The body responsible for choosing Rowan Williams's successor as archbishop of Canterbury will meet on Wednesday amid great secrecy and speculation that an Old Etonian former oil executive may become the 105th man to sit on the throne of St Augustine.That choosing the man (for now) to lead the Church of England, to perform whatever other duties are assigned to the head of the established church in England, and to serve as Primus inter pares of the churches of the Anglican Communion is in the hands of 19 people, 15 men and 4 women (3 non-voting members), on the CNC in secret proceedings in a secret place seems strange to most members of the Episcopal Church in the US, where our presiding bishop and all bishops are chosen in a more open and democratic process.
As the 16 voting members of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) gather at a secret location for a final two-day meeting, Justin Welby, the bishop of Durham, has emerged as one of the leading candidates to take over when Williams stands down at the end of the year.
At one time, the concern of Episcopalians in the US about which person was chosen as ABC was for the sake of our sisters and brothers in England, but ++Rowan Williams changed all that with his interference in the governance of our church and his attempt to impose the odious Anglican Covenant on all the churches in the Anglican Communion.
Prayer for the Crown Nominations Commission
A Prayer to be used for the Crown Nominations Commission on the 26th and 27th September 2012 as they consider the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury
Almighty God,
you have given your Holy Spirit to the Church
to lead us into all truth:
bless with the Spirit's grace and presence
the members of the Crown Nominations Commission.
Keep them steadfast in faith and united in love,
that they may seek your will, manifest your glory
and prepare the way of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen.
+ Jones or +Cottrell (on a wing and a prayer)
ReplyDeleteLen, I could not even hazard a guess. I know whom I don't want more than whom I'd wish to see appointed.
ReplyDeletePrayers for one that understands better the Anglican Communion and what it stands for as well.
ReplyDeletePrayers are in order, surely.
DeleteJust pray it won't be Sentamu. Sounds as though he may have p-ssed-off so many people with his perceived "arrogance" that he won't make it. Chartres' name has popped up again as a "caretaker" until Welby reaches the age of discretion (he & Prince Charles were college buddies), which should provoke some interesting eruptions, him never having ordained a woman to the priesthood in 20 years as a bishop.
ReplyDeleteLapin, I do pray it won't be Sentamu. I guess we'll know early next month unless there's a leak before then.
DeleteI am tempted to reply "You sort out your lousy business and we'll sort out ours". I appreciate that choosing the new ABC does significantly affect the Episcopalians, but he is first and foremost the head of the Church of England, which - unlike the Episcopalian church in the US - is an Established church with all the extra responsibility that carries.
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective the election comes at exactly the wrong time. Had I any clout, I'd be urging ++Rowan to stay on another two years - this gives us time to consider the merits of several new-ish bishops (Dakin at Winchester, Baines at Bradford, Welby, Cocksworth at Coventry). There is no way on God's good earth that I would countenance Chartres as ABC - it would split the C of E.
Given that ++Rowan is determined to go, I'd live with Sentamu. The commentators who call him "arrogant" are actually concealing their real reason for their dislike, which is that he writes regularly for the Sun (about the equivalent of your National Enquirer), rather than being an intellectual.
James, I wish your ABC had little to do with the Episcopal Church, except to serve as primus inter pares, a sort of figurehead with little power except the power of persuasion and example, around whom the churches in the Anglican Communion gathered. I wish we didn't have to care, but ++Rowan's overreach changed all that.
DeleteRe the Sun - not to mention the Mail and Mirror - watch out for fun news headlines on the Church and the gay issue if Coxworth gets it.
ReplyDeletePoor fellow can't help his name, but if he is the choice, then I'm sure some will choose to have fun at his expense. Lay Anglicana, in one of her splendid series of posts on possible choices for ABC, says of +Cocksworth:
DeleteLeap in the dark assessment?
A safe pair of hands.