The Church of England Newspaper reported the publication of the new book on the Windsor Report under the headline Anglican liberals attack Windsor report.
Andrew Linzey has commented on a significant inaccuracy in this report in a letter to the CEN editor. The text appears here below the fold.
14 CommentsFrom the official Nigerian website:
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE PRIMATE OF ALL NIGERIA, THE MOST REV’D PETER J. AKINOLA ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 which should be read in full, but includes this:
To refresh your memories, in Onitsha we took a number of actions to clarify our commitment to the apostolic faith. One of the things we did to strengthen this position was to amend our constitution.
Our amended constitution deleted all such references that hold colonial intonation defining us with the See of Canterbury and replaced them with a new provision of Communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
This action has been largely misrepresented by those who think that schism in the Anglican Church has become inevitable following the disarray the United States and the Canadian Churches brought on the Communion because of their revisionist agenda on homosexuality. And most recently the House of Bishops of the Church of England’s apparent double-speak on the Civil Partnerships Act that comes into force by December 5, this year.
There is also this paragraph towards the end of the much earlier release MESSAGE TO THE NATION
CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX DOCTRINE ON HUMAN SEXUALITY:
The Synod condemns the position the House of Bishops of the Church of England has taken regarding human sexuality which runs contrary to the decision taken at the All Primates Meetings, and commends the untiring effort of our Primate and other like-minded Primates for maintaining their stand on Christian orthodoxy, and calls on all doctrinally alert Anglican to stand up in defence of New Testament Christianity, as opposed to the revisionist theology of ECUSA, the Church of Canada and the Church of England.
And this Open Letter from the Archbishop of Nigeria to his Fellow Anglican Leaders (which I haven’t yet found on the official website)
The press briefing (first item above) has resulted in press reports such as:
Mail & Guardian Online Nigerian archbishop warns of break with mother church
Washington Post Nigerian Warns of Split From British Church
Reuters Nigeria archbishop sees pro-gays leaving Anglicanism
An earlier report, in the Church Times of last week, is here: Nigerians distance themselves from Canterbury
35 CommentsAn article appeared in last week’s Church Times:
Why Archbishop Akinola is wrong.
This was written by Francis Bridger and Graham Kings of Fulcrum.
They had originally titled it “From Communion to Association: Nigerian disconnections”. The article deserves careful reading.
Update
A letter appeared in the Church Times the following week and is now available on the Fulcrum website. The letter is from Dr Philip Giddings, Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Canon Ben Enwuchola, and Canon Martyn Minns and can be read here (scroll down a bit).
Further Update
An interesting response by Ephraim Radner to the article (and the letter) can be found here.
A book has just been published which is entitled Gays and the Future of Anglicanism but which is in fact a series of 22 essays (plus an Introduction and an Afterword) all of which are critical responses to the Windsor Report.
The book information can be found here, from the publisher, and from Amazon (American version of that page here).
titusonenine has already mentioned it here and here and also Fr Jake here.
Ekklesia has this report.
The full text of what Archbishop Barry Morgan said about it can be found below the fold.
13 CommentsLast week’s report in the Church Times contained quotes from Bishop John Chane, of Washington DC. These came from his column in the September issue of Washington Window, the diocesan newspaper of the Diocese of Washington. The full article by Bishop Chane is now on the web as a PDF file here.
Update The article is now also online as a web page here
The column is reproduced in full below the fold.
43 CommentsAnother press release (this is from the official website of the Church of Nigeria, but the tone is far from bureaucratic) is headlined Anglican Archbishop of South East Asia lashes Western liberals.
This contains various quotes from the Archbishop of South East Asia Yong Ping Chung who addressed the synod.
The release also includes the following sentence:
…He was referring to a section of the Anglican Communion particularly the American and Canadian Churches and lately the Church of England, who condones and approves homosexual marriage…
It is not clear whether this is what the archbishop himself believes, or merely what the Nigerian Director of Communications believes, but with reference to the Church of England, this statement is quite simply untrue.
The House of Bishops of the Church of England has neither condoned nor approved “homosexual marriage”. Their recent Pastoral Statement makes it quite clear that:
It remains the case that in law, as in the eyes of the Church, marriage can be entered into only by a man and a woman. The Government has stated that it has no intention of introducing ‘same–sex marriage’. Civil partnerships are not a form of marriage.
And the bishops also clearly state that:
…What needs to be recognised is that the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics remains unchanged. For Christians, marriage- that is the lifelong union between a man and a woman – remains the proper context for sexual activity. In its approach to civil partnerships the Church will continue to uphold that standard, to affirm the value of committed, sexually abstinent friendships between people of the same sex and to minister sensitively and pastorally to those Christians who conscientiously decide to order their lives differently.
The bishops also make it clear that their position now is unchanged from what has been the de facto policy of the Church of England since 1991, when Issues in Human Sexuality was first published.
Anyone who has trouble understanding this should go back and read this summary of the bishops’ statement.
41 CommentsUpdate Saturday
Ruth Gledhill in The Times has Nigerian Church breaks with Canterbury over gay rights
The following press release comes from the Nigerian General Synod:
CHURCH OF NIGERIA REDEFINES ANGLICAN COMMUNION
With a careful rewording of her constitution, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) redefined her relationship with all other Anglican Churches.
All former references to ‘communion with the see of Canterbury’ were deleted and replaced with another provision of communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the ‘Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church’.
Emphasis was also placed on the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer and the historic Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.
The Constitutional change also allowed the Church to create Convocations and Chaplaincies of like-minded faithful outside Nigeria. This effectively gives legal teeth to the Convocation of Anglican Nigerians in Americas (CANA) formed to give a worshiping refuge to thousands in the USA who no longer feel welcomed to worship in the Liberal churches especially with the recent theological innovations encouraging practices which the Nigerians recognize as sin.
The exact wording changes are in the press release, which also details the supervisory arrangements established for the Convocation of Anglican Nigerians in Americas.
20 CommentsUpdate Friday
The Church Times has a very full report on this by Pat Ashworth Global South won’t split Communion,says Venables. This page also contains a separate report on the Kairos Journal event in New York City. Essential reading.
Reuters has published a news report, which is datelined Lagos and headlined Anglican church is not splitting – Nigerian archbishop but which, as far as Archbishop Peter Akinola is concerned, only repeats material from the press release of yesterday.
However, it then goes on to report an interview conducted by Reuters in Buenos Aires with Archbishop Greg Venables in which he talks about the Egypt meeting, and who is invited to it. The story concludes:
2 CommentsSince the Anglican primates meeting in February, the Scottish church has declared its backing for gay priests and the Church of England allowed priests to register under Britain’s new civil partnership law as long as they remain celibate.
This last decision was greeted with disbelief among conservatives, Venables said.
“This is an indication that England is going to go down the same road as Canada and the U.S. and that there is going to be further division in the next months,” he said.
Orthodox groups in the United States and Canada who disagree with their liberal leaders will be invited to attend the October meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, Venables said.
But liberal clerics won’t be asked to join because Global South leaders want to avoid further polemics. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has been invited, however, despite his personal support for accepting gay bishops.
Venables said the debate tearing apart the Anglican Communion is not about human sexuality, but rather how strictly the Bible should be interpreted and whether faith principles are seen as relative or absolute — a debate he said has divided Christianity since the 19th century.
Updated Wednesday evening
The Washington National Cathedral has just held an international Consultation of Religious Leaders on Global Poverty, organised by the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation, part of the new Cathedral College.
The conference was attended by Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Raphael S. Ndingi Mwana’a Nzeki, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, and other Orthodox, Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, and Seventh-day Adventist leaders from North and South America, Africa and Europe, together with officials of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance. The conference was convened by the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa.
A delegation of five from the conference (including Abp Ndungane, Lord Carey, and Bishop Chane of Washington) visited the United Nations in New York to meet the Secretary General.
Press coverage of this event so far:
Christian Science Monitor Jane Lampman Clergy press UN on agenda
Ekklesia Faith leaders meet to step up poverty alleviation
Voice of America Christian Leaders Show Support for Poverty Reduction (this includes an audio interview with Bishop Mwamba of Botswana)
allAfrica.com has published the conference communique in full here
The Christian Post Religious Leaders Say Global Poverty Has No Borders
and World Religious Leaders Present Anti-Poverty Communiqué to U.N.
Press releases from the conference
Communique
Signatories
Other material
Church Press coverage
Living Church Church Leaders Send Message to the UN
ENS Historic religious gathering sees unique opportunity to end global poverty
Anglican Journal Churches seek to work with governments, U.N., to cut extreme poverty
The Chairman of the forthcoming South/South Encounter has issued a statement, which can be found on the Nigerian provincial website:
STATEMENT OF SOUTH/SOUTH CHAIRMAN CONCERNING THE 3RD SOUTH/SOUTH ENCOUNTER IN ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
14 CommentsAs Anglican delegates from the Dioceses and Provinces of the South-South in the countries of Africa, Asia and South America gather in Egypt for the 3rd Encounter, we noticed a great deal of speculative journalism is in circulation and needs immediate correction.
The South/South Encounter is a gathering of like-minded Anglicans who come together to fellowship, pray, and study the Word of God. We gather to share our experiences, encourage one another and seek ways of deepening our relationship with God and between ourselves. The Encounter is not a business meeting concerned with power, politics and other such mundane things which easily distract from set goals and objectives.
A lot of the misinformation has been due to the figment of imagination of protagonist wishing to introduce alien ideas into our historic faith. Some even go as far as to suggest it is a power tussle affair. This pitiful reasoning is far from our minds as we do not seek such.
It is pertinent to state that we are not concerned with power as being published in the media. Our major concern is the upholding the integrity and sanctity of the Word of God and the resolutions of the Lambeth Conference guiding the integrity of our common historic faith. Any person or Church disregarding or flouting these are the ones to do a rethink about their status within our worldwide Anglican family.
We encourage all delegates to come to Egypt prepared to fellowship in the presence of God.
Every blessing,
The Most Revd. Peter J. Akinola, CON, DD
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria
Updated on Tuesday and Friday
The primate’s opening address to the 8th General Synod of the Church of Nigeria is published in full on the web here. This includes a section on Global Anglican Relations which is reproduced below the fold here.
The speech also contains the following amazingly untrue remarks about Britain (hat tip to Pat in the CT):
Britain has joined its brethren in the ‘Civilised West’ to legitimise civil partnerships which to us simply means same sex marriages. They are also debating putting a ban on public preaching because it offends Moslem minorities! Britain has of course made Sunday a working day.
Mark Harris updated his earlier blog article about the Egypt meeting, to take some account of George Conger’s remarks.
Two developments on Monday
First, over the weekend there was a story headlined Africans set to found rival Anglican church by Trevor Grundy in Scotland on Sunday. Earlier I added this link to my previous article Akinola in the news.
George Conger has now posted a lengthy comment about it on a blog entry of Brad Drell. Here is what George has to say. Basically, he thinks the article is “more creative writing than news” and he details a number of points in the article that he says are incorrect.
Second, the triennal Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) General Synod is now meeting, and reports are being published on the provincial website. Today’s report can be found here, and contains among other things the following item:
1 CommentIn a pre-conference briefing, the Primate announced that the Synod was likely to review the relationship of the Church of Nigeria to her sister churches in the West, particularly the Church of England, who recently approved homosexual marriages among her clergy.
The hierarchy of the Church of Nigeria has not ruled out a major constitutional amendment to give legal effect to some new positions likely to be adopted by delegates to the General Synod.
Update Saturday
Stephen Bates reports in the Guardian on all this: Church in new row after Nigerian primate bans Brazilian archbishop from conference
Also, here is Homosexuality’s Destructive Effect on Church & Culture apparently written by Peter Akinola and published on the website of the Kairos Journal that gave him (and others) the award mentioned below.
later note I have added the content of that extraordinary Kairos webpage below the fold here, to ensure the full text gets safely archived.
Update Sunday
Trevor Grundy Scotland on Sunday Africans set to found rival Anglican church
Somewhat to my surprise, the New York award event is reported on ACNS Digest Archbishops honoured.
First, some correspondence has been published concerning the attendance of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil at the upcoming III Global South Encounter scheduled for Alexandria, Egypt October 24-29 this year.
There is a letter from Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria to Archbishop Orlando Santos de Oliveira of Brazil, and his response. Also a letter from Bishop Jubal Neves, another Brazilian bishop.
For the full text of these letters, see here.
Mark Harris has already commented about this exchange in Let Brazil Through the Door!
Church Times Pat Ashworth Akinola blocks Brazil from Global South meeting
Second, there is an Associated Press report quoting both Archbishop Peter Akinola and Archbishop Henry Orombi, on the subject of the Church of England and Civil Partnerships, African Archbishops Fault Church on Gays (here from the Washington Post but published on newspaper websites all across the USA)
This matter is also mentioned in a report from the Daily Independent Nigeria, Anglican Church Synod begins Saturday in Onitsha
Further reports about this synod are on the Nigerian provincial website:
Akinola invites journalists to be abreast of developments in the Church
Church of Nigeria 8th General Synod holds at Onitsha. An extract:
18 CommentsThe relationship of the Church of Nigeria with other national churches of the Anglican Communion in the wake of the controversy generated by homosexuality and same- sex unions is also expected to engage the Synod.
“Before, it was America and Canada, but now England is joining the bandwagon to say that homosexuality and same -sex unions are acceptable practices,” Akinola said, adding that the Nigerian church will review what her level of relationship will be in the Communion.
The Church Times and the Church of England Newspaper this week contain an advertisement for the Anglican Communion Office:
Church Times The Anglican Communion Office, Facilitator for the Listening Process on Human Sexuality/Permanent secretariat
The news of this is also reported in the Living Church under the headline Facilitator for Listening Process on Human Sexuality Sought (warning: the link from there to the CEN version of the advert is to a 1.2 Mbyte PDF file)
As TLC notes, the post has not been advertised in print journals outside the UK, and the key hurdle any candidate has to leap is that he or she must have: no previous public alignment on the subject of human sexuality.
It seems odd that this advertisement is not yet to be found on the ACO’s own website.
3 CommentsUpdates to three stories:
Lake Malawi
CEN Jonathan Wynne-Jones Bishop-elect gives reassurances over his “lodger” and liberal views
Church Times Pat Ashworth Bishop-elect quizzed
and from last week Bishop-elect in Malawi faces opposition
CofE Racism
Church Times Rachel Harden Colour still C of E issue – Sentamu
and leader comment Stepping into one another’s shoes
CEN Church still racist, says bishop
Connecticut
CEN George Conger US clergy charge Bishop
And two new stories:
Harare
Church Times Pat Ashworth Kunonga trial halted as judge resigns
and from last week Kunonga: no testimony by phone
CEN Harare bishop trial collapses
Living Church Trial of Zimbabwe Bishop Collapses
Update
Some further reports on this from African papers:
Kunonga Trial: Judge Storms Out in Protest
Kunonga: On Trial for His Country
both originally in The Herald (Harare)
Drama at Kunonga trial in The Zimbabwe Independent
Anglican Church puts Mugabe bishop on trial on ZWNEWS.com
Recife
CEN George Conger and Johanna Thomas-Corr Archbishop deposes 35 clergy to oust evangelicals
TLC Mass Depositions in Recife
This new organisation got relatively little attention in Britain, when reports of it first appeared, so maybe this further longer version of the article by Auburn Faber Traycik in the Christian Challenge will change that: Pan-American, Pan-Anglican.
Notice in particular the wording of A Covenant of Understanding which can be found here.
Updated Monday and Wednesday
A letter from Archbishop Bernard Malango to his provincial bishops about the election of Nicholas Henderson has been published. A copy is below the fold. (The confusing second headline was in the copy as received.)
Updated again The Living Church has published a report on this, Archbishop Malango Postpones Consecration of English Bishop-Elect which contains details of other correspondence between the archbishop and the bishop-elect. This other letter includes the following passage:
The documents such as the Nicene Creed and the Thirty-Nine Articles are not simply theological photographs snapped at a moment in history; they are foundation stones which must be affirmed. Are you willing to state clearly and without equivocation that you fully accept, believe and practice the faith described in the classic Anglican formularies including the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Creeds, and the Ordinal? To be clear, I am not asking if you affirm that they are part of our history. You should know that they represent a standard of ministry and theology which is the practice and the norm of this province. If you were to come here with a different faith, it would be not only difficult; it would be the cause of disastrous conflict in the diocese and the Province. Are you able to affirm and commit to the faith as described in them without exception?
Interestingly, although this other letter also contains detailed questions relating to human sexuality, it does not even mention Lambeth I.10 despite the reference to it in the text below.
Further update In addition to the earlier news reports of this matter I can now link to last week’s Church Times report by Pat Ashworth Malawi’s ‘modern churchman’ bishop. (This week’s Church Times report is available only to subscribers.)
Updated Monday
Ruth Gledhill in The Times had Questions about lodger confront a new bishop. In this, Bishop Pete Broadbent says:
“There is no witch to be hunted here. It is unfair for someone to be vilified in this way. As Nicholas’s bishop I understand he has given assurances on all the issues raised by Archbishop Malango. He has given assurances on the primary authority of Scripture, the Creeds and on the matter of his own life being consonant with the Gospel. It is a matter for Dr Malango as the consecrating Archbishop what he does about that.”
Updated Wednesday
Reuters has a report from Blantyre Malawians oppose bishop in Anglican gay split.
The references here to “Presbyterian” suggest the writer is not quite on top of his subject.
ACNS reports:
The Revd Nicholas Henderson, currently Vicar of two west London parishes, All Saints, Ealing & St Martin’s West Acton, has been elected as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Lake Malawi.
Newspaper reports have been rather more forthcoming:
The Nation (Malawi) Anglicans reject bishop-elect by Bright Sonani
Church of England Newspaper Cleric’s bishop post riles African critics by George Conger and Jonathan Wynne-Jones
The Times Malawi in uproar over promotion of pro-gay churchman by Ruth Gledhill and Jonathan Wynne-Jones
6 CommentsHere are two additional documents:
First, the statement issued by the Diocese in Europe, and then – below the fold – the document from Latvia to which, it appears, Bishop Geoffrey Rowell was responding.
STATEMENT FROM THE DIOCESE IN EUROPE RE. GAY PRIDE MARCH AND SERVICE IN RIGA
The Bishop in Europe returned from a visit to the United States to find the Latvian Church leaders’ Common Statement relating to the gay, lesbian and bisexual parade ‘Riga Pride 2005’, but because of his absence abroad that statement did not reach him until after the parade and the service had taken place.
St Saviour’s Riga had not requested any permission for such a service to take place and the bishop was concerned at reports of such a service occurring. He confirms that the Common Statement states the official position of the Anglican Church, which does not recommend the blessing and legitimising of same sex unions and teaches clearly that the proper context of sexual intercourse is within marriage as a lifelong commitment of a man and a woman. The Church of England honours close and celibate same sex friendships and has also committed itself of listening to the experience of gay and lesbian people.
Bishop Geoffrey believes it is inappropriate that, as churches wrestle with the proper pastoral care for those of homosexual orientation, a church service to be used in what would seem to be a lobbying and confrontational way and has made this clear to the Chaplain and Church Council. He will discuss the events with the Chaplain of St Saviour’s and the Church Council in due course.
12 CommentsLast week the Church of England Newspaper reported on an event that happened in Latvia, at the Anglican Chaplaincy of St Saviour’s Riga where the Chaplain is The Reverend Dr. Juris Cālītis who also is Dean of Theology at the University of Latvia.
The article as originally written appears below. (The version published by CEN was slightly shorter.) The author George Conger writes:
This isn’t a story about the issues that divide: blessings or ordinations, but about simple human decency on the part of a small Church of England parish in Riga, Latvia.
The Bishop in Europe, the Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Rowell, has rebuked the chaplain and parish council of the Church of England parish in Riga for hosting a gay pride service following a violent street march through the old city of the Latvian capital.
Approximately 100 marchers celebrating “Riga Pride 2005” on July 23 were pelted with eggs and tomatoes and threatened with violence during the country’s first ‘gay pride’ march by several thousand onlookers. While neo-Nazi skinheads and Russian nationalists played a prominent role in peppering the marchers with abuse, the majority of the mob were Christians from Latvia’s mainline churches: Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Orthodox the Rev. Juris Calitas, Riga’s Anglican chaplain stated.
Controversy over the march began shortly after Riga’s city council granted permission for the march on July 8. MP’s from the Green and conservative parties as well as the heads of Latvia’s Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist and Orthodox Churches protested. Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis stated on July 20 a gay pride parade was “not acceptable” as “Latvia is a state based on Christian values”, prompting Riga’s mayor to cancel the parade.
An emergency appeal to an administrative court restored the permit and the parade took place under the protective police shield. The hour-long paradebegan and ended at St. Savior’s [Church of England] and was followed by an ecumenical Anglican-Lutheran worship service.
Parade participant, Maris Sants reports that to enter St Savior’s the marchers had to pass through a hostile jeering crowd, including one woman standing at the Church door holding an icon and crucifix. “While trying topress people to kiss” the relics, Mr. Sants stated, she “eventually gave slaps to some participants”.
A spokesman for the Bishop in Europe told The Church of England Newspaper, “St Saviour’s Riga had not requested any permission for such a service to take place and the bishop was concerned at reports of such a service occurring”.
“Bishop Geoffrey believes it is inappropriate that, as churches wrestle with the proper pastoral care for those of homosexual orientation, a church service to be used in what would seem to be a lobbying and confrontational way and has made this clear to the Chaplain and Church Council.”
Martin Reynolds of the Gay and Lesbian Christian Movement stated he was “amazed” at these remarks, writing to Bishop Rowell on Aug 8 “Your chaplain and congregation exhibited bravery and compassion”.
Dean of Theology at the University of Latvia, Dr. Calitis—-a priest of the Church of England and pastor of the Latvian Lutheran Church—-noted the mobs reminded him of the anti-Jewish pogroms of the war years. “It was scapegoating,” he stated. “It’s hard to understand how Christian people with the least understanding of their mandate can be involved in mobs like this.”
39 CommentsIf the CAPAC acronym is not yet familiar, read this first
LGCM published a press release The Anglican Communion and the Sunday Times story. A Response from LGCM
Fr Jake has CAPAC; Justifying Criminal Actions
with some really interesting comments
J-Tron has The new “Anglican” alliance and other things that will destroy the Anglican Communion
also with interesting comments, as noted by bls in Never
Mark Harris has The Council of Anglican Provinces of the Americas is a dangerous overreach
Update This matter got a tiny mention at the end of the Church Times story on Akinola:
These developments coincide with another new alliance of conservative Anglicans, to be known as the Council of Anglican Provinces of the Americas and Caribbean (CAPAC), modelled on the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA). The plans and a “Covenant of Understanding” were announced by Archbishop Gomez and the Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, the Most Revd Gregory Venables.
The story deserves more attention than that.
5 Comments