Obstinate Americans

Tanzania Compromise Rejected by American Episcopal Church

Bishops in the United States have rejected the scheme for pastoral oversight for dissenting congregations proposed by the Primates in Tanzania last month. They have asked for an urgent meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates’ Standing Committee.

Meeting in Texas this week, they declared their “passionate desire” to remain in full constituent membership of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church in the United States, as part of a family of Churches “all of whom share a common mother in the Church of England”.

The bishops argue that the Episcopal Church has responded in good faith to the Windsor report, and the 2006 General Convention had “struggled mightily” to do so. They complain of the suffering caused by bishops’ and Primates’ violation of provincial boundaries, which they had repeatedly been assured was “inappropriate and should cease”.

None of these assurances had been heeded, say the bishops. “The Dar es Salaam communiqué affirms the principle that boundary violations are impermissible, but then sets conditions for ending those violations — conditions that are simply impossible for us to meet without calling a special meeting of our General Convention.”

The bishops say the communiqué is “distressingly silent” on the subject of the gospel’s stand for justice, compassion, and peace, and against violence and persecution. “Contrary to the way the Anglican Communion Network and the American Anglican Council have represented us, we proclaim a gospel that welcomes diversity of thought and encourages free and open theological debate as a way of seeking God’s truth. If that means that others reject communion with us, we must with great regret accept their decision.”

They believe the Primates’ scheme is not permissible because there is no provision in the canons for the Primate to delegate authority. This, the bishops say, would compromise the Episcopal Church’s autonomy. They argue that it would also fundamentally change the character of the Windsor report and Covenant design processes, “in which we thought all the Anglican Churches were participating together”.

They say that it also violates the founding principles of the Episcopal Church “following our own liberation from colonialism and the beginning of a life independent of the Church of England”. They describe it as “a very serious departure from our English Reformation heritage”, and as abandoning the “generous orthodoxy” of the Prayer Book tradition and replacing local church governance with the decisions of “a distant and unaccountable group of prelates”.

Most important of all, say the bishops, it is “spiritually unsound”. “The pastoral scheme encourages one of the worst tendencies of our Western culture, which is to break relationships when we find them difficult instead of doing the hard work necessary to repair them and be instruments of reconciliation. . . We cannot accept what would be injurious to this Church and could well lead to its permanent division.”

The bishops pledge themselves to work towards an arrangement with those in conscientious disagreement with the actions of the General Convention: “In truth, the number of those who seek to divide our Church is small, and our Church is marked by encouraging signs of life and hope.”

They ask the Presiding Bishop and Dr Williams to meet at the earliest opportunity, and at the Episcopal Church’s expense, for “three days of prayer and conversation regarding these matters”.