(I for one understand why Bp Duncan would want to leave TEC -- see my several major essays on its Doctrinal and Liturgical and Moral innovations and heresies at -- http://www.anglicanmarketplace.com/. However, I can also understand why TEC leadership does not sit calmly by and allow rebellious dioceses to depart into the embraces of critical foreign provinces.
After all the Constitution of the militant and conservative Church of Nigera has these words at the beginning: “The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) hereinafter called ‘the Church of Nigeria’ shall remain one, united, and indissoluble Church under God.” I suspect that if a Nigerian diocese decided to secede to go to South Africa, then there would be militant action to prevent! Liberals and conservatives all guard their turf and at this stage of the conflict it is difficult to discern grace. --P.T.)
Pittsburgh's Duncan, Progressive Episcopalians react to Review Committee's certification
By Mary Frances Schjonberg, January 16, 2008
[Episcopal News Service] After receiving word January 15 that the Episcopal Church's Title IV Review Committee had certified he has abandoned the communion of the church, Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan denied the allegation.
Duncan offered a brief response to the news late on January15, saying, "Few bishops have been more loyal to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church. I have not abandoned the Communion of this Church. I will continue to serve and minister as the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh."
Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh (PEP), whose members are committed to remaining in the Episcopal Church, said January 16 that it "sees reason for hope" in the Review Committee's certification.
"PEP believes that the canonical procedures set in motion by this decision will clarify issues of polity that have become confused in this diocese," the release said.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informed Duncan on January 15 of the certification and sent him a copy.
Her letter told Duncan that she sought the canonically required permission from the House's three senior bishops with jurisdiction to inhibit him, based on the certification, from the performance of any episcopal, ministerial or canonical acts.
"On 11 January 2008 they informed me that such consents would not be given at this time by all three bishops," Jefferts Schori wrote.
"Pursuant to the time limits stated in Canon IV.9, the matter will not come before the House of Bishops at its next scheduled meeting in March 2008, but will come before the House at the next meeting thereafter," the Presiding Bishop wrote in her letter.
"I would, however, welcome a statement by you within the next two months providing evidence that you once more consider yourself fully subject to the doctrine, discipline and worship of this Church," Jefferts Schori wrote in her letter to Duncan.
Pittsburgh's diocesan convention November 2 gave the first of two approvals needed to enact constitutional changes to remove language in the diocesan constitution stating that the diocese accedes to the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons as the church's constitution requires.
The Presiding Bishop sent Duncan a letter prior to the convention, asking him to retreat from his advocacy of the changes.
"The action of the Review Committee gives all of us in Pittsburgh serious cause to reflect," said Joan Gundersen, PEP president, in the group's January 16 release. "This can be an opportunity for all of us to consider how we can change course and restore relations with one another and with The Episcopal Church."
PEP "understand[s] that Bishop Duncan must follow his conscience regarding the kind of church he believes is faithful to the Gospel," the Rev. Diane Shepard, first vice president of PEP, said in the release. "Whether he can resume his role in The Episcopal Church or must relinquish it, we pray that he finds a way to serve Christ's Church in peace and good conscience."
PEP said in its release that it is "committed to a diocese that finds its strength in diverse understandings of Christian faith and, as our Baptismal Covenant requires, respects the dignity of every human being, ideas that exemplify The Episcopal Church at its best."
Gundersen added: "Especially now, in this time of crisis, PEP encourages all Episcopalians in the diocese to engage in dialogue about how we can move forward together. Some people may choose to leave The Episcopal Church. We hope their number will be few."
Also on January 16, Diocese of Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker issued a statement supporting Duncan, saying he finds it "tragic and deeply disturbing that the Presiding Bishop would seek to take canonical action against the Bishop of Pittsburgh prior to any final decision by his diocesan convention concerning separation from The Episcopal Church."
He said that "the fact that Duncan and the Diocese of Pittsburgh are still a part of The Episcopal Church was clearly affirmed by the refusal of the three senior diocesan bishops to consent to his being inhibited for this alleged offense."
Iker said the Episcopal Church is "continually" giving "lip service to the need for ongoing conversation and dialogue to heal our divisions while at the same time closing off any possibility of continuing conversations by aggressive, punitive actions such as this."
The House of Bishops' three senior bishops with jurisdiction -- Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, Peter Lee of Virginia, and Don Wimberly of Texas -- did give their permission on January 11 for Jefferts Schori to inhibit Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield in another case where the Title IV Review Committee certified an abandonment of the communion of the church. The House will consider the case matter involving Schofield in March. The certification of the committee's action is available here.
The time limit to which Jefferts Schori referred is a two-month period afforded to bishops subject to such a certification to retract their acts, demonstrate that the facts alleged in certification are false, or renounce their orders by way of Title IV, Canon 8, Sec. 2 or Title III, Canon 12, Sec. 7.
The Title IV Review Committee told Jefferts Schori on December 17 that a majority of its nine members agreed that Duncan had abandoned the communion of the church "by an open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline or Worship of this Church."
The Review Committee's certification from Upper South Carolina Bishop Dorsey Henderson, committee chair, said that the committee received submissions alleging Duncan's abandonment of communion from "counsel representing individuals who are either clergy or communicants in the Diocese of Pittsburgh" and from the Presiding Bishop's chancellor, David Beers, and his colleague, Mary E. Kostel. They asked the Review Committee for a determination.
Some 40 pages of material submitted by Pittsburgh counsel, which allegedly "trace the course of Bishop Duncan's actions from the meeting of the General Convention in 2003 through the most recent Annual Convention of the Diocese" in early November, is included in the committee's certification and is available here.
The first section of Title IV, Canon 9 says that a bishop abandons the communion of the Episcopal Church if he or she takes one of the following actions:
• "open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline, or Worship of the Church;"
• "formal admission into any religious body not in communion with the
same;" or
• "exercising episcopal acts [which include primarily Holy Orders and Confirmation] in and for a religious body other than the Episcopal Church or another Church in communion with the Church so as to extend to such body Holy Orders as this Church holds them, or to administer on behalf of such religious body Confirmation without the express consent and commission of the proper authority in this Church."
If a majority of the House concurs with the Review Committee's certification, the Presiding Bishop must depose Schofield and declare the episcopate of the diocese vacant. There is no appeal and no right of formal trial outside of a hearing before the House of Bishops.
Those remaining in the Episcopal Church would be gathered to organize a new diocesan convention and elect a replacement Standing Committee, if necessary. An assisting bishop would be appointed to provide episcopal ministry until a new diocesan bishop search process could be initiated and a new bishop elected and consecrated.
A lawsuit would be filed against the departed leadership and a representative sample of departing congregations if they attempted to retain Episcopal Church property.
In addition to Henderson, the 2007-2009 Title IV Review Committee consists of Bishop Suffragan David C. Jones of Virginia, Bishop C. Wallis Ohl Jr. of Northwest Texas, Bishop Suffragan Bavi E. Rivera of Olympia, Bishop James Waggoner of Spokane, the Rev. Carolyn Kuhr of Montana, the Very Rev. Scott Kirby of Eau Claire, J.P. Causey Jr. of Virginia, and Deborah J. Stokes of Southern Ohio.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
From Septuagesima to Quinquagesima – journey in penitence
Peter Toon
This ancient but also annual penitential journey is necessary for us so that we arrive at Ash Wednesday, ready to think and act in genuinely Lenten terms. And in days when the emphasis in liturgy is on “celebration” this journey is a “must.”
(a) SEPTUAGESIMA : The Third Sunday before Lent (Sunday, February 4, 2007)
The Collect,
O LORD, we beseech thee favourably to hear the prayers of thy people; that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness, for the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9. 24-27 The Gospel: St. Matthew 20. 1-16
By St Paul’s words from the Epistle, we are encouraged to imitate true athletes. As they prepare for contests, so we are to discipline and prepare ourselves with God’s help for doing his service in the challenging contests of life.
From our Lord’s parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard in the Gospel, we learn to let God be God and, in our working for him, to submit readily to his wisdom, grace and judgment, knowing that he always knows best.
In the Prayer, we address God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -- and our Father by adoption and grace -- as the Lord, the One who has all authority and power. And, as it were, as sinners, aware of our condition, we speak from a distance (as is suggested by the Latin verb, exaudire, used in the original). This approach is appropriate here for we proceed fervently and humbly to ask God for a major favor. This favor is not merely to note our petition but “favourably to hear the prayers of thy people.” We recall the ten lepers of Luke 17 who “stood afar off” when they cried, “Jesus, Master have mercy on us.” And more to the point, we recall the publican of Luke 18 who stood “afar off” and “smote upon his breast” when he said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Sin weakens and affects all aspects of human life, degrades the sinner, and causes a bondage of the will to sin. Guilt of sin before God causes us to deserve his condemnation and judgment. But thanks be to God the Father who sent the Lord Jesus Christ to bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Thus we cry for deliverance to the Lord our God who is good and merciful and who is glorified in the pardoning and justification of sinners.
And we end by celebrating this Lord Jesus who is now enthroned in heaven with the Father and the Holy Ghost.
(b) SEXAGESIMA : The Second Sunday before Lent (February 11, 2007)
The Collect,
O LORD GOD, who seest that we put not our trust in anything we do: Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 11.19-31 The Gospel: Luke 8. 4-15
By St. Paul’s description of his suffering for Christ as his apostle to the Gentiles in the Epistle, we are encouraged to see that it is in our weakness that we are strong—strong, that is, in the strength of Christ Jesus by his Spirit.
In the parable of the Sower and the seed from the Gospel, we are taught how the Word of God takes root in human lives and that we are called to be the persons in whom, when the Word is sown, it will grow and flourish.
In praying this Prayer, we are reminded of the apostle Paul who had very many achievements and much in terms of accomplishment as a missionary to claim. Yet he did not glory in any of these things but his glory was in the Cross of his Saviour.
God sees fully and clearly into our hearts and it is surely our desire, our hope and our aim, that, as he does, he will not see self-righteousness and pride. Let him see, we hope, that we do not put our trust in anything that we do, but put it only in him as our Father by adoption and grace.
Since we do heartily trust in God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. then we can humbly ask that he will so arrange the course of lives by his providential care that we shall be defended against all adversity, physical and spiritual.
We recognize that it is only as we learn not to trust in our resources, achievements and possessions that we are able to trust in God, in his wisdom, providence, love and protection, through Jesus, his Son our Lord. As St Paul put it, “When I am weak, them I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:19).
(c) QUINQUAGESIMA: The next Sunday before Lent (February 18, 2007)
The Collect,
O LORD, who has taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth: Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosever liveth is counted dead before thee: Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13. 1-13 The Gospel: Luke 18. 31-43
From St Paul, in the Epistle, we receive the great hymn of love/charity. God’s love to us, our love of him and of fellow creatures will survive death and will be fulfilled and expanded in the life of the age to come. For God is Love. Faith and hope will cease because fulfilled with the arrival of the glory of the age to come, but Love will continue for God as Three Persons and One Deity is Love.
From Jesus, in the Gospel, we see love in action. First of all, it is love of his Father and love for his people that led him to go to Jerusalem, where he knew that certain pain, suffering and death awaited him as he fulfilled the vocation of the Suffering Servant of God. Secondly, it was compassion for the blind man at Jericho which led Jesus to heal him by the power of God.
We observe a close connection between the Sexagesima Collect and this one for Quiquagesima. There we were taught that no trust can be put in human doing and achievement, even if it be the work of a St Paul, undergone for the Gospel’s sake – “who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do.” Here the lesson or teaching upon which the petition in the prayer is built is that these “doings”, which break when we lean upon them heavily, are of no avail before God; they are “without charity and nothing worth.”
We recognize that genuine love – the will to do true and genuine good to other people – is not something that we can produce within our own beings, for, after all we are sinful creatures. Thus we beseech God our Father to send the Holy Ghost, who is the very Love that unites the Father and the Son in the Blessed Trinity, that he may place the divine gift of charity in our souls and lives.
The presence of this heavenly Love is “the very bond of peace and all virtues”. This statement is based upon Ephesians 4:8, “endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” and Colossians 3:14, where after listing virtues, St Paul writes, “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
And we end this Prayer in recognizing that without genuine love or charity in our souls and lives we are not spiritually alive before God and not in communion with him. St John declared that, “he that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14” and St James tells us that “faith without works is dead” (2:20).
All our prayers ascend to the Father through the Son and by/in the Holy Ghost.
Conclusion
Having gone humbly through the mini preparation for the major season of Lent, we are now ready by God’s prevenient grace to enter into the spiritual disciplines which begin on Ash Wednesday and move into the next Sunday, Quadragesima. So we shall pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One thing we lean afresh in the preparation for Lent and the keeping of it is that the genuine confession of sins from, a contrite heart is in fact the praise of God, for it is a supreme acknowledgement of his justice, his mercy and forgiveness. (This is one theme that modern liturgy and liturgists seem not to appreciate or to have overlooked!)
This ancient but also annual penitential journey is necessary for us so that we arrive at Ash Wednesday, ready to think and act in genuinely Lenten terms. And in days when the emphasis in liturgy is on “celebration” this journey is a “must.”
(a) SEPTUAGESIMA : The Third Sunday before Lent (Sunday, February 4, 2007)
The Collect,
O LORD, we beseech thee favourably to hear the prayers of thy people; that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness, for the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9. 24-27 The Gospel: St. Matthew 20. 1-16
By St Paul’s words from the Epistle, we are encouraged to imitate true athletes. As they prepare for contests, so we are to discipline and prepare ourselves with God’s help for doing his service in the challenging contests of life.
From our Lord’s parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard in the Gospel, we learn to let God be God and, in our working for him, to submit readily to his wisdom, grace and judgment, knowing that he always knows best.
In the Prayer, we address God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -- and our Father by adoption and grace -- as the Lord, the One who has all authority and power. And, as it were, as sinners, aware of our condition, we speak from a distance (as is suggested by the Latin verb, exaudire, used in the original). This approach is appropriate here for we proceed fervently and humbly to ask God for a major favor. This favor is not merely to note our petition but “favourably to hear the prayers of thy people.” We recall the ten lepers of Luke 17 who “stood afar off” when they cried, “Jesus, Master have mercy on us.” And more to the point, we recall the publican of Luke 18 who stood “afar off” and “smote upon his breast” when he said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Sin weakens and affects all aspects of human life, degrades the sinner, and causes a bondage of the will to sin. Guilt of sin before God causes us to deserve his condemnation and judgment. But thanks be to God the Father who sent the Lord Jesus Christ to bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Thus we cry for deliverance to the Lord our God who is good and merciful and who is glorified in the pardoning and justification of sinners.
And we end by celebrating this Lord Jesus who is now enthroned in heaven with the Father and the Holy Ghost.
(b) SEXAGESIMA : The Second Sunday before Lent (February 11, 2007)
The Collect,
O LORD GOD, who seest that we put not our trust in anything we do: Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 11.19-31 The Gospel: Luke 8. 4-15
By St. Paul’s description of his suffering for Christ as his apostle to the Gentiles in the Epistle, we are encouraged to see that it is in our weakness that we are strong—strong, that is, in the strength of Christ Jesus by his Spirit.
In the parable of the Sower and the seed from the Gospel, we are taught how the Word of God takes root in human lives and that we are called to be the persons in whom, when the Word is sown, it will grow and flourish.
In praying this Prayer, we are reminded of the apostle Paul who had very many achievements and much in terms of accomplishment as a missionary to claim. Yet he did not glory in any of these things but his glory was in the Cross of his Saviour.
God sees fully and clearly into our hearts and it is surely our desire, our hope and our aim, that, as he does, he will not see self-righteousness and pride. Let him see, we hope, that we do not put our trust in anything that we do, but put it only in him as our Father by adoption and grace.
Since we do heartily trust in God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. then we can humbly ask that he will so arrange the course of lives by his providential care that we shall be defended against all adversity, physical and spiritual.
We recognize that it is only as we learn not to trust in our resources, achievements and possessions that we are able to trust in God, in his wisdom, providence, love and protection, through Jesus, his Son our Lord. As St Paul put it, “When I am weak, them I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:19).
(c) QUINQUAGESIMA: The next Sunday before Lent (February 18, 2007)
The Collect,
O LORD, who has taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth: Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosever liveth is counted dead before thee: Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13. 1-13 The Gospel: Luke 18. 31-43
From St Paul, in the Epistle, we receive the great hymn of love/charity. God’s love to us, our love of him and of fellow creatures will survive death and will be fulfilled and expanded in the life of the age to come. For God is Love. Faith and hope will cease because fulfilled with the arrival of the glory of the age to come, but Love will continue for God as Three Persons and One Deity is Love.
From Jesus, in the Gospel, we see love in action. First of all, it is love of his Father and love for his people that led him to go to Jerusalem, where he knew that certain pain, suffering and death awaited him as he fulfilled the vocation of the Suffering Servant of God. Secondly, it was compassion for the blind man at Jericho which led Jesus to heal him by the power of God.
We observe a close connection between the Sexagesima Collect and this one for Quiquagesima. There we were taught that no trust can be put in human doing and achievement, even if it be the work of a St Paul, undergone for the Gospel’s sake – “who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do.” Here the lesson or teaching upon which the petition in the prayer is built is that these “doings”, which break when we lean upon them heavily, are of no avail before God; they are “without charity and nothing worth.”
We recognize that genuine love – the will to do true and genuine good to other people – is not something that we can produce within our own beings, for, after all we are sinful creatures. Thus we beseech God our Father to send the Holy Ghost, who is the very Love that unites the Father and the Son in the Blessed Trinity, that he may place the divine gift of charity in our souls and lives.
The presence of this heavenly Love is “the very bond of peace and all virtues”. This statement is based upon Ephesians 4:8, “endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” and Colossians 3:14, where after listing virtues, St Paul writes, “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
And we end this Prayer in recognizing that without genuine love or charity in our souls and lives we are not spiritually alive before God and not in communion with him. St John declared that, “he that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14” and St James tells us that “faith without works is dead” (2:20).
All our prayers ascend to the Father through the Son and by/in the Holy Ghost.
Conclusion
Having gone humbly through the mini preparation for the major season of Lent, we are now ready by God’s prevenient grace to enter into the spiritual disciplines which begin on Ash Wednesday and move into the next Sunday, Quadragesima. So we shall pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One thing we lean afresh in the preparation for Lent and the keeping of it is that the genuine confession of sins from, a contrite heart is in fact the praise of God, for it is a supreme acknowledgement of his justice, his mercy and forgiveness. (This is one theme that modern liturgy and liturgists seem not to appreciate or to have overlooked!)
Nigeria, The Anglican Communion, The Book of Common Prayer and The See of Canterbury
“This Constitution shall be known as the Constitution of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 2002.” Thus begins The Constitution of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.
Though it often refers to “The Anglican Communion,” nowhere does it mention “The See of Canterbury” for this connection was removed in the 2002 revision. It thus envisions the possibility of an Anglican Communion, of which it is a bona fide member, without the See of Canterbury as “the first instrument of unity,” or technically, in it.
Here is the opening section of the General Provisions:
“1. This Constitution shall be known as the Constitution of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), 2002.
2. (1) The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion),hereinafter called “the Church of Nigeria”, shall remain one united and indissoluble Church under God.
(2) The aims, objectives and principles of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) are:
(a) To evangelize, and promote the knowledge of God and the adherence to the teaching and examples of Jesus Christ;
(b) To promote Christian education, values and morals;
(c) To assist in the care and welfare of the people,
Particularly the poor, the aged and the needy;
(d) To provide for the spiritual welfare of her members;
(e) To acquire land for the attainment of her objectives;
(f) To raise funds through launches, contributions and any other lawful means;
(g) To undertake all other things which are reasonably incidental to the foregoing objectives.”
In the light of the various secessions and schisms of very recent Anglican history , especially in North America, it is noteworthy that the following words appear at the very beginning of the Constitution: “The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) hereinafter called ‘the Church of Nigeria’ shall remain one, united, and indissoluble Church under God.” Here the Nigerians express the classic Anglican ecclesiology, that in one geographical region there is to be one and one only form of the Anglican Church, not a series of parallel and competitive ones (as most regrettably there is in the U.S.A. , and, ironically, partly by the encouragement of the Nigerians!).
In terms of the doctrinal foundation of the Church of Nigeria, this is made very clear:
“3. (1) The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) hereinafter called “The Church of Nigeria” or “This Church” shall be in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church as the Lord has commanded in His holy word and as the same are received as taught in the Book of Common Prayer and the ordinal of 1662 and in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.
(2) In the interpretation of the aforementioned formularies and in all questions of Faith, Doctrine and Discipline, the decisions of the Ecclesiastical tribunals of the Church of Nigeria shall be final.”
Thus the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has the same Formularies as the Church of England, the Archdiocese of Sydney and many other Provinces, but (a) a different means of interpreting them; and (b) a different set of Canon Laws to accompany them.
In terms of the Prayer Book, authorized and used in the Church of Nigeria today this is called “The Book of Common Prayer,” but it is not dated 1662 as is the Formulary in the Foundation. Rather, it is an example of the new type of Prayer Books created from the 1970s onwards and modestly called in England, Alternative Service Book 1980 and in Canada Book of Alternative Services 1985, but in the U.S.A. regrettably called The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, and in the West Indies also, The Book of Common Prayer (1995). [The West Indies Book has no traditional language of Prayer in it at all!]
The Nigerian 20th century prayer book, like the new books in both the U.S.A. and the West Indies, was given the unfortunate title The Book of Common Prayer (1996) and it is very much a western type mixture of services and doctrines, together with a few distinctive Nigerian additions. [For details see The Oxford Guide to The Book of Common Prayer, 2006, pp.301-2.] This 1996 prayer book is now being revised and some of the proposed changes have recently been published, and were commended by Archbishop Akinola and then discussed at the Bishops Retreat in Nigeria in the week of January 7. [Interestingly, the retiring Primate of the West Indies, Drexel Gomez, was present as the liturgical facilitator of the Nigerian retreat, and he was primarily responsible for the West Indies 1995 Prayer Book, regrettably called The BCP!]
In the Nigerian Constitution there is given to the General Synod of the Church of Nigeria the right and power to authorize liturgical revisions in cooperation with the House of Bishops:
For the avoidance of doubt, the General Synod as hereby constituted shall be the legislative body of the Church of Nigeria and every enactment, resolution or directive of the said Synod shall have effect and be binding upon the Church, every Ecclesiastical Province or Diocese therein and upon all officers and members thereof
……and in particular:
(i) the constitution and organization of the General Synod including the regulation of the time and place of its meetings, the order and conduct of its proceedings, and the appointment ,functions and duties of its officers, committees and other organs;
(ii) the national character, constitution, integrity and autonomy of the Church of Nigeria;
(iii) the relations of the Church to other religious bodies in
Nigeria and elsewhere;
(iv) the relations of the Church to other Churches of the Anglican Communion;
(v) the election, retirement or resignation of the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, the Provincial Archbishops and Diocesan Bishops including the consecration of Diocesan Bishops;
(vi) discipline of Clergy and of Laity of the Church of Nigeria;
(vii) the constitution and powers of and procedure in courts of original and appellate jurisdiction for the trial of offences and the enforcement of judgments;
(viii) the revision, adaptation and publication of a Book of Common Prayer and a Hymnal for the Church;
(ix) the establishment of minimum standards of theological education and minimum qualifications and training of candidates for the Ministry of the Church;
(x) the regulation of inter-diocesan transfer of clergy; (xi) the relinquishment or abandonment of the Ministry of the Church;……..
In conclusion:
Since it appears that the large Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) is going to have a massive influence in the immediate future on the present global Anglican Communion, even over whether or not it formally splits or tragically falls apart, it would be good if the following could occur. That this Church make easily available to overseas churches its Prayer Book and the proposed revisions of it, so that those likely to be influenced by this Church know what to expect in terms of its worship, doctrine and discipline; and, at the same time, can also learn from what this large and expanding Church has to say about the worship of the Father through the Son and with the Holy Spirit.
January 15, 2008, www.pbsusa.org drpetertoon@yahoo.com
Though it often refers to “The Anglican Communion,” nowhere does it mention “The See of Canterbury” for this connection was removed in the 2002 revision. It thus envisions the possibility of an Anglican Communion, of which it is a bona fide member, without the See of Canterbury as “the first instrument of unity,” or technically, in it.
Here is the opening section of the General Provisions:
“1. This Constitution shall be known as the Constitution of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), 2002.
2. (1) The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion),hereinafter called “the Church of Nigeria”, shall remain one united and indissoluble Church under God.
(2) The aims, objectives and principles of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) are:
(a) To evangelize, and promote the knowledge of God and the adherence to the teaching and examples of Jesus Christ;
(b) To promote Christian education, values and morals;
(c) To assist in the care and welfare of the people,
Particularly the poor, the aged and the needy;
(d) To provide for the spiritual welfare of her members;
(e) To acquire land for the attainment of her objectives;
(f) To raise funds through launches, contributions and any other lawful means;
(g) To undertake all other things which are reasonably incidental to the foregoing objectives.”
In the light of the various secessions and schisms of very recent Anglican history , especially in North America, it is noteworthy that the following words appear at the very beginning of the Constitution: “The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) hereinafter called ‘the Church of Nigeria’ shall remain one, united, and indissoluble Church under God.” Here the Nigerians express the classic Anglican ecclesiology, that in one geographical region there is to be one and one only form of the Anglican Church, not a series of parallel and competitive ones (as most regrettably there is in the U.S.A. , and, ironically, partly by the encouragement of the Nigerians!).
In terms of the doctrinal foundation of the Church of Nigeria, this is made very clear:
“3. (1) The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) hereinafter called “The Church of Nigeria” or “This Church” shall be in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church as the Lord has commanded in His holy word and as the same are received as taught in the Book of Common Prayer and the ordinal of 1662 and in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.
(2) In the interpretation of the aforementioned formularies and in all questions of Faith, Doctrine and Discipline, the decisions of the Ecclesiastical tribunals of the Church of Nigeria shall be final.”
Thus the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has the same Formularies as the Church of England, the Archdiocese of Sydney and many other Provinces, but (a) a different means of interpreting them; and (b) a different set of Canon Laws to accompany them.
In terms of the Prayer Book, authorized and used in the Church of Nigeria today this is called “The Book of Common Prayer,” but it is not dated 1662 as is the Formulary in the Foundation. Rather, it is an example of the new type of Prayer Books created from the 1970s onwards and modestly called in England, Alternative Service Book 1980 and in Canada Book of Alternative Services 1985, but in the U.S.A. regrettably called The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, and in the West Indies also, The Book of Common Prayer (1995). [The West Indies Book has no traditional language of Prayer in it at all!]
The Nigerian 20th century prayer book, like the new books in both the U.S.A. and the West Indies, was given the unfortunate title The Book of Common Prayer (1996) and it is very much a western type mixture of services and doctrines, together with a few distinctive Nigerian additions. [For details see The Oxford Guide to The Book of Common Prayer, 2006, pp.301-2.] This 1996 prayer book is now being revised and some of the proposed changes have recently been published, and were commended by Archbishop Akinola and then discussed at the Bishops Retreat in Nigeria in the week of January 7. [Interestingly, the retiring Primate of the West Indies, Drexel Gomez, was present as the liturgical facilitator of the Nigerian retreat, and he was primarily responsible for the West Indies 1995 Prayer Book, regrettably called The BCP!]
In the Nigerian Constitution there is given to the General Synod of the Church of Nigeria the right and power to authorize liturgical revisions in cooperation with the House of Bishops:
For the avoidance of doubt, the General Synod as hereby constituted shall be the legislative body of the Church of Nigeria and every enactment, resolution or directive of the said Synod shall have effect and be binding upon the Church, every Ecclesiastical Province or Diocese therein and upon all officers and members thereof
……and in particular:
(i) the constitution and organization of the General Synod including the regulation of the time and place of its meetings, the order and conduct of its proceedings, and the appointment ,functions and duties of its officers, committees and other organs;
(ii) the national character, constitution, integrity and autonomy of the Church of Nigeria;
(iii) the relations of the Church to other religious bodies in
Nigeria and elsewhere;
(iv) the relations of the Church to other Churches of the Anglican Communion;
(v) the election, retirement or resignation of the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, the Provincial Archbishops and Diocesan Bishops including the consecration of Diocesan Bishops;
(vi) discipline of Clergy and of Laity of the Church of Nigeria;
(vii) the constitution and powers of and procedure in courts of original and appellate jurisdiction for the trial of offences and the enforcement of judgments;
(viii) the revision, adaptation and publication of a Book of Common Prayer and a Hymnal for the Church;
(ix) the establishment of minimum standards of theological education and minimum qualifications and training of candidates for the Ministry of the Church;
(x) the regulation of inter-diocesan transfer of clergy; (xi) the relinquishment or abandonment of the Ministry of the Church;……..
In conclusion:
Since it appears that the large Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) is going to have a massive influence in the immediate future on the present global Anglican Communion, even over whether or not it formally splits or tragically falls apart, it would be good if the following could occur. That this Church make easily available to overseas churches its Prayer Book and the proposed revisions of it, so that those likely to be influenced by this Church know what to expect in terms of its worship, doctrine and discipline; and, at the same time, can also learn from what this large and expanding Church has to say about the worship of the Father through the Son and with the Holy Spirit.
January 15, 2008, www.pbsusa.org drpetertoon@yahoo.com
Monday, January 14, 2008
Jerusalem—place of pilgrimage for African Anglicans?
There has been an Anglican bishopric in Jerusalem since 1841 and for part of its history it was an archbishopric. Now it is part of the Anglican Province of the Middle East.
When it was established in 1841 by Britain and Prussia, it was intended to serve a very practical purpose, that is, of serving the Anglicans and Protestants in the region. Nevertheless, there was present then in the Evangelicalism of Britain and Europe a strand of what is usually called pre-millennialism and this played a part in the establishment. This mindset looked for the restoration of the kingdom of Israel in relation both to the future millennium and to the Second Coming of Christ.
A century later such belief as this fuelled understanding the fulfillment of prophecy and was a major factor in the political movement that actually led to the settlement of Jews in Palestine and the encouragement of the creation of the modern state of Israel.
In the U.S.A. there has long been, and still is today, a deeply held belief amongst many Evangelicals in particular that the State of Israel is a sphere and place in this century where prophecy has been and continues to be fulfilled. In fact, this interpretation of the yet to be fulfilled (mostly OT) prophecies on the radio and TV programs, in books, on DVD’s and at conferences is a multi-million dollar industry. And if we add to this interpretation and exposition the trips to Israel to see the sites mentioned in the Bible, and to notice the places where prophecy has been and will yet be fulfilled, then the multi-million dollar business grows a lot more—as it also does if we were to count the money from Evangelicals sent to and used by the lobby for the State of Israel in Washington D.C.
Of course, there are many who go to Israel because they support the state of Israel as such and admire what it has achieved. For them the question of prophecy has no appeal, and the sites referred to in the Bible are only of minimal interest.
I myself have been once with a group of clergy to visit the sites and to pray there. I was taking a party of students there in 1967 to work on a kibbutz but we never got there because of the war of that year!
Enter another dimension
It would be a mistake to think that it is only European and American Evangelicals who are fascinated—sometimes obsessed—by the search for the fulfillment of prophecy in, or with regard to, Israel. Other Evangelicals from other continents and countries also share this passion and do so as part of their piety and discipleship of Jesus the Christ.
One large African country, often in the news, where there is a large number of Evangelical Christians and where their Christianity is very much Bible-centered is Nigeria. Here there is a very favorable rating by Christian citizens of the State of Israel, and, not surprisingly, there is in the churches a fascination with the land of Israel, both as holy land and as the place of the fulfillment of prophecy. Indeed, so strong is the attachment to Israel, and to the city of Jerusalem, that there has emerged in recent years the idea of the Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem as the equivalent of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (Nigeria of course has many Muslims). And to Bible-reading people this idea of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem can easily be justified from the Old Testament law where Jews are required to attend Jerusalem for major feasts (thus the great crowd at Pentecost-Acts 2).
In fact it has been suggested—and a Press Release from the Nigerian House of Bishops, and Pastoral letter from Archbishop Akinola on December 11, appear to confirm—that one of the powerful motivations for the calling of the “Global Anglican Conference on Mission” in Jerusalem in June 08 for Anglican leaders are these themes:-- the fulfillment of prophecy soon to occur there, the meeting where the people of Israel and Jesus himself lived, and the making of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, even as the Israelites used to do. (This kind of motivation surely trumps all calls to make the July Lambeth Conference at Canterbury, an old center of the tired and failing Church of England, of primary importance.)
To the secular-mind of the West, such a motivation to go to Israel is difficult to grasp or to appreciate. However, to Nigerian people who live with their Bibles, who read the Old and the New Testaments as word of God, and who have in their Protestant history received pre-millennial teaching that has somehow become part of their vital tradition of interpretation, the most spiritual thing to do is to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In fact, Archbishop Akinola has stated that he wishes all the Bishops (over 170) and their spouses, together with other clerical and lay leaders to attend. And he has begun to raise money to cover the massive bills.
The Anglican world often surprises us!
One dimension of the surprise is that both the present Bishop of Jerusalem and the Presiding Bishop of the Province of the Middle East are opposed to this pilgrimage in June 08.
drpetertoon@yahoo.com Epiphany 2, 2008. www.pbsusa.org
When it was established in 1841 by Britain and Prussia, it was intended to serve a very practical purpose, that is, of serving the Anglicans and Protestants in the region. Nevertheless, there was present then in the Evangelicalism of Britain and Europe a strand of what is usually called pre-millennialism and this played a part in the establishment. This mindset looked for the restoration of the kingdom of Israel in relation both to the future millennium and to the Second Coming of Christ.
A century later such belief as this fuelled understanding the fulfillment of prophecy and was a major factor in the political movement that actually led to the settlement of Jews in Palestine and the encouragement of the creation of the modern state of Israel.
In the U.S.A. there has long been, and still is today, a deeply held belief amongst many Evangelicals in particular that the State of Israel is a sphere and place in this century where prophecy has been and continues to be fulfilled. In fact, this interpretation of the yet to be fulfilled (mostly OT) prophecies on the radio and TV programs, in books, on DVD’s and at conferences is a multi-million dollar industry. And if we add to this interpretation and exposition the trips to Israel to see the sites mentioned in the Bible, and to notice the places where prophecy has been and will yet be fulfilled, then the multi-million dollar business grows a lot more—as it also does if we were to count the money from Evangelicals sent to and used by the lobby for the State of Israel in Washington D.C.
Of course, there are many who go to Israel because they support the state of Israel as such and admire what it has achieved. For them the question of prophecy has no appeal, and the sites referred to in the Bible are only of minimal interest.
I myself have been once with a group of clergy to visit the sites and to pray there. I was taking a party of students there in 1967 to work on a kibbutz but we never got there because of the war of that year!
Enter another dimension
It would be a mistake to think that it is only European and American Evangelicals who are fascinated—sometimes obsessed—by the search for the fulfillment of prophecy in, or with regard to, Israel. Other Evangelicals from other continents and countries also share this passion and do so as part of their piety and discipleship of Jesus the Christ.
One large African country, often in the news, where there is a large number of Evangelical Christians and where their Christianity is very much Bible-centered is Nigeria. Here there is a very favorable rating by Christian citizens of the State of Israel, and, not surprisingly, there is in the churches a fascination with the land of Israel, both as holy land and as the place of the fulfillment of prophecy. Indeed, so strong is the attachment to Israel, and to the city of Jerusalem, that there has emerged in recent years the idea of the Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem as the equivalent of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (Nigeria of course has many Muslims). And to Bible-reading people this idea of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem can easily be justified from the Old Testament law where Jews are required to attend Jerusalem for major feasts (thus the great crowd at Pentecost-Acts 2).
In fact it has been suggested—and a Press Release from the Nigerian House of Bishops, and Pastoral letter from Archbishop Akinola on December 11, appear to confirm—that one of the powerful motivations for the calling of the “Global Anglican Conference on Mission” in Jerusalem in June 08 for Anglican leaders are these themes:-- the fulfillment of prophecy soon to occur there, the meeting where the people of Israel and Jesus himself lived, and the making of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, even as the Israelites used to do. (This kind of motivation surely trumps all calls to make the July Lambeth Conference at Canterbury, an old center of the tired and failing Church of England, of primary importance.)
To the secular-mind of the West, such a motivation to go to Israel is difficult to grasp or to appreciate. However, to Nigerian people who live with their Bibles, who read the Old and the New Testaments as word of God, and who have in their Protestant history received pre-millennial teaching that has somehow become part of their vital tradition of interpretation, the most spiritual thing to do is to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In fact, Archbishop Akinola has stated that he wishes all the Bishops (over 170) and their spouses, together with other clerical and lay leaders to attend. And he has begun to raise money to cover the massive bills.
The Anglican world often surprises us!
One dimension of the surprise is that both the present Bishop of Jerusalem and the Presiding Bishop of the Province of the Middle East are opposed to this pilgrimage in June 08.
drpetertoon@yahoo.com Epiphany 2, 2008. www.pbsusa.org
Letter from Akinola of Nigeria
January 11, 2008
My Dear People of God,
PASTORAL LETTER
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May He keep you abiding in Him, always bearing fruit for His glory.
We must give all praise and thanks to God for the blessing of life granted to us into this new year 2008. It is a fresh opportunity to love and serve Him who gives us so much from His River of delights. We must always be thankful for past and present blessings; we must remain hopeful even in the face of uncertainties in our national life as well as individual circumstances, and we must trust in God’s faithfulness to fulfill His very great and precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4).
The Bishops came together again from 7-12 January, 2008 for our annual retreat at the Ibru Anglican Retreat Centre at Agbarha-Otor. We were particularly pleased to have our brother Bishops from our outreaches to CANA (in the USA), and the Province of Congo with us. It afforded us the opportunity for further reflection on OUR LITURGICAL HERITAGE. We had as our chief resource person Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies (Anglican Communion) and we spent quality time rediscovering the Biblical foundations of our liturgy. We came to the conclusion that we do indeed have a rich and strongly biblical heritage which must be rediscovered, cherished, and guarded by all true Anglicans. Our Liturgy is a dramatization of The Bible and should therefore be held sacred without casual departures at the discretion of individuals. Our liturgy promotes fellowship, teaching, mission, and relevant spirituality. All of us – Bishops, Clergy and Laity have a great role to play in this regard. We must take time to prepare prayerfully so that the liturgy does not become a cold and lifeless aspect of our worship life, but a vibrant, inspiring and liberating encounter with our self-revealing God. Our liturgy enables us to respond to God’s self-disclosure. As Anglicans, we are encouraged to live godly lives in the Church and in society. Our members in public office should go with a sense of mission as those who have been inspired by this encounter with the living God.
Among the special features of the retreat was the introduction of the new revision of our Book of Common Prayer by the Liturgical and Spirituality Committee of our Church. There are additions as well as exclusions as perceived from responses received from our membership. The chief concern of this revised edition is to help us to worship God meaningfully and relevantly in our setting and many situations. It is being released for further feedback within the first quarter of this year, before the final production is made available to all. We commend the hard work of the committee under the chairmanship of the Bishop Henry Ndukuba, Bishop of Gombe. We
must reward their effort by making good use of it.
A further matter deliberated upon was the fresh thought about returning to our biblical roots in Jerusalem, especially in the face of our protracted controversies with the revisionists in the Church in the Provinces in America, Canada, and even England over the authority of the Bible - the same Bible which the foreign missionaries had taught us to treasure as the bedrock of our convictions. With other like-minded Anglicans from around the world, a conference tagged, GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) has been planned to take place in Jerusalem from June 2008. The goal is to inform and inspire the invited leaders to shape this future, to reform the church, and transform persons, communities and societies through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Bishops and wives as well as a selection of Clergy, Youth, and Laity from our ecclesiastical provinces are expected to participate in this conference. Another letter has been written by us already, appealing for your generous contributions to make it possible for all our Bishops and wives to attend this historic conference that will further clarify the future of our Communion. More than even the generous contributions, we solicit for earnest prayers by God’s people that this will not just be our own thing, but will indeed have the blessing of divine approval as we seek to please God first and foremost in all that we do. We will continue to explore ways of maintaining the unity, credibility, and spiritual relevance of our beloved Communion.
You will be encouraged to know we also listened to reports about our mission efforts through the creation of missionary dioceses and it revealed that this exercise has resulted in the planting of at least 300 new congregations within the year. We urge for more commitment in the form of sponsorship of our evangelistic and missionary efforts, and indeed greater participation in the task of evangelism and the nurture of new believers.
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).
Yours for His honour and glory,
Signed
The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, CON
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria
My Dear People of God,
PASTORAL LETTER
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May He keep you abiding in Him, always bearing fruit for His glory.
We must give all praise and thanks to God for the blessing of life granted to us into this new year 2008. It is a fresh opportunity to love and serve Him who gives us so much from His River of delights. We must always be thankful for past and present blessings; we must remain hopeful even in the face of uncertainties in our national life as well as individual circumstances, and we must trust in God’s faithfulness to fulfill His very great and precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4).
The Bishops came together again from 7-12 January, 2008 for our annual retreat at the Ibru Anglican Retreat Centre at Agbarha-Otor. We were particularly pleased to have our brother Bishops from our outreaches to CANA (in the USA), and the Province of Congo with us. It afforded us the opportunity for further reflection on OUR LITURGICAL HERITAGE. We had as our chief resource person Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies (Anglican Communion) and we spent quality time rediscovering the Biblical foundations of our liturgy. We came to the conclusion that we do indeed have a rich and strongly biblical heritage which must be rediscovered, cherished, and guarded by all true Anglicans. Our Liturgy is a dramatization of The Bible and should therefore be held sacred without casual departures at the discretion of individuals. Our liturgy promotes fellowship, teaching, mission, and relevant spirituality. All of us – Bishops, Clergy and Laity have a great role to play in this regard. We must take time to prepare prayerfully so that the liturgy does not become a cold and lifeless aspect of our worship life, but a vibrant, inspiring and liberating encounter with our self-revealing God. Our liturgy enables us to respond to God’s self-disclosure. As Anglicans, we are encouraged to live godly lives in the Church and in society. Our members in public office should go with a sense of mission as those who have been inspired by this encounter with the living God.
Among the special features of the retreat was the introduction of the new revision of our Book of Common Prayer by the Liturgical and Spirituality Committee of our Church. There are additions as well as exclusions as perceived from responses received from our membership. The chief concern of this revised edition is to help us to worship God meaningfully and relevantly in our setting and many situations. It is being released for further feedback within the first quarter of this year, before the final production is made available to all. We commend the hard work of the committee under the chairmanship of the Bishop Henry Ndukuba, Bishop of Gombe. We
must reward their effort by making good use of it.
A further matter deliberated upon was the fresh thought about returning to our biblical roots in Jerusalem, especially in the face of our protracted controversies with the revisionists in the Church in the Provinces in America, Canada, and even England over the authority of the Bible - the same Bible which the foreign missionaries had taught us to treasure as the bedrock of our convictions. With other like-minded Anglicans from around the world, a conference tagged, GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) has been planned to take place in Jerusalem from June 2008. The goal is to inform and inspire the invited leaders to shape this future, to reform the church, and transform persons, communities and societies through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Bishops and wives as well as a selection of Clergy, Youth, and Laity from our ecclesiastical provinces are expected to participate in this conference. Another letter has been written by us already, appealing for your generous contributions to make it possible for all our Bishops and wives to attend this historic conference that will further clarify the future of our Communion. More than even the generous contributions, we solicit for earnest prayers by God’s people that this will not just be our own thing, but will indeed have the blessing of divine approval as we seek to please God first and foremost in all that we do. We will continue to explore ways of maintaining the unity, credibility, and spiritual relevance of our beloved Communion.
You will be encouraged to know we also listened to reports about our mission efforts through the creation of missionary dioceses and it revealed that this exercise has resulted in the planting of at least 300 new congregations within the year. We urge for more commitment in the form of sponsorship of our evangelistic and missionary efforts, and indeed greater participation in the task of evangelism and the nurture of new believers.
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).
Yours for His honour and glory,
Signed
The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, CON
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria
Important Statement from NIGERIAN BISHOPS
JANUARY 7-12, 2008.
Preamble
The House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), comprising the 120 Bishops in Dioceses within Nigeria and 7 others from our mission outreaches to the Province of Congo and the United States of America (CANA), held their annual retreat at the Ibru Anglican Retreat Centre from January 7-12, 2008, with the theme OUR LITURGICAL HERITAGE, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the Primate, The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, DD, CON, presiding, and issued the following communiqué:
The Church of Nigeria
The House of Bishops received the briefing by our Primate, The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, CON, on the forthcoming Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jerusalem with great enthusiasm, commending his unrelenting efforts and tenacity of purpose in the Anglican cause. We are firmly resolved to seek inspiration from the biblical roots of our faith.
We reaffirm our endorsement of all the steps taken by our Primate to broker a peaceful resolution of the Lambeth Conference 2008 impasse which unfortunately has met with subtle inflexibility. Believing the time has come for us to explore other options, we stand with all like-minded Primates, Bishops and leaders of our communion who are organizing a Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in a pilgrimage setting in the Holy Land (Jerusalem), in June 2008 with the stated goal of informing and inspiring the invited leaders to shape this future, and to reform the church and transform persons, communities and societies through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Anglican Liturgy is a dramatization of The Bible and should therefore be held sacred without casual departures at the discretion of individuals. Our liturgy promotes fellowship, teaching, mission, and relevant spirituality. We should therefore rediscover the treasures of our liturgical heritage and make it lively.
The Anglican Communion Worldwide
The persistent controversies in the Anglican Communion call for a return to the Biblical standards of morality as the way out of the present crisis. We applaud the initiative of sister Provinces who, like us, have consecrated Bishops as a response to the great need to provide a safe habour for our disenchanted faithfuls rather than fulfilling territorial ambitions.
The Nigerian State
We salute the Judiciary for recent landmark judgments on electoral matters which in turn have restored confidence in the rule of law in these delicate times. However, we urge that pending electoral cases be determined without delay so that political office holders can get on with the task of governance rather than waiting in anxiety and idleness to know their fate while the electorate continues to hope for better living conditions.
We note with satisfaction the spirited war being waged against the cankerworm of corruption in our country by the Federal government through the EFCC in the recent past. We expect the government to exercise utmost sensitivity in whatever personnel and other changes may be considered necessary. It is important that whatever is done, the doggedness that has earned it the applause of Nigerians and the international community will not be compromised.
We are pleased to observe that the perennial fuel shortage that has often characterized our end of year festivities was well controlled in 2007. However, the power supply situation which is a major component of the 7-point agenda of the present government should be addressed without further delay.
We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to critically consider the security implications of the attempt by the United States of America to locate their African Command in Nigeria.
We observe with deep concern the deplorable condition of our roads nationwide and call on the Federal Government and State governments to give very urgent attention to address this national embarrassment.
We commend the creativity and indigenization of movies as depicted on the African Magic Television. However, we are concerned about the increasing cases of indiscriminate portrayal of unethical values that are capable of destroying our younger generation, and indeed African ethical values. We call on parents and the NBC to take steps to guard their wards against this social assault.
Africa and The World
We are deeply saddened by the carnage that has trailed the recent elections in Kenya and call on the international community to collaborate with the African Union that has waded into this spiraling spate of violence and democratic tragedy. We urge these warring brothers to sheath their swords and spare further blood-letting and political martyrdom in the country that had earned itself the dignity of being the showpiece of democracy in Africa.
The gruesome murder of Benazir Bhutto while addressing a political rally comes as a rude reminder of the unrelenting threat and savagery of terrorism as a means of settling political differences. We call on the United Nations to take appropriate steps to dress the deep wounds inflicted on the political psyche of the Pakistanis and other nations that are seeking to move forward politically.
Preamble
The House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), comprising the 120 Bishops in Dioceses within Nigeria and 7 others from our mission outreaches to the Province of Congo and the United States of America (CANA), held their annual retreat at the Ibru Anglican Retreat Centre from January 7-12, 2008, with the theme OUR LITURGICAL HERITAGE, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the Primate, The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, DD, CON, presiding, and issued the following communiqué:
The Church of Nigeria
The House of Bishops received the briefing by our Primate, The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, CON, on the forthcoming Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jerusalem with great enthusiasm, commending his unrelenting efforts and tenacity of purpose in the Anglican cause. We are firmly resolved to seek inspiration from the biblical roots of our faith.
We reaffirm our endorsement of all the steps taken by our Primate to broker a peaceful resolution of the Lambeth Conference 2008 impasse which unfortunately has met with subtle inflexibility. Believing the time has come for us to explore other options, we stand with all like-minded Primates, Bishops and leaders of our communion who are organizing a Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in a pilgrimage setting in the Holy Land (Jerusalem), in June 2008 with the stated goal of informing and inspiring the invited leaders to shape this future, and to reform the church and transform persons, communities and societies through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Anglican Liturgy is a dramatization of The Bible and should therefore be held sacred without casual departures at the discretion of individuals. Our liturgy promotes fellowship, teaching, mission, and relevant spirituality. We should therefore rediscover the treasures of our liturgical heritage and make it lively.
The Anglican Communion Worldwide
The persistent controversies in the Anglican Communion call for a return to the Biblical standards of morality as the way out of the present crisis. We applaud the initiative of sister Provinces who, like us, have consecrated Bishops as a response to the great need to provide a safe habour for our disenchanted faithfuls rather than fulfilling territorial ambitions.
The Nigerian State
We salute the Judiciary for recent landmark judgments on electoral matters which in turn have restored confidence in the rule of law in these delicate times. However, we urge that pending electoral cases be determined without delay so that political office holders can get on with the task of governance rather than waiting in anxiety and idleness to know their fate while the electorate continues to hope for better living conditions.
We note with satisfaction the spirited war being waged against the cankerworm of corruption in our country by the Federal government through the EFCC in the recent past. We expect the government to exercise utmost sensitivity in whatever personnel and other changes may be considered necessary. It is important that whatever is done, the doggedness that has earned it the applause of Nigerians and the international community will not be compromised.
We are pleased to observe that the perennial fuel shortage that has often characterized our end of year festivities was well controlled in 2007. However, the power supply situation which is a major component of the 7-point agenda of the present government should be addressed without further delay.
We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to critically consider the security implications of the attempt by the United States of America to locate their African Command in Nigeria.
We observe with deep concern the deplorable condition of our roads nationwide and call on the Federal Government and State governments to give very urgent attention to address this national embarrassment.
We commend the creativity and indigenization of movies as depicted on the African Magic Television. However, we are concerned about the increasing cases of indiscriminate portrayal of unethical values that are capable of destroying our younger generation, and indeed African ethical values. We call on parents and the NBC to take steps to guard their wards against this social assault.
Africa and The World
We are deeply saddened by the carnage that has trailed the recent elections in Kenya and call on the international community to collaborate with the African Union that has waded into this spiraling spate of violence and democratic tragedy. We urge these warring brothers to sheath their swords and spare further blood-letting and political martyrdom in the country that had earned itself the dignity of being the showpiece of democracy in Africa.
The gruesome murder of Benazir Bhutto while addressing a political rally comes as a rude reminder of the unrelenting threat and savagery of terrorism as a means of settling political differences. We call on the United Nations to take appropriate steps to dress the deep wounds inflicted on the political psyche of the Pakistanis and other nations that are seeking to move forward politically.
An essay for the serious of mind who care for Anglicanism
Does American Voluntarism triumph as the historic Doctrine of the Church in The BCP is eclipsed in contemporary American “Anglican” views of the Church?
I invite you to join me in this reflection to note what doctrine of the Church in relation to space and time is taught and presupposed in authentic editions of The Book of Common Prayer, and how this has been applied in the U.S.A.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE BCP
Let us set aside all Anglican Prayer books produced since the Lambeth Conference of 1968, when the green light for given for liturgical experiment, and consider instead the various editions of The Book of Common Prayer in use before and after that Lambeth Conference. In the West this places before us, the English 1662; the American 1928; and the Canadian 1962 (and similar ones in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales). And to be very clear of what we are talking about, let us remove also all forms of the editing these texts in a Roman Catholic direction done by pious Anglo-Catholics in what are called the Missals. So we have only before us the classic BCP in its three editions, 1662, 1928 and 1962; and we recognize that these have a common ancestry back to the first ever BCP, that of 1549.
Now there are many references to the Church of God in the various services and, further, there are specific prayers for the Church as the Church of God. In the Order for Holy Communion, the petitions to God for his Church are that it will be continually inspired with the spirit of truth, unity and concord; that it will have godly and faithful Bishops and clergy and that all its members will serve God in holiness and righteousness. The Collects for Trinity XV and XVI are specific prayers for the Church that it be kept in the way of salvation by the perpetual mercy of God, and be cleansed and defended from all dangers.
Obviously these prayers are for the world-wide Church of God and for the Anglican expression or manifestation of it. However, everything that is said about and prayed for the Church in The BCP presupposes that the “Anglican” Church, wherever it is, is One Church in one country or territory or geographical area. Even the American BCP has a preface from 1789 which, though it accepts that in the U.S.A. there are other “denominations” such as Methodist and Congregational, nevertheless assumes that the Anglican (= Episcopal) Church is one and one organization and Province only with multiple dioceses. Obviously The Protestant Episcopal Church had to live with this understanding, and the tension arising from it, as the number of denominations small and great increased in the U.S.A. as the years went by. Yet it managed to hold on to it in theory and practice well into the twentieth century, and in theory to the present day.
It had to face two internal challenges : first, the division of the Civil War between North and South, which was healed, and, secondly, the secession of a small group of Evangelicals in 1873 which was never healed.
SECESSION in 1873 & 1977
In 1873 the departing Evangelicals placed unity with their fellow Evangelicals in other denominations above their unity with fellow Episcopalians (especially when the Episcopalians were anglo-catholic!). In the event ,the Reformed Episcopal Church was never large, and it tended to be more like a small Presbyterian Church for most of its history, using the Prayer Book of 1785 rejected by the Church of England and the American Church in favor of the 1789; and it was very much guided by the general Protestant principles of American voluntarism.
When we get to the secession of 1977 of those Episcopalians, who believed that the PECUSA had abandoned the Catholic Faith in its innovations in the decade of the 1970s, we meet a group who seem to have been fully aware that The BCP of 1928, which they used, did assume and require that The Episcopal/Anglican Church of the U.S.A. be one organization, one province. So they saw themselves as under God being called to be “The Continuing Church” to replace the old Church; and so they stated their clear intention to be in communion with the See of Canterbury as the new Province (for the old Church was fast heading into apostasy they believed).
In the event, in 1977 many who were committed to orthodoxy and against the innovations of the 1970s stayed inside the PECUSA ,and those who came out were not able to stay together as One Body for very long. So the seceders of 1977 ended up in the very strange position in 1978 of creating several denominations, each of which claimed both to be “The Continuing Church” and also the whole of the U.S.A. as its province. So each of the new denominations actually retained the general doctrine of The BCP but applied in a different context, and a context of competition and parallelism which, it may be suggested, was a place in which The BCP doctrine of the Church could not rest or fit.
For what had happened in reality is that the seceders had, for practical and pragmatic reasons, accepted the principle of voluntarism (like the REC before them), but had wedded it to strong anglo-catholic doctrines of the apostolic succession of bishops, and the efficacy of sacramental grace. And their clinging to the latter seem to justify their abandonment of the classic Anglican doctrine of the Church in space and time.
So in the year 2008 the various “Continuing Denominations” are very much in sociological reality small American denominations, following the general rule of American freedom and assembly in religion, but, in these case, making a claim to uniqueness by their unique apostolic ministry and sacraments (which places them, on their terms, on the same level; as the Roman Catholic Church). They have given up all desire to be in communion with Canterbury and even in fellowship with the newer Anglican evangelical and charismatic Continuers, who have burst on the scene in recent years. So it is not unexpected that some of the 1977 Continuers are seeking to be admitted as a group into the Roman Catholic Church on their terms as special or unique Anglicans.
THE NEW CONTINUERS
Especially, but not solely, in response to the specific innovations in sexual doctrine and practice within The Episcopal Church in recent times, there have been secessions of various kinds at different moments: these have included one whole diocese, several whole congregations and many parts of parish congregations. As extra-mural Episcopalians (but preferring to be called Anglicans) these people have opted for a variety of ways of being organized and given pastoral care in their temporary wilderness—from that of a foreign bishop on a one to one basis, to that of joining a mission founded in the U.S.A. by a foreign Province, and to that of becoming a diocese within a foreign Province.
The seceders of 1977, as we have noted, were conscious initially of Anglican ecclesiology and realized that there should only be one non-apostate or orthodox [Anglican] Church in one geographical region. The fact that they failed to live up to what they originally knew does not change the correctness of their original insight and intention.
In contrast, the seceders of the twenty-first century appear not to have been conscious of classic Anglican ecclesiology at all (or, if so, to have ignored it) as they simply adopted the long established principle of American voluntarism. Of course, they were encouraged in their voluntarism by the crossing of provincial boundaries by foreign Provinces in order to enter the U.S.A. without an invitation or without permission from The Episcopal Church. Thus without any obvious Anglican ecclesiology, and following the general trend of things in the U.S.A. form of denominational existence, there was quickly, in the words of Dick Kim, “an alphabet of affiliations,” composed, as already noted with a variety of bishops, dioceses and provinces involved. Certainly a new form of voluntarism but nevertheless voluntarism!
The sense of the need for some unity is not totally gone and so some of the organizations and groups of these recent seceders, together the modern form of the 1873 Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Province of America (a 1977 vintage group), various Canadian affiliates, several Episcopal Church dioceses and the missions (AMIA, CANA) from overseas Provinces, have united in a kind of federation called The Common Cause Partners. This is a classic example of a group seeking common ends within the principle of American voluntarism as they (importantly) each retain their autonomy. It is far away in principle or practice from the notion of an Anglican Province, which characterized the American Anglican scene from the 1780s to the 1970s.
CONCLUSION
It would appear that with the infidelity of The Episcopal Church ( which began in earnest in the early 1970s with the changing of the doctrine of marriage, the illegal ordinations of women to the Ministry; the novel contents of the new form of Common Prayer, and a general dumbing-down and secularizing of cardinal doctrines) the ideal and requirement that the Church be one organization, one unit, and one Province in one nation were bruised and crushed even if not eliminated entirely. What we have now are various type of self-styled Anglicans seeking to be follow their own blueprint of the Anglican Way, even as they live within the powerful ethos of American voluntarism, a reality which moulds and changes everything that it receives, including any current version of Anglicanism and interpretation of the Bible and Tradition. Only time will tell whether (a) The Episcopal Church is able to be reformed and renewed; and (b) the African connection with the New Continuers will prove a means of bring unity in truth and truth in unity to the much divided Anglican Way in the U.S.A.
drpetertoon@yahoo.com Epiphany One, January 13, 2008 www.pbsusa.org
I invite you to join me in this reflection to note what doctrine of the Church in relation to space and time is taught and presupposed in authentic editions of The Book of Common Prayer, and how this has been applied in the U.S.A.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE BCP
Let us set aside all Anglican Prayer books produced since the Lambeth Conference of 1968, when the green light for given for liturgical experiment, and consider instead the various editions of The Book of Common Prayer in use before and after that Lambeth Conference. In the West this places before us, the English 1662; the American 1928; and the Canadian 1962 (and similar ones in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales). And to be very clear of what we are talking about, let us remove also all forms of the editing these texts in a Roman Catholic direction done by pious Anglo-Catholics in what are called the Missals. So we have only before us the classic BCP in its three editions, 1662, 1928 and 1962; and we recognize that these have a common ancestry back to the first ever BCP, that of 1549.
Now there are many references to the Church of God in the various services and, further, there are specific prayers for the Church as the Church of God. In the Order for Holy Communion, the petitions to God for his Church are that it will be continually inspired with the spirit of truth, unity and concord; that it will have godly and faithful Bishops and clergy and that all its members will serve God in holiness and righteousness. The Collects for Trinity XV and XVI are specific prayers for the Church that it be kept in the way of salvation by the perpetual mercy of God, and be cleansed and defended from all dangers.
Obviously these prayers are for the world-wide Church of God and for the Anglican expression or manifestation of it. However, everything that is said about and prayed for the Church in The BCP presupposes that the “Anglican” Church, wherever it is, is One Church in one country or territory or geographical area. Even the American BCP has a preface from 1789 which, though it accepts that in the U.S.A. there are other “denominations” such as Methodist and Congregational, nevertheless assumes that the Anglican (= Episcopal) Church is one and one organization and Province only with multiple dioceses. Obviously The Protestant Episcopal Church had to live with this understanding, and the tension arising from it, as the number of denominations small and great increased in the U.S.A. as the years went by. Yet it managed to hold on to it in theory and practice well into the twentieth century, and in theory to the present day.
It had to face two internal challenges : first, the division of the Civil War between North and South, which was healed, and, secondly, the secession of a small group of Evangelicals in 1873 which was never healed.
SECESSION in 1873 & 1977
In 1873 the departing Evangelicals placed unity with their fellow Evangelicals in other denominations above their unity with fellow Episcopalians (especially when the Episcopalians were anglo-catholic!). In the event ,the Reformed Episcopal Church was never large, and it tended to be more like a small Presbyterian Church for most of its history, using the Prayer Book of 1785 rejected by the Church of England and the American Church in favor of the 1789; and it was very much guided by the general Protestant principles of American voluntarism.
When we get to the secession of 1977 of those Episcopalians, who believed that the PECUSA had abandoned the Catholic Faith in its innovations in the decade of the 1970s, we meet a group who seem to have been fully aware that The BCP of 1928, which they used, did assume and require that The Episcopal/Anglican Church of the U.S.A. be one organization, one province. So they saw themselves as under God being called to be “The Continuing Church” to replace the old Church; and so they stated their clear intention to be in communion with the See of Canterbury as the new Province (for the old Church was fast heading into apostasy they believed).
In the event, in 1977 many who were committed to orthodoxy and against the innovations of the 1970s stayed inside the PECUSA ,and those who came out were not able to stay together as One Body for very long. So the seceders of 1977 ended up in the very strange position in 1978 of creating several denominations, each of which claimed both to be “The Continuing Church” and also the whole of the U.S.A. as its province. So each of the new denominations actually retained the general doctrine of The BCP but applied in a different context, and a context of competition and parallelism which, it may be suggested, was a place in which The BCP doctrine of the Church could not rest or fit.
For what had happened in reality is that the seceders had, for practical and pragmatic reasons, accepted the principle of voluntarism (like the REC before them), but had wedded it to strong anglo-catholic doctrines of the apostolic succession of bishops, and the efficacy of sacramental grace. And their clinging to the latter seem to justify their abandonment of the classic Anglican doctrine of the Church in space and time.
So in the year 2008 the various “Continuing Denominations” are very much in sociological reality small American denominations, following the general rule of American freedom and assembly in religion, but, in these case, making a claim to uniqueness by their unique apostolic ministry and sacraments (which places them, on their terms, on the same level; as the Roman Catholic Church). They have given up all desire to be in communion with Canterbury and even in fellowship with the newer Anglican evangelical and charismatic Continuers, who have burst on the scene in recent years. So it is not unexpected that some of the 1977 Continuers are seeking to be admitted as a group into the Roman Catholic Church on their terms as special or unique Anglicans.
THE NEW CONTINUERS
Especially, but not solely, in response to the specific innovations in sexual doctrine and practice within The Episcopal Church in recent times, there have been secessions of various kinds at different moments: these have included one whole diocese, several whole congregations and many parts of parish congregations. As extra-mural Episcopalians (but preferring to be called Anglicans) these people have opted for a variety of ways of being organized and given pastoral care in their temporary wilderness—from that of a foreign bishop on a one to one basis, to that of joining a mission founded in the U.S.A. by a foreign Province, and to that of becoming a diocese within a foreign Province.
The seceders of 1977, as we have noted, were conscious initially of Anglican ecclesiology and realized that there should only be one non-apostate or orthodox [Anglican] Church in one geographical region. The fact that they failed to live up to what they originally knew does not change the correctness of their original insight and intention.
In contrast, the seceders of the twenty-first century appear not to have been conscious of classic Anglican ecclesiology at all (or, if so, to have ignored it) as they simply adopted the long established principle of American voluntarism. Of course, they were encouraged in their voluntarism by the crossing of provincial boundaries by foreign Provinces in order to enter the U.S.A. without an invitation or without permission from The Episcopal Church. Thus without any obvious Anglican ecclesiology, and following the general trend of things in the U.S.A. form of denominational existence, there was quickly, in the words of Dick Kim, “an alphabet of affiliations,” composed, as already noted with a variety of bishops, dioceses and provinces involved. Certainly a new form of voluntarism but nevertheless voluntarism!
The sense of the need for some unity is not totally gone and so some of the organizations and groups of these recent seceders, together the modern form of the 1873 Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Province of America (a 1977 vintage group), various Canadian affiliates, several Episcopal Church dioceses and the missions (AMIA, CANA) from overseas Provinces, have united in a kind of federation called The Common Cause Partners. This is a classic example of a group seeking common ends within the principle of American voluntarism as they (importantly) each retain their autonomy. It is far away in principle or practice from the notion of an Anglican Province, which characterized the American Anglican scene from the 1780s to the 1970s.
CONCLUSION
It would appear that with the infidelity of The Episcopal Church ( which began in earnest in the early 1970s with the changing of the doctrine of marriage, the illegal ordinations of women to the Ministry; the novel contents of the new form of Common Prayer, and a general dumbing-down and secularizing of cardinal doctrines) the ideal and requirement that the Church be one organization, one unit, and one Province in one nation were bruised and crushed even if not eliminated entirely. What we have now are various type of self-styled Anglicans seeking to be follow their own blueprint of the Anglican Way, even as they live within the powerful ethos of American voluntarism, a reality which moulds and changes everything that it receives, including any current version of Anglicanism and interpretation of the Bible and Tradition. Only time will tell whether (a) The Episcopal Church is able to be reformed and renewed; and (b) the African connection with the New Continuers will prove a means of bring unity in truth and truth in unity to the much divided Anglican Way in the U.S.A.
drpetertoon@yahoo.com Epiphany One, January 13, 2008 www.pbsusa.org
Anglican Communion: one out of many
What Anglicans in the U.S.A. & Canada may be on a path to lose!
On an earth, and in a world, so often divided by ideology and religion, not to mention nationalist , racial and tribal interests, it is always refreshing—and a sign of hope of the future kingdom of God—to see people from many parts, and of many backgrounds, not only meeting together but also united in common aims arising from the Gospel. With all their shortcomings, such have been the meetings of the Global Anglican Communion, whether, on a small scale, of the Primates at their Meetings, or, on a very big scale, of the Bishops and their spouses at Lambeth Conferences .
As one privileged to be present at Canterbury for the Lambeth Conference 1998 for 3 weeks, both as a journalist and as a worker in the Conference, I often marveled at the sight of persons from all over the world eating, walking, debating and praying together. The sight of those large and winsome African smiles stay with me. Of course, there were theological disagreements but these were as often between bishops of the North as between bishops of North and South. In this world, we cannot avoid the reality of our fallen humanity, but we can, in the Spirit of the Lord, move into a sphere of valuing each other as made in the image of God, and loved by the Father and the Son, and members one of another in the Body of Christ, indwelt by the Spirit.
The guardian angels and the ancient Cathedral of Canterbury yearn for the sight and reality in July-August 2008 of one Anglican people formed out of the many provinces and backgrounds from which they come—one out of the many—meeting together before the LORD God as members of the one household of Faith. It is truly difficult (if one has read The Letter to the Ephesians first ) to think of any Christian reason why there is not a moral duty and high privilege laid upon all those invited to Lambeth 08 to be there, and to be there prepared in heart and mind, so that basic unity in the Spirit and a path to unity in basic doctrine and morals may be experienced and achieved at this ancient Christian center. (To allow deficiencies in the way it has been planned, or in other matters, to stand in the way of assembling is surely to major in minors, as the Americans say. Once there, and in the spirit of charity, what seem major problems now will be possible of resolution; however, without the being together the problems will probably harden and increase.)
May the angels above, and the TV cameras below, see one people out of many assembled in the Cathedral, and then living and working together at the University Campus nearby!
In closing, let me indicate one of the very major problems that will occur if (a) there is not a full attendance at Lambeth and (b) if a permanent division of the Global Communion occurs— as one grouping, based on the Provinces of West and East Africa (Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) moves away from communion with the ancient See of Canterbury. I only highlight one problem and, as I write in North America, it is a pr4oblem for North Americans, but perhaps also will relate to people in South America, Australia and Britain, on the assumption that groups of people from these places are also going to identify with the African Provinces.
This new association, created by breaking away from the Global Communion, will be in terms of sheer numbers 99 per cent Africans, from the five countries and within them from many tribes, and with very distinct cultural forms of worship and evangelization, not to mention a context in which opposing militant Islam and tribal conflict are much present. There will be no major Asian or European or other grouping to balance the massive African. The Americans attached via AMIA and CANA and the like will at best be 0.2 per cent of the whole.
Thus what the global Anglican Communion has had by the gift and providence of God—one out of the many—will be wholly missing here, however fervent and however dedicated the Christian worship, mission and discipline of those within this grouping are. We are not talking here about racism; but about how a few thousand Americans will feel when cut off from the global Communion and confined within the exciting but limiting (for them) cultural forms of West and East African religion. Americans are used to—and boast of—their great liberties and freedoms, and their rights to choose this rather than that. Whatever be the godly merits of the African connection, it will soon become very problematic and unsatisfying to its American participants. Probably, it will end in pain and sorrow, and more divisions of “Anglicanism” within the U.S.A. and Canada.
[The PBS of the USA has a CD where in pdf the Reports of the Lambeth Conferences from 1867 to 1998 are found. It is $20.00 including shipping—send check to Prayer Book Society, 100 East Avon Road, Parkside, PA. 19015-3306, PA residents add sales tax please.]
drpetertoon@yahoo.com December 12 2008 www.pbsusa.com
On an earth, and in a world, so often divided by ideology and religion, not to mention nationalist , racial and tribal interests, it is always refreshing—and a sign of hope of the future kingdom of God—to see people from many parts, and of many backgrounds, not only meeting together but also united in common aims arising from the Gospel. With all their shortcomings, such have been the meetings of the Global Anglican Communion, whether, on a small scale, of the Primates at their Meetings, or, on a very big scale, of the Bishops and their spouses at Lambeth Conferences .
As one privileged to be present at Canterbury for the Lambeth Conference 1998 for 3 weeks, both as a journalist and as a worker in the Conference, I often marveled at the sight of persons from all over the world eating, walking, debating and praying together. The sight of those large and winsome African smiles stay with me. Of course, there were theological disagreements but these were as often between bishops of the North as between bishops of North and South. In this world, we cannot avoid the reality of our fallen humanity, but we can, in the Spirit of the Lord, move into a sphere of valuing each other as made in the image of God, and loved by the Father and the Son, and members one of another in the Body of Christ, indwelt by the Spirit.
The guardian angels and the ancient Cathedral of Canterbury yearn for the sight and reality in July-August 2008 of one Anglican people formed out of the many provinces and backgrounds from which they come—one out of the many—meeting together before the LORD God as members of the one household of Faith. It is truly difficult (if one has read The Letter to the Ephesians first ) to think of any Christian reason why there is not a moral duty and high privilege laid upon all those invited to Lambeth 08 to be there, and to be there prepared in heart and mind, so that basic unity in the Spirit and a path to unity in basic doctrine and morals may be experienced and achieved at this ancient Christian center. (To allow deficiencies in the way it has been planned, or in other matters, to stand in the way of assembling is surely to major in minors, as the Americans say. Once there, and in the spirit of charity, what seem major problems now will be possible of resolution; however, without the being together the problems will probably harden and increase.)
May the angels above, and the TV cameras below, see one people out of many assembled in the Cathedral, and then living and working together at the University Campus nearby!
In closing, let me indicate one of the very major problems that will occur if (a) there is not a full attendance at Lambeth and (b) if a permanent division of the Global Communion occurs— as one grouping, based on the Provinces of West and East Africa (Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) moves away from communion with the ancient See of Canterbury. I only highlight one problem and, as I write in North America, it is a pr4oblem for North Americans, but perhaps also will relate to people in South America, Australia and Britain, on the assumption that groups of people from these places are also going to identify with the African Provinces.
This new association, created by breaking away from the Global Communion, will be in terms of sheer numbers 99 per cent Africans, from the five countries and within them from many tribes, and with very distinct cultural forms of worship and evangelization, not to mention a context in which opposing militant Islam and tribal conflict are much present. There will be no major Asian or European or other grouping to balance the massive African. The Americans attached via AMIA and CANA and the like will at best be 0.2 per cent of the whole.
Thus what the global Anglican Communion has had by the gift and providence of God—one out of the many—will be wholly missing here, however fervent and however dedicated the Christian worship, mission and discipline of those within this grouping are. We are not talking here about racism; but about how a few thousand Americans will feel when cut off from the global Communion and confined within the exciting but limiting (for them) cultural forms of West and East African religion. Americans are used to—and boast of—their great liberties and freedoms, and their rights to choose this rather than that. Whatever be the godly merits of the African connection, it will soon become very problematic and unsatisfying to its American participants. Probably, it will end in pain and sorrow, and more divisions of “Anglicanism” within the U.S.A. and Canada.
[The PBS of the USA has a CD where in pdf the Reports of the Lambeth Conferences from 1867 to 1998 are found. It is $20.00 including shipping—send check to Prayer Book Society, 100 East Avon Road, Parkside, PA. 19015-3306, PA residents add sales tax please.]
drpetertoon@yahoo.com December 12 2008 www.pbsusa.com
BSP 1928 in Spanish and BCP 1662 in Spanish
The Prayer Book Society of the U.S.A. is pleased to announce the availability for PASTORS and LEADERS of Spanish-speaking Episcopal and Anglican Churches in the USA a CD in PDF on which is (a) the whole of the BCP 1928 (USA) in traditional Spanish, and (b) the BCP (1662) Order for Holy Communion and Order for Baptism in contemporary Spanish. (Note that (a) is the complete Book and (d) is only two Services.)
Kindly note that we have made this CD not for general distribution but for Spanish–speaking congregations only, who wish to use it in their missionary work.
Available for $10.00 including shipping from The Prayer Book Society, 100 E. Avon Road, Parkside, PA. 19015-3306. (Not available on line.)
The Revd Dr Peter Toon, President, www.pbsusa.org December 11, 2008
Kindly note that we have made this CD not for general distribution but for Spanish–speaking congregations only, who wish to use it in their missionary work.
Available for $10.00 including shipping from The Prayer Book Society, 100 E. Avon Road, Parkside, PA. 19015-3306. (Not available on line.)
The Revd Dr Peter Toon, President, www.pbsusa.org December 11, 2008
CD in PDF of all Lambeth Conferences to date
The Lambeth Conferences 1867 to 1998
Their Encyclical Letters, Reports and Resolutions
The Prayer Book Society of the USA has produced, as a lead-up to the Lambeth Conference of 2008, a CD in PDF containing the reports of all the Conferences to date. You need Adobe Reader to use it.
This is available for $20.00 including handling (PA residents need to add local sales tax).
Either send a check [USA dollars only please] to The Prayer Book Society, 100 E Avon Road, Parkside, PA 19015-3306, for immediate delivery,
Or go to www.anglicanmarketplace.com and order with your credit card (it may be a few days before this product is available here)
We only have a limited supply and so please move quickly.
Dr Peter Toon, President, www.pbsusa.org December 11, 2008
Their Encyclical Letters, Reports and Resolutions
The Prayer Book Society of the USA has produced, as a lead-up to the Lambeth Conference of 2008, a CD in PDF containing the reports of all the Conferences to date. You need Adobe Reader to use it.
This is available for $20.00 including handling (PA residents need to add local sales tax).
Either send a check [USA dollars only please] to The Prayer Book Society, 100 E Avon Road, Parkside, PA 19015-3306, for immediate delivery,
Or go to www.anglicanmarketplace.com and order with your credit card (it may be a few days before this product is available here)
We only have a limited supply and so please move quickly.
Dr Peter Toon, President, www.pbsusa.org December 11, 2008
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