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We have been alerted by a group called "Progressive Episcopalians in Pittsburgh" that they are to post a response to Mr McCall's essay which appeared earlier on the ACI website. We have seen the response of Dr Gundersen, and we understand it is now before the public. It is vital that there be an opportunity for discussion of these important issues. Our comment for now is as follows. "The Anglican Communion Institute is pleased that Mark McCall's serious paper is receiving wide consideration. It should be read carefully by all who are interested in TEC's polity. Unfortunately, Dr. Gundersen has...
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The Anglican Communion Institute receives favorably the news that considerable canonical discussion took place, or was sought, by as many as 36 Bishops in yesterday's proceedings. It is significant that over a quarter of the House of Bishops (and, including the probable votes of those not present, it would be close to a third) voted against this deposition, many apparently on the basis that the Presiding Bishop and her supporters were overturning the constitutional and canonical foundations of the church on this matter. The legitimacy of the House's action and the Presiding Bishop's leadership...
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Friday morning, September 19, 2008 Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury To the Clergy of the Diocese, the Standing Committee, and members of Diocesan Council Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: This is being sent to you from the House of Bishops meeting in Salt Lake City , and is to provide preliminary words from me about what has transpired here. Many have no doubt read the House of Bishops voted yesterday to depose the Bishop of Pittsburgh, the Rt. Rev'd Robert W. Duncan, on charges of "abandoning the Communion." The vote was by roll call, and consisted of 88 in favour, 35 against...
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The full version of this article, with footnotes can also be downloaded here (PDF Format) I would like to thank Dr. Gundersen, a church historian, for reviewing my recent paper, "Is The Episcopal Church Hierarchical?". Reading her response, one could perhaps be forgiven when informed that my paper contains a "fatal flaw" for thinking that she had discovered that TEC's constitution did in fact contain explicit technical legal language identifying General Convention as the supreme or highest authority. But she makes no such claim. Nor did she discover that the Church of England, contrary to the...
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The list of Bishops and Rectors associated with the Communion Partners Plan continues to grow, and is in the embryonic stages of planning opportunities to offer mutual support and strengthen its among Partner Rectors and Bishops, but also a growing number of Archbishops from around the Anglican Communion. At present, fourteen Bishops from around the Episcopal Church continue to build bridges of communication and support with over 35 rectors, with a constituent baptized membership of over 35,000. With the support of the Communion Partner Bishops*, an advisory Board for the Plan is guided by...
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Prior to the meeting of the House of Bishops last week The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc. warned that the "proceeding against Bishop Duncan clearly belong[s] to a larger effort to create an office of Presiding Bishop, and a way of proceeding in the present season, at odds with the constitution and canons of this church." Following the questionable vote, ACI noted that "the legitimacy of the House's action and the Presiding Bishop's leadership has been placed in serious question before the eyes of the Communion and the larger public. No one should minimize the role this may play in the...
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A new "province" for North American Anglicans is now promised to be "up and running" in the next month or so. It will comprise the 3-4 dioceses that have voted to leave TEC; the associations of various congregations that have left TEC (e.g. CANA) and those started outside of TEC from departing groups; it will also include congregations and denominations within the Anglican tradition that have formed over the past decades in North America. All of these groups now form part of an association called Common Cause. The formation of this new "province" appears to be a fait accompli. It will...
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I Introduction Recent actions of The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the matter of Gene Robinson have sent shock waves throughout that church and indeed throughout the Anglican Communion. These actions present both TEC and the Communion unprecedented challenges to their forms of order and governance. Indeed, an underlying assumption of this essay is that neither TEC nor the Anglican Communion as a whole at present has instruments and forms of governance capable of coping with a crisis of this magnitude. As a result, solutions (if they can be called that) are being improvised in great haste and often...
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The terms "inside and outside strategies" have been bantered about the blogosphere and the print media with a bit of abandon. Such a nomenclature assumes that those forming a new province in North America and those remaining in TEC are working toward the same goal in two different manners. As with all assumptions, no clear understanding can be realized without clarity of what exactly it is that is being assumed. In short, the question we must honestly answer is whether we do indeed have the same goal in mind. I would submit that the answer is, "No." From my early experience with the AAC, and...
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I am pleased that my article "The Subversion of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church" has generated the discussion it has. A number of the responses simply display the toxic atmosphere that sadly prevents the blogs from realizing their potential for furthering genuine debate. There have, however, been a number that are serious in their intent and deserve a measured response. I would particularly like to thank those who, like Bishop Pierre Whalon, recognize that the very survival of both The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Anglican Communion is at issue in the crisis brought on by...
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