By Terry Vanderheyden
RICHMOND, BC, November 14, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Yukon Anglican bishop Terrence Buckle, one of the few Canadian Anglican bishops who openly opposes same-sex “marriage,” has been elected as archbishop for British Columbia and Yukon Territory.
Buckle’s only contender for the position was Vancouver bishop Michael Ingham. A number of BC parishes voted by an overwhelming majority in 2003 to accept Buckle as ‘alternative Episcopal oversight’ to Ingham, after he introduced same-sex “blessings” for their congregations.
“I personally believe that we do not just stand by and watch the church fall apart over this,” Buckle said, as reported by the CBC. “I really believe God would have something different than that. So I seek to be prayerful, and to give that kind of leadership that listens, the kind of leadership that perhaps does not have to compromise, but it’s how you give the leadership with strong conviction and fairness to all.”
Ingham’s move to sanction same-sex blessings prompted a statement from several International Primates, which said that the allowance of same-sex blessings is “schismatic and contravene(s) submission to the sovereign authority of Holy Scripture and loyalty to our Anglican tradition and formularies.” The Primates noted that “such schismatic actions of the Synod and Bishop Michael Ingham create an exceptional pastoral emergency” and thus they recommended the proposed alternative oversight.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Anglican Bishop Of Yukon Offers To Oversee Parishes In Fight Over Homosexual Unions
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/mar/03030306.html