The feared schism in the Anglican Church and expulsion of the liberal U.S. branch, the Episcopal Church, did not happen, but a new set of requirements was issued in yet another effort to quell seething tensions between the "progressives" of the western church and the conservative churches of Africa and South America.
Leaders of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion who have been deeply divided over the biblical view of homosexuality and other issues, ended a contentious meeting in Tanzania with the first steps toward a set of core principles spelling out who is truly Anglican and who is not. Many have said they will leave or decide to change their church to another congregation if the biblical view of homosexuality is thrown out and gays allowed to be leaders.
The USA's Episcopal Church may be tiny, with just 2.2 million members, but the choices it makes and the consequences it faces may well be played out in other, larger Protestant denominations. This summer the governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will consider whether to overturn its own disciplinary committee, which defrocked an openly gay minister but called the rules that required celibacy for unmarried pastors "bad policy." And every national meeting of the United Methodists and the Presbyterian Church USA features a push for gay ordination and blessings for same-sex unions.
leaders of national and regional churches — issued a dense draft of core Anglican principles. The last lines said "we acknowledge" that some national churches may stray so far afield they can't be called Anglican any more.
That's an arrow aimed directly at the USA's Episcopal Church, which outraged conservatives by approving an openly gay bishop in 2003 and, in 2006, electing a woman presiding bishop, the Right Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports blessing gay unions as well.
The primates also issued an accompanying lengthy statement saying they were unpersuaded by the American Episcopal Church's efforts so far to mend the rift. The statement was very direct:
"Set a Sept. 30 deadline for the Episcopal Church to issue a statement that it will not authorize rites or blessings for same-sex unions or approve any more openly gay bishops "unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion."
Established a five-person pastoral council to provide spiritual care for parishioners whose churches dissent from the Episcopal Church. About 10% of the nation's 7,200 parishes have refused to accept the sacraments from any bishop who approves of gay bishops or blessing same-sex unions.
Called for an end to further interventions if the Episcopal Church follows through on these requests. Three dozen churches have seceded and aligned with conservatives in Africa or South America, such as Archbishop of Nigeria Peter Akinola.
Called both for an end to lawsuits over properties and for the seceding churches to continue to be open to people who disagree. The Diocese of Virginia is suing for control of the properties of a dozen breakaway churches which it says belong to the Episcopal Church, not individual congregations.
Called for a vicar to oversee the dissenters who currently are under the authority of a woman presiding bishop, the Right Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports blessing gay unions as well. "
http://www.thewitness.org/article.php?id=1034
The head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, called this an "interim situation while the covenant is being worked out that will provide a way of moving forward with integrity but it can only remain a very temporary solution."
But unless a covenant is approved eventually, there is no mechanism for expelling the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion, which has no pope or central legislative body. Williams has the authority to call his fellow primates together and seek consensus. No consensus was in sight this week.
Progressives and traditionalists disagreed as soon as the covenant language was released.
Already there's debate over the meaning of a key principle in the draft calling for Anglican churches to uphold "biblically derived moral values and the vision of humanity received by and developed in the communion of member Churches." Conservatives, however, say Biblical truth is clear and unchanging.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/12/MNGT0O34OQ1.DTL
Leaders of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion who have been deeply divided over the biblical view of homosexuality and other issues, ended a contentious meeting in Tanzania with the first steps toward a set of core principles spelling out who is truly Anglican and who is not. Many have said they will leave or decide to change their church to another congregation if the biblical view of homosexuality is thrown out and gays allowed to be leaders.
The USA's Episcopal Church may be tiny, with just 2.2 million members, but the choices it makes and the consequences it faces may well be played out in other, larger Protestant denominations. This summer the governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will consider whether to overturn its own disciplinary committee, which defrocked an openly gay minister but called the rules that required celibacy for unmarried pastors "bad policy." And every national meeting of the United Methodists and the Presbyterian Church USA features a push for gay ordination and blessings for same-sex unions.
leaders of national and regional churches — issued a dense draft of core Anglican principles. The last lines said "we acknowledge" that some national churches may stray so far afield they can't be called Anglican any more.
That's an arrow aimed directly at the USA's Episcopal Church, which outraged conservatives by approving an openly gay bishop in 2003 and, in 2006, electing a woman presiding bishop, the Right Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports blessing gay unions as well.
The primates also issued an accompanying lengthy statement saying they were unpersuaded by the American Episcopal Church's efforts so far to mend the rift. The statement was very direct:
"Set a Sept. 30 deadline for the Episcopal Church to issue a statement that it will not authorize rites or blessings for same-sex unions or approve any more openly gay bishops "unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion."
Established a five-person pastoral council to provide spiritual care for parishioners whose churches dissent from the Episcopal Church. About 10% of the nation's 7,200 parishes have refused to accept the sacraments from any bishop who approves of gay bishops or blessing same-sex unions.
Called for an end to further interventions if the Episcopal Church follows through on these requests. Three dozen churches have seceded and aligned with conservatives in Africa or South America, such as Archbishop of Nigeria Peter Akinola.
Called both for an end to lawsuits over properties and for the seceding churches to continue to be open to people who disagree. The Diocese of Virginia is suing for control of the properties of a dozen breakaway churches which it says belong to the Episcopal Church, not individual congregations.
Called for a vicar to oversee the dissenters who currently are under the authority of a woman presiding bishop, the Right Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports blessing gay unions as well. "
http://www.thewitness.org/article.php?id=1034
The head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, called this an "interim situation while the covenant is being worked out that will provide a way of moving forward with integrity but it can only remain a very temporary solution."
But unless a covenant is approved eventually, there is no mechanism for expelling the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion, which has no pope or central legislative body. Williams has the authority to call his fellow primates together and seek consensus. No consensus was in sight this week.
Progressives and traditionalists disagreed as soon as the covenant language was released.
Already there's debate over the meaning of a key principle in the draft calling for Anglican churches to uphold "biblically derived moral values and the vision of humanity received by and developed in the communion of member Churches." Conservatives, however, say Biblical truth is clear and unchanging.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/12/MNGT0O34OQ1.DTL
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