US Anglican/Episcopal Church: We'll Leave Anglican Communion Before Giving Up Homosexuality
Pastor Dale Morgan
US Anglican/Episcopal Church: We'll Leave Anglican Communion Before
Giving Up Homosexuality*
By Gudrun Schultz
TEXAS, March 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The US bishops of the
Episcopal Church have rejected the ultimatum handed down by primates of
the worldwide Anglican Communion to cease promoting homosexuality by
September 30 or face expulsion.
In an announcement late Tuesday night, the US bishops said they would
not follow the primates' requirement that they permit traditionalist
congregations to operate under conservative bishops, an attempted
compromise set up during the recent meetings in Tanzania to deal with
the growing rift over homosexuality in the US church.
Accusing the primates of trying to drag the US Church back into "a time
of colonialism," the bishops also rejected the demand that they cease
performing same-sex blessings or consecrating homosexual bishops.
"It harks back to a period of colonialism from which The Episcopal
Church was liberated. It replaces local rule by laity with a curial
model," the bishops stated.
The deepening split over homosexuality in the Anglican Communion was
brought to a head in 2003 when the US Church consecrated openly
homosexual priest Gene Robinson as bishop.
A schism in the Church now appears likely to occur--Anglican leaders
threatened the American church with expulsion from the Communion if they
failed to meet the requirements of the ultimatum handed down in
February's meeting.
In the directive issued at the closure of the African meeting, the
leaders wrote that to be part of the Anglican Communion, churches and
provinces must adhere to the "faith which is uniquely revealed in the
Holy Scriptures."
"At the heart of our tensions is the belief that the Episcopal Church
has departed from the standard of teaching on human sexuality" by having
ordained Robinson and "by permitting Rites of Blessing for same-sex
unions," the primates stated.
The financial repercussions of expelling the US Church from the
Communion would be felt in the church worldwide. The Times UK reported
that the American Church finances up to one third of the Anglican
Communion's total international budget, despite making up a small
percentage of the 77 million Anglicans worldwide, with just 2.3 million
members.
The House of Bishops of the US Church have asked to meet with the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, to further discuss the
situation.
In related news, the election of traditionalist Rev. Mark Lawrence as
bishop of South Carolina last September was recently declared "null and
void" by Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who cited
technical irregularities with the voting process in the decision.
The diocese of South Carolina had earlier rejected Schori's authority
because of her liberal theology-- Schori's appointment as primate was a
point of deep dispute within the US Church.
"This is outrageous that a duly-elected priest, who clearly meets the
Scriptural standards for church leadership, not to mention has gone out
of his way to assure the rest of TEC (the Episcopal Church) that he will
keep his vows and will not take the diocese out of the church, has been
blocked from serving for no other reason than his orthodox views," said
the Rev. Canon David Anderson, president and CEO of the traditional
American Anglican Council (AAC), in a released statement.
Schori made the decision to invalidate Rev. Lawrence's election just
prior to the meeting of all Episcopal bishops where it was decided to
reject the requirements of the worldwide Communion, reported the
Christian Post.