The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc.

Statement On South Carolina

In his recent address to his diocese, Bishop Mark Lawrence of South Carolina identified a challenge confronting both his diocese and the wider Episcopal Church: an entirely new challenge has surfaced:  A constitutional question about the ability of a diocese to govern its common life in a way that is obedient to the teaching of the Bible, the received heritage of The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America, and in accordance with The Constitution & Canons of The Episcopal Church.... It is a challenge to how for over two hundred years The Episcopal Church has carried ou

The Anglican Communion Covenant: Where Do We Go From Here?

The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner Mark McCall, Esq. We have learned today from Bishop Mouneer Anis that he has submitted his resignation from the former joint standing committee. Following so closely the release in December of the final text of the Anglican Communion Covenant, this resignation underscores the extent to which the Anglican Communion is at a major crossroads.

Committing to the Anglican Covenant:An analysis by the Anglican Communion Institute

1. Now that the final text of the Anglican Covenant has been sent to the member churches of the Communion, it is useful to outline the procedures by which member churches and other churches enter into the Covenant. In reviewing these procedures, it is important to be mindful of the distinction between committing to the Covenant, which churches may do at any time through affirmation or adoption, and formal recognition of that fact by the other Covenant churches or the Communion Instruments. 2. Section 4 of the Covenant specifies two procedures by which churches may enter the Covenant.

Response to Bonnie Anderson

The Diocese of South Carolina received a letter from Bonnie Anderson, the elected President of the House of Deputies. It was followed by a second statement saying that it was her practice to send such letters to each Diocese before their conventions. In what follows we pay attention to sections of the first letter, where the President of the House of Deputies spoke at some length of her interpretation of the resolutions to be voted on at the South Carolina Diocesan Convention.

Dioceses' Endorsement of the Covenant

The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner Mark McCall, Esq. ACI welcomes the encouragement given by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the decision by the Diocesan Board and Standing Committee of the Diocese of Central Florida to affirm the first three sections of the Anglican Covenant. As we have previously stated, these sections entail substantial commitments to mutual responsibility and interdependence in the life of the Communion.

Communion Partner Dioceses and The Anglican Covenant

The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner Mark McCall, Esq. 1. We address below issues related to the capacity of CP dioceses to sign the Anglican Covenant. We consider the text of Section 4 of the Ridley Cambridge draft, ACC Resolution 14.11, the unique polity of TEC and the ACC constitution and membership schedule.

Comment to Mark Harris, re: Preludium Post of 4 August 2009

On the matter of ACI authorship, first ACI statements entail input from several authors, in the US, UK and Canada. Fr Matthew Olver is a Priest at Church of the Incarnation in Dallas and a contributor to the covenant-communion website. On that site, individuals can submit material available on the web, and he forwarded the essay to that readership. As for your citing Section 3.2.5.of the Covenant Text Since the request was made by the Communion, it will be the Communion which will interpret compliance/rejection.

More On Communion And Hierarchy

I In an article entitled "Why direct sign-on now to the Covenant is a bad idea" (that appeared on his blog PRELUDIUM shortly after our article "Communion and Hierarchy") Fr. Mark Harris has done us all a big favor.  He has made clear the full scope of the widespread view among TEC's present leadership that the Archbishop of Canterbury's observation about the possibility of covenant ratification on the part of dioceses is both harmful and unhelpful. Fr. Harris registers five objections to ratification on the part of individual dioceses. We will address each in due course.
Subscribe to The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc.

twittersound cloudyoutubeinstagram