Fruits of holiness. We would surely pursue holiness with greater eagerness if we were convinced that it is the way of life and peace. --- From "The Message of Romans" John R.W. Stott

On the last days of his life we met the charismatic Elder Simeon (on Mt. Athos), who had been under obedience to Father Savvas prior to that well-known elder's repose. Father Simeon told us many things about this virtuous and discerning man and also advised us: "Be afraid of sinning, not of the Devil, for he has no power." --- From An Athonite Gerontikon

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
2/11/2009

The Primates meeting is over and so, to all intents and purposes, is the Anglican Communion.

A final communiqué to the church offered up olive branches calling for "gracious restraint" and a "Pastoral Visitors" program to aid in healing, but these were viewed as sops by orthodox Primates to an irretrievably broken communion. The "Pastoral Visitors" idea will work about as well as the "pastoral Forum" announced with triumph at Dar Es Salaam. No discipline ever took place and never will.

However, there will be no formal schism in the Anglican Communion, either. 35 Anglican Archbishops gathered at the Helnan hotel on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea and weathered a week of intense dialogue with minds unchanged, positions hardened, but with far less acrimony than at previous primatial gatherings.

"People have positioned themselves and they did so with patience," said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams at a press conference. "There are deep divisions which threaten and impair the communion. I don't think many people have changed their minds, but there has been a willingness to listen and find accommodation for one another. We seek reconciliation, but when and where, God only knows."

The communiqué recognized continued deep differences and disrupted relationships in the Anglican Communion and called for "deeper communion" and "gracious restraint." The Anglican primates affirmed the recommendations of the Windsor Continuation Group and called for the development of a "pastoral council" and the appointment of "pastoral visitors" to assist in healing and reconciliation, given the current "situation of tension" in the Anglican Communion.

Lambeth 1:10 was reaffirmed as the standard for sexual relations within marriage between a man and a woman.

The communiqué, released on the final day of their February 1-5 meeting, reaffirmed the Moratoria opposing same-gender blessings, cross-border interventions and the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the episcopate. The communique also encouraged all parties in the current controversies to maintain "gracious restraint" with respect to actions that could exacerbate the tensions.

In an interview VOL obtained with two orthodox Anglican Primates, a different view was offered. Their take is that the Anglican Communion is broken and cannot be repaired. There are two recognizably different religions in the Anglican Communion and they can never come together. Never. Like a badly married couple who stay together for the sake of the kids they live in separate bedrooms, keep different check books, and pass each other in polite silence. They don't believe divorce is right, but the marriage is over. Communion is not impaired. It is broken.

The ball is now squarely in the orthodox court. They hold the cards whether to stay or simply refuse not to attend any more primatial meetings, refuse to attend any more Lambeth Conferences or ACC meetings, and just leave the liberals and revisionists to talk to themselves.

They have their religion of inclusion and the orthodox are driven by the Great Commission. The two can never meet or form an alliance. All the polite listening, all the smiles cannot change anything. The endless discussions of this report or that and reflections on the Windsor Continuation Group and a Covenant that not even the liberals want will not now change anything.

The die has been cast. The Primates have talked themselves into clarity and closure.

In time, GAFCON will simply be the alternative to Lambeth. Those who go to Lambeth will go because they have itching ears to hear what they want to hear. They are not interested in the Evangelical gospel proclaimed by the orthodox primates who represent more than 75% of the communion. You can read a number of stories I have written about this in today's digest.

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So where does this leave the remaining few ORTHODOX DIOCESES and parishes in The Episcopal Church? Nowhere. The litigation will go on. It will not stop. If priests and their parishes decide to leave TEC, they must be prepared to either walk away from the property or get set for a prolonged legal battle over it. TEC will go after all four dioceses that have seceded while establishing new mini dioceses within those same dioceses. Sooner or later, someone will take it to the Supreme Court of the U.S.

Last week, the ADV- CANA parishes in Virginia put out a request for TEC to end the litigation. They were wasting their breath and time. The Diocese of Virginia will not concede anything and TEC will not let them. The cases in California will be fought all the way to the top, but it is unlikely the orthodox will win. Rick Warren has offered sanctuary for churches that have so far lost and they should take it. Bishop Jon Bruno will fight till his dying breath. Get used to it.

General Convention will be a triumph for the TEC's pansexual agenda. Rowan Williams can do nothing about it. He might in fact approve it. Certainly those who follow the writings of Williams on homosexuality at the SPREAD website believe they know where he stands. http://www.anglicanspread.org/

The real test of conscience for the remaining orthodox dioceses like Albany, Dallas, South Carolina, Central Florida, Western Kansas and Western Louisiana will be what happens when same-sex rites are approved and mandated in the church. If you thought women's ordination was a major issue for Anglo-Catholics, watch and see what happens when this issue hits the proverbial fan.

More and more dioceses will elect homogenital bishops. A partnered lesbian bishop is almost a certainty within the next year or two. They will get consents whether the orthodox bishops like it or not. More and more dioceses will ordain non-celibate homosexual priests to their dioceses and they will do it with impunity. Bishop Rob O'Neill of Colorado ordained a partnered lesbian recently and there wasn't a squawk from a single orthodox bishop. They knew that anything they might have said would have been like smoke blowin' in the wind. The Episcopal Church is on a death march more fatal to its soul than Bataan.

These are the facts, unvarnished and unwashed. We await the verdict of history.

*****

INSIDE STRATEGY One thing is for sure, the inside strategy is dead. By their actions, the orthodox primates in Egypt declared it to be so. They know they cannot work within the system. It is not that they are outnumbered;, they are not. They probably have a slim majority of orthodox archbishops. What they now realize is that two religions face each other. Two very different understandings of the Christian Faith are being promoted. There can be no compromise by the orthodox. Therefore, it is over.

The difference between the Primates and orthodox TEC dioceses is that the Primates can walk away with it costing them very little. They will grow. They don't need to waste precious time talking to primates who have no gospel. Certainly, they will lose money that TEC sends to African dioceses in order to manipulate them, but at the end of the day, that strategy won't work. The archbishop of the Sudan made that very clear. Mrs. Jefferts Schori can send her minions to the Sudan. Whole dioceses can partner with Sudanese dioceses, but they will not influence this province or its archbishop to the post-modern mindset of TEC on sexuality issues. Archbishop Deng said so in Alexandria, when I put the question to him.

*****

LAWSUITS. For now and into the foreseeable future, both sides will spend millions of dollars in litigation, with little or no purpose. For TEC winning the property is often a pyrrhic victory, an empty property is an empty property. The Episcopal Church has earmarked nearly $5 million in 2009. It may not be enough when diocesan lawsuits get in play.

The new North American Anglican province is dead on arrival as far as recognition by Rowan Williams but not as a reality. Bishop Bob Duncan will never get past the gatekeepers of the Anglican Consultative Council whose approval he must get. The ACC will never recognize multiple jurisdictions on the same piece of soil. Never. But ACNA will grow nonetheless, even as TEC withers. History is always on the side of truth.

TEC sends close to three quarters of a million dollars to keep the ACC afloat (down from $2 million), but still hefty enough. The ACC is TEC's bulwark against any intrusion onto North American soil.

*****

THE LEGAL plot thickens. Clearly overwhelmed by upcoming litigation, David Booth Beers is getting some help. Mary E. Kostel has been named special counsel to the Presiding Bishop for property litigation and discipline, according to an announcement by The Rev. Canon Charles Robertson of the Presiding Bishop's office. Kostel, who is also chancellor of the Diocese of Washington, has worked in similar areas of law in private practice. She has been associated with the law firms of Shea & Gardner (now Goodwin Procter) and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. She was previously a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division.

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THE FUTURE What will happen is this:. TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada will continue to wither and die. It will be a slow painful death, but death is inevitable. The cancer will stay in the body until the body keels over. Common Cause partnerships leading to ACNA will continue to grow either by accepting churches who want to flee TEC or by evangelizing and making new converts for Christ. They will grow. TEC will wither on the vine. Hundreds, if not thousands, of parishes face financial ruin as aging congregations cut back on their giving because of the national financial crisis we are experiencing. The Millennium Development Goals of Mrs. Jefferts Schori have already been pronounced dead.

Sooner or later, the remaining orthodox bishops will discover that they are on the wrong side of history. The encroachments on them by Jefferts Schori and Bonnie Anderson will continue to grow. So will General Convention resolutions designed to stick it to them.

*****

EMBARRASING? Not a bit of it. Liberal Episcopalians at Grace Episcopal Church in San Joaquin renewed their sense of mission by calling it the "Church in a closet" epitomizing, they said a "resurrection spirit". Grace Church has an uncommon yardstick: it has grown from a "church in a box" to a "church in a closet." They would be too embarrassed to even say this in Uganda, Sudan or Nigeria, where whole dioceses spring up over night with hundreds of thousands of new believers.

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Are there GAY PRIMATES? According to sodomist Colin Coward (The Rev.) "there are Primates who are gay, but who understandably conceal their sexuality". Really. When I challenged him about this, he got very shirty with me and said "I don't have to explain myself to you." Of course, he doesn't. But if you go around making charges like that, then why don't you support them with specifics? After all, it is homosexuality that is tearing at the fabric of the Communion. He would not identify who they were, but he was adamant that two, possibly more, exist among the Primates. This came as a shock to several Primates I talked with as they said that at no time had any archbishops indicated they were homosexual. Is Coward making this up to support his own sick behavior?

*****

In the DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA, Charles E. Bennison had his deposition confirmed by a Court. He is almost toast. He can appeal one more time to nine Episcopal judges. His lawyer, James Parabue said he will appeal on three grounds - statute of limitations, insufficient evidence at trial to convict, and punishment too harsh for the circumstances.

Just in case any parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania has any intention to flee its grip because it doesn't have a sitting bishop, the Standing Committee issued a statement this week concerning property in the Episcopal Church. Here in brief is what they wrote, "Many may have seen articles and heard news reports concerning those who have chosen to break away from the Episcopal Church and have questions about the status of the properties of those parishes. The following is being provided to help explain some of these issues.

"The Episcopal Church is hierarchical, which means that each parish and Diocese is subject to the authority above it. All parts of the Episcopal Church are ultimately subject to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church; each parish is subject, in addition, to the Diocesan Constitution and Canons. Within our hierarchy, each parish, usually in its Articles of Incorporation, provides unequivocally that it serves as a place to Worship God according to the Faith and Discipline of the Episcopal Church and that it accedes to the authority of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of which it is a part.

"Because of this, it is not important whether any particular parish holds property titled in its own name. Through its articles of incorporation, it promises to hold and use the property according to the rules of the Episcopal Church. One of those rules is that each parish holds its property in trust for the Episcopal Church and can only use it to benefit the Episcopal Church. Moreover, this rule exists, not only in the national canons, but also has existed for many years in our Diocesan canons."

So there you have it. If you think about leaving, just walk away and leave the buildings. They did that at St. James the Less in Philadelphia. That facility is gathering grass and dust.

*****

IN OKLAHOMA a large group of church leaders is battling proposed legislation targeting church property rights. They say the measure would cost millions of dollars in property loss and litigation costs. Leaders of the Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, United Methodist, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Presbyterian denominations, along with the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, recently sent a letter of "unequivocal" opposition to the state legislators who authored House Bill 1725 and Senate Bill 816.

State Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, said his bill is designed to "define property rights in Oklahoma so that if people in Oklahoma, whether in a church or some other nonprofit, sign on a deed for the land, they own the land. If they ever separate from the parent organization, they own the land."

However, church leaders said the proposed legislation, "although appearing innocent in nature" would effectively void church doctrine in favor of state mandated rules. The bills constitute "an infringement of the right of denominations to govern themselves," the leaders said in their statement. The Rt. Rev. Edward Konieczny, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, met with representatives of other church denominations earlier this week at his diocesan offices in downtown Oklahoma City. Konieczny said the bills appear to violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion. "The bills effectively take any property that is held in the name of a congregation in our denomination and gives them the authority to walk away with the property," Konieczny said. Stanislawski met with Konieczny and other church leaders during the latter part of their meeting. Wednesday, he said he is reviewing his bill "to see what are the unintended consequences of it."

*****

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA told the National Prayer Breakfast that even though faith has too often been used "as a tool to divide us from one another," there is no religion in the world that is based on hatred. In prepared remarks he said, "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being." Obama also told the gathering that the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that he won't favor any religious group, or favor religious groups over secular groups. He says it will help organizations that want to "work on behalf of our communities," without "blurring the line" between church and state.

*****

AN ANTI-ATHEIST bus campaign launched in London is getting some competition from churches and giving Richard Dawkins' £150,000 atheist bus campaign, running across several cities in the UK, a run for their money. The latest to hit the streets with pro-God buses are The Christian Party, the Trinitarian Bible Society and the Russian Orthodox Church. The Christian Party is paying for buses to carry the slogan: "There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life." The Trinitarian Bible Society has chosen a line from Psalm 53: "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."

*****

The ANGLICAN MISSION IN THE AMERICAS has unveiled a new initiative designed to plant well over 100 new churches on the west coast over the next 10 years. Launched in early January, Churches for the Sake of Others is led by The Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter and creates a church planting movement. This movement is designed to develop churches and leaders committed to beginning new congregations located primarily, but not exclusively, on the west coast of the United States. These churches will emphasize multiplication as each congregation plants daughter churches at the rate of at least two every five years. According to Pew and Gallup's research in 2008, "Younger adults and those Americans who live in the western part of the United States are much less likely to believe in God than are those living elsewhere... The highest number of atheists and agnostics live in the western USA...One quarter of western U.S. adults claim no religious affiliation." This is the context which serves as the mission field for this new West Coast initiative.

Response to the new initiative has been extremely positive - individuals and groups across America have expressed interest in planting a church with the Anglican Mission through Churches for the Sake of Others. The budget for 2009 has been fully funded. Dr. Hunter is now planting new congregations simultaneously in Boise, Idaho, and Costa Mesa, California. Other church planters or potential core groups are currently identified in five locations in the greater Seattle area; Portland, Oregon; Reno, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; as well as San Diego, Sierra Madre and Azusa, California. Watch out TEC. Serious competition is on the way.

*****

GENERAL SYNOD began this week in England. VOL has a special correspondent covering this. We will post stories as they become available. The Bishop of Rochester, Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali will lead the debate on the Covenant. I interviewed the evangelical bishop and you can my interview with him here: http://tinyurl.com/bg7quq

*****

The new faux DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH got under way this week with Bishop Edwin "Ted" Gulick, bishop of Kentucky unanimously elected provisional bishop. Some 400 delegates and overflow visitors filled the 116-year-old Trinity Church and its parish hall on Fort Worth's south side for a special organizing convention. About 19 clergy and 62 lay delegates, representing 31 congregations, unanimously elected Gulick as provisional bishop by a voice vote in clergy and lay orders.

These Anglo-Catholics should have thought twice before electing Gulick, a revisionist bishop as their interim bishop. They played right into Jefferts Schori's hands. Let me tell you about "brother" Gulick's voting record:

*Against Lambeth 1.10 (the endorsement of traditional sexual standards adopted by the Anglican Communion in 1998 and repeatedly reaffirmed by the Communion and Anglican Primates).
*Voted for the consecration of Gene Robinson, a gay man living in a relationship with another man
*Voted for same sex blessings and for a service of same sex blessings to be added to Book of Occasional Services
*Voted to make mandatory women's ordination in every Diocese *Signed Bishop Spong's Statement of Koinonia
*Signed the "Mea Culpa too" statement in support of Bishop Righter (who openly supported and ordained gay men).
*Voted to recognize and affirm relationships outside of marriage

Chad Bates, Chairman of Remain Faithful, an orthodox, lay-led organization of approximately 1300 members across the US and world that upholds the historic Anglican orthodox faith, said "We believe it is important to dispel the myths that have been spread about there not being any change for those who choose to remain in TEC." He said a careful review of Gulick's voting record clearly shows that he supports the liberal, revisionist agenda of the other leadership of TEC. "It is clear that the ability to worship and practice basic orthodox theological beliefs will be changed with the promotion of the social agenda by the leaders of TEC and the new provisional Bishop."

*****

The US Church is going down the drain, literally, according to a Fr. David Heron. Growth in the Episcopal Church is unlikely, if a new survey is to be believed. Americans are more loyal to their toothpaste or toilet paper than to their religious denomination, making consumers choosier about Charmin or Colgate than they are about church. According to a Phoenix-based research firm, 16 percent of Protestants say they would consider only one denomination, while 22 percent of them would use only one brand of toothpaste and 19 percent would use just one brand of toilet paper. In other words, Americans' loyalty to a particular denomination is less than it is to one brand of lavatory paper. Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion says. There are limits to denominational shifting. You don't get a lot of Pentecostals becoming Episcopalians."This must be bad news for Bishop Katharine Schori when people consider her Church to be less worthy of loyal commitment than a bog roll.

*****

In Colorado Springs, a civil trial to determine ownership of the multimillion-dollar GRACE CHURCH AND ST. STEPHEN'S PARISH property on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs began this week. In March 2007, Grace Pastor Don Armstrong and a majority of his congregation decided to leave the Episcopal Church to affiliate instead with the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Armstrong and his followers retained possession of the church buildings, but both the breakaway congregation and the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado claim ownership of the landmark church property, for which the insurance-replacement value is $17 million. Judge Larry Schwartz will preside over a trial expected to last several weeks. VOL will post the court battle at its website.

*****

Another hearing for ST JOHN'S ANGLICAN CHURCH has been changed from this week to Tuesday, March 17, Room 20, Sonoma County Superior Court, Santa Rosa, CA, the Honorable Gary Nadler presiding. VOL will keep you informed as the hearing proceeds.

*****

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND has withdrawn £2.2 million ($3.3 million) from Caterpillar Inc. in late December 2008 because of economic considerations. Israel used bulldozers bought from the U.S.-based manufacturer of construction and mining equipment to demolish Palestinian homes. A group of vicars published a letter denouncing the Church's investment, but denied there were any political or ethical considerations in what it called an economically informed decision. The Church of England said Monday that it withdrew shares it held in the company for purely investment reasons.

*****

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts SCHORI has joined with leaders of 67 national organizations in calling on President Barack Obama to reconsider the United States' opposition to global treaties prohibiting the use, transfer and production of landmines and cluster munitions.

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The Rev. Canon Harold Lewis, from the DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH, will speak Feb. 17 & 18 at SEWANEE'S School of Theology. His topic will be 'By Schisms Rent Asunder': The Root Causes for the Wrack and Ruin of the Episcopal Church" and "By Heresies Distressed': The End of Anglicanism as We Know It". This will be a platform for Lewis to whack Bishop Bob Duncan whom he despises. This is the same Episcopal university that eulogized Jon Meacham, the NEWSWEEK editor who also accused Duncan of fundamentalism and much more.

*****

CHURCH OF ENGLAND investment chief Andreas Whittam Smith has warned of a financial crisis "'doomsday machine"'. The global financial crisis was triggered by greed and has become a "doomsday machine" that is still gathering momentum, according to the head of the Church of England's £6billion investments arm. The "Daily Telegraph" disclosed last month that the Church itself is not immune to the effects of the recession. Its pension funds, stock market investments and property portfolio have all suffered while £30 million in expected interest payments has evaporated from its accounts because of falling interest rates. Wealthy parishioners are being asked to dig deeper and put more into collection plates in order to make up the losses.

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VIRTUEONLINE is embarking a major new development. We will shortly initiate an ANGLICAN THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE for Global South laity, priests and bishops. This initiative comes with the blessing of a number of archbishops in the Global South. I hope you will consider a donation to make this possible.

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All Blessings,

David