Saturday 20 October 2012

South Carolina: a question to our leaders

Given the fact that the present leadership of 'TEC' seems incapable of behaving in any other way than this  towards those who dare to be openly sceptical of the direction in which their Church is being taken, what signals does the 'inclusive' leadership of our own Province intend to send out by  its  increasingly close theological relationship with TEC and its Presiding Bishop
Silence does tend to imply a degree of complicity, or would it be their defence, and those of bishops throughout the Anglican Communion,  that it is considered an impolite and unwarranted interference in the affairs of another province for them to distance themselves in any way from such destructive, authoritarian bullying of a wholly orthodox Christian bishop * and his diocese? If so, enough said ... but doesn't it make you proud?

This is the recent statement by the Diocese of South Carolina:


Episcopal Church Takes Action Against the Bishop and Diocese of SC
On Monday, October 15, 2012, Bishop Mark J. Lawrence, the 14th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina was notified by the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, that on September 18, 2012 the Disciplinary Board for Bishops  had certified his abandonment of The Episcopal Church. This action by The Episcopal Church triggered two pre-existing corporate resolutions of the Diocese, which simultaneously disaffiliated the Diocese from The Episcopal Church and called a Special Convention. That Convention will be held at St. Philip’s Church, Charleston, on Saturday, November 17, 2012.
Bishop Lawrence was notified of these actions taken by the Episcopal Church between two meetings, one held on October 3 and one to be held on October 22, which Bishop Andrew Waldo of the Upper Diocese of South Carolina and Bishop Lawrence had set up with the Presiding Bishop to find a peaceful alternative to the growing issues between The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina. The meetings were to explore “creative solutions” for resolving these issues to avoid further turmoil in the Diocese and in The Episcopal Church. A timeline of these events and their associated documents may be found below.
Two of the three charges had previously been determined by a majority vote of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops in November 2011 not to constitute abandonment. The Diocese has not received a signed copy of the certification and also remains uninformed of the identity of those making these charges.
We feel a deep sense of sadness but a renewed sense of God’s providence that The Episcopal Church has chosen to act against this Diocese and its Bishop during a good faith attempt resolve our differences peacefully. These actions make it clear The Episcopal Church no longer desires to be affiliated with the Diocese of South Carolina. 

Further comment from the canon lawyer, A.S. Haley, on his blog Anglican Curmudgeon here  and here 

Under the circumstances, given the likelihood of retaliation,  a brave statement from the Episcopal Bishop of Springfield, the Rt Revd Daniel Martins can be read here 

Below is a long video discussion and interviews on this story from Anglican TV



The comments on the South Carolina report on the Thinking Anglicans site [here] are evidence - if we needed it - of  just how vast the gulf now is between traditional Anglicans (actually, of any tradition) and the acolytes of the new liberal ascendancy in the provinces of the 'developed' world. There really are 'two religions' here. 

* That's the whole point of course, Bishop Mark Lawrence is being attacked simply because of his credal orthodoxy. For TEC,   the very definition of 'abandonment of communion' has become a refusal to fall in line with its 'prophetic'  revisionist, heterodox agenda. And central control (in a kind of distorted image of the idea of the Magisterium) has become a vital part of that programme.



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the links - I had no idea things had gotten so bad in the US ... if I understand the Curmudgeon correctly, this can only end with Bishop Lawrence and his diocese leaving for more orthodox climes ...

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