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| Welby and the Triune Fish. |
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Exclusives : The Disappointing Letdown of Three Archbishops of Canterbury
The Disappointing Letdown of Three Archbishops of Canterbury
The failure to elect Bishop Michael Nazir Ali as Archbishop of Canterbury will be viewed as the worst and most defining moment the Church of England made at the beginning of the 21st Century
COMMENTARY
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
November 11, 2013
It is now becoming apparent to any honest observer that the Anglican Communion is, in effect, two communions. Not officially of course, and perhaps never likely to be, but in reality you have a solid phalanx of Global South evangelicals led by Archbishops like Eliud Wabukala (Kenya) and Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria to name but two. Together, these two Anglican provinces make up a third of all Anglicans in the Communion.
On the other side, there is the Global North which is liberal in ethos, theology and morals with a smattering of orthodox Anglicans amongst them including PEAR-USA, CANA, ANiC held together by the ACNA, the dioceses of Sydney (AU) and Nelson (NZ). You can add Southeast Asia and Latin America and, of course, most of Africa with one notable exception.
The reality is that the two communions have two very different understandings of the faith, about what it means, what should be preached from its pulpits, what conversion looks like, how churches should grow and much more.
So how did we get here? There are several answers including the acceptance of a variety of pansexual behaviors in the Global North, the total focus on socio-political issues, women's issues, MDGs and the Five Marks of Mission. The Great Commission is not part of the ecclesiastical equation.
An overlooked reason lies at the very top of the Anglican Communion itself.
The Communion, in truth, looks to its archbishops and bishops, not only for leadership, but to hear and learn what the faith is that the faithful should believe, what is taught and believed and what is right to uphold in good times and bad. While renewal and revival often comes from the bottom up, see the Wesleys and, more recently, Nicky Gumbel of ALPHA fame, it is to our leaders that the rudders of the Anglican ship of state move, especially when the waters grow rough... when a theological Tsunami hits and the helm must be held steady.
I have watched with earnestness, hope, and then with sadness, as each of the last three archbishops of Canterbury came, and then, under pressure, folded their theological tents in the name of a false unity and inclusion, leaving the faithful to fend for themselves at precisely the moment when they should have stood up and been counted with and for the faithful. The result has seen the scattering of the sheep, especially in North America.
ARCHBISHOP GEORGE CAREY
The defining moment for Archbishop George Carey came when Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold slithered across the Atlantic and demanded (yes that is the right word) that Carey not recognize the sudden emergence of the Anglican Mission in America with its newly consecrated bishops in Singapore as a solid evangelical alternative for orthodox Episcopalians in North America. (This was repeated more recently by Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz who likewise took the same trip to persuade Justin Welby to not recognize the ACNA.)
It was Carey's moment to step up to the plate and say yes, he would rescue faithful and godly Episcopalians who were only looking for a safe place to practice their faith away from the growing apostasies of the Episcopal Church. He had a moment to offer them a safe harbor. He failed. The legal and ecclesiastical consequences and mess that ensued, by his acquiescence, continue to play out to this day with millions of dollars spent on lawsuits for properties, the devastation of friendships, broken relationships and much more.
Ironically, he still doesn't get it. When he recently visited South Carolina, a legal minefield these days, he told VOL correspondent Ladson F. Mills III that the Anglican Communion's structure is still sound. He rejected the suggestion that senior leaders are more concerned with their territorial prerogatives than truth. He said Anglicanism has always reflected a "generous tolerance." He noted that The Episcopal Church is recognized for its generosity throughout the wider communion. (It was Frank Griswold who coined the fallacious term "generous orthodoxy").
There are two fallacies here. The first is that Katharine Jefferts Schori is about as tolerant of orthodox Episcopalians as Tea Party republicans are of more moderate Republicans. The second is that TEC's "generosity" (he means money) is used to manipulate African and Latin evangelical Anglicans into buying into TEC's "new and improved" understanding of the faith. Witness the complete roll over of the province of Southern Africa. No other African province has followed their example even though TEC is doing its best to try. Look at what they tried to do in recent elections in Tanzania a once totally orthodox province. Two of the most recent archbishops were persuaded not to attend GAFCON II, the province had to dig back to its third still living primate, Donald Mtetemela to get a representative at GAFCON.
Carey, in Charleston, then went on to describe Charles vonRosenberg, bishop of the continuing Episcopal Church, as "a lovely man." This is the same "lovely" bishop who is now suing his own Church Pension Fund for money to continue litigating against Bishop Mark Lawrence. What exactly is "lovely" about that? And we know he won't stop suing and suing and suing until he drops and Jefferts Schori buries him in a cheap pine box casket because the church can't afford a cherry one.
And then there is this fictional statement Carey made to Mills, "[I am] both aware of and understand the challenges for the current presiding bishop in regard to the drifting away of the Diocese of South Carolina. South Carolina has been an effective and rich contributor to the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion; therefore it is [my] hope that both sides will not miss opportunities to preserve their relationship. Perhaps this might someday include the reaching out to ACNA and AMiA by the Episcopal Church."
This is NEVER going to happen, even if Hell freezes over and dead revisionist Episcopal bishops cry out from Hell for water. There is about as much chance of Jefferts Schori shaking hands with Bob Duncan over coffee and crumpets as the Tea Party actually agreeing with President Obama on health care reform.
Carey is so naive it is beyond all human understanding. The Episcopal Church is spending millions and millions of dollars on property wars, some of which have gone on for more than five years. There is no sign of abatement. The Presiding Bishop has said she would sooner sell abandoned Episcopal properties to saloons and Muslim groups than sell them back to faithful Anglicans, and God help any bishop, even moderately liberal ones, if they disobey her. Bishop George Councell did it once in NJ, but never did it again. Dallas Bishop James Stanton did it a few times and got reprimanded. Jefferts Schori has a complete lock down on anybody who dares to oppose her. Witness what she did with nine bishops who simply filed an amicus brief in support of Ft. Worth Bishop Jack Iker. She not only wrung a retraction out of them, she got an apology as well. She took her special brand of castration tools all the way to Orlando for that occasion.
In 2008 Carey was openly critical of GAFCON, concerned that the drawing away of the more conservative bishops from Lambeth might weaken the upcoming conference and cause further damage to the communion. He now recognizes that GAFCON represents the majority of African and Asian Anglicans and, therefore, its concerns must be acknowledged.
So Carey had a Lazarus moment. Too late. GAFCON II concluded with the majority of evangelical Anglicans parking an AMIE tank on Lambeth Palace lawns.
ARCHBISHOP ROWAN WILLIAMS
Then there was Dr. Rowan Williams, an Affirming Catholic whose use of language so bamboozled the faithful that for years no one could pin him down as to what he said or meant. He gave new meaning to the term theobabble. When the theological verbiage finally cleared, it became apparent that he was prepared to discard the Holy Scriptures on sexuality. Realty finally dawned on Global South Archbishops and bishops that he could not be trusted, so they absented themselves from Lambeth 2008 and the subsequent primates meeting in Dublin. A covenant he initiated is dead. The jig was up. Williams soon after resigned.
It was at this moment in history when things might have gone otherwise had the governors of the Church of England and the Queen elected a man who was in every way qualified by theology, race, color and creed. That man was Bishop Michael Nazir Ali of Rochester, a Pakistani born convert from Islam who, when his name came up, found himself vilified, publicly "stoned" and humiliated by a lying liberal secular press, backed by a virulent gay lobby bent on destroying his reputation and candidacy. They were successful. That decision, VOL believes, has not only cost the Church of England dearly and scattered the Anglican Communion, it in effect brought about the birth of GAFCON and GFCA.
Though out of ecclesiastical office, Bishop Nazi Ali has become the Anglican spokesman on a whole host of social, moral and legal issues. He has become the leading Anglican voice in England and Europe's Culture Wars who now needs police protection from Muslim extremists because of his outspoken views.
It is interesting that when he visits the US, he spends his time with the likes of Bishop Mark Lawrence and Archbishop Bob Duncan and never gets time with any Episcopal bishop. Carey, on the other hand, still hangs out with bishops in Texas, Dallas and South Carolina and schmoozes with the Bush family.
ARCHBISHOP JUSTIN WELBY
With the recent ascendancy of evangelical Justin Welby, to the see of Canterbury, it was hoped by many, including and especially the Global South that he would lead the charge for truth against the growing apostasies of Western Anglicanism and restore a semblance of order out of the chaos. No one was looking for a miracle. What orthodox Anglicans simply wanted to hear was a vigorous defense of the faith and the recognition that a large swathe of the Global North no longer had confidence in the transformative power of the gospel, more bent on inclusion and talk of diversity and acceptance of the "truths" of other religions at the cost of the exclusive claims of Christ.
Archbishop Welby has, so far, proved a bitter disappointment for evangelicals and other Anglicans of orthodox conviction, namely Anglo-Catholics.
Recent events in Nairobi confirmed in the minds of Global South evangelicals that he is prepared to compromise on sexuality issues (he opposes gay marriage but is for civil unions) thus leaving the door wide open to other possible compromises for "the sake of unity." Such "unity" is a false unity for these Anglicans who would have been far more interested in being his evangelical foot soldiers in the spiritual war for the soul of the Anglican Communion. Instead of reaching out to them with open arms, he belittled and marginalized them and ultimately tried to domesticate them. That was a red rag to a Nigerian bull. Old colonial memories die hard. Welby did nothing to alleviate the notion that he and Canterbury remains the head of a diverse communion, and he expects his African brothers and sisters to roll over to that continuing reality. It is not going to happen. They have not only lost confidence in him, they have also lost confidence in the other instruments of unity including the Anglican Communion Office aka the Anglican Consultative Council.
Among the many things GAFCON delegates affirmed was that they would continue to cross boundaries to rescue orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans wherever it was needed and, secondly they would establish the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) as a rescue operation for evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics who feel marginalized by a virulent gay and women's bishops lobby.
We are now at a point in history when it is clear that not to have elected Bishop Nazir Ali as the next Archbishop of Canterbury may well mean that the Church of England itself could see a split in the coming months, predicted by Nazir Ali himself.
He said, following GAFCON II, that if the Church of England goes ahead with a formal service for gay couples it would be a "red line" for traditionalist parishes. The C of E faces a split over the issue saying that those clergy and lay members of the Church opposed to any relaxation of the rules could reject the authority of any bishops who supported the move. Indeed it may be a red line for some bishops, he said.
The realignment of the Anglican Communion is now well underway. It was given a mighty push in Nairobi recently. Nothing can stop it, unless there is full and open repentance of the sins committed by pansexually driven Global North leaders. There is absolutely no sign that that is going to happen. None.
The growing apart will continue as will the property lawsuits. Carey, Williams and now Welby all know this and they have known it for a long time. They sold out the faithful. They can no longer hide behind hopes of good will and unity; those days are over. The Anglican Communion will continue to grow further apart, even if no formal schism takes place. The Global North will continue to see its churches shrivel and die with no transcendent message to proclaim. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) will continue to grow and draw in other orthodox Anglican jurisdictions. It is the only serious game in town now. Any new leader following Duncan will have to seriously wrestle with the ordination of women as an issue, but that is resolvable. The sins of The Episcopal Church are not.
Many hoped for something different in the elevation of Justin Welby, apparently that is not going to happen. As a communion we are adrift, but the lifeboats are now in place and rescue ships are on the way with some even now in place for orthodox Anglicans. The future is not hopeless, but it won't be because of the last three Archbishops of Canterbury but despite them...and that is the good news. The really sad news is that the one man who could have prevented all of this - Michael Nazir-Ali - was sidelined and that is something that is now too late to fix.
END
The failure to elect Bishop Michael Nazir Ali as Archbishop of Canterbury will be viewed as the worst and most defining moment the Church of England made at the beginning of the 21st Century
COMMENTARY
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
November 11, 2013
It is now becoming apparent to any honest observer that the Anglican Communion is, in effect, two communions. Not officially of course, and perhaps never likely to be, but in reality you have a solid phalanx of Global South evangelicals led by Archbishops like Eliud Wabukala (Kenya) and Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria to name but two. Together, these two Anglican provinces make up a third of all Anglicans in the Communion.
On the other side, there is the Global North which is liberal in ethos, theology and morals with a smattering of orthodox Anglicans amongst them including PEAR-USA, CANA, ANiC held together by the ACNA, the dioceses of Sydney (AU) and Nelson (NZ). You can add Southeast Asia and Latin America and, of course, most of Africa with one notable exception.
The reality is that the two communions have two very different understandings of the faith, about what it means, what should be preached from its pulpits, what conversion looks like, how churches should grow and much more.
So how did we get here? There are several answers including the acceptance of a variety of pansexual behaviors in the Global North, the total focus on socio-political issues, women's issues, MDGs and the Five Marks of Mission. The Great Commission is not part of the ecclesiastical equation.
An overlooked reason lies at the very top of the Anglican Communion itself.
The Communion, in truth, looks to its archbishops and bishops, not only for leadership, but to hear and learn what the faith is that the faithful should believe, what is taught and believed and what is right to uphold in good times and bad. While renewal and revival often comes from the bottom up, see the Wesleys and, more recently, Nicky Gumbel of ALPHA fame, it is to our leaders that the rudders of the Anglican ship of state move, especially when the waters grow rough... when a theological Tsunami hits and the helm must be held steady.
I have watched with earnestness, hope, and then with sadness, as each of the last three archbishops of Canterbury came, and then, under pressure, folded their theological tents in the name of a false unity and inclusion, leaving the faithful to fend for themselves at precisely the moment when they should have stood up and been counted with and for the faithful. The result has seen the scattering of the sheep, especially in North America.
ARCHBISHOP GEORGE CAREY
The defining moment for Archbishop George Carey came when Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold slithered across the Atlantic and demanded (yes that is the right word) that Carey not recognize the sudden emergence of the Anglican Mission in America with its newly consecrated bishops in Singapore as a solid evangelical alternative for orthodox Episcopalians in North America. (This was repeated more recently by Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz who likewise took the same trip to persuade Justin Welby to not recognize the ACNA.)It was Carey's moment to step up to the plate and say yes, he would rescue faithful and godly Episcopalians who were only looking for a safe place to practice their faith away from the growing apostasies of the Episcopal Church. He had a moment to offer them a safe harbor. He failed. The legal and ecclesiastical consequences and mess that ensued, by his acquiescence, continue to play out to this day with millions of dollars spent on lawsuits for properties, the devastation of friendships, broken relationships and much more.
Ironically, he still doesn't get it. When he recently visited South Carolina, a legal minefield these days, he told VOL correspondent Ladson F. Mills III that the Anglican Communion's structure is still sound. He rejected the suggestion that senior leaders are more concerned with their territorial prerogatives than truth. He said Anglicanism has always reflected a "generous tolerance." He noted that The Episcopal Church is recognized for its generosity throughout the wider communion. (It was Frank Griswold who coined the fallacious term "generous orthodoxy").
There are two fallacies here. The first is that Katharine Jefferts Schori is about as tolerant of orthodox Episcopalians as Tea Party republicans are of more moderate Republicans. The second is that TEC's "generosity" (he means money) is used to manipulate African and Latin evangelical Anglicans into buying into TEC's "new and improved" understanding of the faith. Witness the complete roll over of the province of Southern Africa. No other African province has followed their example even though TEC is doing its best to try. Look at what they tried to do in recent elections in Tanzania a once totally orthodox province. Two of the most recent archbishops were persuaded not to attend GAFCON II, the province had to dig back to its third still living primate, Donald Mtetemela to get a representative at GAFCON.
Carey, in Charleston, then went on to describe Charles vonRosenberg, bishop of the continuing Episcopal Church, as "a lovely man." This is the same "lovely" bishop who is now suing his own Church Pension Fund for money to continue litigating against Bishop Mark Lawrence. What exactly is "lovely" about that? And we know he won't stop suing and suing and suing until he drops and Jefferts Schori buries him in a cheap pine box casket because the church can't afford a cherry one.
And then there is this fictional statement Carey made to Mills, "[I am] both aware of and understand the challenges for the current presiding bishop in regard to the drifting away of the Diocese of South Carolina. South Carolina has been an effective and rich contributor to the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion; therefore it is [my] hope that both sides will not miss opportunities to preserve their relationship. Perhaps this might someday include the reaching out to ACNA and AMiA by the Episcopal Church."
This is NEVER going to happen, even if Hell freezes over and dead revisionist Episcopal bishops cry out from Hell for water. There is about as much chance of Jefferts Schori shaking hands with Bob Duncan over coffee and crumpets as the Tea Party actually agreeing with President Obama on health care reform.
Carey is so naive it is beyond all human understanding. The Episcopal Church is spending millions and millions of dollars on property wars, some of which have gone on for more than five years. There is no sign of abatement. The Presiding Bishop has said she would sooner sell abandoned Episcopal properties to saloons and Muslim groups than sell them back to faithful Anglicans, and God help any bishop, even moderately liberal ones, if they disobey her. Bishop George Councell did it once in NJ, but never did it again. Dallas Bishop James Stanton did it a few times and got reprimanded. Jefferts Schori has a complete lock down on anybody who dares to oppose her. Witness what she did with nine bishops who simply filed an amicus brief in support of Ft. Worth Bishop Jack Iker. She not only wrung a retraction out of them, she got an apology as well. She took her special brand of castration tools all the way to Orlando for that occasion.
In 2008 Carey was openly critical of GAFCON, concerned that the drawing away of the more conservative bishops from Lambeth might weaken the upcoming conference and cause further damage to the communion. He now recognizes that GAFCON represents the majority of African and Asian Anglicans and, therefore, its concerns must be acknowledged.
So Carey had a Lazarus moment. Too late. GAFCON II concluded with the majority of evangelical Anglicans parking an AMIE tank on Lambeth Palace lawns.
ARCHBISHOP ROWAN WILLIAMS
It was at this moment in history when things might have gone otherwise had the governors of the Church of England and the Queen elected a man who was in every way qualified by theology, race, color and creed. That man was Bishop Michael Nazir Ali of Rochester, a Pakistani born convert from Islam who, when his name came up, found himself vilified, publicly "stoned" and humiliated by a lying liberal secular press, backed by a virulent gay lobby bent on destroying his reputation and candidacy. They were successful. That decision, VOL believes, has not only cost the Church of England dearly and scattered the Anglican Communion, it in effect brought about the birth of GAFCON and GFCA.
Though out of ecclesiastical office, Bishop Nazi Ali has become the Anglican spokesman on a whole host of social, moral and legal issues. He has become the leading Anglican voice in England and Europe's Culture Wars who now needs police protection from Muslim extremists because of his outspoken views.It is interesting that when he visits the US, he spends his time with the likes of Bishop Mark Lawrence and Archbishop Bob Duncan and never gets time with any Episcopal bishop. Carey, on the other hand, still hangs out with bishops in Texas, Dallas and South Carolina and schmoozes with the Bush family.
ARCHBISHOP JUSTIN WELBY
With the recent ascendancy of evangelical Justin Welby, to the see of Canterbury, it was hoped by many, including and especially the Global South that he would lead the charge for truth against the growing apostasies of Western Anglicanism and restore a semblance of order out of the chaos. No one was looking for a miracle. What orthodox Anglicans simply wanted to hear was a vigorous defense of the faith and the recognition that a large swathe of the Global North no longer had confidence in the transformative power of the gospel, more bent on inclusion and talk of diversity and acceptance of the "truths" of other religions at the cost of the exclusive claims of Christ.Archbishop Welby has, so far, proved a bitter disappointment for evangelicals and other Anglicans of orthodox conviction, namely Anglo-Catholics.
Recent events in Nairobi confirmed in the minds of Global South evangelicals that he is prepared to compromise on sexuality issues (he opposes gay marriage but is for civil unions) thus leaving the door wide open to other possible compromises for "the sake of unity." Such "unity" is a false unity for these Anglicans who would have been far more interested in being his evangelical foot soldiers in the spiritual war for the soul of the Anglican Communion. Instead of reaching out to them with open arms, he belittled and marginalized them and ultimately tried to domesticate them. That was a red rag to a Nigerian bull. Old colonial memories die hard. Welby did nothing to alleviate the notion that he and Canterbury remains the head of a diverse communion, and he expects his African brothers and sisters to roll over to that continuing reality. It is not going to happen. They have not only lost confidence in him, they have also lost confidence in the other instruments of unity including the Anglican Communion Office aka the Anglican Consultative Council.
Among the many things GAFCON delegates affirmed was that they would continue to cross boundaries to rescue orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans wherever it was needed and, secondly they would establish the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) as a rescue operation for evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics who feel marginalized by a virulent gay and women's bishops lobby.
We are now at a point in history when it is clear that not to have elected Bishop Nazir Ali as the next Archbishop of Canterbury may well mean that the Church of England itself could see a split in the coming months, predicted by Nazir Ali himself.
He said, following GAFCON II, that if the Church of England goes ahead with a formal service for gay couples it would be a "red line" for traditionalist parishes. The C of E faces a split over the issue saying that those clergy and lay members of the Church opposed to any relaxation of the rules could reject the authority of any bishops who supported the move. Indeed it may be a red line for some bishops, he said.
The realignment of the Anglican Communion is now well underway. It was given a mighty push in Nairobi recently. Nothing can stop it, unless there is full and open repentance of the sins committed by pansexually driven Global North leaders. There is absolutely no sign that that is going to happen. None.
The growing apart will continue as will the property lawsuits. Carey, Williams and now Welby all know this and they have known it for a long time. They sold out the faithful. They can no longer hide behind hopes of good will and unity; those days are over. The Anglican Communion will continue to grow further apart, even if no formal schism takes place. The Global North will continue to see its churches shrivel and die with no transcendent message to proclaim. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) will continue to grow and draw in other orthodox Anglican jurisdictions. It is the only serious game in town now. Any new leader following Duncan will have to seriously wrestle with the ordination of women as an issue, but that is resolvable. The sins of The Episcopal Church are not.
Many hoped for something different in the elevation of Justin Welby, apparently that is not going to happen. As a communion we are adrift, but the lifeboats are now in place and rescue ships are on the way with some even now in place for orthodox Anglicans. The future is not hopeless, but it won't be because of the last three Archbishops of Canterbury but despite them...and that is the good news. The really sad news is that the one man who could have prevented all of this - Michael Nazir-Ali - was sidelined and that is something that is now too late to fix.
END
