From The Lead at the Episcopal Cafè.
Below is the text of the letter from Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, to Dudley Martin in response to his blessing of the civil partnership of Peter Cowell and David Lord:
18th June 2008
The Reverend Dr Martin Dudley,
St Bartholomew the Great Parish Office,
6 Kinghorn Street,
London,
EC1A 7HW.
Dear Martin,
You have sought to justify your actions to the BBC and in various newspapers but have failed more than two weeks after the service to communicate with me.
I read in the press that you had been planning this event since November. I find it astonishing that you did not take the opportunity to consult your Bishop.
You describe the result as “familiar words reordered and reconfigured carrying new meanings.” I note that the order of service, which I have now received, includes the phrase “With this ring I thee bind, with my body I thee worship”.
At first sight this seems to break the House of Bishops Guidelines which as I explained in my letter of December 6th 2005 apply the traditional teaching of the Church of England to the new circumstances created by the enactment of Civil Partnerships.
The point at issue is not Civil Partnerships themselves or the relation of biblical teaching to homosexual practice. There is of course a range of opinion on these matters in the Church and, as you know, homophobia is not tolerated in the Diocese of London. The real issue is whether you wilfully defied the discipline of the Church and broke your oath of canonical obedience to your Bishop.
The Archbishops have already issued a statement in which they say that “those clergy who disagree with the Church’s teaching are at liberty to seek to persuade others within the Church of the reasons why they believe, in the light of Scripture, tradition and reason that it should be changed. But they are not at liberty simply to disregard it.”
St Bartholomew’s is not a personal fiefdom. You serve there as an ordained minister of the Church of England, under the authority of the Canons and as someone who enjoys my licence. I have already asked the Archdeacon of London to commence the investigation and I shall be referring the matter to the Chancellor of the Diocese. Before I do this, I am giving you an opportunity to make representations to me direct.
Yours faithfully.
The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres DD FSA
Before I do this, I am giving you an opportunity to make representations to me direct.
ReplyDeleteWhy should he? It's clear that the bishop has already made up his mind on this matter.
Or is "making representations" code for "groveling for forgiveness"?
Is anyone surprised that the response from any CoE bishop would be of the "CYA" variety ? Forget all of that "Gospel imperative, Jesus-y stuff," being a Prince of the Church is even more of a career over there than it is here.
ReplyDeletePathetic.
Some of the folks at Stand Limp are not entirely happy about this. They want more than words. They want DEEDS. That makes me think that the letter may be more for show than anything else. Of course, that is pathetic, too. We'll see what the "investigation" by the Archdeacon reveals and what actions follow.
ReplyDeleteNote: the words “With this ring I thee bind, with my body I thee worship”, which the bishop singles out are the pledge spoken by the two people making the commitment to one other. The priest is simply coaching them along.
Now the ritual publicity has been exchanged, I suspect it will go quiet for a while.
ReplyDeleteBTW: how sad that Big Pete didn't get to his own party! Laugh, I nearly wet myself. I give thanks to God for the Jordanian passport control.
Bless the immigration people in Jordan. The whole conference is farcical. Instead of trying to appease the GAFCON folks, the ABC should be greatly embarrassed by them. And they're clamoring for a pure church.
ReplyDelete