DOCSLIB.ORG

COMMENTARY What Happens at Lambeth Doesn't Stay at Lambeth

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
COMMENTARY What Happens at Lambeth Doesn't Stay at Lambeth COMMENTARY What happens at Lambeth doesn't stay at Lambeth By PHYLLIS ZAGANO c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When Anglican bishops unpack memories of their 2008 Lambeth Conference, one recollection they will handle gingerly is that of the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, humbly accepting their standing ovation at its onset. That was before things got nasty. Some calls for Williams' resignation even circulated in the halls of the University of Kent, where 650 bishops and their spouses spent three weeks considering what it means to be Anglican. The conference, held every 10 years in Canterbury, calls together bishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Some 230 Anglican bishops from the so-called "Global South" refused to attend, while others, including openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, were not invited. The problems facing Anglicanism are on every religion's laundry list. The constellation of issues forms an interesting pattern, and Catholics and other Christians might connect the dots and see an outline of their own controversies. Meanwhile, in decoding Lambeth, the world's 77 million Anglicans will see considerations that matter to the rest of Christianity, and should remember that what happens in Lambeth doesn't necessarily stay in Lambeth. Broadly speaking, there are two Anglican factions: conservatives, who want the church to be more in line with their understanding of constant Christian tradition, and liberals, who say Christian teachings require an expanded response to contemporary life. The two sides often meet in the middle on issues of world hunger, poverty and human rights, to name a few. Yet on other questions, typically involving women and sexuality, responses range from the historical to the hysterical. One of the most neuralgic items on the Lambeth agenda was the recent decision to allow women bishops within Anglicanism's mother church, the Church of England. A major speaker on the topic was Cardinal Walter Kasper _ that's Catholic Cardinal Walter Kasper _ who said what you'd expect: women bishops would fracture ecumenical discussions. What is the Vatican's concern? This is, after all, nothing new. In 1896, Pope Leo XIII made it quite clear in a document titled Apostolicae Curiae that Anglican orders are invalid. So if nothing happens when Anglican bishops ordain any person, male or female, what's the big deal if they add more women to the mix? Is Rome afraid the next archbishop of Canterbury, or the next, will be female? Catholic opposition to Anglican woman bishops was foretold in 1993 in Vermont, where the St. Michael's College chapel is the largest worship space in the state. When the Rev. Mary Adelia R. McLeod was elected the third female Episcopal bishop in the U.S., the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont asked St. Michael's to use the space for her consecration. After all, in 1986 the Catholic bishop let them consecrate Episcopal Bishop Daniel Swenson there. First it seemed on, then someone got cold feet. McLeod was consecrated in a downtown Burlington theater instead. Things have not changed on the Catholic side of the street. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori. For whatever reason, she was not visible at formal events when Pope Benedict XVI visited New York in April. And lest you think women bishops are now fully accepted within Anglicanism, know that the Church of England's decision was no cakewalk. Some proposed a separate "flying" jurisdiction to let those who disagreed with woman bishops stay in their conservative cocoons. Williams was torn by the prospect: "I am deeply unhappy with any scheme or any solution to this which ends up, as it were, structurally humiliating women who might be nominated," he said. At the end, despite Rome's pressure and significant internal disagreement, things went well for women in the Church of England. Within a few years, women will likely be elected bishops, and honest joy at the recognition of their humanity and dignity will be captured in a happy post-election phrase: "It's a girl!" (Phyllis Zagano is senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University and author of several books in Catholic Studies.) KRE/PH END ZAGANO700 words A photo of Phyllis Zagano is available via www.religionnews.com. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ecclesiology of the Anglican Communion: Rediscovering the Radical and Transnational Nature of the Anglican Communion
    A (New) Ecclesiology of the Anglican Communion: Rediscovering the Radical and Transnational Nature of the Anglican Communion Guillermo René Cavieses Araya Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Faculty of Arts School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science February 2019 1 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from this thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2019 The University of Leeds and Guillermo René Cavieses Araya The right of Guillermo René Cavieses Araya to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by Guillermo René Cavieses Araya in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. 2 Acknowledgements No man is an island, and neither is his work. This thesis would not have been possible without the contribution of a lot of people, going a long way back. So, let’s start at the beginning. Mum, thank you for teaching me that it was OK for me to dream of working for a circus when I was little, so long as I first went to University to get a degree on it. Dad, thanks for teaching me the value of books and a solid right hook. To my other Dad, thank you for teaching me the virtue of patience (yes, I know, I am still working on that one).
    [Show full text]
  • LOVE FREE OR DIE Production Notes
    Reveal Productions 3UHVHQWV How the Bishop of New Hampshire is Changing the World 'LUHFWHGE\0DFN\$OVWRQ :RUOG3UHPLHUHDWWKH6XQGDQFH)LOP)HVWLYDO 86&LQHPD'RFXPHQWDU\&RPSHWLWLRQPLQXWHV 6XQGDQFH6FUHHQLQJV 0RQGD\-DQXDU\SP7HPSOH7KHDWUH3DUN&LW\ Tuesday, January 24, 1:30 pm, Holiday Village Cinema 3, Park City (Press & Industry) 7XHVGD\-DQXDU\SP3URVSHFWRU6TXDUH7KHDWUH3DUN&LW\ :HGQHVGD\-DQXDU\SP%URDGZD\&HQWUH&LQHPD6DOW/DNH&LW\ 7KXUVGD\-DQXDU\DP3URVSHFWRU6TXDUH7KHDWUH3DUN&LW\ 6DWXUGD\-DQXDU\SP0$5&3DUN&LW\ Publicity Contacts -RKQ0XUSK\ 'DULQ'DUDNDQDQGD 0XUSK\35 0XUSK\35 2IILFH 2IILFH &HOO &HOO MPXSUK\#PXUSK\SUFRP GGDUDNDQDQGD#PXUSK\SUFRP )RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQSOHDVHYLVLWKWWSZZZORYHIUHHRUGLHPRYLHFRP LOVE FREE OR DIE U.S. Documentary Competition/2012 Sundance Film Festival Page 2 SYNOPSIS Short /29()5((25',(LVDERXWDPDQZKRVHWZRGHILQLQJSDVVLRQVDUHLQGLUHFWFRQIOLFWKLVORYH IRU*RGDQGIRUKLVSDUWQHU0DUN*HQH5RELQVRQLVWKHILUVWRSHQO\JD\SHUVRQWREHFRPHD ELVKRSLQWKHKLVWRULFWUDGLWLRQVRI&KULVWHQGRP+LVFRQVHFUDWLRQLQWRZKLFKKHZRUHD EXOOHWSURRIYHVWFDXVHGDQLQWHUQDWLRQDOVWLUDQGKHKDVOLYHGZLWKGHDWKWKUHDWVHYHU\GD\VLQFH /29()5((25',(IROORZV5RELQVRQIURPVPDOOWRZQFKXUFKHVLQWKH1HZ+DPSVKLUH1RUWK &RXQWU\WR:DVKLQJWRQ¶V/LQFROQ0HPRULDOWR/RQGRQ¶V/DPEHWK3DODFHDVKHFDOOVIRUDOOWR VWDQGIRUHTXDOLW\±LQVSLULQJELVKRSVSULHVWVDQGRUGLQDU\IRONWRFRPHRXWIURPWKHVKDGRZVDQG FKDQJHKLVWRU\ Long /29()5((25',(LVDERXWDPDQZKRVHWZRGHILQLQJSDVVLRQVDUHLQGLUHFWFRQIOLFW KLVORYH IRU*RGDQGIRUKLVSDUWQHU0DUN*HQH5RELQVRQLVWKHILUVWRSHQO\JD\SHUVRQWREHFRPHD ELVKRSLQWKHKLVWRULFWUDGLWLRQVRI&KULVWHQGRP+LVFRQVHFUDWLRQLQWRZKLFKKHZRUHD
    [Show full text]
  • Doing the Lambeth Walk
    DOING THE LAMBETH WALK The request We, the Bishops, Clergy and Laity of the Province of Canada, in Triennial Synod assembled, desire to represent to your Grace, that in consequence of the recent decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the well-known case respecting the Essays and Reviews, and also in the case of the Bishop of Natal and the Bishop of Cape Town, the minds of many members of the church have been unsettled or painfully alarmed; and that doctrines hitherto believed to be scriptural, undoubtedly held by the members of the Church of England and Ireland, have been adjudicated upon by the Privy Council in such a way as to lead thousands of our brethren to conclude that, according to this decision, it is quite compatible with membership in the Church of England to discredit the historical facts of Holy Scripture, and to disbelieve the eternity of future punishment1 So began the 1865 letter from the Canadians to Charles Thomas Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England. The letter concluded In order, therefore, to comfort the souls of the faithful, and reassure the minds of wavering members of the church, … we humbly entreat your Grace, …to convene a national synod of the bishops of the Anglican Church at home and abroad, who, attended by one or more of their presbyters or laymen, learned in ecclesiastical law, as their advisers, may meet together, and, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, take such counsel and adopt such measures as may be best fitted to provide for the present distress in such synod, presided over by your Grace.
    [Show full text]
  • Mountain Sky Area of the United Methodist Church I Write to You As a Brother in Christ, and a Bishop in the Episcopal Churc
    To: Mountain Sky Area of The United Methodist Church I write to you as a brother in Christ, and a Bishop in the Episcopal Church. I am not a member of your church (although I attended a small Methodist church with my grandmother), so I hope you won’t think me presumptuous if I share a few thoughts with you about the upcoming decisions re: Bishop Karen Oliveto. As a Bishop, I know well the tension between the stewardship of the church and the call of the Gospel. As a Bishop, it is my solemn calling to receive the 2,000 years of teaching and wisdom of the Church, and to ensure that it is passed on intact to the next generation. A second, implied responsibility is preservation of the institution. In my decade of serving as the Bishop of New Hampshire, I learned and came to believe that in order to be faithful to each of those responsibilities, I had to be true to their meaning and intention, rather than their literal words. Often, I found that in order to follow the command to love my neighbor, I had to take some risks with the institution. Our faith is a living, breathing thing – not an unchanging set of beliefs, unresponsive to what God is teaching us along the way. There was a time when many people in your denomination and mine used Holy Scripture to justify slavery, forbid interracial marriage, and denigrate women as inferior to men. We now look at those expressions of the historic “faith” as cruel misperceptions of God’s will.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns
    The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns No Golden Age The first thing to note about the crisis the Anglican Communion is facing today is that it has been coming for a very long time. I remember almost twenty years ago reading an article by Robert Doyle in The Briefing entitled ‘No Golden Age’.1 (It’s shocking that it is actually so long ago!) The gist of the article was that the idea of a golden age of Anglicanism, in which biblical patterns of doctrine and practice were accepted by the majority, is nothing but an illusion. Biblical Christianity has always struggled under the Anglican umbrella. At some times it did better than at others, but there was never a time when evangelical Anglicanism, even of the more formal prayer book kind, was uniformly accepted or endorsed by the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer were, after all, burnt at the stake with the consent of most of the rest of the bishops in Mary’s church. The Puritans who stayed within the Church of England suffered at the hands of Elizabeth I, and William Laud and others made life increasingly difficult for them after Elizabeth’s death. The re-establishment of the Church of England following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was never a determined return to the Reformed evangelical version of Archbishop Cranmer, but a compromise designed to exclude anything that resembled Puritanism. Wesley was hunted out of the established church. Whitfield had to preach in the open air when pulpits were closed to him. However, the real seeds of the problem we now face lie in the nineteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • AAC Timeline
    THE ANGLICAN REALIGNMENT Timeline of Major Events 1977 Continuing Anglican Movement is 1987 & 1989 founded over the mainstream ordination of women to the priesthood. TEC Panel of bishops dismiss heresy Composed of several breakaway charges against Bishop Spong of Anglican jurisdictions no longer in Newark; he rejects among other things communion with Canterbury, some of the incarnation, atonement, these will join the Anglican Church in resurrection, the second coming of North America (ACNA) during the Christ and the Trinity. realignment. 1994 Global South Anglicans (GSA) begin meeting and communicating in earnest between its members regarding the growing liberal theological trends in the Anglican Communion. 1996 1998 The American Anglican Council (AAC) is founded by Bp. David Anderson as a Lambeth Council of Bishops takes place response to unbiblical teachings in TEC under Canterbury’s leadership, during and the larger Anglican Communion. which Anglican bishops overwhelmingly Begins organizing in earnest hundreds (567-70) uphold the biblically orthodox of clergy and lay delegates to the TEC definition of marriage and sexuality in Triennial General Conventions (1997, Lambeth Resolution 1.10. Bishops from 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009) to stand up TEC and ACoC immediately protest that for “the faith once delivered to the they will not follow Biblical teaching. saints.” (Jude 3) 2000 Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands, due to theologically liberal developments in the Episcopal Church 2002 (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) under the primatial Diocese of New Westminster, Canada, oversight of Rwanda and South East authorizes rite of blessing for same-sex Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • V. Gene Robinson IX Bishop of New Hampshire
    V. Gene Robinson IX Bishop of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire on June 7, 2003, having served as Canon to the Ordinary (Assistant to the Bishop) for almost 18 years. He was consecrated on All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2003, and was invested as the Ninth Bishop of New Hampshire on March 7, 2004. He is the first openly gay priest to be elected bishop in the Anglican communion. Bishop Robinson was born in Lexington, Kentucky on May 29, 1947. He is a 1969 graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee with a B.A. in American Studies/History. He completed the M. Div. degree in 1973 at the General Theological Seminary in New York, was ordained deacon, then priest, serving as Curate at Christ Church Ridgewood, New Jersey. He has co-authored three AIDS education curricula for youth and adults. Gene has done AIDS work in the United States and in Africa (Uganda and South Africa). He holds two honorary doctorates and has received numerous awards from national civil rights organizations. Clergy wellness has long been a focus of Gene’s ministry. In 2006 author Elizabeth Adams wrote “Going to Heaven”, the life and election of V. Gene Robinson. His story is featured in the 2007 feature-length documentary, “For the Bible Tells Me So”, a film by Daniel Karslake. In 2008 Bishop Robinson wrote “In the Eye of the Storm” . a “book about who I am.” Bishop Robinson has received many awards, and made an enormous impact on the GLBT community.
    [Show full text]
  • The Way, the Truth and the Life
    The Way, The Truth and the Life Theological Resources for a Pilgrimage to a Global Anglican Future Prepared by the Theological Resource Team of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) The Latimer Trust Individual contributors retain copyright to their own work. Cover photograph: The Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem © mr.lightning – Fotolia.com This collection is © to The Latimer Trust ISBN 978-0-946307-94-4 May 2008 Printed in Israel by Absolut Copy Published by the Latimer Trust PO Box 26685 London N14 4XQ www.latimertrust.org The Theological Resource Group of the Global Anglican Future Conference and Pilgrimage Chairman: Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Bishop of Asaba and Archbishop of Bendel, Nigeria Convenor: Canon Dr Vinay Samuel, South India Archbishop Okoro, Archbishop of Orlu, Nigeria Bishop Onuoha, Bishop of Okigwe, Nigeria Bishop Simeon Adebola, Bishop of Yewa, Nigeria Bishop John Akao, Bishop of Sabongidda-Ora, Nigeria Professor Dapo Asaju, Department of Religious Studies, Lagos State University, Nigeria Canon Festus Yeboah-Asuamah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana Revd Roger Beckwith, England Bishop Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes, England Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti, Bishop of Recife, Brazil, Southern Cone Bishop John Ellison, former Bishop of Paraguay Bishop Michael Fape, Bishop of Remo, Nigeria Dr Steven Ferguson, USA Canon Alistair MacDonald-Radcliff, sometime Dean of All Saints Cathedral, Cairo, Egypt Revd Professor Stephen Noll, Vice Chancellor, Uganda Christian University Bishop Ikechi Nwosu, Bishop of
    [Show full text]
  • 2003 Accomplishments 5.Qx4
    Media Trainings Bishop Gene Robin MSNBC Michael Savage Take Action! HIV/AIDS Bug Chasers Rolling Stone stina Aguilera GLAAD Media Awards USA Today Families Matter Boy Meet ESPN Queer Eye Angels in America osie O’Donnell Jerry Thacker Gallup Massachusetts Canada Marriage Eq ames Dobson Anti-Gay Industry Kent in2 Scalia 003Lawrence v. Texas Santorum Hate Crimes Sakia Gunn Bella Evang ational Black Justice Coalition Brides Opinión Bishop Gene Robinson Integ Media Trainings Sabado Gigante AP Announcing Equality New York Time HBO Harvey Milk School “Fag Song” Bravo Write Now! glaad was there. Massachusetts Canada Marriage E New Year’s Hate Crime In Cincinnati – january After media outlets in Cincinnati downplay coverage of the hate-motivated New Year’s ‘Rolling Stone’ Chases Bugs – GLAAD MSNBC’SANTI-GAY SAVAGE calls on Rolling Stone to publicly correct Eve murder of Gregory Beauchamp (who GLAAD FOCUS gross errors of fact and attribution in an was shot to death by a man yelling homo- In February 2003, MSNBC announced it article about “bug chasers,” men who phobic slurs), Associate Regional Media would launch a show featuring viru- actively seek HIV infection. When the anti- Director Michael Young works with local lently homophobic radio host Michael gay Traditional Values Coalition exploits reporters to examine the unique nature of Savage. MSNBC’s Savage Nation pre- the article’s inaccuracies to claim bug- hate-motivated violence. The resulting sented GLAAD an opportunity to focus chasing is an “epidemic,” GLAAD partners media coverage and community activism national attention on cable news’ grow- with HIV/AIDS experts to urge media to leads the city council to introduce and pass ing embrace of right-wing homophobes debunk the TVC’s fabrications and publish a hate crimes law the following month.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tragic Turn: the Logic of Resistance Transcript
    The tragic turn: the logic of resistance Transcript Date: Tuesday, 17 May 2005 - 12:00AM Location: Barnard's Inn Hall THE TRAGIC TURN: THE LOGIC OF RESISTANCE Revd Canon Professor Martyn Percy Before theology and doctrine can ever exist, there must first be stories. They are stories of faith, of course. And before stories, there must be encounters, experiences and reflection. Churches are, moreover, as James Hopewell reminds us, primarily ‘storied communities and dwellings’. Ecclesial communities and their members occupy, for the most part, that pre-cognitive hinterland: a place where lives and norms are not so much governed by formal religious rules and dogma, as by a complex tapestry of stories and affinities that bind believers together. This is true religion: being continually bound together by shared narratives, common interests and particular practices, that turns a group of individuals into a ‘congregation’. I make no apology for beginning in this way, as I too want to start with a story from fifteen years ago. In many ways it is a simple story. At the theological college I attended for my ordination training (1988-1990), I was walking down the corridor one day, returning to my study. I ran into a fellow ordinand whom I had seen that morning in chapel. It was now afternoon, but there was something different about him. He usually wore a smart jeans or corduroys, well-polished brown brogue shoes, a shirt (sometimes with a tie), and a smart-casual sports or tweed jacket. Except on this day I couldn’t help noticing that his arm was in a sling, and he was trying to conceal his injury.
    [Show full text]
  • Love Free Or Die, the Story of Gene Robinson, the First Openly Gay
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Voleine Amilcar 415-356-8383 x 244 [email protected] Mary Lugo 770-623-8190 [email protected] Cara White 843-881-1480 [email protected] For downloadable images, visit pbs.org/pressroom/ LOVE FREE OR DIE, THE STORY OF GENE ROBINSON, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON ELECTED BISHOP IN CHRISTENDOM, PREMIERES ON THE NEW SEASON OF INDEPENDENT LENS ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 Series Moves to Mondays at 10 PM on PBS (San Francisco, CA) — Sundance Award-winning documentary Love Free or Die will premiere on the new season of Independent Lens, which returns to PBS this fall on Mondays at 10 PM. Directed by Macky Alston, the film looks at church and state, love and marriage, faith and identity — and one man’s struggle to dispel the notion that God’s love has limits. Love Free or Die follows Gene Robinson, the first openly gay person to be elected bishop in the high church traditions of Christianity. His 2003 elevation, in the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire, ignited a worldwide firestorm in the Anglican Communion that has threatened schism. Even as he has pushed for greater inclusion within his own church, Bishop Robinson has become a standard bearer in the fight over the rights of LGBT people to receive full acceptance in church and state. The film will premiere on Independent Lens, hosted by Stanley Tucci, on Monday, October 29, 2012 at 10 PM on PBS (check local listings). Director Alston’s camera follows Bishop Robinson as he steps onto the world stage, travelling from small-town churches to the Lincoln Memorial, where he delivers the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration; from London, where he is scorned and relegated to the fringes of a once- in-a-decade convocation of bishops to which he is deliberately not invited, to a decisive meeting in California of the Episcopal Church, where Robinson plays an instrumental role in establishing the full inclusion of LGBT people.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Is Anglicanism Anti-Gay?
    Is Anglicanism anti-gay? A reflection on Anglicans and how they should respond to proposed new legislation in Equatorial Africa. There is now a new Archbishop of Canterbury, appointed early in 2013 but still something of an enigma. Thus far, he has concentrated his firepower on the financial section, which is at once a safe bet (bankers are no-one’s friends at the moment) and an area about which he knows quite a lot. Justin Welby also knows a great deal about Nigeria, which he is reputed to have visited more than ninety times and where twice he has been in peril of his life. He also knows other parts of Africa, including Uganda and both the Nigerian and Ugandan Archbishops were in Canterbury for his enthronement in March last year. It is said that Welby is also in the process of making personal visits to all the Archbishops of the Anglican Communion. With these two particular provinces of the Anglican Communion representing a huge swath of African, indeed world Anglican membership, Justin Welby must now be fully aware that 2014 may see some of the most draconian anti-gay and frankly homophobic laws enacted in what are nevertheless strongly Christian countries with a large Islamic (especially in Nigeria) presence as well. As such it is disturbing to learn that at least three Ugandan bishops including the Archbishop have enthusiastically endorsed governmental action.1 The new laws in Uganda are now on the cusp of becoming formalised if the President, who may or may not listen to the growing international outcry, signs them.2 There is a history of similar opinion in the two equatorial African countries and as long ago as 2007 a Nigerian Anglican bishop declared that homosexuals and lesbians undertaking sexual relationships ‘are not fit to live’.3 Such views can of course be found all over conservative Africa but they have anecdotally been reinforced by visiting American Evangelical preachers who seem to have exported North American cultural wars, such as have split the American Episcopal Church, to Africa.
    [Show full text]