Fr. Dale Matson
In our liturgy yesterday we included the Archbishop of
Canterbury in our “Prayers of the people” just as we have done for decades. As
we did this, a recent article came to mind where ++Justin Welby stated that the
ACNA is not in the Anglican Communion. http://anglicanink.com/article/canterbury-buries-instruments-unity.
“The ACNA is a “fellow
member of the church of Christ in the world,” but added the “ACNA is a separate
church. It is not part of the Anglican Communion.” I am not certain any
longer what the process would be for ACNA to become a member of the Anglican
Communion since the instruments of unity no longer seems to be functioning. A
bishop can no longer be not invited
to the Lambeth Conference if Lambeth is no longer scheduled to occur. I don't
question the Archbishop’s right to make the statement and his accuracy. He has
provided candor and clarity. This was something lacking in his predecessor.
When ACNA was first formed in June of 2009, I believe most
of us hoped that we would be recognized by Canterbury as being a member
province of the Anglican Communion. The fact that the primates that represented
the majority of the Anglican Communion already recognized the ACNA was
comforting and reassuring.
Much has happened since that time including the decisions
made at the TEC General Convention of 2012. I began to wonder if we really
wanted to become a part of Canterbury. This was now a Canterbury that condoned
provinces where the leadership advocated unscriptural sexual relationships, a
different missiology and a diminished Christology. In fact the leadership of
these provinces were advocating a different gospel. I saw the Church of England
apparently heading in the same direction partly because it had additional
pressure to conform to societal pressure as the Established Church.
As I reread the final statement from GAFCON 2008 it included
the following: “While acknowledging the
nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican
identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of
Canterbury. Building on the above doctrinal foundation of Anglican
identity, we hereby publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of our
fellowship”. http://gafcon.org/news/gafcon_final_statement/
When the Fellowship
of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) was formed, it seems to me now that it became a
reconstituted form of Anglicanism. The ACNA had not been formed yet but is now
a member of the FCA. We are the first fruits of the realignment called the FCA.
So it seems to me that some FCA members
have a dual citizenship (Canterbury and FCA) and some FCA members are not dual
citizens, for example the ACNA.
This brings me back to this past Sunday and our “Prayers of
the people”. As I listened to our prayers of the people, which included ++Justin
Welby as ABC, I thought “Why are we including someone who does not see us as
part of the Anglican Communion?” Since GAFCON formed the Fellowship of
Confessing Anglicans in 2008 we have been a part of that. I am not saying we
shouldn’t pray for ++Justin Welby but should we be including him as a part of our
“chain of command” so to speak? In terms of prayers, shouldn't we be praying
for the head of FCA Rev Eliud Wabukala.
The ACNA parishioners are members of the Fellowship of
Confessing Anglicans. Our clergy orders are valid. ++Justin Welby’s statement
confirms that we are formally separate from Canterbury Anglicanism (other than
the historical roots). This is reconciliation
for me. Being a member of FCA is a great place to be and it represents my
understanding of orthodox Anglicanism. ++Justin Welby thank you for the clarification.
1 comment:
Dear Father Dale
Just a few points
As far as I am aware, recognition by Canterbury has never been how membership of the Anglican Communion is recognised. Right from the start the Communion has been formed by treaty, first between the CofE and TEC, then by the various instruments, and while the process is argued about, the recognition by the Primates is the key.
Recognition of ACNA by the Church of England is a matter for our Synod and you may remember that Synod gave instructions on how this process is to go forward. In the Church of England the ABC is an office holder and even in the Communion has no status to act independently of that. Even in the Church of England he operates within rules. He is one of two Archbishops and the pretensions of a 19thC ABC led the Archbishop of York to boycott the first Lambeth Conference. He is not even the head of the Church of England - we have under God a Supreme Governor over him.
Nevertheless, I am sorry for the lack of pastoral care shown for you and can only apologise to you. The Primates who are charged with recognition in the Anglican Communion have made it clear that you are in Communion with them. If the Communion survives at some future time there will be a great many loose ends to tie up, but in the meantime please know that you do remain in Communion with us and pray for us and the Archbishop of Canterbury for his eyes to be opened and his heart softened and for him to act as a Christian leader, because otherwise what is the point of having an Archbishop of Canterbury?
God bless you Father Dale, your bishop and your diocese of San Joaquin.
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