PECUSA, ECUSA & Biblical Discipline

Let us soberly recall that, had the basic discipline been in place in 2003 that was in place in the old PECUSA (the discipline that was set aside by the new ECUSA) up to the middle of the 20th century, then Gene Robinson would not (never) have been a candidate for the Episcopate.

As a divorced priest he would have not been eligible for election even if he were the kindest man on earth.

Whether one is the supposed guilty or non-guilty party to a divorce, to be divorced used to make one ineligible for ordination & consecration in the Episcopal Church. And it still does in most of the Provinces of the Anglican Communion. (Find a divorced or divorced or remarried priest - or bishop!- in the Anglican Churches north of S Africa or in S E Asia; he is a very rare person if he exists at all.)

That Robinson was actively "gay" merely adds a further impediment (and for many a very offensive impediment - due to local religious, cultural reasons as well as biblical interpretation) to that of being a divorced person in terms of candidature for ministry. Being divorced ought to have been an insuperable barrier, at least whilst his wife is alive!

The point is this - that if the ECUSA had retained anything like a biblical discipline then the Robinson case would not have arisen and the present crisis would not be with us. It is because the ECUSA dug up its foundations of biblical discipline in the 1960s and 1970s that this crisis eventually came. Crises will come to any church or group that flings away its foundations.

Regrettably, since the AAC works with, and has not actively moved (as far as I know) to change the divorce canons of the ECUSA or for its own membership, then it stands apart from traditional church practice and doctrine even though it makes statements about the ideal of marriage and being orthodox.

If the word of the Lord is being heard, surely the leadership of the AAC & Fin F NA and so on will now see the need to "dig again the wells of Abraham" and to "search for the old paths and walk therein". Going back to the status quo of July 2003 was never an option that would please the Lord our God. To walk with the Primates into the future means rebuilding the Anglican House in the USA. This is the vocation before us and here there will be no gain without pain.

The Primates' Meeting (as Canon Bill Atwood has shown - see below) has positive good news for the possibility of reform and renewal. But internally in ECUSA those who wish to be reformed and renewed have great work to do - to return to basic and first principles, that is to the Lord their God through the biblical and classical means provided in the historic Anglican Way (as understood and exercised in the USA since the 18th century).

See the forthcoming Paper on this REBUILDING OF THE HOUSEHOLD by Dr Tarsitano & Dr Toon.
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Bill Atwood (whom I last saw on the 16th at the ancient gate of Westminster Abbey talking into a Camera!) has written in these terms:

"Having been in conversation with primates before, during, and after their meeting, let me explain a few things.

The commitments of the primates at this meeting are Biblical, Christian, and good.

It is not a waffle, sell-out, or liberal victory. Not surprisingly, these mature leaders of millions used diplomatic language, but the message is clear if read. Sometimes things in England are complex.

For example, at the place where I am staying, one has to take the lift to the fourth floor in order to get to the third floor.

Here are just some of the victories:

John Peterson was not included in the deliberations.

The Lambeth Conference commitment to scripture was affirmed.

Homosexual practice is rejected.

They clearly stated that teaching of the church cannot be changed unilaterally ECUSA and New Westminster are WRONG

Primates have accepted a role of enhanced oversight

ADEQUATE Episcopal Oversight is in place in consultation with the ABC ON behalf of the primates (That means it is not up to Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold or Archbishop Michael Peers to decide what it adequate.)

New Westminster was specifically addressed.

A commission was established, but it is not to discuss sexuality, it is to work through legal issues of entanglement and disengagement.

In pressing for Adequate Episcopal Oversight (which means "with jurisdiction") the primates adopted a new structural direction for the communion that will help mission. (Moving beyond geographical jurisdiction.)

These things are huge and historic. The mechanisms are being put in place to insure a future for those who maintain Anglican faith and practice. OK, it is not finished yet, but steps had to be designed that took into account the advice of the canon lawyers who said the Primates could not do "anything" about discipline.

What the Primates wound up saying is basically, "Yes we can. We have established the limits of diversity. When ECUSA exceeds that, they will be excluded from the communion. The lawyers are working out the details." That is what the commission is really about.

It is sad that some conservatives are so spring loaded to be negative that they cannot see encouragement even in the middle of an historic victory. If you were expecting the headline, "Anglican Primates conduct armed assault on 815:Bodies of liberals litter Second Avenue," you were no doubt disappointed. It took thirty (plus) years to get into this mess. It will take a while to get out of it, but the way has been established. Our faith has been affirmed. The Scriptures set the limits. We have Primate supervised Alternative Oversight while the mess is being worked out.

A commission is working on legal issues of re-structuring. When ECUSA consecrates Gene Robinson, separation will follow formally.

There is a new day for the Anglican Communion. Some are seeing it emerge now."

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.)