Fr. Dan, whose fine blog, Confessions of a Carioca, is worth regularly checking in with, posted this yesterday, under the heading "Something Wicked This Way Comes": "I am reasonably well assured that a sub-group of some five dioceses within the Anglican Communion Network have cooked up a plan to hold hands and jump off the slowly-sinking ship that is the Episcopal Church and swim to . . . well, here's where the intelligence gets sketchy--OK, non-existent." Later in the same article he says, "In the most charitable construction, a move of this sort represents a 'Plan B' in response to last month's resounding rejection of the Primates' Pastoral Council/Primatial Vicar plan by the House of Bishops. A more jaded exegesis sees it as the most radical fringe of the Network exploiting the HOB's ill-advised actions by making a run for something more like they would have wanted in the first place anyway."
C.B. responding to my earlier post, "Bishop Minns moves up, on, and out" reminded me that "lest we forget the CANA website clearly states it's relationship to the AC as follows:
'At their meeting in September 2006, the Global South Primates of the Anglican Communion, who represent more than 70% of the active membership of the Communion, stated their conviction that "the time has now come to take initial steps towards the formation of what will be recognized as a separate ecclesiastical structure of the Anglican Communion in the USA." They are in close consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The intention of the Primate of the Church of Nigeria and of the Missionary Bishop and other leadership of CANA is that it will serve as a transitional entity that may by God's grace be a building block for this new ecclesiastical structure.'
They are going forward as planned it would seem."
So Fr. Dan's suggestion that five diocese, his own included, are prepared to jump, CANA's read on the Global South Primates plan, the Invitation to the Minns Installation, which stresses that Archbishop Akinola is "Chairman of the Global South," and remembering the "swears" taken by the bishops at the meeting with the Global South Steering Committee in Virginia last November, the Installation may indeed be the context for a "next step" in the development of a "Province in the making."
What form that next step will take, who knows. Fr. Dan doesn't know, but may soon. I hope he will share his findings.
As I have noted on other occasions, there are now two bishops in CANA, three if the Bishop of Jos is counted. There could soon be more. Last week Bishop Frank Lyons took part in the first CANA ordinations. The birds are flocking together. Three is enough for trouble.
Meanwhile, the CANA website posts this remark, "At this time, CANA is larger than nearly 50 dioceses in The Episcopal Church in terms of weekend worship attendance." Still, a "diocese like" thing like CANA has no particular use for two or three bishops. This is all dress rehearsal for things to come.
As the bishops who have joined CANA consider the constitution and canons of the chuch, viz: "ere is the oath taken by Bishops in the Church of Nigeria:
ReplyDelete“3. OATH OF OBEDIENCE
At his consecration or translation, every Bishop of the Church of Nigeria shall swear an oath of Canonical obedience to the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the Church of Nigeria and to his lawful successors.” have they shared their "oath" with their congregations?
Are they aware that their bishops serve solely at the pleasure of +Akinola? Many churches in the Communion and their primates may be unfamiliar with the kind of authority and obedience that +Akinola is accustomed to exercising or demanding. Is it reasonable to believe that +Akinola, when it comes to exercising power and authority in the communion, will content with less? EPfizH
A secular observation: these people have a lot of money and can make a lot of noise, but this marriage isn't going to fly. The kind of upper class white guys who like to call themselves Anglicans don't take orders from Black people. At least not for long. And Primate Akinola is an order issuing kind of guy.
ReplyDeleteUnless the Minns of the world can completely insulate their flocks from who is really the boss, hatred of TEC is not going to be enough motivation to keep the pledging lay membership of upper class white churches hooked. They are Americans; they think having choices is their birthright. They can get punitive, conservative theology elsewhere. And they will.
This is a "be not afraid" situation.
an observer
Does anyone know whether rectors/incumbents in Nigerian parishes are selected by the parish itself (with the diocesan bishop's consent), as in TEC, or appointed by a bishop? This might be of some interest to those individuals in places like Virginia who are joining the Nigerian Church.
ReplyDeleteOne problem with Father Dan's assessment is that, contrary to what he seems to think, the Episcopal Church is not a "sinking ship." The House of Bishops recently made a surprisingly unified statement on governance, and those who would leave TEC - sad as that might be - will not cause an existential crisis for the majority who will stay and continue God's work.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair - and as follow up - it is quite possible, on second read, that Father Dan was not himself saying TEC is a "slowly sinking ship," but rather that this is what he perceives the ship-jumpers might think.
ReplyDeleteEither way, this particular ship is, of course, clearly not sinking - slowly or otherwise. We would all experience loss if some decide they cannot be in fellowship with those who disagree with them, and the canonical and legal procedures necessary to defend Episcopal Church properties from alienation and maintain all duly constituted dioceses of TEC would not be quick or easy, but the ship, as it were, will certainly sail on.
Anonymous, you are correc that the white republicans aren't going to take orders from uppity blacks. but, they will tolerate doing so for about a year when they will then form their own, new white-only provence. It won't be in communion with any except the so-called Global south, but they don't are. they are out for a white, male, republican church. This little step (black oversight) is just a little pill to swallow for the good of their biggoted souls.
ReplyDeletePlease, please, the majority of Republicans I know are gay positive, and not bigots either. Republicans, the party of Lincoln, are about democracy, capitalism, and freedom. Bigotry and Racism are enemies of these ideals. Also do not associate the majority of freedom-loving, independence-minded Republicans, with this pseudo-papal, confessional and schismatic faith being promulgated on our shores by what ARE bigots. You are not battling the party of President Bush here, but foreign usurpers and their bigoted home-grown toadies. Neither are well appreciated in my circles.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeleteBeen reading your blog for sometime now. Archbishop Akinola's plan to ordain his bishop there in the U.S. finally got me angry so I decided to write him a letter. I don't think it will change his plan but that's my way of saying that he does not speak for me, an Anglican from the Global South. You might want to check it out here
Thanks