Global South Anglican

Of the 38 primates, including the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, Lambeth Palace reported it had received 26 responses, and no reply from 12. Of the 26, 12 stated they could accept the JSC’s findings, 12 stated they rejected the JSC’s findings, while three offered a mixed verdict, and one said it was continuing to review the matter.

The Windsor Report called for a moratorium on this, which was not forthcoming. The St. Michael’s report said that the issue, though theological, was not against Anglican core doctrine so was not a matter over which to divide the church. On a side wind and by a stopgap motion, the General Synod of 2004 declared gay unions to be marked by “integrity and sanctity”. The 2007 General Synod affirmed the St. Michael’s position. So here we are now, the Anglican Network in Canada, accepting the invitation to realign in order to uphold historic Anglican standards, not only regarding gay unions but across the board, as those standards were formulated in our church’s foundation documents and reformulated in the Montreal Declaration of 1994.

Letter of support for Anglican Network in Canada from Primates of Central Africa, Kenya, Uganda, West Africa

Some UK Anglican leaders show their support. 

Harvey, who served as bishop for 13 years, speaks of an overall “liberal agenda” within the church, and many being distressed over it. He said he takes issue with new interpretations of the scriptures, and other directions of the church, but it’s the same-sex debate which has drawn the most attention and led many to feel disenchanted.

The Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey, retired Bishop of Eastern Labrador, announced Nov. 16 that he had quit the Canadian Church and will be “resuming full-time Episcopal ministry” on behalf of “biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans who are distressed and feel they no longer have a home in the Anglican Church of Canada.”

These pastoral initiatives undertaken to keep faithful Anglicans within our Anglican family has been at a considerable cost of crucial resources to our province. There is no moral equivalence between them and the actions taken by TEC. They are a heartfelt response to cries for help. We acted in accordance with the Gospel mandate. Had TEC, against all godly warnings, not taken actions that tore the fabric of our beloved Communion there would be no need for hundreds indeed, thousands of its members to seek pastoral, episcopal and now primatial care elsewhere. 

A Communiqué released from the meetings between 10 Global South Primates during the visit to China, October 21-30, 2007. 

Pittsburgh convention votes to leave TEC:

The Diocese of Pittsburgh has voted in favour of Resolution One, which starts out this way:

RESOLVED, that Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Diocese of Pittsburgh be, and it hereby is, amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

The Church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces and regional churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.

RESOLVED FURTHER, that a new Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution of the Diocese of Pittsburgh be, and it hereby is, adopted to read as follows:

The Diocese of Pittsburgh shall have membership in such Province of the Anglican Communion as is by diocesan Canon specified.

Full release in PDF file here

For Bishop Robert Duncan’s Address at the 142nd Convention of the Pittsburgh Diocese, read it in full here.

Bishop Duncan responded to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s letter

1st November, A.D. 2007
The Feast of All Saints

The Most Revd Katharine Jefferts Schori
Episcopal Church Center
New York, New York

Dear Katharine,

Here I stand. I can do no other. I will neither compromise the Faith once delivered to the saints, nor will I abandon the sheep who elected me to protect them.

Pax et bonum in Christ Jesus our Lord,

+Bob Pittsburgh

The adoption of an Anglican Covenant would go a long way towards restoring trust and accountability within the Communion, he said. However, the crisis of gay bishops and blessings could not be papered over without dire consequences to the integrity of the Church as the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 ‘changed everything,’ he explained.