BISHOPS IN EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES 'NOT IN FAVOR' OF ANGLICAN COVENANT

According to John Chilton at The Lead, the Rt. Rev. Edward Malecdan, Prime Bishop of The Episcopal Church in the Philippines, stated in his address to General Synod in May that the bishops of the church are 'not in favor' of the Anglican Covenant.

[T]he Anglican Covenant which is supposedly a proposed document to help diffuse the tension in the Communion. The document is intended to be the final arbiter in the resolution of conflicts in the communion and that all member churches will have to adhere to its provisions. The ECP Council of Bishops noted that the document provides for the creation of a Standing Committee that will be the “Supreme Court” as it were, for the Anglican Communion to lord it over all Anglican Provinces. This, to the Council is very un-Anglican because of the autonomous nature of each Anglican Province. Hence, we are not in favor of the document. (My emphasis)

In the Primates’ Meeting I attended in Ireland, the unity and diversity of the Anglican Communion was clearly and strongly affirmed. We recognized that Anglicans have many disagreements as a Communion but we still can be agreeable to one another. We can still move towards reconciliation as sisters and brothers as a gift of God to us by persistently talking about our differences. This is the beauty of Anglicanism. Unity in diversity which is a recognized uniqueness of the Communion is preserved.

Good news, indeed, accompanied by excellent reasons for not favoring the covenant. Thank you bishops of our sister church in the Philippines for showing us the way! If the bishops are not in favor of the covenant, it cannot be adopted by General Synod.