Post by Hussar on Nov 4, 2003 4:45:29 GMT -5
From Associated Press: Anglicans Loosen Ties with New Hampshire Diocese
London — A group of Anglican leaders said Monday they have loosened ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church over the consecration of its first openly gay bishop, but they stopped short of declaring a schism.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, speaking on behalf of fellow conservatives, said Gene Robinson's consecration Sunday in New Hampshire has created “a state of impaired communion” between them and the U.S. church, which is a branch of Anglicanism.
The leaders, called primates, also pledged their support for traditional Episcopalians who opposed Bishop Robinson's elevation.
“The overwhelming majority of the primates of the global south cannot and will not recognize the office or ministry of Canon Gene Robinson as a bishop,” Archbishop Akinola's statement said. Resistance to gay bishops has been particularly strong in Africa.
The statement was signed by “the working committee for the primates of the Global South” — a grouping of churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
It asked the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to create new structures to allow conservative dioceses around the world to work together among themselves but still remain within the Communion.
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the international Anglican Communion encompassing 77 million believers.
Reverend Kendall Harmon, a conservative from the Diocese of South Carolina who works with overseas primates, said the announcement was not an official split but was instead an “interim step” as they moved toward realigning the 77-million-member Anglican Communion.
“It is a serious step, but it's not the most serious step,” Rev. Harmon said, in a phone interview. “It's not as serious as broken communion.”
The signers on Archbishop Akinola's statement were not immediately identified, but Rev. Harmon said he believed about 18 primates endorsed it.
Archbishop Akinola said he was “appalled” that Episcopal leaders ignored “the heartfelt plea of the communion” not to go through with the consecration. He said Bishop Robinson's elevation demonstrates that parts of the Episcopal Church “consider that their cultural-based agenda is of far greater importance than obedience to the word of God.”
Resistance to gay bishops has been particularly strong in Africa. In May, the Anglican Church of Nigeria severed all relations with the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada for sanctioning the blessing of same-sex unions.
The Anglican Church of Uganda also said Monday it will cut all ties with the New Hampshire diocese. Thomas Kogo, bishop of the town of Eldoret in neighbouring Kenya, said his diocese will not recognize Bishop Robinson as a bishop but will maintain its ties with his diocese.
Peter Jensen, the conservative archbishop of Sydney, Australia, said the consecration of Bishop Robinson — who is divorced and lives openly with his partner — was wrong “because the word of God teaches us clearly what the standards are for Christian behaviour in leaders and Canon Robinson does not fulfill those requirements.
“This creates a split for the first time in a particular area, and that's a tragedy, but it's necessary if the truth is to be preserved,” Archbishop Jensen said.
The Archbishop of Canterbury deplored such schisms Monday.
Archbishop Williams said those who consecrated Bishop Robinson “acted in good faith on their understanding of what the constitution of the American church permits.” But, he added, the reaction from others must be “confronted with honesty.”
Archbishop Williams, who is sympathetic to gay rights but has pledged to uphold the church's teaching that homosexual acts are contrary to Scripture, struggled to bridge the differences at a meeting of Anglican leaders last month. As spiritual leader, he has no authority to impose discipline.
“The primates meeting last month expressed its desire to continue as ‘a communion where what we hold in common is much greater than that which divides us,'” he said. “We need now to work very hard to giving new substance to this.”
Bishop Robinson expressed hope Sunday that his elevation would show the church is reaching out to “people who find themselves at the margins,” just as Jesus did. But he acknowledged that some Episcopalians would break ties with him and the leaders of the denomination's majority forces.
The division became obvious in the three-hour service when assistant Bishop David Bena of Albany, N.Y., read a statement on behalf of 28 bishops of the Episcopal Church and 10 in the Anglican Church of Canada, announcing they will not recognize Bishop Robinson as a bishop.
The British evangelical campaign group Reform said Monday the Anglican Communion must “formalize the separation” it said had been caused by Sunday's ceremony.
But Changing Attitude, a British organization of Anglican bishops, priests and lay people, said Bishop Robinson would play an important role in the “dramatic new reality” facing the Anglican community.
“His ministry will inspire lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual Christians with new confidence that we have a full place at the communion table of our Lord,” said Reverend Colin Coward, director of Changing Attitude.
And Reverend Richard Kirker, general secretary of Britain's Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, who attended the consecration ceremony, said even those who are troubled by Bishop Robinson's sexuality “are full of praise for him as a man of God, pastor and teacher.
“We Christians have so much to unite and inspire us. Let us seize the moment and let our love for each other triumph over our divisions,” he said.
London — A group of Anglican leaders said Monday they have loosened ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church over the consecration of its first openly gay bishop, but they stopped short of declaring a schism.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, speaking on behalf of fellow conservatives, said Gene Robinson's consecration Sunday in New Hampshire has created “a state of impaired communion” between them and the U.S. church, which is a branch of Anglicanism.
The leaders, called primates, also pledged their support for traditional Episcopalians who opposed Bishop Robinson's elevation.
“The overwhelming majority of the primates of the global south cannot and will not recognize the office or ministry of Canon Gene Robinson as a bishop,” Archbishop Akinola's statement said. Resistance to gay bishops has been particularly strong in Africa.
The statement was signed by “the working committee for the primates of the Global South” — a grouping of churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
It asked the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to create new structures to allow conservative dioceses around the world to work together among themselves but still remain within the Communion.
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the international Anglican Communion encompassing 77 million believers.
Reverend Kendall Harmon, a conservative from the Diocese of South Carolina who works with overseas primates, said the announcement was not an official split but was instead an “interim step” as they moved toward realigning the 77-million-member Anglican Communion.
“It is a serious step, but it's not the most serious step,” Rev. Harmon said, in a phone interview. “It's not as serious as broken communion.”
The signers on Archbishop Akinola's statement were not immediately identified, but Rev. Harmon said he believed about 18 primates endorsed it.
Archbishop Akinola said he was “appalled” that Episcopal leaders ignored “the heartfelt plea of the communion” not to go through with the consecration. He said Bishop Robinson's elevation demonstrates that parts of the Episcopal Church “consider that their cultural-based agenda is of far greater importance than obedience to the word of God.”
Resistance to gay bishops has been particularly strong in Africa. In May, the Anglican Church of Nigeria severed all relations with the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada for sanctioning the blessing of same-sex unions.
The Anglican Church of Uganda also said Monday it will cut all ties with the New Hampshire diocese. Thomas Kogo, bishop of the town of Eldoret in neighbouring Kenya, said his diocese will not recognize Bishop Robinson as a bishop but will maintain its ties with his diocese.
Peter Jensen, the conservative archbishop of Sydney, Australia, said the consecration of Bishop Robinson — who is divorced and lives openly with his partner — was wrong “because the word of God teaches us clearly what the standards are for Christian behaviour in leaders and Canon Robinson does not fulfill those requirements.
“This creates a split for the first time in a particular area, and that's a tragedy, but it's necessary if the truth is to be preserved,” Archbishop Jensen said.
The Archbishop of Canterbury deplored such schisms Monday.
Archbishop Williams said those who consecrated Bishop Robinson “acted in good faith on their understanding of what the constitution of the American church permits.” But, he added, the reaction from others must be “confronted with honesty.”
Archbishop Williams, who is sympathetic to gay rights but has pledged to uphold the church's teaching that homosexual acts are contrary to Scripture, struggled to bridge the differences at a meeting of Anglican leaders last month. As spiritual leader, he has no authority to impose discipline.
“The primates meeting last month expressed its desire to continue as ‘a communion where what we hold in common is much greater than that which divides us,'” he said. “We need now to work very hard to giving new substance to this.”
Bishop Robinson expressed hope Sunday that his elevation would show the church is reaching out to “people who find themselves at the margins,” just as Jesus did. But he acknowledged that some Episcopalians would break ties with him and the leaders of the denomination's majority forces.
The division became obvious in the three-hour service when assistant Bishop David Bena of Albany, N.Y., read a statement on behalf of 28 bishops of the Episcopal Church and 10 in the Anglican Church of Canada, announcing they will not recognize Bishop Robinson as a bishop.
The British evangelical campaign group Reform said Monday the Anglican Communion must “formalize the separation” it said had been caused by Sunday's ceremony.
But Changing Attitude, a British organization of Anglican bishops, priests and lay people, said Bishop Robinson would play an important role in the “dramatic new reality” facing the Anglican community.
“His ministry will inspire lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual Christians with new confidence that we have a full place at the communion table of our Lord,” said Reverend Colin Coward, director of Changing Attitude.
And Reverend Richard Kirker, general secretary of Britain's Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, who attended the consecration ceremony, said even those who are troubled by Bishop Robinson's sexuality “are full of praise for him as a man of God, pastor and teacher.
“We Christians have so much to unite and inspire us. Let us seize the moment and let our love for each other triumph over our divisions,” he said.
