...the Directors have issued the below Frequently Asked Questions, ahead of the official Trust launch and reception. The Directors hope that the FAQ's may be of interest to members of churches of other Dioceses where there is also widespread concern about revisionism.The first question is of particular interest:
1. Does the Trust mean one particular tradition of the church will just be serving themselves?
No. The Trust is open to applications from any Incumbent within the Diocese who can genuinely sign The Jerusalem Declaration (see below).I will not cover the FAQs one by one, but regarding the first question, is The Jerusalem Declaration another creed? Signing the declaration seems to be the ticket to get in the door of the Trust. According to The Jerusalem Declaration:
3. We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.But that's not quite enough to assure the exclusion of Anglicans who accept the historic Creeds, but may yet be categorized as revisionists.
What will this mean for the Diocese of Southwark and other dioceses in the Church of England, should the concept spread, as it is likely to do? The member churches will still be part of the diocese, according to the answer to question No. 5.
5. Is the Trust ‘separatist’ ?
The Trust seeks to support parish churches of the Diocese which are orthodox, whatever their particular tradition. There is nothing separatist about it.Is the intention to take over the Church of England from within? Is this the beginning of an attempt to turn the Church of England into an evangelical fundamentalist church? But wait! Will the alliance between the two groups, fundamentalist evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics, hang together?
Further in answer to question No. 5:
Rather its intention as its name implies, is that members should be 'Good Stewards’ of the monies the Lord has given them, and be ‘Good Stewards’ of the apostolic Gospel which has been entrusted to them, within a particular Diocese, for the sake of the salvation of future generations.So. It's about the monies and the Gospel with the monies mentioned first. How will the monies of the Diocese of Southwark be affected as churches ally with the Trust?
As you see, I have a few questions that are not answered by the FAQ list on the website of the Trust. I assume that the authorities in the Diocese of Southwark may have a few questions of their own.
