The times have changed and he knows it. He is glad to be on board with Anglicans who have a passion for Jesus Christ and who care deeply about the Great Commission and kingdom building.

He is in Dallas at the Winter Conference of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) as just one of 1,700 folk listening to speaker after speaker exhort and extol a new generation of evangelical Anglicans to go out and make disciples for Jesus Christ and to plant churches.

He talked to VirtueOnline about his recent struggles with his former church - the Anglican Church of Canada - and about his new ecclesiastical boss, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables, Archbishop of the Southern Cone, whom he calls his friend and partner in the gospel.

He draws comfort and great consolation these days from the Book of Acts 5: 40-42. When the apostles were being beaten up by the Sanhedrin, they left rejoicing because they were found worthy to suffer for His name.

Reflecting on his situation in Newfoundland, Canada, where he relinquished his license in the Anglican Church of Canada and was told he could no longer function as a bishop, Harvey found that former priests who had worked for him, had been loyal to him and the gospel, were now being compelled to take loyalty oaths. One sees a momentary pain in his eyes as he tells the story.

What is ironic to Bishop Harvey is the action of the present Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, the Rt. Rev. Cyrus Pitman, who after three years in office, did an extraordinary act. In an unprecedented move, he made all the clergy relinquish their licenses, swear loyalty oaths and renew their ordination vows.

"To have new licenses issued when a new bishop comes in is unheard of in Anglicanism," said Bishop Harvey. "This is even more compounded by the fact that Bishops Pitman has already been in office for over three years! So why now? It was definitely a coercive act. While it was very painful for me to take the steps I did, I still believe my license under the Southern Cone is very valid and is respected by a large number of Primates in the Anglican world. Immediately after I took this action Bishop Pitman sent out a letter to be read in all the churches saying I now could not function in any capacity in his diocese.

"Then he made sure the only person to invite a visiting preacher in pulpit or parish would be himself. In the past, priests usually exercised their own discretion, but this is no longer the case. Now it is entirely up to him who can or cannot come into the diocese.

"He then dissolved the Cathedral Chapter all, (of whom I had appointed) with no reason given. All canons are appointed until they leave the diocese or retire, and even keep their title after retirement. On December 31, 2007, they were stripped of their titles and membership in the Cathedral Chapter. Two kept their positions - the Dean and executive assistant to the bishop, but the rest lost theirs. The bishop said in due course he will name a new chapter," said Harvey.

Bishop Harvey said some congregations are curious as to why this happened to their rector, but no reasons were given. "Ironically these were people of mixed theological and geographical backgrounds. The one thing they had in common was that they were appointed by me."

Harvey said it was all well orchestrated. "The bishop held a special service in the Cathedral on January 21, at which time the clergy renewed their vows, something they normally did on Maundy Thursday. They all submitted their licenses to him and signed a declaration of obedience to him and to the general and provincial and diocesan synods. Then they were issued new licenses which were handed to them as they left the service. Nobody balked. No one refused to sign and comply with this charade or to suggest they had already signed these declarations at the time of their ordination.

"The whole thing was unusual and unprecedented in the Anglican world," said Harvey One doesn't need to renew an oath already taken. It was a very extraordinary act with no ecclesiastical precedence to my knowledge. As I travel nationally and internationally, I am amazed at how many bishops and clergy find this action incredulous."

"Bishop Pitman again reiterated what I had done had both national and international implications. It appears the effort was purely one to marginalize me by the actions of the bishop."

Harvey said he felt very sad about this from a couple of angles. "The first one was that the archdeacon, the bishop's executive assistant, in a public media interview, stated quite categorically that I had no followers among the clergy. It seemed quite strange to me that such restrictive action was being taken. If there was no danger why do this? No one has answered that yet.

"I was also saddened that no one amongst the clergy, most of whom had been under my jurisdiction for 13 years, publicly questioned why the new licensing was being done.

"In a way I felt a sense of betrayal. To date, four clergy have contacted me in Eastern Newfoundland to say, that while they realize what I might be feeling, they didn't see it as betrayal. They felt that there was nothing in the declaration they were asked to make that had a major difficulty agreeing with. However the fact that they had already made this declaration before me and before almighty God did not seem to enter into the equation."

Harvey felt there was something very serious here. "The clergy seemed to put all their attention on the wording of the declaration, rather than on the motives requiring them to do this.

"I have been told that I cannot function in any capacity in Canada. But since Canada is in communion with the Southern Cone and its Primate, Archbishop Venables, one would think that any member of its HOB would be able to function in Canada, if so invited. Archbishop Venables has said quite categorically that I am a bona fide member of the House of Bishops of the Southern Cone."

On the subject of boundary crossing, Harvey had this to say, "People talking about boundary crossing and holding up the constitutions of the church as a justification, are often the same people who have been breaking the same constitution. In fact there would be no need for anyone to cross boundaries if bishops such as Michael Ingham of New Westminster had not flagrantly disobeyed its principles some years ago. No disciplinary action was ever taken.

"In my perusal of the Scriptures, I have never seen anything about ecclesiastical boundaries, but I see much proclaiming the truth of the gospel and the Great Commission. That obviously goes beyond all boundaries."

Harvey noted that we have doctors without borders, lawyers without borders "perhaps now we should have bishops without borders because what is at stake is too important. The bottom line is we are talking about our salvation."

Harvey said he had been accused of homophobia, and for being a Donatist heretic. "I am not remotely homophobic; I have never condemned a single homosexual person. I disagree with the behavior. I am consistent in scriptural faith and morals. I am a Charismatic Anglo-Catholic and I am completely at home with an evangelical like Archbishop Venables who shares a mutual understanding and respect for the teachings of the gospel. We are close personal friends."

Harvey said he was very happy and very comfortable with the evangelical Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding, the retired Bishop of Brandon, who has also relinquished his license and joined him in the Province of the Southern Cone and the Anglican Network in Canada.

END