual abuse allegations. Stephen Cottrell, the Church of England's second most senior cleric, faced criticism for not acting quickly enough when he was bishop of Chelmsford over priest David Tudor, whom he allowed to remain in post despite him having been barred from being alone with children by the Church and having paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.   Tudor was subsequently banned from ministry for life in 2024 after admitting what the Church of England described as serious sexual abuse involving two girls aged 15 and 16.   Cottrell, while bishop of Chelmsford, twice renewed Tudor's contract as area dean in Essex despite having been "fully briefed" about his past.   But the president of Church tribunals, Sir Stephen Males, concluded in a finding published on Thursday that although "some mistakes were made in the handling of David Tudor's case," there was no case for Cottrell to answer at a disciplinary tribunal. Cottrell regrets that mistakes were made.   He previously insisted he had inherited a "horrible and intolerable" situation and "acted immediately" when fresh complaints were made about Tudor in 2019, adding that he had "no legal grounds" to suspend him before then.   *****   An Episcopal Bishop and a Southern Baptist leader found themselves at odds over the disruption of a church service in Minnesota. Minnesota Episcopal Bishop Craig Loya refused to condemn protesters who disrupted an evangelical church service in Minnesota, while Southern Baptist leader Dr. Albert Mohler condemned the incident as a violation of freedom of worship and assembly.   "[It is] an unspeakably evil intrusion of a leftist mob into a Christian worship service today in Minneapolis and must be called out for what it is—and Federal authorities should be fast and effective in response," Mohler wrote in a post across multiple platforms, including X and Threads. Mohler is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/episcopal-bishop-and-southern-baptist-leader-clash-over-protesters-disruption-of-church-service   One of the disruptors was Don Lemon, a former CNN news anchor. Lemon was arrested on federal charges in connection with the anti-ICE protest at the Minnesota church.   *****   If you wonder whether anything good can be done while the country is in political turmoil, I have some good news for you. Jerry and Stacy are two ACNA missionaries on the front line in the Middle East bringing the gospel and social justice to bear on displaced Christians in Syria, Iraq, and Turkey.   They are presently trapped inside Syria where they are watching a genocide being committed against the Kurds, once U.S. friends whom we have abandoned in favor of a Syrian government—which the U.S. is supporting and praising for doing a "great job." Its president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, now the undisputed star of this year's United Nations General Assembly in New York, is a former al-Qaeda commander.   The couple are pouring out their hearts, trapped behind enemy lines. They say the Kurds cannot grasp why the U.S. has betrayed them. "There are at least 150,000 displaced people in the city where we are based. All the city's schools are closed to house them. There is no electricity. The city of Kobane is under siege with 300,000 displaced, no electricity, no water. It's freezing, and children are dying every night from exposure. They are cut off and waiting for the impending massacre. Help."   If you would like to help Love for the Least, their mission ministry, you can send a donation here: https://lovefortheleast.org/give/   *****   The Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Oreland, PA will host the 2026 Kuehner Lecture. This year's lecture, "The Role of Augustine in the English Reformation," will be presented by the Rt. Rev. Ashley Null. It will be held Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. Reception to follow. Null is a world leader in the writings of Thomas Cranmer. You can make a booking here: https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/kkN25D3Cg4y55ZqunZn5Wx?action=rsvp&skipLoadAnimation=true   *****   It is becoming more apparent to this writer that with increasing heresies flourishing in the Anglican Communion , THE JUDGMENT OF GOD is focused on bishops and clergy who have failed to proclaim the gospel to all and sundry. I have often wondered why orthodox and faithful Christians experience persecution but progressive churches do not. I have written a piece, "Why progressive and revisionist churches will never be persecuted," which you can read here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/the-judgment-of-god-why-progressive-and-revisionist-churches-will-never-be-persecuted   *****   VOL is bringing on board new writers in 2026 with clear insights into Scripture and culture. VOL has no mega-donors and no grants—just faithful readers like you who believe in what we do and write. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic VOL readers trust us to reveal and expose the most pressing issues facing Anglicanism today.   Please consider a tax-deductible donation to keep the news coming.   How to Give: Online: PayPal donation link at https://www.virtueonline.org/donate By check (tax-deductible): VIRTUEONLINE P.O. BOX 111 Shohola, PA 18458   Thank you for your support, David

Ejected priest files assault charges with police By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org January 30, 2026   The Rev. Paul S. Williamson deliberately disrupted proceedings at St. Paul's Cathedral, where Bishop Sarah Mullally was being formally recognized as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, denouncing failed safeguarding actions, including those involving a priest who committed suicide.   When he spoke up denouncing the proceedings, he was quickly confronted and escorted unceremoniously from the cathedral.   "Actions speak louder than words," he told VOL. "I want the whole truth told from a victim's perspective regarding her safeguarding failures.   "I entered a verbal objection at St. Paul's Cathedral as an impediment on safeguarding grounds—especially concerning the failures of Sarah Mullally and her part in the suicide of the Rev. Alan Griffin.   "In common law and precedent—as in a wedding ceremony in a church—if an objector states that there is an impediment (such as the marriage of John and Mary cannot proceed because he is already married to Jane in Truro), then there is a stop on proceeding until it is proved or cleared by document and law. The same applies to the confirmation of the election of an archbishop.   "The media commentators clearly understood and stated that there was a church service with a pause for the legal actions to take place. St. Paul's is both the House of God and a court. I did not interrupt the church service. John Bannon, sometime churchwarden, is a witness.   "At the time of the legal proceedings, Timothy Briden, vicar general, was wearing a long wig, and the various others in legal dress and the bishops reconstituted themselves as a court for legal purposes. I carefully waited until a verbal pause occurred so that no one was speaking. I chose the point where it was openly stated in the written program, and in speaking, that there were no objections.   "As this was not true, I stood up and stated that 'I objected.' In a court, there are two sides which present their case in the matter before a judge or jury. How can this be a fair hearing in a court if only one side is allowed to speak? This is contrary to more than a thousand years of legal precedent and the explicit provisions of the Magna Carta, as well as the court procedure rules enacted by Parliament.   "Only one side spoke at St. Paul's. I continued by stating that there was a major safeguarding failure by Mullally that resulted in the suicide of Alan Griffin. I stated that this was an impediment. I was speaking not just for Griffin and myself but for all the victims of Mullally's safeguarding failures.   "It is apparent to me that most of these have never been satisfactorily handled either legally or pastorally. 'N' has left the UK. 'O' cannot cope. Others are afraid to stand up in public. I am not. Mullally was a senior nursing officer of the NHS with remit and stated job specification of safeguarding lead. She cannot therefore claim ignorance of correct procedure.   "Scott, the St. Paul's senior security officer, had introduced himself to me (my picture was on a photo identity sheet with others) before I entered the Cathedral. He placed two guards behind me and one at each pillar on the right-hand side aisle when I had taken my seat in the nave. He positioned security guards around me.   "While I spoke, the security guard used physical force to hasten me out of the Cathedral. I protested that I had a walking difficulty. I was using a stick as an aid. Outside the door, he put his hand on my back as if to push me down the extremely steep steps. I felt his hand. I said, 'Can't you see I have a walking stick?' I grabbed the handrail. I nearly fell very badly and could have been seriously injured, if not killed, if my head had hit a granite step during the tumble downward.   "I am complaining to the Dean and Chapter and making a charge of assault to the City Police. John Bannon confirms that he witnessed this as he was behind me at the time."   Williamson said that a whole year elapsed following his complaints without any action—and then Mullally was appointed despite her safeguarding history of failures, hurt, harm, and suicide. Mullally had said on ITV News that "the Church must listen to the people."   "Why is she ignoring her own dictum? People are leaving because of safeguarding failings. The Church does everything it can not to allow any criticism of the bishops. No actions called Clergy Discipline have ever succeeded or been allowed. Justin Welby, former Archbishop of Canterbury, dismissed mine about Mullally with 'no case to answer'!   "The Church acts like a dictator. The Church uses gagging orders called 'non-disclosure agreements.' How very Christian. It cannot face criticism. It is 'Putinesque'—saying what we should believe and what it wants us to accept, purporting that this is the truth in the face of evidence to the contrary. It believes its own falsehoods.   "WHO WILL ACT TO PROTECT US AND DEAL WITH ACCOUNTABILITY—PAST AND IN THE FUTURE?"   END

Whatever the outcome, Bishop Michael Ingham says his Vancouver-area diocese will still bless same-sex unions BY DOUGLAS TODD VANCOUVER SUN ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — The Vancouver-area diocese will still be able to bless same-sex unions even if the Anglican Church of Canada's highest governing body fails to pass a contentious motion today authorizing dioceses to permit them, maintains Bishop Michael Ingham. As the bishop at the centre of an international Anglican storm because he consented to same-sex blessings in 2002, Ingham said Tuesday the decentralized structure of the Canadian church allows dioceses to proceed on their own with rites blessing homosexual relationships. After hearing two hours of debate in which many Anglicans pleaded for more time to study the issue of homosexuality, Ingham said delegates to the church's General Synod are at the same anxious point Vancouverarea Anglicans were seven years ago, when they first narrowly passed a vote to affirm same-sex unions. At that time, Ingham withheld his consent. "I don't know which way this vote is going to go," Ingham said in an interview. "But I know people need time to think the issue through without feeling intimidation. Whatever happens will not affect the right of the Diocese of New Westminster to bless same-sex unions. "This vote here is about 'affirming' a diocese's right to perform a same-sex blessing. It's not about asking General Synod to create the right." But Algoma Bishop Ronald Ferris — a long-time opponent of same-sex blessings who on Monday lost out to more liberal Montreal Archbishop Andrew Hutchison in his bid to become the church's national leader, or primate — countered that the church constitution forbids its 30 dioceses from independently conducting same-sex rites. Ferris argued that the laws of the 700,000-member Anglican Church of Canada ban dioceses from allowing same-sex blessings because they amount to a change of the church's traditional doctrine, worship and discipline. As a result, he said, blessings can only go ahead with the approval of a two-thirds majority of two successive General Synods (which meet every three years). In addition, Ferris warned in an interview there will be "costs and consequences" if dioceses proceed on their own to bless homosexual relationships. One price, Ferris said, will be that 40 million of the world's 70 million Anglicans, through their bishops, will declare themselves in "impaired communion" with any diocese that allows same-sex blessings. Many Anglican bishops in Africa and Asia have already broken ties with the Diocese of New Westminster and the Episcopal (Anglican) Church U.S.A., which last year consecrated an openly gay man as bishop. Ferris said there will be "internal rifts" and "legal and financial problems regarding property," as some disaffected parishes try to leave the denomination and take their buildings with them. So far two Vancouver-area parishes that have left the denomination claim they own parish property. Ingham said individual dioceses will be able to act independently on same-gender rites no matter what happens this week, because the Anglican Church has a "confederal structure" not unlike the Canadian government's federal system, which permits diversified powers. If today's vote passes, Ingham said, "it will only confirm the divisions we already know exist. And I believe it's important to respect that diversity." Ingham predicted the vote will be decided by the many centrists among the more than 300 delegates. About 30 delegates took part in Tuesday's first synod opportunity to speak publicly about the samesex issue. The comments of about one-third of the speakers reflected a liberal perspective, with the rest calling for the same-sex vote to be either delayed or killed. Steve Schuh, a Vancouver delegate who is also president of the city chapter of Integrity, a national organization for gay and lesbian Anglicans, was having trouble with the many delegates who said they hadn't had enough time to consider the issue. "We've had a whole generation to talk about this," said Schuh. "The Canadian church did its first study on homosexuality in 1976. And, at the Lambeth Conference in 1998, most of the world's bishops encouraged Anglicans everywhere to engage in dialogue on homosexuality. Anybody who hasn't yet talked about this has been avoiding the issue." Yukon Bishop Terry Buckle, who had earlier raised the ire of Vancouver-area Anglican officials when he offered to act as an external "flying bishop" to 10 disaffected conservative parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster, read a statement from 15 anonymous Anglican priests and laypersons who have tried to deal with their homosexual desires by either choosing to live celibate lives or by overcoming their sexual impulses and opting to live in heterosexual marriages. Buckle said General Synod delegates weren't taking seriously that many homosexuals can change their sexual orientation. END

News Analysis By David W. Virtue ST. CATHARINES, ONT---As Canadian Anglicans debate the blessings of same sex unions, liberals fear it will be a watershed synod while conservatives hope it will be. For liberals it is a desperate attempt to keep up with the culture - a culture that now recognizes same sex marriages. The 5-part resolution wants to affirm the jurisdiction and authority for diocesan synods with the consent of their bishops to bless committed same sex unions, but not marriage rites. That presumably would come later. The general predictions are that the preparations for synod and the tactics of persuasion have been sufficiently successful that the resolutions of the Council of General Synod (COGS) will see these resolutions pass. All the language of Canadian jurisprudence is going towards same sex marriage not unions, that is, registered domestic partnerships. The Anglican Church of Canada wants on the bandwagon. The church's liberals want to keep marriage separate from blessing same sex unions and not a marriage liturgy, if it is in the canons. The canons forbid it. But if it is canonical on marriage then it is doctrinal. So for political reasons the liberals have made a firewall by calling them committed life long relationships. In doing so, however, they have become obsolete trying to keep up with culture. A union is only a union it is not a marriage. The lawyers for the liberal side will push for the integrity of these motions and for the integrity of unions not marriages. They arguing that it is not a doctrinal issue but a matter of order with the final say by the local bishop. The COGS resolutions are shaped to avoid any substantive discussion or resolution of the theological or doctrinal issue of homosexual marriages; rather they are phrased to be exclusively procedural. It is to affirm the jurisdiction of the diocese to decide the issue on these unions. Basically COGS wants dioceses to make the decision and not the national church. From the conservative side these tactics have been deemed unconstitutional and a legal opinion argues that questions of same sex unions properly belong in the counsels of General Synod of the ACC, the only place they can be decided and not at a diocesan level. The resolution recognizes that some think this a doctrinal resolution and they are asking General Synod what do jurisdiction and authority diocesan synods have. The Synod, however does not want to shape the arguments preferring dioceses to handle the hot potato issue. If conservatives get these resolutions turned down then they will want to ensure clarity that this forbids dioceses to proceed with the blessing of same sex unions. The resolution as it now stands avoids substantive discussion and through procedural manipulation affirms the diocesan jurisdiction and therefore local option. But as one church historian noted, local option leads to congregationalism. By COGS avoiding substantive Scriptural debate and affirming the autonomy of the diocese to proceed down this path it will hope to avoid any disapproval from the Global South Primates If the resolution fails it means the Diocese of New Westminster will have the authority to continue performing same sex unions. Some 13 orthodox bishops are expected to resist local option and want COGS to decide on the motion. There are 30 diocesan bishops and 8 suffragan bishops, making COGS overwhelmingly in the hands of the liberals. The mind of COGS is clearly not about clarity but obfuscation. Conservatives would like to see the motion clearly defeated with a clarity that does not allow diocesan synods the freedom to act as they please. Essentials Canada, the orthodox wing of the Canadian Anglican Church has called for a moratorium on same sex unions. What might catch up with them all is what is taking shape in the Global Anglican Communion. If the Anglican Church of Canada allows same-sex unions to be decided locally it will be easier for the Global South bishops to declare themselves in impaired communion on a diocese by diocese basis as they have done with the Diocese of New Westminster. In short the global Anglican Communion will accomplish what orthodox Canadian Anglicans have failed to achieve - a discipline of their own house - a house that looks more and more each day like a house of cards that is ready to fall. END

By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent The Daily Telegraph 5/31/2004 The liberal Canadian Church has been told that worldwide Anglicanism could disintegrate if it paved the way to homosexual "marriages" this week. In unusually blunt language, Canon Gregory Cameron, a senior official close to the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the warning to the Canadian General Synod in Niagara on Saturday. Canon Cameron said the decision it was about to make was "about as serious as it could get". His comments reflected the growing fears of Anglican leaders that their efforts to avert schism over homosexuality would be "holed below the waterline" if the Canadians permitted gay blessings. But the intervention by Canon Cameron, who was effectively acting as Dr Rowan Williams's envoy, angered many Canadians, who resented that they saw as outside interference. The Synod will be asked on Wednesday to affirm that there is no bar to any Canadian diocese authorising the blessing of "committed same sex unions". Observers believe that the vote is "on a knife edge". If it is passed, the Synod will have defied Dr Williams's pleas for restraint on all sides. The decision could provoke a profound split that would lead to millions of conservative Anglicans breaking their ties with the Church's liberal wing. The stakes are so high that Dr Williams backed the risky strategy of sending Canon Cameron to address the Synod despite fears that it might unleash a liberal backlash. Canada's acting Primate, Archbishop David Crawley, said the Church should have complete independence in its decision-making. Liberals privately complained about "English interference". Canon Cameron, the secretary to the Lambeth Commission, the body set up by Dr Williams to try to keep the Church together, told the Synod that though it had the right to hold the debate, it should know the consequences. While the idea of public rites for blessing same-sex unions might not be new, he said, it flew in the face of the Church's official policy and the views of the vast majority. The Synod needed to be aware of their "sisters and brothers" in Africa and Asia who were wondering whether the West was prepared to pay any attention to their beliefs. "Nor should we decry their motives," he said. "This is no game playing. On both sides people are acting out of profound convictions that this is what God calls them to." The Lambeth Commission feared that the worldwide Church was moving from "respect towards rivalry", he told the 300 delegates gathered at Brock University in St Catherine's. "If you say 'no' to the motions before you, you will be in danger of letting down the gay people in your midst, who are your Canadian family, as well as all those others who are looking towards the Anglican Church of Canada to set a new standard of dealing with this issue. "But if you say 'yes', the work of the Lambeth Commission becomes horribly complicated. We will be told that the Anglican Church of Canada refuses to hear the voice and to heed the concerns of your fellow Anglicans in the growing provinces of the Global South, who are your international family." Canon Cameron concluded by saying that "the implications of your decision for the unity of the Anglican Communion, perhaps even its very survival in its current form, are just about as serious as it could get". One Canadian diocese, New Westminster, has already approved a rite for same-sex blessing. END

News Analysis By David W. Virtue 5/31/2004 The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has submitted a number of resolutions that it hopes this Synod will pass in the eventuality that the church dies if same sex blessings passes. The resolutions plan for the church's actual demise. The first resolution A071 concerns the duties of the Primate. "The Primate shall exercise pastoral and spiritual leadership throughout The Anglican Church of Canada." It formerly read, "To maintain a pastoral relationship to the whole of the Anglican Church of Canada." What that means is this. There will no longer be an obligation to maintain a pastoral relationship with the whole church. This is clearly designed to protect a Primate who cannot possibly maintain a pastoral relationship with the whole church that is splitting especially if the Primate is biased towards a liberal worldview that embraces pansexuality and liberal theological views. Resolution A179 concerns dialogue with the United Church of Canada. This church has seen a steep decline in church attendance since same-sex blessings were initiated in 1988. The question is this, is a renewal of dialogue with the United Church an effort to build a relationship with another church that blesses same-sex unions, with an eye to a later merger when the ACC has shrunk just like the United Church has done after it passed a same sex blessing motion? In the Episcopal Church USA a concordat now exists between the ECUSA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) with precisely the same idea in mind. Hundreds, possibly thousands of Episcopal parishes will go out of business unless they form mergers with ELCA parishes which are in equal danger of dying. Resolution A101 concerns the Anglican Journal and the Anglican Journal Terms of Reference. In the Explanatory note the resolution reads: "With uncertainty about the future of General Synod, and in order to preserve the existence of the journal, the decision was made to incorporate separately from General Synod. What that means is this. The Journal would preserve its assets when General Synod - the legislative governing body of the Council of General Synod (COGS) - folds. Resolution A080. This motion recognizes that the existence of the Church and the General Synod are in jeopardy by the passing of the motion on same sex blessings. The addition of Section 18: S. 18 (a) if at any date the General Synod ceases to exist . . . the following transition rules apply. . . These resolutions have been reviewed and revised to consider the implications of the passing of motion A134 - the blessing of same-sex unions. There is clear recognition by many in the Anglican Church of Canada that the General Synod may cease to exist. END

Jamie Doward, religious affairs correspondent The Observer May 30, 2004 Todd Grimshaw's confusion over his sexuality has kept millions of Coronation Street fans glued to the small screen in recent weeks. And Kat Moon's anguished decision to sleep with evil Andy Hunter so that he wouldn't call in husband Alfie's loan has sparked endless debate among EastEnders' addicts. But now it has emerged it may not just be soap fans who need their regular fix of what is happening in Weatherfield and Albert Square. The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on priests to watch soap operas as a way of helping them connect with parishioners in the real world. Rowan Williams used a lengthy speech on Friday, which drew on a diverse range of writers, from the atheist Frederick Nietzsche to the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, to stress how important it was for the Church of England to listen to the world around them. Williams told trainee priests at Ripon College, Oxford, that 'along with instruction in theology and ethics, there must be active encouragement to nourish this seeing and listening, (through) the novel and the newspaper and the soap opera and the casual conversation - even when it looks like wasting time.' A priest who follows the plotlines of a soap opera or a novel, Williams suggests, is someone who 'has a fair bit of literacy about the world we're in - literacy about our culture, about the human heart.' Last year Williams likened tensions over homosexual priests within the Anglican Church to a 'soap opera'. In March he drew parallels between contemporary society and the plotlines of Footballers' Wives. END

By Cynthia A. Brust American Anglican Council Since General Convention 2003, the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) has faced an unprecedented crisis. The unilateral actions of confirming the election of an active homosexual as well as the equivalent of local option for same sex blessings have resulted in 21 provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion declaring either impaired or broken communion with ECUSA. The Lambeth Commission was charged with making recommendations to the Primates on how to deal with the fallout. Both Archbishop Rowan Williams and Archbishop Robin Eames have asked for restraint during this period. We are deeply saddened that two ECUSA bishops have defied this primatial plea for restraint. Bishop Jon Bruno, Diocese of Los Angeles, recently presided over the same sex ceremony of the Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd, poet laureate of LA, and his long-time "partner". Bishop John Chane has announced plans to preside at the same sex blessing of former President of Integrity Michael Hopkins and his "partner" June 12, 2004. The fact that these bishops not only authorized, but also chose to preside at the "blessings," of such high profile individuals is particularly significant. Are the bishops sending a message to the Primates? These unilateral actions clearly signal a deplorable lack of respect for the request of the Anglican Communion Primates. These actions also demonstrate that the arrogance of revisionist ECUSA bishops knows no limits as they put the homosexual agenda before any hope of unity in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. While it is too late for Bishop Bruno, we call upon Bishop Chane to reconsider his decision. Cynthia P. Brust is Director of Communications, American Anglican Council http://www.americananglican.org

News Analysis By David W. Virtue ST. CATHERINES, ONT (5/31/2004)--Canadian Anglicans known more for their passivity and less for their sanguinity chose, on the fourth ballot, a bi-lingual liberal from the Diocese of Montreal, Archbishop Andrew S. Hutchison, 65, who failed to win a clear majority on the first three ballots. He won decisively on the fourth ballot, defeating the Evangelical Ronald C. Ferris, 58, Bishop of Algoma. 144 lay members and 117 clergy members voted. A majority in both houses was needed to declare a winner. On the fourth ballot Hutchison got 68 clergy votes and 97 laity. Ferris got 44 clergy votes and 41 laity. Ferris ran second in the voting, on all four ballots. A flip of eight votes would have had Ferris as the winner by clergy order. He could not summon the laity vote. The voting patterns followed much the same as in the American Episcopal Church. "They wanted a middle way to the right of Hutchison but couldn't find it", said a knowledgeable watcher. What it does say is that Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Edmonton would have won had she been available. She is in hospital facing surgery for breast cancer. Hoping to break the log jam after four ballots, the two houses moved quickly to choose Hutchison. On the first ballot Hutchison got 48 clergy and 72 laity with Ferris obtaining 24 clergy and 38 laity. Caleb Lawrence, 63, Bishop of Moosonee, got 25 clergy and 38 laity. On the second ballot Hutchison got 55 clergy and 78 laity, (a majority of laity but not clergy). Ferris got 39 clergy and 34 laity. Caleb got 20 and laity 28. The Bishop of Moosonee was forced out of the race following the second ballot. With no clear winner the chairman called for new nominees. Ninety minutes later in the Sean O'Sullivan theatre, Bishop D. Ralph Spence, 62, Diocese of Niagara was nominated. His resume, when publicly read prompted laughter when it was announced that he had one of the largest flag collections in Canada and is involved in a museum of flags. He was elected coadjutor bishop in 1997. The failure of Hutchison to win clearly and decisively was a set back; albeit temporary, for the more revisionist element in the church, and another gob smack at Michael Ingham the pro-gay Bishop of New Westminster, who saw in Hutchison a sleeper candidate for his views. It was a desperate maneuver to stop liberalism in its track and oust Hutchison. Clearly the synod was looking for a Victoria Matthews type to hold it together; someone less ideological than Hutchison. In Ralph Spence, the portly, moderately liberal Bishop of Niagara, the hope was that he would provide it. On the third ballot, Ferris got 38 clergy votes and 33 laity. Hutchison got 53 clergy and 70 laity votes, Spence got 25 clergy 40 laity. Spence was gone. A fourth ballot was called which saw Hutchison and Ferris duking it out for the top slot. Two moves from the floor for more nominations were quickly squelched. The stop Hutchison movement was running out of steam. When the fourth vote came in Hutchison was the clear winner. It was a vote for a continuation of, if not an acceleration of, the policies of former Primate Michael Peers. An insider with knowledge of the history of Canadian Anglicanism believes that within a few days Hutchison will reach out to the orthodox of the church in a gesture of good will. It will inevitably be seen as too little late. Few doubt that the new Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada will continue the liberal tradition of his predecessor Michael Peers, who resigned as Primate prior to General Synod. Mandatory retirement for a Primate is 70. In his acceptance speech, Hutchison said that he, as the Primate elect, accepted the job with a profound sense of accountability recognizing the complexity of Anglicanism from coast to coast with its multiplicity of cultures. With a nod to the orthodox in the church, Hutchison said he would strive for unity, citing our Lord's words that we all may be one so that the world may believe. "More energy needs to be directed but we must ask what our purpose is? I shall use my every ounce of energy to increase and build the unity of this church so that the world may believe, so that people across thisand look to us and see how these Christians love one another." Chris Hawley a spokesman for the orthodox movement Essentials Canada said he was disappointed by the result, but said that he believed that the job of the Primate is to bring both sides together. "We want to give him the opportunity to connect with orthodox people. The onus is on him to do so. We can't prejudge anyone, he needs a chance. The orthodox want to be heard in the councils of the church." Hawley said Hutchison would be seen as liberal. "It matters more that a Primate represents both sides of the church. The orthodox view is significant in the pews but less significant in the leadership. Essentials would have preferred to see Ferris win." Prior to the election, Acting Primate David Crawley said, "We stubbornly gather in General Synod believing that the Spirit will guide us." The days ahead will prove whether or not that is true. END

GENERAL SYNOD TO CHART COURSE OF CHURCH THIS WEEK Francine Dube National Post Friday, May 28, 2004 Anglican leaders from across Canada begin meeting in St. Catharines tomorrow to chart the course of the Church for the next three years and address an issue that is threatening to tear it apart -- the blessing of same-sex unions. Parishes in B.C. have begun breaking away from the national Church over the issue and a wider schism is feared. Debate on a motion affirming that each diocese can decide whether to bless same-sex unions begins at the meeting tomorrow. A vote on the motion takes place next week. "There's a good deal of anxiety within the Church," said Rev. Canon Eric Beresford, consultant for ethics and interfaith relations for the Anglican Church of Canada. "The emotional temperature of this debate seems very, very high." The Anglican Church in Canada has faced the threat of schism before. Numerous parishes broke away after the decision in the 1970s to ordain women. Although many parishioners subsequently returned, others remain estranged to this day. Veterans of those days say the climate over the blessing of same-sex unions is even more charged. In B.C., three churches have broken away from the Anglican Church of Canada and are instead under the direction of an Anglican Church leader in Southeast Asia. Holy Cross, in Abbotsford, B.C., was ordered closed by Bishop Michael Ingham, of the Diocese of New Westminster, after the parish refused to fall in line with his decision to allow blessings of same-sex unions. The church's funding, including the priest's salary, was withdrawn. Since then, parishioners have continued to meet weekly, supporting themselves financially with the help of sympathetic Anglicans from other parishes. "In some ways it's been freeing," said acting church warden Bill Glasgow. "We feel that we've stood up for what we believe in." Says Mr. Glasgow, 48, a graphic designer and father of six: "If we go along with all of this, then what's our sense of what's right; what do we use as an authority; what's the purpose of the Bible anyway; does it have any purpose in our life at all?" The closed church's priest, Reverend James Wagner, his wife, a part-time physician, and their three children, ages nine, five and 20 months, have had to cut back on household expenses to compensate for the loss of his salary. He used to receive $24,000 a year plus $1,000 a month in housing allowance. Mr. Wagner believes an important principle is at stake. "What I think we're doing is creating a right that we don't really have the permission to create, biblically or even traditionally," he says of same-sex unions. One priest has left the Church over the matter. Timothy Cooke, 44, was the rector of Saint Martin's Church in North Vancouver when the issue of blessing same-sex marriages emerged in New Westminster. He quit in 2002. "I don't doubt the sincerity or the compassion of the proponents of the same-sex blessings, but it seems to me unmistakable that the fabric of Anglicanism in Canada and globally has been torn apart over this issue. Mediators, legal panels and synods will not weave it back together because the underlying issues of scriptural authority and the moral tradition of the Church cannot be brokered," he wrote in an e-mail to the National Post. Mr. Cooke decided to follow his Swiss-born wife back to her country, where he is now a pastor in the Swiss Reformed Church. Bishop Ingham did not respond to a request for an interview from the National Post. But he has described opposition to homosexuals as "irrational" and "based on a history of discrimination." The motion to be debated at the general synod -- the Church's chief governing and legislative body -- this week and next, will not create any new powers. There is nothing to prevent any diocese from allowing same-sex blessings now -- but if the motion passes at the meeting, the feeling is that dioceses that may have been waiting for some kind of official word on the issue may follow in the footsteps of New Westminster. The diocese of Toronto has a motion coming up at a special synod in November, and the dioceses of Niagara and Ottawa are considering similar actions, Mr. Beresford said. Meanwhile, at least 13 bishops of the 30 dioceses in Canada have repeatedly expressed opposition to the idea of blessing same-sex unions. "In a time of tension and division, we ask all Anglicans to stay loyal to the truth of the Scripture and to the Church," they wrote together in a letter, bearing the names of the bishops of Caledonia, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, and Fredericton, among others. Representatives from each of the 30 dioceses across the country are taking part in the general synod, including lay people, priests and bishops. The synod runs to June 4. © National Post 2004

By Peter Mitham "To see the changes that happened in me and some of my friends happen to others" – it's a phrase the Rev. Duke Vipperman says with all the seriousness of a mission statement. But a warm voice indicates that it's a genuine expression of what motivates Vipperman, who at 21 left behind the mysticism of the hippie movement for a new freedom in Christ. Thirty-three years later, he continues to see changes, not just in people but entire congregations. The rector of Toronto's Church of the Resurrection, Vipperman has assisted in reviving a parish that had just 57 regular worshippers a week four years ago into one with 215 on any given Sunday. "I can't put my finger on precisely what the attraction is," he said. "Our intent was not really to grow, it was to be healthy. And in God's world, healthy things grow." Vipperman's career in ministry had far more humble origins. Following his conversion, he embarked on a series of jobs with telephone and construction firms as a way of earning enough to pursue youth ministries in and around Fairfax, Virginia. But juggling multiple jobs while engaged in ministry didn't make long-term sense. Following his marriage in 1981, he and his wife Debbie took courses at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry with the aim of launching into full-time ordained ministry. But on graduating in 1983, Vipperman found there were only two positions available in Virginia for 14 candidates so he moved to London, Ontario. "I guess I fit better up here than down there," he says, with a warm laugh. Vipperman initially served as an assistant at St. George's Anglican Church in London, afterwards becoming rector of Exeter and Grand Bend, a two-point parish also in southwestern Ontario. Shortly after his arrival in Canada, he also became involved in the work of Barnabas Anglican Ministries, a network formed in 1984 to draw together Anglican evangelicals across Canada. Soon enough, in 1991, Vipperman became associate rector of Little Trinity in Toronto. The church was growing, and by 2000 had 600 regular worshippers. Meanwhile, attendance at Church of the Resurrection was dwindling. Five other churches in the neighbourhood had closed in the previous decade, and the Resurrection knew it had to attract members or face hard decisions about its future. Vipperman accepted the challenge of fostering a revival and, taking about 60 members of Little Trinity, he left for the Resurrection. He also took with him a respect for what he calls the Anglican church's "high theology of place" and the structure of parishes that shows people where they should focus their efforts. Looking at the kinds of people who were in the neighbourhood surrounding the Resurrection, Vipperman found that as seniors in the area moved on — either to nursing homes or beyond — young professionals just starting families were moving in. Cornerstones of the revival became an active children's ministry and multimedia presentations that used the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer but complemented it with contemporary graphics and music. This drew in both Anglicans and people unfamiliar with Anglican practices. But the congregation wasn't content to simply minister within its building. It distributed flyers, letting people know they were welcome to drop by the church, and undertook coffee houses in local pubs. Members talked with people on the streets and engaged with the community. A summer day camp using materials from Montreal-based Crosstalk Ministries also drew in a family or two as word got around that the Rez (as it's known) was a good place for kids. Today, kids — mostly preschoolers and primary school students — dominate the Sunday school, which has grown to about 60 kids. That's well over a quarter of the congregation size. Vipperman acknowledges that the growth hasn't been easy. "We had to learn, as a parish, how to readjust our life," he said, but notes that the readjustment in practice wouldn't have worked if Jesus hadn't been at the heart of the change and what the Resurrection was about. "Jesus' name is being honoured, and people need to take it seriously," he said. Looking to the future, Vipperman hopes to ultimately send a tenth of the Resurrection's members to revive another church just as members of Little Trinity helped revive the Resurrection. "Only God can do a resurrection," he says, repeating a line he told the congregation on his arrival in 2000. "God has brought us back from the brink. If God can do it for us, he can do it for other people." Doug LeBlanc is a contributing editor of Christianity Today and is working for ESSENTIALS Canada and orthodox group at Canadian Synod.

On June 2, when General Synod will be in its sixth day of difficult deliberations, Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton will be undergoing surgery for breast cancer. She will be in recovery when the new primate is installed at Christ Church Cathedral in Hamilton. Prior to her sudden diagnosis, Bishop Matthews was a strong contender for the primacy and her withdrawal from the election shocked everyone. If elected, Bishop Matthews would have been the first female primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion. In a letter to her diocese sent May 19, Bishop Matthews said the diagnosis was "a surprise." But she added, "I am at peace with what must be done. The love of God is everlasting and I am strong in my faith in Jesus Christ, the great physician, and the healing power of the Holy Spirit. "Of course I ask and welcome your prayers, and I'll make sure you are informed, on a timely basis, about my progress," she said. "There is the expectation of full recovery. As far as I'm concerned I have lots more ministry ahead of me." Chemotherapy and probably radiation treatment will follow. She is expected to be on medical disability leave for up to one year. She also withdrew her name as a nominee for the office of the diocesan bishop of Toronto. And her own diocesan synod might be postponed until May, 2005. "Victoria is a person who faces adversity with steadiness and grace," said Ron Ferris, Bishop of Algoma and one of the remaining candidates. "She is deeply rooted in the life of prayer, radiating serenity, and pointing us to Christ." In her "Vision of the Primacy" Matthews wrote, "At this time relationships within the [worldwide Anglican] Communion are threatened. Recognizing that every province has something to teach and much to learn, I believe we need to strengthen our commitment to the Communion and our common faith." She wrote of the dioceses and parishes of the ACC, "There is a distressing tendency to think that we don't need each other…. Moral and prophetic leadership are especially important in times of crisis. "Canada is not a Christian country," Matthews continued, but that doesn't mean there is no place for the prophetic call to peace and justice. It is the Church's vocation in Christ to waken the conscience of Canada." A native of Toronto, Matthews was the first female bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada and is the country's only female diocesan bishop. Her manner with her episcopal colleagues is firm but gracious. Blessed with a fine intellect, Matthews received her Masters of Divinity from Yale and her Masters of Theology from Trinity College, Toronto. But she has also taught twice in an inner city school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As a single woman she enjoys reading, swimming and hiking. She has led young people in various pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostelo, Spain, Taize, France, and Iona, Scotland. When the youth were weary and ready to drop, Matthews would urge them on, setting the pace. Now is the time to encourage the Bishop in her personal pilgrimage, when the journey is particularly rough. Please pray for Bishop Matthews: Almighty God, giver of all health and healing: Grant to this thy servant Victoria, such a sense of thy presence that she may have perfect trust in thee. In all her suffering may she cast her care upon thee, so that, enfolded in thy love and power, she may receive from thee health and salvation according to thy gracious will; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 580)