June 25, 2009
Winds of renewal are blowing through the Anglican Church this week bringing refreshing hope to some and perhaps a shiver to others.
In Plano, Texas, Anglicans from the United States and Canada this week completed the organization of a new church devoted to traditional Anglican beliefs with the ratification of a constitution and canons. Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh was installed as the Anglican Church of North America’s first archbishop Wednesday evening.
This fledging organization is in response to moves made by the worldwide Anglican Communion to ordain homosexuals into the priesthood, bless same-sex unions, and implement other teachings seen by many as moving away from orthodox biblical and Anglican doctrines.
The new constitution states that orthodox Anglicans are “grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican Communion prompted by those who have embraced erroneous teaching and who have rejected a repeated call to repentance.” Called “The Covenant,” this four-part document outlines the basics of the Christian faith as Anglicans have historically understood and practiced it. It also provides for accountability among Communion members. The Covenant was initiated by the 2005 Windsor Report that, in turn, was prompted by the crisis in the Anglican Communion created by deviation from Biblical teaching and morality in North America.
“Our hope is that the Anglican Church in North America is the re-constitution of a faithful church,” said Archbishop Duncan before the meeting. “We are specifically trying to re-constitute a Church whose chief concern is the mission, rather than governance. The notion of a Provincial Assembly focused on mission rather than governance is among our deepest hopes.”
The more than 800 delegates and attendees from as far away as South America, Africa and Asia represented millions of Anglicans. All attended to renew their commitment to the Gospel as written in the scriptures and traditionally practiced by the Anglican/Episcopalian church.
The Cracking Communion at Lambeth, 2008
Almost a year ago, the once-in-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury convened with the announced purpose of worship, study and discussion. But chaffing beneath the surface and expressed via boycotts and discussions were flashpoint issues of the ordination of practicing homosexual clergy, same-sex union blessings/marriages, and other moves away from orthodox practice and belief.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, upon whose invitation Lambeth Conference conferees attend, attempted to sidestep the most divisive issues by not inviting Reverend Gene Robinson, a homosexual bishop of the New Hampshire diocese. Robinson was elected to the bishopric June 7, 2003, sparking action between opposing factions in both the Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church.
In the end, Anglican Communion leadership placed a moratorium on making any decisions. And nobody was happy.
Reverend Peter Frank, spokesman at the time for the Anglican Communion Network, an evangelical renewal movement, predicted that “[n]ether side will wait for another 10 years to act. The moratorium will empower the innovative to be freer to act because they know that nothing on the radar will happen to them. However, it (the lack of any official decisions) will empower the defenders of the faith to be realistic, not count on the leadership, and organize within the structure. And they are in the majority.”
Frank’s prediction rang true this week with the formation of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).
A Historic Week of Union
Meeting June 20-21, prior to the assembly, The ACNA College of Bishops completed the election of five bishops and welcomed three bishops-elect.
In addition to the election of bishops, selection of an archbishop, and ratification of a new constitution, on week included several Christian leaders from other denominations. Tuesday the assembly heard remarks from Dr. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and Metropolitan Jonah, the leader of the Orthodox Church in North America.
