If I convert, the bishop is a woman, and all priests are women. What am I supposed to do?!

Greetings everyone.

I've recently returned to a parish in the Anglican Church of Canada where the Bishop is a woman. They even had woman priests. I don't mean to ruffle any feathers but I don't see any biblical or historical reasons for this practice and struggle about what to do. Should I continue to attend the services and ignore the abuses? The other option is to join a Presbyterian Church.

Yours in the Lord,

jay

 

I think it is fine, but many here would not agree. This is a matter of your personal conscience, and to what degree you think having women as your pastors will affect your spiritual life.

 

I think you are exactly right, and this won't ruffle any feathers in this community. We're all like this, and I definitely do not think what you saw is okay. Transgenderism of 2018 began with women-priests in the 1970s. A bishop, a priest, a deacon, is a man, and to say that women can be a father is the beginning of the crisis the world is engulfed in today.

I would recommend that you pull out of that parish, especially since you say it is an active harm to your spiritual health. I would look for the ACNA churches in Canada, which are still few for now, but some might be near you, under the banner of ANIC, Anglican Network in Canada. I would also look for Continuing Anglican Churches. As a last resort yes I would see if there are any passable Presbyterian, or Methodist, or Romanist churches nearby, just to get by for a few years while ANIC grows and the Anglican realignment reaches full crescendo around the globe.

I, for example, have no orthodox Anglican church in my city; so what do I do? I drive an hour each way, every Sunday and for any parish meetings during the week. It is 100% worth it, and my family's spiritual health is worth it.

 

I'm too Reformed to be a papist so the Presby route would be the only option. I just don't want to leave if I don't have to. The 8 am Book of Common Prayer service is traditional and I have no contact with any of the abuses...so far. The latter 10:30 service is BAS but still conservative.

But! I cringe every time we are asked to "pray for our Bishop Linda."

Yours in the Lord,

jay

 

Something you might consider is just doing a church plant of your own. Get in touch with a local traditionalist Anglican bishop (not in the Church of Canada), and go for it, maybe with just a morning prayer in someone's living room on Sundays at first. If you're looking, then so are many others; all of you think that it's impossible, that you can't do it, but if you just have 10-12 like-minded individuals, then it's a church plant, and as you continue to make your case, and as the Church of Canada declines, you'll have more and more converts and refugees. It requires work but the twelve apostles had a lot of work to do as well, and they didn't do half bad a job at it.

 

The local Greek Orthodox posted their Holy Week service times so I might check them out.

 

Are there any orthodox Methodist congregations nearby?

 

Up here in Canada we have few orthodox Christians. I'll probably stay put until pushed out.

 

My jurisdiction (orthodoxanglican.net) has been looking for an opportunity to launch a proto-diocese in Canada. I even floated the idea of moving to Hamilton myself to the Canon who was in charge of that region. I would also be open to moving to Windsor. Unfortunately, there is no financial support for the endeavour at this time. What is needed is a Canadian to kick off the work.

 

I have a degree of sympathy with everything expressed. There is no requirement for an Anglican to expect the Visible Church to be perfect. Article 26 of courses raises this for us "Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments, ..." and perhaps we should expect it not to be perfect.

One consolation of this is that I do not think that there would be room for me in a perfect church. In Church History the Donatist Controversy reminds us of the dangers of wanting to perfect a church. That having been said, it is always nice to feel something. I know I get challenged at times when I feel I attend and get nothing out of it, and then I try and remind myself that I will not get a lot out of it if I do not invest in it.

At some stage there comes a point where integrity requires you to acknowledge that one's position in a particular community of faith / congregation / whatever is no longer meaningful, and it is time to go looking.

Distances is a great killer in Australia, I know that about three hours away I could be quite happy, but I can realistically invest six hours of travel on a regular basis.

Until we all with unveiled face behold the glory of the Lord, we will acknowledge to shortcomings of all we have and offer.

 

My church has a lady deacon and is the most traditional parish in my city (they aren't that traditional). Does this mean I should check out some other Churches?

 

My advice would be, whilst being part of the congregation has value for you, and help you to grow, you should probably stay. Ultimately it is a matter for some deep prayer, it is but one aspect of the whole package. Remember we do not go to church because we like the clergy.

 

Wait don't even the Romans and the Eastern Orthodox have deaconesses?

 

No. Especially the Orthodox, they would never allow a woman deacon.

The Romans do have a ton of schismatics and off branches like the SSPX that still claim to be in union with Rome. Also a lot of people who think Francis isn't the real Pope and Vatican II is invalid.

 

I'm not aware of deaconesses within present day Roman Catholicism although I do believe that there have been in the past. Of course a deaconess is not a female deacon

 

Deaconesses are something that realistically could happen again in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Many Orthodox jurisdictions still have them, like the Russians, and I believe Romanians, if not more, and Pope Francis has a commission weighing it.

 

Find out if she's a lady deacon or a deaconess. The two are very different concepts, as a deacon is ordained and in holy orders, and a deaconess is not. The REC (one of the main ACNA jurisdictions) has deaconesses, as do some of the Continuing Churches like the APA. The early church had them as well, and that was where the initial confusion arose in the 20th century, leading to Women's Ordination, because they didn't have clarity about the Patristic institutions. So yeah find out if she's one, or the other. And secondly, while women deacons are an issue on paper, if your parish resists women bishops and women priests then you've got a good and solid church family to cleave unto, so I'd certainly stick around and let them be your family. A spiritual home isn't to be taken lightly or for granted these days.

 

She's a deacon. My parish priest's wife is a women priest.

 

I guess Rome is looking into it but has not ruled yet https://www.ncronline.org/news/vati...udy-female-deacons-appointing-gender-balanced

 

Pull out of the Parish, find a continuing Anglican church, and offer prayers for the leadership of the Church of Canda to repent of there false teaching.

This is not about how you feel, or do you get something out of it. They are in direct rebellion against God's word. God is never subjective to our feeling on these matter's.