The Orthodox – where are they?

O that all the “ orthodox” were truly Orthodox,
Even as all the “progressives” are really Liberal.

Since the 1960s the progressives within the Episcopal Church have clearly demonstrated their principles, which may generally be called liberal, even radically liberal.

Progressives have gradually adjusted the received doctrines of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ, of sin, of salvation, of the Last Things, of holiness, of morality and of sacraments in order to make them acceptable to contemporary social and cultural norms and values. And further they have adopted theories of translation from one language to another, of exegesis and interpretation of ancient texts, and of how the Deity reveals will and purpose, which make this large-scale task of changing the content of the Faith (while retaining much of its language) possible and even seem necessary and justified.

So the way God is named and addressed has changed and is changing – He is now also She or It and is always You. The way God is conceived has changed and is changing – Deity is now [a] Being that contains within itself (as a child in the womb) the cosmos and so there is a dynamic relation of interfacing between God and cosmos and cosmos and God. Jesus Christ was the human person whose whole being was in tune with Deity and whose Spirit lives on to bless and heal, to comfort and save. The Trinity is a model of fellowship and co-operation for human beings to follow. Women and men are in the evolutionary process but yet are unique in the cosmos; they are to be treated with dignity and respect and afforded all the rights that they desire and require for their happiness and self-esteem. The Church is the community of those who affirm one another and who see God present in their experience and as the One who accepts them just as they are. Talk of the Last Things is a way of encouraging right living and confidence in Deity as the Source of being and fulfillment and working hard for a better world. And so on.

In this progressivism and liberalism, it is required that the insights and developments of society and culture (which are seen as coming from God as Being) be adopted by the Church and adapted for its growth in maturity and understanding. So full rights for all types and kinds of people are absolutely required as being “divine law” ; and everything that stands in the way of this implementation (e.g., from received Prayer Book, Ordinal, Confession of faith, Canon Law, Tradition and stubborn traditionalists) must be removed (by the democratic process where at all possible). In this process, the acceptance of same-sex partnerships as blessed of God and holy before Him/Her/It is merely the most recent of the examples of the march of progressive liberalism.

The God who encloses the cosmos within its Being has yet more to reveal to those who pay attention and do homage. The ECUSA is not yet at the end of its liberal road. God in Experience has much to show and reveal.

The march of progressive liberalism since the 1960s has not occurred without resistance, often great resistance using millions of dollars. But most of the resisters eventually gave up and either left the Church (notice the tremendous drop in membership from the mid 1960s to the year 1980!) or they stayed on after the arrival of the new Prayer Book in 1979 and in so doing usually adjusted what they would accept and define as “orthodox” to what seemed possible in a situation where liberalism held sway. Thus we have arrived at the situation in 2005 when the working definition of “orthodox,” used both by informed commentators and also by those “conservatives” who use the name “orthodox” of themselves, is something like this: “those who accept the Bible, the Creeds, and the 1979 prayer book and also who believe that marriage is only between a man and a woman.” [There are a few congregations left in the ECUSA which have maintained the use of the classic Prayer Book in the edition of 1928. But even this tiny minority has been affected by the general ethos of the ECUSA for it is impossible not to share in some way in the general family likeness!]

What the march of liberalism means (for those with a historical overview) is that the “orthodox” of the ECUSA of 2005 are like the liberals of the late 1960s, for they accept serial monogamy even as they reject same-sex marriage, and they accept divorced and remarried clergy [male and female] even as they reject clergy living in same-sex unions. Further, they are like the liberals of 1980 for they accept the 1979 Prayer Book as THE “Book of Common Prayer” and THE Standard of Faith of the ECUSA. In so doing they accept the use of inclusive language for human beings and agree to translations of the Bible (e.g. the Psalter in the 1979 Prayer Book) which incorporate this inclusivism, and further they accept the “reduced” or “dumbed-down” doctrines of God, Christ and salvation written into the Rite II texts and the Catechism of this Book. Finally, they accept that the classic Anglican Formularies (the classic BCP, Ordinal & Articles, which define the Anglican Way) have no place or authority in the ECUSA for they are merely and only historical documents.

In short, the “Orthodox” is a relative term and the “Orthodox” of 2005 in the ECUSA are less liberal in practice than are the “Progressives” who run the Church. However, since the same-sex issue affects people at various levels of their being, from their guts to their ratiocination, it seems to be (and practically speaking is) the great issue, even the final issue and the basis of massive division, that makes the two sides to seem to be as different as chalk is from cheese. Yet in truth they use the same Prayer Book and its rites, they use the same modern versions of the Bible (all incorporating dynamic equivalency and inclusivism), they talk of personal relationships with Jesus who accepts us “just as I am” , and they belong to the same Institution with its many valued aspects (medical benefits, pensions and so on). The division is really between conservative progressives and liberal progressives! Finding genuine “Orthodox” in the ECUSA is like finding a needle in a haystack.

When will the “Orthodox” of ECUSA realize their true identity and seek really to become Orthodox and return to the fullness of the Anglican Way with its worship, doctrine and discipline, its heritage, style and ethos?

Leaving the ECUSA does not make anyone “Orthodox” for she or he departs as an Episcopalian! He and she must leave behind its formularies and ethos and seek to restore for themselves the classic Formularies, heritage and ethos of the Anglican Way. This is a painful and difficult vocation and many who exit seek to avoid it, thinking that ECUSA without its radical sexual innovations is really OK and so outside the ECUSA they carry on much as before, but with greater liberty – as for example appears to be the case with congregations in the AMiA and those individual congregations which have been “adopted” temporarily by foreign bishops !

Where there is a will there is a way! With God all things are possible – even to unify American Anglicans in truth with unity and unity in truth!

O that the “Orthodox” would really become Orthodox and that the Anglican Way of Reformed Catholicism would prosper again on American soil.

Peter Toon October 4, 2005