Split in Anglican Communion looks increasingly likely
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A woman was last night elected as the first female leader of the American branch of Anglicanism in a historic but divisive development that could hasten the break-up of the worldwide Church.
The Bishop of Nevada, the Rt Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori, who is a leading liberal on homosexuality, is the first women primate in the history of Anglicanism.
Her role as Presiding Bishop is the equivalent of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Her surprise election was greeted with whoops of joy by pro-women campaigners at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, where she was chosen by her fellow bishops in four hours of voting.
But conservatives predicted that she would lead the Episcopal Church further along its liberal path on issues such as homosexuality, and her election will dismay traditionalists opposed to women priests. Anglican crisis as woman leads US Church by Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent, in Columbus, Ohio
Members of the Church of England take pride in portraying it as able to tolerate a wide diversity of opinion. By extension, they would like to apply this judgment to the Anglican communion as a whole. However, as the general convention of the Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio, reminds us, such optimism in regard to the wider Church is looking more and more like wishful thinking.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, speaks dramatically of "virtually two religions in a single Church". A guest at the convention of the American branch of Anglicanism, he was dismayed to see its House of Bishops pass a resolution last Friday, without theological debate, in support of civil marriages for gay couples.
He believes that the Episcopal Church has departed so far from what is generally held to be Anglican theology that a point of no return has been reached. And he implies that Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, should recognise this fact by expelling it from the Anglican communion. The spectre of schism
Mark Alexander
6 comments:
Western traditions keep falling beside the wayside. Is there no end to that abandonment?
The West seems determined to divide itself up ideologically and theologically. Depressing.
Alas, as an Anglican for more than a half century, I am sick to see the eminent demise of the Church I have loved so much. Unfortunately, the Bishops have been 'hell-bent' on doing the church in. The passing of a resolution on civil unions for gay folks without theological debate is very telling. It is prima facie evidence that political correctness (read: Marxism applied to culture) has replaced the authority of Holy Scripture in the minds of these Bishops. It is clear from this utterly irresponsible and traitorous act, that these bishops are 'giving the f....' to the rest of us Anglicans and especially to those in the third world church that they hypocritically pretend to champion.
Always:
The West appears to be hell-bent on cultural suicide!
US Iconoclastic Patriot:
I understand your dilemma.
Mussolini:
There is the religion of men, and then there is the religion of God.
So succinctly put!
By the way, where on earth have you been keeping? Your presence has been sorely missed!
Bld:
The unity of the Church really does seem to be a thing of the past.
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