Mexico has become the first Communion Province to adopt the Anglican Communion Covenant following its VI General Synod in Mexico City on 11 and 12 June.
The Episcopal Diocese of Albany endorses the Anglican Communion Covenant.
The resolution most heavily debated was Resolution #2 which stated: “RESOLVED, that the Episcopal Diocese of Albany endorses the Anglican Communion Covenant (final text, approved for distribution December 18, 2009) and recommends its adoption by all the Provinces of the Anglican Communion."
The House of Bishops commends the adoption of the Anglican Covenant by the Church of England.
1.On the Anglican Communion Covenant, the House agreed
(a) to commend it for adoption by the Church of England;
(b) to invite the Business Committee to schedule the beginning of the adoption process for the inaugural Synod in November 2010, with a view to final approval in February 2012;
(c) not to propose special majorities for its adoption; and
(d) to authorise the House’s Standing Committee to oversee the production of necessary material for the Synod.
As a palate cleanser to all of the above, read Savitri Hensman's brilliant opinion piece in the Guardian.
The Church of England's House of Bishops is urging it to accept an Anglican Communion Covenant. This would give top leaders of overseas churches more power over the C of E and (strictly in theory) vice versa. The Archbishop of Canterbury has been a champion of greater centralism among Anglicans worldwide, supposedly to strengthen unity. But recent events have exposed the tawdry reality behind talk of "interdependence" and "bonds of affection".
Is the Roman Catholic Church to be our model for Anglican unity? The Roman Catholic Church which presently appears to be imploding from the top?
From Mark Silk at Beliefnet:
I grant you that it isn't every day that the authorities hold a country's bishops for questioning for nine hours, confiscate their computers and cell phones, and drill into the sarcophagi of a couple of their deceased number. But when Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone protests that the Belgian bishops had been held without food and water when they haven't, and the Belgian bishops have to issue a correction, that's tells you the wheels are coming off the popemobile.
Is this the direction that we want to go? Away from "the bonds of affection" to an ever more constricting control by a central authority? With a quasi-Anglican pope?
As Hensman says:
In power-play of the type the Covenant encourages, global church politics will trump love, justice and even logic. This is a poor substitute for freedom in Christ.
To which I can only say, "Amen".
the love and justice angles have always been ¨trumped¨ (well, mostly)...the logic of Rowan Williams is enough to make ones head spin...he´s going to have to do a tad better when cleaning up his own backyard as the depotism won´t go down so hot in Merry Olde no matter what the HOB´s ¨commend¨..absolutely nuts! Rowan ought resign...sooner the better for everyone.
ReplyDeleteOh Leonardo! It is to weep for the Anglican Communion! The Anglican Kovenant strays far from the meaning of Anglican. When you think about it, by Rowan's logic the whole of the Communion would have to place itself under the authority of the pope, else why the reason for the separation from Rome in the first place, if there is no such entity as an autonomous national church, as the English Church claimed to be?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can figure is that Mexico (which is not a conservative place, at least that is what I thought) thinks that by adopting this joke, they can apply the screws to places to Nigeria and Rwanda. My dear friend, Abp Barahona, was equally surprised when I talked with him last night. He is going to find out what was going on.
ReplyDeleteIs the Roman Catholic Church to be our model for Anglican unity? The Roman Catholic Church which presently appears to be imploding from the top?
ReplyDeletewell said, Savitri, and well said Mimi.
Quite apart from anything else you could say, Mexico's decision seems extremely odd.
PS I meant to put "exactly" after the quote in the above comment.
ReplyDeleteCaminante, I was shocked when I heard the news about Mexico. Please let me know what you find out.
ReplyDeleteCathy, Savitri is a jewel of an opinion writer on matters of religion. But you already know that. Perhaps you even know Savitri.
I blame David.
ReplyDeleteDahveed has some 'splainin' to do.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I wish he'd weigh in and shed some light here.
Dahveed posted on this this morning at The Lead.
ReplyDeleteLapin, thanks for the link to Dahveed's comments.
ReplyDeleteI want to see Savitri Hensman replace the incumbent as Archbishop of Canterbury - and soon!
ReplyDeleteMalcolm, I'll drink to that. And I'll have another, and another.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment at Thinking Anglicans about the ACI, Malcolm.
ReplyDeleteI just can't deal with the religion I was born into, anymore.
ReplyDeleteI am truly depressed - the same religion that keeps telling me I have to be nice because we're family just keeps throwing me away. Maybe Christianity needs to die.
Maybe Jesus and I should go become Buddhists.
Mark, perhaps the institutional church, as we now know it, has to die before it can be reborn. But Jesus promised us, his followers, that he will never leave us nor forsake us and that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church - his Body here on earth.
ReplyDeleteI want to see Savitri Hensman replace the incumbent as Archbishop of Canterbury - and soon!
ReplyDeleteThat would be fabulous, especially if there was no warning.
PS I actually don't know Savitri, Mimi - none of the columnists come in to the office, because they don't really need to. I always read her though because she is so good.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mark on this one. (And I'm already a Buddhist, too, for that matter...)
ReplyDeleteI find that I'm no longer really thinking of myself as an Anglican or an Episcopalian. Mind you, when I go to church it's to an Episcopal Church but I feel both stateless and churchless these days. I think it's appropriate for someone with my vocation to feel stateless but I feel rather orphaned as far as the church is concerned.
Fortunately, my Solemn Profession documents (ironically in Rowan's archives) state that my vows are not restricted to any denomination.
Cathy, Savitri is excellent. No, columnists don't need to go to the office. At one time, the writings were sent through snail mail. I thought perhaps you'd met at a Guardian Christmas party.
ReplyDeleteEllie, I felt stateless all through the Bush years, and I'm barely back in now. I'm sorry that I didn't see more of a sense of urgency from the government about the oil gusher from the beginning.
I heard a story that within 3 days the Dutch had offered a large oil skimmer boat and had been told, "Thanks, but no thank you."
Wait! The story is true!
From SFGate:
UPDATE: The U.S. Government has reconsidered a Dutch offer to supply 4 oil skimmers. These are large arms that are attached to oil tankers that pump oil and water from the surface of the ocean into the tanker. Water pumped into the tanker will settle to the bottom of the tanker and is then pumped back into the ocean to make room for more oil. Each system will collect 5,000 tons of oil each day.
Each system will collect 5,000 tons of oil each day.
ReplyDeleteWell that's something anyway.
But why was the government so silly as to turn them down in the first place?
Idiots are in charge of everything!!