By Hilary White
LONDON, June 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Anglicans who adhere to Christian moral doctrine are being offered an option that may allow them to remain in the Anglican Communion, despite pressure by homosexuals to marginalize them. The UK’s Telegraph reports that a coalition of “conservative” primates, based in Africa, is attempting to create an alternate episcopal structure to give shelter to those in the US church under siege by “progressive” supporters of homosexuality.
The Telegraph reports that six Anglican primates are planning the consecration of a prominent American cleric as a bishop in order to create a parallel organization to the ultra-liberal Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). Next month’s Synod in York will certainly discuss the issue of alternate bishops within existing provinces.
In 2003, the US branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion allowed Gene Robinson, a man who left his wife and family to enter into an open homosexual relationship, to be made bishop of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire. Since then, what had been largely an unspoken problem of widespread acceptance of homosexuality among the Anglican leadership, became a scandal that has threatened to dissolve the 70 million member church.
In efforts to stave off an open split, Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, took the step of asking Robinson to absent himself from next year’s Lambeth conference, the main meeting of the worldwide church. He was quoted last week saying that he was “hopeful” rather than expectant that he could avert a schism over homosexuality. Williams described the worldwide Anglican Church as “very vulnerable and very fragile.”
Anglican commentator, David Virtue, who runs the conservative Anglican news site Virtue Online, wrote on June 8 that a “parting of ways” in the Anglican church between homosexuals and their “progressive” supporters, and those who adhere to Christian doctrine is inevitable.
“We are fast approaching the point in the Anglican Communion where a crisis can no longer be averted by acceptance of covenants, reports, communiques and high flying talk of diversity, inclusivity, reconciliation and healing,” Virtue writes.
Between them, the “conservatives” represent over 10 million Anglicans around the world, by far the largest single group.
Virtue commented, “Western Anglican liberals and revisionist bishops have made it abundantly clear that compromise of any kind is not on the books, whether it is talk of primatial or alternative oversight for besieged dioceses and parishes or compromising on a range of sexuality issues.”
Prominent members of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), including Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, and others outside Africa described by the Telegraph as being known to be “relatively moderate,” initiated the move in response to the requests of Anglicans in the US and elsewhere for a permanent solution to the problem. In some diocese in North America, such as New Westminster, British Columbia, some clergy have complained of intimidation and harassment by church officials seeking to impose homosexual wedding ceremonies.
A spokesman for the group said, “This enormous division has been provoked by the unilateral actions of the Americans. They have walked away and we have to care for the survivors.”
This effort is in addition to that established by Nigerian primate, Peter Akinola, who appointed Martyn Minns as head of a new church branch under his control in Nigeria. Williams also declined to invite Minns to Lambeth in 2008.