Primates suspend Episcopal Church from full participation in the Anglican Communion [AnglicanInk]

Primates suspend Episcopal Church from full participation in the Anglican Communion

14 Jan 2016
Author: George Conger

The primates of the Anglican Communion have suspended the Episcopal Church from full participation in the life and work of the Anglican Communion. On 14 January 2016 a motion was presented to the gathering of archbishops and moderators gathered in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral that called for the Episcopal Church to be suspended for a period of three years.

The resolution as shared with Anglican Ink calls for the Episcopal Church to lose its “vote” in meetings of pan-Anglican institutions and assemblies, but preserves its “voice”, demoting the church to observer status..

The motion asks that representatives of the Episcopal Church not be permitted to represent the Communion in interfaith and ecumenical bodies or dialogue commissions, nor serve on the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council, nor vote at meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council -- whose next meeting is this summer in Lusaka. Unlike the recommendations of the Windsor Report, which called for the “voluntary withdrawal” of the Episcopal Church from the life of the Communion, today’s vote directs the archbishop to discipline the American church.

The Episcopal Church may not take part in the decision making process “on issues of doctrine or polity”, either, agreed the primates.

The motion further asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to “appoint a task group to maintain conversations among ourselves with the intention of restoration of relationship, rebuilding of mutual trust, healing the legacy of hurt, recognising the extent of commonality, and exploring our deep differences, ensuring they are held in the love and grace of Christ.”

The archbishop’s task group will be tasked with implementing the dialogue and codifying what “this looks like” a source familiar with the deliberations told AI.

The motion was passed by a two thirds margin, sources tell AI.

The three year time frame to repent and bring its house in order was given so as to “respect the polity of the Episcopal Church” a source tells us. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has no authority to bind the American church. That can only be done by the Church’s General Convention which is scheduled to meet in 2018.

Debate within the meeting focused on the actions of General Convention. Several primates, for whom this was their first meeting, were unaware of the background to the debate, and the group as a whole focused its attentions on the actions of last summer’s General Convention.

Leaders of the GAFCON movement, at the start of the meeting, sought to group the Anglican Church of Canada with the Episcopal Church, but Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz told the gathering his church had yet to adopt provincial-wide rites for same-sex marriage. It would come before the next meeting of General Synod, he explained, but had not been settled. Archbishop Hiltz’s explanation appears to have satisfied the group as a whole as the motion proposed and its accompanying debate focused on the Episcopal Church.

The Lambeth Palace press office did not respond to requests for comment, while a spokesman for Archbishop Foley Beach of the ACNA said he would not be commenting at this time. The Rev. Arun Arora, director of communications for the Church of England released a message on Twitter in response to the news of sanctions, stating: “@anglicanink Acting within the love&grace of Jesus Not about sanctions but consequences in context of unanimous commitment to walk together”. He declined to expand upon this statement.

The meeting continues to mid-day Friday, and a formal press conference has been scheduled after the close.

The meeting continues.


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Wow. I hope that this is the wake up call the Episcopal Church needed. May God bless this action in a way that leads the Episcopalian hierarchy to repentance, humility and a renewed adherence to the rule of scripture.

 

This sounds pretty radical, it may be the deal breaker to make Episcopal Church decide to commune with the rest of Anglicanism or become schismatic

 

Hi All, First I want to say thank you all for reading whatever posts that I have put out here. And your posts that I have surely enjoyed reading on this board. But I, like most of you, have to decide and make my own stance. I can't stand with an Anglican Communion that would condone the persecution, arrest and imprisonment of people because of their sexual orientation. Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and the Anglican Primates of those provinces and the support of laws like the Ugandan Anti Homosexual law of 2014, the circumcision of young women, the lack of respect for woman in general makes continued inclusion in anything Anglican for me impossible. It is my sincerest hope that someday we can all just be Christians, until then I think it is time for TEC and like minded denominations to break ties with the Anglican Communion and go our own way. No one wins in this, in fact all lose. But it is as people seem to wish it to be.

May God Bless you all, keep you safe and know that as Episcopalians we love all children of God, unconditionally without exception.

Farewell........

 

It is sad to see you leave Lloyd. I am an Episcopalian too. We need to recognize what part we played in bringing the primates to take such a radical step and, humbly, we need to consider if the course TEC has chosen is wise and right. The Communion chose to sanction our province but it never once considered taking away it's voice. I don't think voluntarily removing yours from this forum will help the cause of reconciliation. TEC doesn't need to go it's own way. It needs to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.

You bring up valid points regarding other provinces issues. They need to be addressed. But others' sins do not make ours ok. TEC broke faith with the communion, did what the primates pled with it not to do, and made our own presiding bishop a liar when he signed a pledge on our behalf not to go down the path of same-sex unions. What we did was not catholic, was not biblical, and was not, in my lowly opinion, honorable.

Yet we can get through this with God's help. And we can and should do it together. God hates divorce.

 

I am personally glad that the Episcopal church has been given an opportunity to repent. I don't see how that is radical. The issue of GAFCON primates supporting unjust laws must not be used to water down the damage the Episcopal Church has done to the Anglican Communion. Those churches are not seeking to change the church and in my opinion can be dealt with much easily once the elephant in the room has been taken care of.

This is not a black and white issue. Conservatives are being painted as hateful peoole yet we all know this is not true. I personally stand by traditional views on marriage and sexuality yet I have nothing against my "married" lesbian friend and strange enough she does not resent my understanding of marriage (which by the way we've both always held,until she came out of the closet). The media is really dictating to the minds of the people to a point that they are blinded to its agenda.

Forgive any typos you may encounter, I'm using a phone.

 

Sadly this is the response of the majority of the TEC that I have read. Starting with the PD Curry down to the laity. I must say Lowly Layman is so far the only Episcopalian I have read or heard speak like a Christian.

Like most who want to promote their sin, Lloyd brings up red herrings to confuse and mislead. He is fine with the West forcing their progressive values on others....but how dare those Africans speak the Gospel back to them. Oh and this is going on in the RCC. The last two synods, it was the African Bishops who stopped the unorthodox western Bishops from changing various doctrines to be more inclusive.

The problem is not so called same sex marriage. It is the abandonment of Holy Scripture, recreating Christ like the Arians did or any other group of heretics. This was a long time coming. Since the illegal ordaining of women in the 70's, 1998 Lambeth telling the TEC to stop, to the numerous meetings in the beginning of this century. Each time the TEC leadership gave lip service or mislead and continued its march away from Christianity. The Primates are showing great mercy and grace. How does the TEC react......digs in with its errors. The ink is not even dry and Bishop Curry and others are playing the victim and stating they will not even examine themselves. They are right. The AC, all the Primates, Scripture, Tradition and Reason are wrong.

I will pray for the TEC that the scales fall from their eyes like it happened to St Paul. That they repent. This is not a game of who is right. This is a call to obedience to God. An attempt to save souls.

Now as to what Lloyd has written. Drivel. Sorry but this is typical of the unorthodox. Impose your beliefs. And get offended if you get push back. But lets not let facts get in the way of a good self righteous moment. Lets look at this line by line.

1. None of the Churches accused is behind any attempts to imprison people for orientation. A good read on African Culture in regards to homosexuality can be found on virtueonline.com Seems homosexuality is accepted and allowed. Just don't be in their face about it. Which is what western homosexuals and their supports are all about. They have freedoms, but no one else. Just look at the lawsuits

2.Ugandan Anti Homosexual Bill 0f 2014. It was the Anglican Church and other that pressure the removal of the death penalty. Regardless it was declared unconstitutional by their high court. So it is not the law of the land.

3. Muslims are the ones practicing circumcision Lloyd not Christians. In your haste to find horrible things to condemn you missed the mark. Maybe you should not get your talking points from TEC bloggers who are having hissy fits right now. You defamed and broke at least one commandment with this.

4. Lack of respect for women? Really? Know many Africans there Lloyd? The Africans, Christian or not, I have met highly respect their wives, daughters and women in general. Now the muslim africans I have had contact with, not so much.

Lloyd if we were all just being Christians, the Primates would not have had to act after decades of pain caused by the TEC. I think you are confused on what being a Christian is all about. A Christian loves. A Christian does not try to sin. A Christian obeys God and His Commandments. A Christian does not pick and choose which Commandment to obey based upon which sin he/she likes to commit. A Christian warns others when they see them heading off a cliff because of their sin and prays the blinders of sin are removed before going over the cliff and descending into hell. A Christian does not attempt to make God in his/her own image and ignore what God say and put word they want to hear in His mouth.

Are Christians perfect? No. I am probably the most imperfect person on this forum. I fail. I keep trying to do as God wishes and when it is hard I fight the urge to change God so my life is easier. Sadly the leadership of the TEC stopped fighting the urge years ago and now call good evil and evil good.

Talking with my fellow priests. We regret this has had to happen and feel the Primates did not go far enough. Guess that is why God has not made us Bishops!

This Sunday I will include the intention for the Communion to heal and for all to repent and follow Christ in obedience.

blessings,

Fr. Mark

 

The reaction I've seen from my Episcopal brethren is ...nonchalant. It doesn't bother them. The rector's remarks on Sunday should prove interesting, as he follows Anglican Communion politics fairly closely.

I'm also not bothered, but for different reasons -- my emotional investment is to the Church as a whole -- Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican -- and my local parish, not a national organisation.

 

The reaction I've seen on the Episcopal side of the pond had been grandstanding and boastful. It looks like they will go forward with their anti-Christian dogma full steam ahead!