False teachers. In telling people to "*beware of false prophets"* (Mt. 7:15), Jesus obviously assumed that there were such. There is no sense in putting on your garden gate the notice 'Beware of the dog' if all you have at home is a couple of cats and a budgerigar! No. Jesus warned his followers of false prophets because they already existed. We come across them on numerous occasions in the Old Testament, and Jesus seems to have regarded the Pharisees and the Sadducees in the same light. 'Blind leaders of the blind', he called them. He also implied that they would increase, and that the period preceding the end would be characterized not only by the worldwide spread of the gospel, but also by the rise of false teachers who would lead many astray. We hear of them in nearly every New Testament letter. They are called either 'pseudo-prophets' as here ('prophets' presumably because they claimed divine inspiration), or 'pseudo-apostles' (because they claimed apostolic authority) or 'pseudo-teachers' or even 'pseudo-Christs' (because they made messianic pretensions or denied that Jesus was the Christ come in the flesh.) But each was 'pseudo', and *pseudos* is the Greek word for a lie. The history of the Christian church has been a long and dreary story of controversy with false teachers. Their value, in the overruling providence of God, is that they have presented the church with a challenge to think out and define the truth, but they have caused much damage. I fear there are still many in today's churches. In telling us to beware of false prophets Jesus made another assumption, namely that there is such a thing as an objective standard of truth from which the falsehood of the false prophets is to be distinguished. The very notion of 'false' prophets is meaningless otherwise. --- From "The Message of the Sermon on the Mount" by John R. W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
5/9/2008

If you had any doubts that the realignment was not underway, this past week should remove them all.

The Archbishop of the Argentine and Primate of the Southern Cone made whistle stop tours from Vancouver through the Dioceses of San Joaquin and Ft. Worth, Texas, drawing love, affirmation and open arms from orthodox Episcopal dwellers. At the same time he incurred the wrath of local Episcopal bishops and, of course, Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, US Presiding Bishop, who described Archbishop Gregory Venables entry into the US as an "unwarranted invasion and a meddling in the internal affairs of the Province."

Undaunted, Venables let rip exactly what he thought of the mess the Episcopal Church was in and fired off a barrage of his own with the same message he has preached everywhere saying that "doctrinal impurity leads to moral impurity" hence Bishop Gene Robinson. In the dioceses of San Joaquin and Ft. Worth they roared their approval at his words. They couldn't have been happier. As they say, Venables is "the Man".

You can read my take on all this in "He Came, He Saw, He Conquered" in today's digest.

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In the DIOCESE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, Bishop John W. Howe announced a settlement at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach that was unanimously agreed to by the present vestry of Trinity, the "Board" (vestry-in-waiting) of the continuing congregation, and the Executive Committee of the Diocesan Board. "This finalizes the last settlement of all nine congregations whose clergy came to see me back in October, declaring their desire to 'disaffiliate' from The Episcopal Church," he wrote. "I am enormously grateful that we have been able to negotiate these settlements without inhibitions, depositions, litigation, or the transfer of property."

One has to wonder why this message of resolution (not exactly reconciliation) hasn't penetrated the deep thinkers at national church headquarters in New York City. Why are they not jumping up and down for joy at settlements that haven't seen millions of dollars soaked up by lawyers and ugly, embarrassing courtroom scenes? If Bishop Howe and Central Florida could do it, why not Virginia, Connecticut, Central New York, Upper South Carolina and California arrive at deals saving themselves millions of dollars in legal fees which, would be better spent on mission, (saving Myanmar for example), not to mention all the bad press these courtroom dramas generate.

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In the DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA, the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson came down with a heavy hand on the Rev. George Neff Gray and his orthodox congregation in Spartanburg, SC. He has inhibited the priest and will, in all likelihood, depose him for daring to tell that particular Episcopal "emperor" that he has no theological clothes. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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The venality of the bishop of the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, Samuel Johnson Howard, reached new revisionist heights this past week when VOL learned that he has done what no other bishop has ever done in the history of The Episcopal Church - inhibit and depose a total of 42 orthodox, godly priests in the name of his revisionist god. VOL's original story of 22 deposed priests almost doubled when VOL went back to 2004 to learn what he had done. The diocese is now largely made up of small parishes. There are fewer than 60 churches. The long-term survival is truly in doubt.

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In more Episcopal Ecclesiastical madness, VOL learned this week that the bishop of the DIOCESE OF COLORADO, Rob O'Neill sent out a letter to some 18 priests who had left for the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). He told them that what his predecessor, Bishop Jerry Winterrowd, had done in giving them Letters Dimissory in 2001 was invalid according to Episcopal Church canons. So, seven years later, he has written them asking them to resign their orders (which they will not do) or he will officially depose them! Hell hath no fury like a bishop scorned, apparently. This Episcopal lightweight bishop is still waging a war against the largest parish in the diocese, Grace and St. Stephens in Colorado Springs along with its priest the Rev. Don Armstrong.

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On May 2 In the DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT, The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry, Suffragan Bishop of Ct., inhibited The Rev. Ronald S. Gauss citing the usual "abandonment of the Communion." This will last for six months at which time, if reconciliation is not achieved, he will be deposed. Fr. Gauss wrote to VOL saying that the vestry (the old Vestry) received notification of a lawsuit being brought by the Diocese of Connecticut for Bishop Seabury Church (which they claim they are). They are seeking a declaratory judgment for the property both real, and actual ....and anything thing else they can get their grubby ecclesiastical hands on. PRAY for this good man and his 800-member congregation.

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And then there's GENE ROBINSON, again (will it never end)? This time he is holding up the flag of potential martyrdom saying that he KNOWS he is inviting death threats by marrying his homogenital partner on the eve of the Lambeth Conference. He says it is worth it, because he is doing what God asks of him. Really. "When your life is at stake, you learn that there are things in life that are much worse than death," Robinson told TODAY's Matt Lauer in New York. Robinson says he will wear a flak jacket like the one he wore at his consecration when he also felt under threat. I was there, and I can tell you that at no time was Robinson's life ever in danger. We all went through extensive screening to get into the closed in stadium and, as far as I could make out, there were only three of us not in sympathy with the charade that passed for a consecration. Those were Bishop David Bena (Albany), the Rev. Dr. Earle Fox and me. And we don't carry guns. My wife was denied access because she did not have an official invitation. She sat out in the car for my sake. Robinson has a new book out touting the glories of gay sex. Who knows, perhaps his next book will have the appropriate title Icky (not to be confused with Ecce) Homo.

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An ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL date has been set for the inhibited Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison. He faces a group of his peers on June 9, 2008, at the Philadelphia Marriott, 12th and Market streets. The trial is open to the public and is expected to take four days. Prior to this, beginning on May 27, he faces a four week civil court hearing on charges of fraud brought against him by Fr. David L. Moyer rector of Good Shepherd, Rosemont. VOL will cover both events in order to give you a blow by blow account of what happens at both trials. Stay tuned.

In breaking news VOL has just received word that the Deans of the Diocese, all ultra liberal, are worried about the trial and Bennison. They are inviting everyone to a "day of prayer and meditation" which will take place at St. David's Radnor, the parish of the Rev. Frank Allen, a conservative who has never lifted his head once above the ramparts to help the handful of beleaguered conservatives in the diocese. He has been photographed with Bennison on the front page of The Living Church, but won't speak up against the spiritual and ecclesiastical atrocities committed by the bishop. So now he is lending his church for a prayer meeting to pray for what exactly? Will the deans pray that justice prevails, for a sexually abused young girl, an atrocity Bennison let happen at the hands of his brother? Or perhaps, that he might recover his faith while he still has time? Perhaps they might pray for his conversion so he doesn't die in his sin? Don't hold your breath. How about an apology for the fact that the Standing Committee has been complicit in Bennison's mad reign, and admits that they have been lied to by both Bennison and Bill Bullitt his attorney.

Bennison deserves to go down in both trials. He has been an unmitigated disaster spiritually, theologically and financially (Camp Wapiti has been a $6 million sink hole for a piece of land the diocese does not fully own and will have to sell because it doesn't have the funds to maintain it). On that score, it should be noted that at a meeting in Oct. 2007, Bennison pledged $150,000 of his personal funds to cover the cost of ownership expenses. As a result, no mention was made of the maintenance cost shortfall to the Diocesan Finance and Property Committee. Bennison did not honor his pledge, however, and so the whole camp Wapiti deal is in even greater confusion. Amongst Bennison's other sins is that he allowed Wiccan priests to continue functioning in the diocese while tossing a godly rector in the person of Fr. David Ousley out of his parish! Sure there's a lot to pray for, but none of it should be for Bennison to be found not guilty. That would be worst travesty of all.

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The Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) held a conference in Boston recently. Notes from that conference were sent to VOL. I have written extensively about the Black Episcopal Church in America in today's digest. A VOL reader wrote the following, "For many years they (Blacks) have been fighting with the leadership of the Episcopal Church and some have been talking about the entire group leaving for an Anglican jurisdiction, but do not know how to go about doing it. The bishops do not give any support at all especially in New York and Long Island. The conference was attended by approximately 200 blacks most African-Americans. For some reason the majority of blacks in the Episcopal Church, who happen to be West Indian, do not get involved in the UBE."

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You have to wonder about the deep thinkers and bishops in TEC. Before they go to LAMBETH and are approached by the press on such awkward questions about the church's pansexual practices, they are going to be trained in Media SPIN. According to a news release sent out by the National Church, members of the Class of 2003 have scheduled a Media Training session with Macky Alston of Auburn Seminary in New York. According to the release, this training will provide tips for working with members of the media and will allow time for individual on-camera practice and critiquing.

INTERPRETATION. When those damnable conservative press types ask awkward questions, we will teach you how to duck, dodge and weave, and never, never, never give real, honest and truthful answers about the state of the Church! When one orthodox bishop got the release, he wrote VOL saying that when he first read it, he thought it read "Mafia Training."

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The Anglican Relief and Development Fund is accepting donations for the Myanmar Cyclone disaster to pay for relief efforts after the cyclone that caused devastation in Myanmar May 3–4. Tens of thousands have been killed by the storm with thousands more still missing. Yangon (Rangoon), was among the areas hard hit by the storm. "Since the cyclone came ashore, we have been unable to contact Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo or any other church leader in Yangon or elsewhere," said Bishop Henry Scriven, who recently attended Archbishop Stephen's consecration on behalf of the Network and the Common Cause Partnership. Donations to the Anglican Relief and Development Fund will be collected and then passed on to the Anglican Province of Southeast Asia for distribution and oversight. Gifts for relief work in Myanmar may be sent to: The Anglican Relief and Development Fund, PO Box 3830, Pittsburgh PA 15230 Please write "Myanmar Cyclone Relief" in the memo line. An online giving option will be available shortly at http://www.anglicanaid.net.

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For the second time in the last 18 months -- and only the sixth time since 1960 --, the Pope received the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. They had a 20-minute sit-down where the two discussed Christian-Muslim relations, inter-faith dialogue and the Pope's impression of his visit to the United States last month. The visit was described as "warm and friendly". In March, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican's top man for relations with Islam, criticized Williams as mistaken and "naive" for suggesting that it is unavoidable that some aspects of Sharia, Islamic law, would be adopted in Britain. Relations between the Catholic and Anglican Churches have been strained over the past decade over the issue of women priests and homosexual bishops in the Anglican Church, which both leaders have acknowledged as obstacles to unity.

In an apparent sign of the Vatican's support for Williams, amid the "battle for Anglican unity," a key Roman hand will appear at Lambeth. It was announced that Cardinal Ivan Dias, the Indian prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, will be among the speakers at this summer's event. Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, may also attend the Lambeth event. The Rev. Keith Pecklers, a professor of liturgy at the Gregorian University in Rome, who has worked with the Anglican Centre in Rome on relations between the two churches, said,: "Cardinal Kasper might be expected to attend, given his role, but Cardinal Dias's presence is proof that the Vatican wants to be supportive of Williams." This did not happen in 1998. The Vatican's representative scorned the Anglican Communion over the ordination of homosexual priests. One can't imagine that much has changed. If anything, things have gotten worse with Anglo-Catholics clamoring for a seat at the Roman Catholic table

*****

The CHURCH OF ENGLAND got some good and some bad news this week. The good news is that the church is financially solvent. The bad news is that it is spiritually bankrupt. Results, released by the Church Commissioners, show that they have outperformed 98 per cent of similar investment funds over the past 10 years. The bad news, reported by Ruth Gledhill of the Times, is that church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation. The fall in attendance means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially unviable. A lack of funds from the collection plate to support the Christian infrastructure, including church upkeep and ministers' pay and pensions, will force church closures as aging congregations die. In contrast, the number of actively religious Muslims will have increased from about one million today to 1.96 million in 2035. According to Religious Trends, a comprehensive statistical analysis of religious practice in Britain, published by Christian Research, even Hindus will come close to outnumbering Christian churchgoers within a generation. The forecast for 2050 shows churchgoing in Britain declining to 899,000, while the active Hindu population, now at nearly 400,000, will have more than doubled to 855,000. By 2050. there will be 2,660,000 active Muslims in Britain - nearly three times the number of Sunday churchgoers. You can read the full story in today's digest.

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The new bishop of the DIOCESE OF MAINE was consecrated Saturday May 3. Bishop V. Gene Robinson assisted Mrs. Jefferts Schori. So much for pausing, considering, or best yet, being in your face on this issue. What is Canterbury now going to do? The answer of course is nothing. Lambeth Palace could not do without TEC's funding and money talks.

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In CANADA this week, orthodox parishes got mixed news. A court decided they had "to share their building use" facilities on Sunday with regular Anglicans. "We are in a "divorce" situation here in Canada with our Network churches and the Anglican Church of Canada. We as a Network have requested an "amicable" divorce at a recent gathering of the HoB rather than a long expensive battle in the courts, which harms our witness to a watching world and where nobody wins - everybody loses!" This request was flat-out refused. Litigation in the courts is their only answer to us, wrote a VOL reader.

"Meanwhile, we have 3 of our 15 churches in revisionist dioceses who are now being asked by the Courts '"to share their building use'" while the courts settle the ownership issue one day in the distant future. They are being asked to live together after a divorce has been enacted. That is a plain fact - sad and tragic as it is! So how does one live together harmoniously with a '"divorced'" former partner who now wants to not only move in (weren't there before) and eventually expects to take ALL with them pushing '"the faithful'" out? An impossible living situation! Better to live in separate accommodations (for the sake of peace) until the legal ownership is worked out. We are the party presently '"in the buildings'" - we paid for and maintain our properties - worship and minister in and outside of them and are now being asked to share what has never been shared before with an Enemy to the Gospel we hold so dear and for which this battle has been fought."

*****

Mike McManus's column on PROTESTANTS WHO CONVERT TO ROME mentioned three Episcopal bishops who have crossed the Tiber. McManus wrote a note to VOL saying that he was told by one of them that "other Episcopal bishops will follow their lead." We wait with anticipation. In a note about former Albany Bishop Dan Herzog, a VOL reader sent this; "Bishop Herzog, who recently retired as the Episcopal Bishop of Albany, was immediately received into the Roman Catholic Church. Very little has been said about whether he desired to become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church or not. He and his wife did attend last year's Anglican Use/Pastoral Provision Conference at Catholic University. The Pastoral Provision permits Anglican/Episcopal Clergy (married or unmarried) to become Roman Catholic priests under a rigorous process. However, Bishop Herzog seemed to be attending more as an observer than as one who would be interested in RC Holy Orders. Now it has been learned that Bishop Herzog has attempted to take the first steps at entering the Pastoral Provision Process. The first step in Pastoral Provision is to be sponsored by one's diocesan archbishop. Bishop Herzog's request to enter the Pastoral Provision Process was rejected by the RC Archbishop of Albany. Bishop Herzog then petitioned the Archbishop of Syracuse to be his sponsor. That archbishop also turned him down. Bishop Herzog's experience is not unique. The vast majority of Episcopal/Anglican priests, who attempt to enter the PP are immediately rejected by their local RC diocesan archbishops because these archbishops are not supportive of the Pastoral Provision. But what is interesting about Bishop Herzog is that recently he has been seen attending various events at the Episcopal Spiritual Life in Albany where he apparently feels more comfortable."

****

The Bishop of the DIOCESE OF PUERTO RICO, the Rt. Rev. David Alvarez paid a visit to Church Center in New York City last week and told Mrs. Jefferts Schori that he has 50 congregations with 20,000 active members. That's a lie, wrote a VOL source on that island. "He does in fact have about 50 congregations, most of them small missions with 10 to 30 members meeting on Sundays. I'd say that, being extremely, extremely generous he may have some 2,500 active members. This is the typical liberal spin on reality for political purposes." VOL checked the Red Book and found that the extra-provincial diocese connected to the Episcopal Church's Province IX, which officially joined the Episcopal Church, has Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) of only 2115 Episcopalians with barely 4,000 baptized members. According to Alvarez, the diocese consists of 42,000 baptized members of which nearly 20,000 are active. Perhaps he's not much good at math or he is trying to pitch himself as an accountant when he retires. The diocese has begun the process of calling a bishop coadjutor that he hopes will be consecrated sometime in early 2009.

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On getting Anglican Communion statistics right,. BISHOP DAVID ANDERSON writes, that under the Schori public mantra, we are about at the end of the churches leaving - most of those so disposed to leave have done so. "In fact, she is terribly out of touch with the real world; churches are leaving on a weekly basis. Now it is true that as long as one or two people don't leave with the rest of the parish and the bishop can hold onto the name and the building (four walls and a janitor) then TEC will claim that they haven't lost the congregation. The truth is that a viable church has been lost to the diocese, and down the street, in a school cafeteria or gymnasium a new orthodox Anglican Church, has been formed with most of the former Episcopalians, now under the care of an overseas Anglican province ...

"We have read that the membership in the Anglican Church of Nigeria, using their highly successful 1+1+3 program, has increased in the last three years from 18 million 25 million. This growth has enabled the Province to tell the respective dioceses to stop sending assessments, as they are no longer needed, and to spend their resources on evangelism locally. The churches are encouraged to have fundraising projects, for which the members donate time, to assist in achieving financial independence. Additionally, the Province of Nigeria has been able to raise enough money internally to provide the means for the Nigerian bishops to attend the GAFCON Jerusalem Pilgrimage.

"If the Anglican Communion is supposed to have 77 million members, but of England's 25 million only 1.6 million can be found, and of TEC's 2.4 million only 1.6 can be found, then just between those two provinces 24.2 million needs to be subtracted from the 77 million. That leaves a number 52.8 as a more realistic number. If you add back in the new Nigerian increase of 7 million new members, that bumps the total up to 59.8 million. Of that number, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya total 40-45 million or between 66.9% and 75.2% of the Anglican Communion. Dr. Williams, are you listening?'"

*****

The Daily Telegraph, which recently brusquely sacked its former religious correspondent, Jonathan Petre, at a few moments' notice after 23 years on the paper, as well as his partner, Sarah Womack, the paper's social affairs correspondent, has announced that it has appointed a real-life reverend to succeed him: George Pitcher, curate of St Bride's church in Fleet Street. Pitcher, a bit of an Anglican leftie who was once of the Observer until he saw the light, told PR Week last year that he was "somebody of the journalistic tribe who is not going to blush when someone says bugger", which should help him fit in well with the hard-swearing atmosphere of the modern Telegraph, or possibly the Church of England, for that matter. The profit Pitcher made three years ago from selling Luther Pendragon, a public relations company he co-founded, will probably give him security against the Telegraph's management style, as well as making him one of the country's wealthiest journalists. But he may care to reflect that the last cleric the Telegraph employed to cover religion, Richard Chartres, lasted only a few weeks, 20 years ago, before Max Hastings, the then editor, sacked him. Chartres is now Bishop of London, whose PR is now handled by Luther Pendragon. Small world. (From the Guardian newspaper)

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Church attendance in WALES is plummeting according to recent reports. (See today's digest). Welsh bishops are in complete disarray under Archbishop Barry Morgan, who appointed the first divorced bishop in the British Isles (+Bangor), has been forced to accept the resignation of the Bishop of St David's for alleged adultery with his Chaplain, and failed to achieve approval of women bishops in Wales by dismissing the possibility of any real provision for traditionalists, thereby losing the final vote. He has also rejected the Covenant and is a supporter of the Modern Church People's Union, which advocates gay rights and euthanasia. http://www.modchurchunion.org/Events/Conference/2008/Conference2008.htm

The Church in Wales is not only facing collapse in its congregations, but consequently a serious financial crisis, and will almost certainly have to close many churches and reduce its clergy in the very near future in order to balance the books. My Welsh friends are in despair as they watch the institution implode while its leaders are busy promoting "inclusivity", a source told VOL.

*****

GAFCON attendance increasing. According to Anglican Mainstream some 267 bishops are registered to attend the Middle East Conference. Approximately 150 bishops and conferees from Muslim majority countries unable to travel freely to Israel along with the GAFCON leadership team will meet at a resort on the Dead Sea in Jordan from June 18-22, while a further 600 are expected to join the self-styled "pilgrimage" in Jerusalem from June 22-29. Organizers note that many of the bishops attending Gafcon will also be among the 625 bishops attending the Lambeth Conference. While the Archbishops of Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda and their bishops have said that as it is currently organized, they will not attend Lambeth, the Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone Gregory Venables announced last week that he will go to Lambeth. Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh announced on May 6 that he will attend Lambeth and GAFCON, joining Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker and the other conservative American bishops in attending both meetings.

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METHODISTS MOVE BACK FROM THE EDGE. Methodists voted to retain its policies on homosexuality, but some international delegates oppose denomination's anti-homophobia push. The United Methodist Church held to its traditional rules on homosexuality refusing to support or celebrate same-sex unions and maintaining language that calls homosexual activity "incompatible with Christian teaching." While many Methodists gathered here acknowledged sharp disagreement within their church on sexuality and biblical interpretation, delegates voted down efforts that would reflect that division in church rules or social policies. A measure to remove the "incompatible" phrase and replace it with a mandate to "refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices as the Spirit leads us to new insight" was defeated 517 to 416. Nearly 1,000 delegates at the quadrennial General Conference spent almost all day debating Methodist policies on homosexuality, continuing a sometimes contentious discussion, the church has held for almost 40 years. Methodists also voted yes to full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "It's not merger. It means we are open to receiving and accepting and acknowledging each other's ministries," Bishop Melvin Talbert, who played a key role in the lead up to approval of the denomination's full communion agreement with the Lutheran church, was quoted as saying by the United Methodist News Service.

The ELCA also has a concordat with The Episcopal Church. The United Methodist Church is, after the Southern Baptist Convention, the second largest US Protestant denomination, with about 12 million members, 8 million of them in the United States. Other members are based in Africa, Asia and Europe.

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CORRECTION: A week ago I wrote that a number of Episcopal churches in the Bronx were part of the Diocese of Long Island. That was incorrect. They are part of the Diocese of New York.

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