Civil Partnerships for Gays Could spell the end of the Anglican Communion
Nigerian Primates say actions of Church of England will lead to further separation and isolation from Global South
News Analysis
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
June 10, 2013
A weak and enfeebled Church of England caved in over same-sex marriage this week with the convener of the Lords Spiritual and Archbishop Justin Welby waving the white flag of surrender - the Lords Spiritual better described now as the Lords Secular - admitting defeat in the face of a handful of militant pansexualists that is sorely testing the limits of an already fragmented Anglican Communion.In a brief statement issued from Westminster by the Bishop of Leicester, Timothy Stevens, convener of the Lords Spiritual, those bishops who sit in the House of Lords, said there would be no further organized opposition from them to the government's "gay marriage" proposal that Peers passed overwhelmingly.
"Both Houses of Parliament have now expressed a clear view by large majorities on the principle that there should be legislation to enable same-sex marriages to take place in England and Wales. It is now the duty and responsibility of the Bishops who sit in the House of Lords to recognize the implications of this decision and to join with other Members in the task of considering how this legislation can be put into better shape."
NIGERIA WARNS CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Church of England's leaders had already been warned in 2005 by the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria that the language of the Civil Partnerships Act makes it plain that what is being proposed is same-sex marriage in everything but name. This is even acknowledged in the statement. "I find it incomprehensible therefore that the House of Bishops would not find open participation in such 'marriages' to be repugnant to Holy Scriptures and incompatible with Holy Orders.
"The proposal that the bishops will extract a promise from clergy who register that there will be no sexual intimacy in these relationships is the height of hypocrisy. It is totally unworkable and it invites deception and ridicule. How on earth can this be honored? For the Church of England to promote such a departure from historic teaching is outrageous."
In January of this year African Anglican leaders expressed outrage and disbelief over civil unions.
Archbishops representing a majority of the Anglican Communion urged the Church of England to pull back, saying the bishops' decision violates international Anglican accords, creates moral confusion over church doctrine and discipline, holds the church up to ridicule, and will provide Islamist extremists a further excuse to persecute Christian minorities.
A statement by the nine primates of the Global South Coalition follows critical responses from the Archbishops of Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria said the bishops of his church had agreed to break with the Church of England should the English bishops' decision be implemented.
"Sadly we must also declare that if the Church of England continues in this contrary direction we must further separate ourselves from it and we are prepared to take the same actions as those prompted by the decisions of The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada ten years ago."
Archbishop Stanley Ntagali of Uganda said the decision "to allow clergy in civil partnerships to be eligible to become Bishops is really no different from allowing gay Bishops. This decision violates our Biblical faith and agreements within the Anglican Communion."
The decision to permit partnered gay clergy to serve as bishops "only makes the brokenness of the Communion worse and is particularly disheartening coming from the Mother Church," he argued.
In England orthodox Church of England laity were encouraged to tell their bishops the following:
* The Church does not exist to exercise the will of the State but the will of God. Where the two are at odds, the Church must follow the teaching of the Bible. (Acts 5:29)
* The Bible and the Church of England's own canons are clear in their position on marriage. This teaching should be preserved and protected by the Church's ministers.
* Many Christians look to the Bishops of the Church of England for guidance and direction. The lack of clarity and leadership on this issue from the Church of England has been very disappointing.
* The Church's engagement with the secular world should never become a capitulation to it. This is what appears to be happening with the Church of England's new position on this Bill.
The statement from the bishops encouraged the church to ask nothing of lay people who become registered same-sex partners before they are admitted to baptism, confirmation and communion. This not only dishonors the laity and the sacraments of the Church - it also makes it obvious that the bishops of the Church of England are proposing a deliberate change in the discipline of the church.
"It seems clear the House of Bishops is determined to chart a course for the Church of England that brings further division at a time when we are still struggling with fragmentation and disunity within the Communion. Let it be known that it is not a path that we can follow. It is also a path that is clearly at odds with the mind of the rest of the Anglican Communion," said the African leaders.
Other leaders decried the action of the bishops saying the Bible is clear that the Church does not exist to exercise the will of the State but the will of God. If there is a discrepancy between the two, the Church must follow the teaching of the Bible (Acts 5:29). At its best, the Church holds the State to account and promotes just laws in accordance with God's Word.
PROFOUND DISAPPOINTMENT AND SORROW
In the thousands of letters Lambeth must have received, here is one letter from a social critic with a passionate conviction that such a day must not be allowed to pass without protest.
He expressed his profound disappointment and sorrow at the craven way the archbishop and the other bishops responded to the same sex marriage bill in the House of Lords. "It is quite clear how the tide has been flowing, and it would be simple for anyone following the trends of the last few decades to predict the outcome. But to watch our leaders acting as politicians rather than as Christian and moral leaders, with no reference at all to the teaching of our Lord, or the Scriptures, or Jewish and Christian tradition, is deeply disturbing. The office of bishops has almost always been the Achilles heel of Christian corruption and cowardice down the centuries, and last week's vote added a new chapter to the long story of ignominy.
"There is indeed a place to recognize the settled mind of the nation publicly, especially when it is wrong. But your responsibility then is to speak to the nation prophetically just as Samuel did to Israel over the choice of a king like the nations around. This is your choice, these will be your consequences, we can but warn you, and we will follow God's way and live differently.
"There are cogent and powerful arguments against same sex marriage from sociology, history, and anthropology, and the present legislation has been rushed through on slender scientific research and with a shockingly poor democratic debate. Yet none of this, let alone a faithful witness to the clear biblical position, was evident in your speech and your stance."
Many of us had hoped there would be a strong and faithful voice from Canterbury to replace the uncertain sounds of Dr. Rowan Williams over the last ten years. This is a moment of history that calls for a St. Augustine, a St. Gregory, a Martin Luther, or a Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- and a leader who in George Orwell's magnificent term is "unclubbable." Yet you and your colleagues behaved like the German Lutherans caving in to National Socialism in the 1930s. It was pitiful to watch.
If the stance that the Archbishop of Canterbury took last week continues to be his stance, it will dishearten the faithful, and only cement the tragic divisions within the Church, encouraging but not impressing the enemies of Christ and hastening the coming disestablishment of the Church of England.
Archbishop Welby should have stood firm in the name of Christ, stood fast in the faith and witnessed to God's way of life despite the cost.
END
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