More Canadian churches align with South American province, reports Solange De Santis in the Anglican Journal.
Six churches in five dioceses, voting at their general meetings on the weekend of Feb. 16-17, decided to leave the Anglican Church of Canada due to disputes over theological issues, including homosexuality, and join a South American Anglican church.
A seventh congregation, which is not a member of the Canadian church, also voted to come under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone, which covers the southern part of South America. Such jurisdiction is to be administered through retired Canadian bishop Donald Harvey, leader of a breakaway group called the Anglican Network in Canada.
The congregations are: St. George’s Lowville, Ont. and St. Hilda’s, Oakville, Ont., both of the diocese of Niagara; St. Chad’s, diocese of Toronto; St. Mary’s Metchosin, Victoria, diocese of British Columbia; St. Matthew’s, Abbotsford, B.C., diocese of New Westminster; St. Alban’s, diocese of Ottawa. The seventh is Holy Cross, Abbotsford, B.C.
A local report: News from Niagara and the official diocesan press release from Niagara (PDF) and St Hilda’s Church reports the news as Episcopal oversite (sic).
The way this keeps going, the next presiding bishop of the Southern Cone of South America is going to be a North American.
…and more than that, Anthony W, reflecting the New (non-Anglican) Reality, the Primatial *chair* of the “Southern Cone of South America” may move to North America [Remembering that Cono del Sur already has a Brit, Venables, sitting on top of it now]
It’s going to be very cold for the Conies, out in the weather of a Canadian winter: I hope they bundle up accordingly…
God bless the Anglican Church of Canada!
This is probably a premature comment, but one of the striking things about what’s going on in Ottawa Diocese is who isn’t leaving. St. Alban’s and its Rector have been on this course for years, but so have several other clergy, some of whom appeared to be hoping to carry their parishes with them. One of the clergy in question has left (showing a commendable strength of character in being willing to live up to his convictions) though without taking his parish with him, at least formally. None of the other clergy (7-9 of them) who seemed to be on… Read more »