Anglican Communion
Update on Issues in The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion
In his first interview since abruptly resigning his office, former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby told the BBC he failed to follow up on allegations of abuse by within the Church of England because the problem was “absolutely overwhelming.” He said the scale of the problem was “a reason – not an excuse.”
Abp. Justin abruptly announced in November he would resign to take “personal and institutional responsibility” for failures of the Church of England to act on a long-running sexual abuse scandal involving a John Smyth, who had run a series of camps for evangelical young Christians in Britain and later in Africa. An internal review found that Abp. Justin himself was notified about Smyth in the early days of his arch-episcopacy, and did not follow up as he should have.
He told the BBC, “Every day more cases were coming across the desk that had been in the past, hadn't been dealt with adequately, and this was just, it was another case - and yes I knew Smyth but it was an absolutely overwhelming few weeks.”
“It was overwhelming, one was trying to prioritise - but I think it's easy to sound defensive over this.”
“The reality is I got it wrong. As Archbishop, there are no excuses.”
“I know I let God down. I let people down.”
He also said he was “profoundly ashamed” of a speech he gave in the House of Lords shortly after announcing his resignation. Critics said he appears to make light of the circumstances that led to his resignation.
Looking back at other aspects of his arch-episcopacy, he expressed frustration at being unable to get the church’s General Synod to approve fully-independent safeguarding, or obtain equality for gay couples and female clergy.
Abp. Justin laid down his crozier on the high altar of Canterbury Cathedral in January, the traditional sign of a bishop relinquishing his authority.
Under Church of England policies and British Law, a special 20-member “Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) will vet candidates and recommend a successor to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He in turn will make a recommendation to King Charles III, who will make the appointment. (Under British law, the king is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and appoints all bishops and archbishops.) Procedures were changed several years ago to reduce the Diocese of Canterbury’s representation on the CNC to three people, and increase participation from the greater Anglican Communion, one from each of the Communion’s five regions. At least one of those five must be a primate, one a priest or deacon, one a lay person, and the five must include two men, two women, and three non-White people.
Prime Minister Starmer has appointed Lord Jonathan Evans of Weardale, a former director general of the British domestic intelligence service MI5, as chair of the commission for this nomination. (Lest you say “M” is now picking the next Archbishop of Canterbury, “M” in the James Bond book and film series is the head of MI6, the British international intelligence service, not MI5.)
The CNC began its work with a public consultation process “to gather the views of a wide range of people from across the Anglican Communion on the gifts, qualities and skills needed” in the next Archbishop. Its announced schedule calls for meetings in May, July and September to agree on a “Role Profile” and “Person Specification,” followed by a discernment and interview process. It likely will be late this year, and or sometime next year, before the new Archbishop is appointed
The CNC notes “It is not possible to apply for the role of Archbishop of Canterbury. Instead, individuals will be invited into a careful and prayerful process of discernment.”
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has taken over some of Abp. Justin’s responsibilities as senior bishop of the Church of England.
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Easter falls very late this year, almost as late as it can be. Abp. Justin and Pope Francis, who forged a close ecumenical relationship, had launched an interfaith consultation about setting a fixed date for Easter, perhaps the second Sunday in April. There has been no visible progress on the issue. The pope has also called for all Christian churches to agree on a common date for Easter, whether fixed or not. Roman Catholic, Anglican and other western protestant churches generally agree, but Eastern Orthodox churches calculate the date differently.
The formula for determining when to observe Easter was set by the Council of Nicea in 325. The difference now is basically due to differences between the Julian calendar in use at that time, and the Gregorian calendars introduced in 1582. This year both calendars coincidentally align, and all Christians will observe Easter on April 20th
The pope repeated his call for a common date at service in January marking the end of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.” Noting that both groups are observing Easter on the same day this year, the Pope said, “I renew my appeal that this coincidence may serve as an appeal to all Christians to take a decisive step forward toward unity around a common date for Easter…The Catholic Church is open to accepting the date that everyone wants: a date of unity.”
But the Romanian Orthodox Church quickly shot that down, saying “Any consultation on the date of Easter and a possible decision can only take place within the framework of a future Pan-Orthodox Council, with the participation of all sister Orthodox Churches.”
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The Episcopal, Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches in this country have all been caught up in President Trump’s actions against migrants and dismantling of international aid programs. Bp. Mariann Budde’s January plea for the president to “to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now” received the most national news attention, but Vice President Vance also sparred very publicly with Roman Catholic bishops over immigrant policies, and all three denominations have cut back or shut down aid and resettlement programs.
The same day as Bp. Budde’s sermon, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris issued a joint letter to the church on Jan. 21 emphasizing “Christ’s call to welcome the stranger,” and likewise calling for “mercy and compassion.”
“We read [about the president’s executive orders on migrants] with concern and urge our new president and congressional leaders to exercise mercy and compassion, especially toward law-abiding, long-term members of our congregations and communities; parents and children who are under threat of separation in the name of immigration enforcement; and women and children who are vulnerable to abuse in detention and who fear reporting abuse to law enforcement,” their letter said.
“As one church united in the Body of Christ, please pray especially for families who live under the shadow of separation, and for all who seek asylum for protection from persecution. Pray, too, for the people of our congregations and dioceses who work tirelessly to serve immigrants and refugees, and who now face new and heartbreaking challenges to their ministry.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Roman Catholic bishops from border dioceses, and Catholic relief groups likewise expressed their concerns.
“Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us,” said Abp. Timothy Broglio, president of the bishops’ conference.
Vice President JD Vance, who is a Roman Catholic, said on “Face The Nation” he was “heartbroken” by the USCCP statement, and suggested the bishops’ concerns were not rooted in pastoral considerations but in the fact that their dioceses had been receiving significant money from the federal government to help resettle immigrants.
“I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”
Theological conservatives made the same accusation about The Episcopal Church.
Late in January, Presiding Bishop Rowe announced he was winding down Episcopal Migration Ministries that are funded by federal grants. The action came after President Trump suspended grants for refugee resettlement programs. He was “grieving” at the “end of this season of our ministry,” he said, but added “an end of federal funding…does not mean an end to The Episcopal Church’s commitment to stand with immigrants and our congregations who serve vulnerable immigrants and refugees.”
“No change in political fortunes can dissuade us from answering God’s call to welcome the stranger.”
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Elsewhere:
The Church in Wales is moving to another period of discernment and dialogue on the issue of blessing same-sex marriages. In October 2021, the church authorized a five-year trial of same-sex blessings. That five years is about to run out.
The archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev. Andrew John, said options going forward include allowing the temporary authorization to lapse; extending it, or developing a formal service of marriage for same-sex couples. “We now need to turn our hearts and minds [to this] in prayerful and honest discernment,” he said.
The church has set up a series of local meetings to discuss the way forward. “I wish to stress the purpose of these meetings is to listen – respectfully and attentively. We believe there is wisdom in this kind of approach, which allows different voices to be expressed and heard without comment or censure. We don’t expect these voices to be pilloried or applauded. Our task is to hear from each other and to seek, as best we can, the wisdom of God in our conversations,” Abp. John said.
Primates and bishops from the Global Anglican Futures Conference, or GAFCON, met in Texas in March to look back on how the organization was founded in 2008, and ahead to the future, and the “urgent need not only to equip current bishops and leaders, but also to continually raise up new leaders who will be faithful to guard and proclaim the gospel.”
Its concluding communique took issue with charges it seeks to undermine the unity of the Anglican Communion. “That is simply untrue. We cherish the worldwide fellowship that we enjoy through the Anglican Communion. We have not left it, but have sought to renew it…We represent the Anglican Communion as we stand for the orthodox Anglican theology that is upheld by a vast majority of the Communion. It is those who have promoted unbiblical teachings who have torn the fabric of our Communion and shown themselves to be out of step with the apostolic faith.”
Not far away (by Texas standards), church planted by the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the US affiliate of GAFCON, has decided to join The Episcopal Church. This is a not a case of returning to The Episcopal Church; Resurrection South Austin was founded in 2015, well after some parishes left The Episcopal Church to form ACNA. Its founding rector told Episcopal News Service (ENS), “It would be difficult for me to name one person (in our parish) who had been in The Episcopal Church,”
In another interview, the Rev. Shawn McCain Tirres cited ACNA’s “treatment of women, people of color and sexual minorities” as key reasons for moving.
He elaborated to ENS, “Reverence for God without reverence for the poor doesn’t make sense in the Christian faith…Some of the conservative evangelicals would flag that as social justice or ‘woke.’ It transgresses something fundamental to white evangelicalism,” he said, adding that some ACNA Christians had called the parish “Marxist” or “woke.”
The Diocese of Florida, which has struggled to elect a successor to Bp. John Howard, has announced plans to begin the process again. An episcopal election two years ago was negated after concerns within the diocese and Episcopal Church about the election process. Critics charged Bp. Howard rigged the election process to see that his chosen successor was elected, and that special electing convention allowed some people to vote remotely but not others. A second election likewise failed.
Bp. Howard was one of the most theologically conservatives bishops in The Episcopal Church, and the role of gays and lesbians in the life of the church was a key factor in the internal disagreements. The diocese has been without a bishop since he retired 18 months ago; since then the Standing Committee has been serving as the Ecclesiastical Authority in the diocese, while various bishops have served in assisting roles. The diocese has been through a period of healing and discernment, with Bp. Mary Gray-Reeves, a former California bishop who is trained in conflict mediation, facilitating the process.
“We feel like we’re ready,” Standing Committee President the Rev. Sarah Minton told Episcopal News Service. “There’s been lots of conversations over the last year and a half or so…It’s time. We are meant to operate with a bishop.”
As we transition to our new priest-in-charge, it is worthwhile to note what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said to the General Convention this summer: “I’m not worried about the future of The Episcopal Church…because I know him in whom we have believed. I’m not worried about the future. It’s not going to be easy. It never has been easy. I’m a descendant of slaves. I’m here to tell you, Langston Hughes said in one of his poems, life for us ain’t no crystal stairway. And if you don’t believe Langston, ask Jesus. Trust me, the crucifixion was no piece of cake. The truth of the matter is, life for us has never and will never be a crystal staircase. But I’m here to tell you this, this Episcopal Church is stronger, more durable and has a future that God has decreed and that God has figured out. And I’m here to tell you, don’t you worry about this church. Don’t you weep and don’t you moan. Just roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work. That’s our future. Roll up your sleeves and get to work.
-- Don Brownlee