Archbishop of Canterbury Condemns Anti-Gay Anglican Rebel Sect
Tuesday 1st July 2008
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has condemned the Anglican churches who denied his leadership and authority yesterday, accusing them of lacking legitimacy as Church officials rushed to denounce the rebel sect.
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FOCA) essentially split from the main Anglican Church after failing to find a common ground on the issue of homosexuality. Around half of the Anglican community had been angered by the ordination of Gene Robinson, an openly non-celibate gay man, as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
The issue has festered since his 2004 election and ordination, with the conflict coming to a head this year. The issue was scheduled to be covered in detail at the upcoming Lambeth Conference, held every ten years to determine the Church’s official policy and direction.
FOCA stopped short of abandoning the Anglican Communion, which would have meant an outright schism involving massive legal issues, mostly over Church property. However, the group has denied the absolute authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decisions, a result of his acceptance of Bishop Robinson’s ordination, which has in essence made them a separate group with separate leadership.
The group, which formed following the Global Anglican Futures Conference (Gafcon) has made FOCA the central point of leadership and based Church policy solely on 14 traditionalist tenets and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
Williams called for patience from the breakaway Anglicans. He said: "It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion. If they are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve."
"Gafcon's proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed."
Archbishop Williams has promised to maintain unity throughout the Church at the Lambeth Conference. The issue, however, will surely be as explosive as homosexuality was before it. One Church official has already attacked FOCA, referring to them as a “Protestant sect”, although considering the Anglicans were formed as a Protestant sect themselves that might not be as hurtful as it seems.
The official was soon joined in condemning FOCA by the Modern Churchpeople’s Union (MCU) a group of liberal theologians. They said: "We reject outright the claim of Foca to be the representatives of orthodox Anglicanism. Their claim to be traditionalists is as bogus as their claim to speak on behalf of half the world's Anglicans."
They added: "The formation of FOCA is nothing less than a pre-emptive first strike by those who are determined to have their own way come what may. Their abandonment of serious theological discussion and debate is a betrayal of the ethos of Anglicanism.”
Related articles:
Half of Anglicans Leave Church Over Gays, Form New Anglican Network
Anglican Anti-Gay Conference Runs into Gay Pride March
Church Controversy Explodes over Gay Priests’ Marriage
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FOCA) essentially split from the main Anglican Church after failing to find a common ground on the issue of homosexuality. Around half of the Anglican community had been angered by the ordination of Gene Robinson, an openly non-celibate gay man, as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
The issue has festered since his 2004 election and ordination, with the conflict coming to a head this year. The issue was scheduled to be covered in detail at the upcoming Lambeth Conference, held every ten years to determine the Church’s official policy and direction.
FOCA stopped short of abandoning the Anglican Communion, which would have meant an outright schism involving massive legal issues, mostly over Church property. However, the group has denied the absolute authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decisions, a result of his acceptance of Bishop Robinson’s ordination, which has in essence made them a separate group with separate leadership.
The group, which formed following the Global Anglican Futures Conference (Gafcon) has made FOCA the central point of leadership and based Church policy solely on 14 traditionalist tenets and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
Williams called for patience from the breakaway Anglicans. He said: "It is not enough to dismiss the existing structures of the Communion. If they are not working effectively, the challenge is to renew them rather than to improvise solutions that may seem to be effective for some in the short term but will continue to create more problems than they solve."
"Gafcon's proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks entailed."
Archbishop Williams has promised to maintain unity throughout the Church at the Lambeth Conference. The issue, however, will surely be as explosive as homosexuality was before it. One Church official has already attacked FOCA, referring to them as a “Protestant sect”, although considering the Anglicans were formed as a Protestant sect themselves that might not be as hurtful as it seems.
The official was soon joined in condemning FOCA by the Modern Churchpeople’s Union (MCU) a group of liberal theologians. They said: "We reject outright the claim of Foca to be the representatives of orthodox Anglicanism. Their claim to be traditionalists is as bogus as their claim to speak on behalf of half the world's Anglicans."
They added: "The formation of FOCA is nothing less than a pre-emptive first strike by those who are determined to have their own way come what may. Their abandonment of serious theological discussion and debate is a betrayal of the ethos of Anglicanism.”
Related articles:
Half of Anglicans Leave Church Over Gays, Form New Anglican Network
Anglican Anti-Gay Conference Runs into Gay Pride March
Church Controversy Explodes over Gay Priests’ Marriage
