jQuery Slider

You are here

Sudanese Anglicans Break with US Episcopal Church * Large TEC Parish Flees LI Episcopal Diocese for CANA East/ACNA * Recife Diocese Loses Four Parishes to Episcopal Church in Brazil * Two former Episcopal Cathedrals sold * Tasmania Gets Evangelical Bishop

The exaltation of Jesus. It is a pity that we call it 'Ascension Day', for the Bible speaks more of Christ's exaltation than of his ascension. This is an interesting avenue to explore. The four great events in the saving career of Jesus are described in the Bible both actively and passively, as deeds done both by Jesus and to Jesus. Thus, we are told with reference to his birth both that he came and that he was sent; with reference to his death both that he gave himself and that he was offered; with reference to his resurrection both that he rose and that he was raised; with reference to his ascension both that he ascended and that he was exalted. If we look more closely, we shall find that in the first two cases, the active phrase is commoner: he came and died, as a deliberate, self-determined choice. But in the last two cases, the passive phrase is more common: he was raised from the tomb and he was exalted to the throne. It was the Father's act. --- John R.W. Stott

There is a fortress establishment that has built up over the past century-plus and has been mightily reinforced during the past 50 years. This fortress is held together with a mindset, an attitude that has resulted in the loss of millions of souls. It is a living denial of the Gospel, disguised as a living out of the Gospel. Quite simply, that means much of what is done, enacted, preached and so forth is motivated by something other than a love of souls. But it sounds like love of souls is the motivation. --- Michael Voris of the VORTEX

“Not everyone can wait: neither the sated nor the satisfied nor those without respect can wait. The only ones who can wait are people who carry restlessness around with them and people who look up with reverence to the greatest in the world. Thus Advent can be celebrated only by those whose souls give them no peace, who know they are poor and incomplete, and who sense something of the greatness that is supposed to come, before which they can only bow in humble timidity, waiting until he inclines himself toward us – the Holy One himself, God in the child in the manger. God is coming; the Lord Jesus is coming; Christmas is coming. Rejoice O Christendom. -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
December 4, 2015

The Episcopal Church of the Sudan hurled an ecclesiastical bomb at the American Episcopal Church this week and announced that they were severing all ties with the US Church because TEC had endorsed gay marriage, changed its canons on marriage and allowed trial liturgies. The Sudanese church argued that such innovations are not in conformity with the Scriptures.

Meeting in Juba, Sudan the Episcopal Church of Sudan’s 43 House of Bishops in a single stroke broke complete ties with US Episcopal Church and then promptly announced that they would formally recognize the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and its Archbishop Foley Beach.

The House of Bishops said they were encouraged by the 18 TEC Bishops who issued a minority report dissenting with the TEC resolutions: “We encourage these Bishops to stand firm on their position as well as those parishes within the TEC who disagree with TEC resolutions but abide with the Biblical understanding that marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.”

The bishops said they would make an exception to the dioceses of the 18 TEC bishops who issued the minority letter of objections to TEC Convention resolutions.

This is the first blow at the new Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and drives a wedge into the heart of TEC. Curry might have hoped for a honeymoon period with the Global South and an opportunity to do his “don’t worry be happy” song and dance routine in Canterbury next month.

Not going to happen. He just got gob-smacked by the powerful Sudanese Episcopal Church and their fearless leader Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul (aptly named I think). Not to state the obvious, but the Sudanese Primate just ratcheted up the pain on Archbishop Justin Welby, who might have hoped that his Consigliere for Reconciliation, one David Porter (who works part time on the Archbishop's personal staff at Lambeth Palace), might pull a reconciliation rabbit out of the Anglican Communion hat in January.

That now seems less likely. Primate Deng Bul said he will attend the Primates Meeting in January in Canterbury and will probably give Curry if not Welby a piece of his mind Nigerian Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Kenyan Primate Eliud Wabukala, Uganda Primate Stanley Ntagali and Rwandan Primate Onesphore Rwaje will likely do the same. It doesn’t look good for Welby.

The central and first agenda item when the Primates meet is the disciplining of The Episcopal Church regarding the Dar es Salaam Declaration and Lambeth 1.10. If the vote goes against the GAFCON primates, will that force closure of the event? Will they then leave?

The truth is this. The ABC is pushing “sin management,” not reconciliation. This is a phrase made famous by the late Dallas Willard, and I don’t believe the Global South will buy it. There is talk of a federation of dioceses loosely held together if the idea of a communion is no longer viable. This might include a two tier system. But there is no hint that leaders like Okoh or the GAFCON primates will go for that. Sin is sin, and the ratification of sin by TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada, Wales and Scotland is untenable and irreconcilable.

The African Primates have Islam to consider, and they hate sodomy and anybody associated with sodomy. Why should the GAFCON primates jeopardize their own lives to save Curry’s pride—or Fred Hiltz (ACoC), for that matter?

These two Western prelates have nothing to fear from extremists except the extremism being pushed on the church and the West by a growing Anglican Gaystapo!

The Global South will die for Jesus. They will not lay down their lives for Bishop Gene Robinson or Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

That’s a totally lost cause, and they know it.

You can read the full story on Sudan’s break with TEC in today’s digest or here. http://tinyurl.com/pg3ksqf

*****

The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island and its Bishop Lawrence C. Provenzano took a hit this week and lost yet more dues paying members. St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, led by the Rev. Juan Moreno and comprised of 120 members, departed from TEC and is now with CANA East / ACNA, which is led by Bishop Julian Dobbs. The congregation left its buildings and finances to TEC walked out the door over TEC’s endorsement of gay marriage and continued theological heresies. The congregation currently worships in the Knights of Columbus Hall in Brentwood, NY.

*****

What do you do with cathedrals that have lost their mission and way and no longer serve the gospel cause?

In the Diocese of Rhode Island word is out that the former Episcopal cathedral is being turned into a museum of the slave trade. The 200-year-old stone Cathedral of St. John, which up until two years ago served as the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, will be a museum and reconciliation center dealing with the history of the slave trade. The cathedral closed in 2012 because of dwindling membership.

That history will soon become more prominent as the Episcopal diocese, which was steeped in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, establishes a museum dedicated to telling that story, the first church in the country to do so, according to scholars.

In the Diocese of Delaware the last worship service at the Cathedral Church of St. John in Wilmington was more than a year ago. VOL attended the final service and heard the last sermon delivered by former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold.

Now it is going to be an elderly housing unit, VOL has learned. The diocese recently hired Colliers International to lead a search for a suitable buyer. Situated at the corner of Market Street and Concord Avenue, the property is key to the neighborhood's future, city leaders said. It has been there for more than 150 years. There is also an office building and parking lot, all for the asking price of $1.5 million.

Nationwide, demographic trends have caused congregations from a variety of religious traditions to move out of churches and synagogues that have become too burdensome to maintain. It can be a painful experience for those who have to say goodbye to familiar traditions, but it can also be an opportunity, experts say, to find a way to ensure treasured community buildings are maintained.

"Part of the solution is recognizing these places are de facto public assets," said Tuomi Forrest, executive vice president of Philadelphia-based Partners for Sacred Places, which assists religious communities with ideas for managing historic properties.

Congregations offer a "halo effect" on the surrounding community, according to a 2010 study by Partners for Sacred Places and the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice. The report estimated that 12 congregations in Philadelphia infused $52 million into the city. The religious communities serve as "economic catalysts," according to the report.

The Delaware church was designed by John Notman, a Scottish immigrant who was one of the two men from Philadelphia invited to be a founding member of the American Institute of Architects. The cornerstone was laid June 4, 1857. The church was built of Brandywine blue rock "in pure Gothic and in cruciform design," according to "The Churches of Delaware," by Frank R. Zebley.

The church opened November 3, 1858. The last service at the cathedral was in July 2012. The congregation was welcomed at the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew in Center City Philadelphia.

Late last year, the diocese leadership said it would also move. They have occupied a building adjacent to the cathedral for 60 years, but the space "no longer meets current needs," Bishop Wayne Wright wrote in a November edition of the diocesan newspaper. The diocese is moving into the former St. Albans' Episcopal Church, north of the city.

The Episcopal Diocese of Delaware is offering three other properties in Wilmington for $1.5 million. The diocese has hired Colliers International to help find a suitable buyer. The revisionist Episcopal diocese is paying the ultimate price of no gospel—no future.

*****

The Anglican Church of the Diocese of Recife under Bishop Miguel Uchoa lost the last of its four properties save one claimed by the liberal Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, (IEAB) a clone of The Episcopal Church, this week. A judge sealed their fate.

In August 2013 the largest Anglican congregation in South America, under the leadership of the rector, the Rev. Uchoa, quit the diocese of São Paulo and the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil. This week, now as bishop, Uchoa wrote to VOL to bring the latest news.

“I hold in my hands an order I was to sign requiring us to return some of our church buildings to the Episcopal Church. These buildings, without exception, were built with the resources and great effort of faithful parishioners who have been a part of these same communities for decades.

“I’ve just signed this order, fulfilling what the law required. I accepted God’s call on my life with careful consideration, but never did I imagine I would be involved in this kind of situation.”

Uchoa said the ties that bound his congregation to the Episcopal Church in Brazil do not bind them anymore. “We are completely free now, without any connection any more to the Episcopal Church. Today, following these actions I read a verse in Acts 27:40: ‘Cutting the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the ropes that held the rudders. Then, raising the sail head to wind, they made for the beach.’

“You can read that when the anchor was cut, this connection was loosed and they were free to get to the beach. They then came to Malta, established a church there and went on to Rome. This all occurred after these bonds of apparent security were released. Growth and release of the Word of God followed. God defeated that storm and the gospel continued advancing unhindered.”

Bishop Uchoa told VOL, “I do not consider any of this easy. I witnessed our cathedral being built brick by brick. I was there at the groundbreaking. I lived through battles and blessings beyond measure. I was baptized at the age of 23 when I met Christ and was born again. Despite all this I do believe the testimony from the Word and from history: ‘The glory of this new Temple will be greater than the former’ (Haggai 2: 9). It is in our hands to work hard for all of this to become a reality. God is with us and so the Church will continue. As our late Bishop Robinson Cabilcanti loved to sing: ‘it is holy work, nobody can stop it.’”

The evangelical bishop called on his people to stand firm and to make this Church and diocese something no one has yet seen in this country since the arrival of theological liberalism that consumed and is destroying historic Brazilian Anglicanism.

“We are the faithful remnant, the faithful Church, the growing Church. We are the face of a renewed Brazilian Anglicanism and have the support of more than two-thirds of the global Anglican Communion. Our diocese now has 45 congregations and among them, the largest Anglican congregation in all of Latin America. This is who we are. Our work is extremely important.

“Four empty buildings cannot serve the worship of the living God. While we have the Church and all the people came with us, they have empty buildings. From God's perspective, which is better?

“The Anglican world is watching. Let us be united in heart, putting aside differences and shine our light for the world to see. Let us be open to the Holy Spirit that he may do a revival work among us. May many from around the world arrive at our airport eager to see what God is doing in this land through this part of His Church. Let us move out of any comfort zones, and receive the word of Paul to Timothy when he says: ‘Awaken the gift that is in you because God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of love, power and self-control’ (2 Tim 1).

“I love God and I have given my life for His service. I understand that my task is to fight the good fight for this Church. Here I stand. Let us stand together!”

The bishop said the diocese gave back four buildings, including the cathedral, but there is still one building under the court to be decided. “Our people are with us.”

*****

An unauthored article in The Living Church entitled "Primatial Option for the Covenant" argues that the Primates meeting in January 2016 should express a preferential option for the Covenant. This is farcical if not fantastical thinking. It is absolute nonsense to think the Covenant will have any part of the dealings in Canterbury in January.

The Covenant has been DOA for months now. No one talks about it and only a handful of provinces have signed on to it. They are: Mexico – accepted and subscribed; Myanmar – adopted; West Indies – adopted; South East Asia - adopted, together with its own preamble; Ireland – subscribed; Papua New Guinea – adopted; Southern Cone – approved; Aotearoa/New Zealand Polynesia – subscribed sections 1-3, unable to adopt section 4; Scottish Episcopal Church – defeated a resolution to adopt. There is no commitment to the Covenant by General Synod or General Conventions anywhere. The article says the Covenant is still the only game in town. In reality, nobody cares. It was the fictional last ditch effort by Rowan Williams to rescue the Anglican Communion from itself.

*****

Several months ago VOL received word that the Anglo-Catholic Church of the Ascension in Chicagowas in deep turmoil, with two musicians let go and its rector David Cobb coming under fire.

Ascension has always been the standard-bearer for the authentic Anglo-Catholic tradition in the diocese.
Its worship has maintained and exemplified what that tradition looks like, smells like, feels like, and sounds like. It has shone in its subdued, dignified way like no other Episcopal church in the United States. The music has been an essential part of this. Then the two musicians got the pink slip.

At a special meeting of the Vestry back in August, the Junior Warden demanded that the Rector resign.

This action, VOL was told, was the culmination of the past seven months' concerted campaign of Save the Ascension and others to undermine Church of the Ascension's common life and work. The Vestry adopted a resolution censuring the Junior Warden and asking for her resignation.

Also at this meeting, the Rector offered to tender his resignation in an effort to end the discord. The Vestry voted not to accept his offer of resignation.

Now, as a decimated Church of the Ascension emerged from 9 months' warfare with its now-departed Rector, Chicago Bishop Jeffrey Lee introduced his choice for Ascension's interim leader: a retired Minnesota bishop known for his smooth manner in "reforming" traditional Anglo-Catholic churches. His name? Bishop James Jelinek. His job is to turn the Anglo-Catholic parish into an Affirming Catholic parish. He will probably be successful.

The disastrous 18-month tenure of ex-Rector David Cobb was marked by the summary firings of the entire senior staff; a reduction in choral forces at Solemn High Mass; and numerous innovations to the 145-year-old Anglo-Catholic liturgy in which the parish had always prided itself. The ongoing strife and anguish at Ascension has impressed many observers experienced in working with distressed parishes -- including Bishop Lee's spokesman, who called it "the worst I've ever seen."

In September, parishioners were told that Bishop Lee would soon submit a list of candidates for their next Rector. Senior Warden Rod Luery said, "The Vestry feels that it is entirely desirable to host meetings of the parish to begin the process of reconciliation, and information on those meetings will be forthcoming."

No such information was forthcoming. But less than a week later, Bishop Lee convened the Vestry secretly to advise them of his new plan: interim leadership by retired Minnesota Bishop James Jelinek, 73.

Jelinek threw his miter into the ring after hearing of Cobb's departure, according to East Coast sources. As a retiree, he is not canonically qualified to become Rector, but he is the choice of Diocesan officials for an interim contract at Ascension lasting anywhere from 3 to 8 months.

This weekend, Jelinek will be in town for secret meetings with the Ascension Vestry, which is expected to approve his appointment. Jelinek just finished a term as interim Priest-In-Charge of St. Paul's K Street in Washington, D.C. There he fulfilled an agenda to convert the parish from traditional Anglo-Catholicism to "Affirming Catholicism".

Jelinek is no lover of orthodoxy. He finagled a homosexual priest to take over St. Paul’s K Street, even though the priest had a sordid past. He once prevented Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi from preaching in his diocese, and he voted to depose The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan Bishop of Pittsburgh.

One can safely say this is the end for this parish. It will slowly die.

*****

There’s an Interesting little article in the December Montreal Anglican about a renaming service for non-binary transgender people in the Diocese of Ottawa. Being non binary transgender means that a person identifies as neither man nor a woman – presumably then, one is bisexual. The nuttiness continues, this time north of the border. Apparently TEC does not have all the crazies.

*****

Four men were arrested in Luton, England on suspicion of plotting terror attacks this week. Another 14 men and women were killed by Muslim extremists in California.

In light of the Episcopal Church’s newfound love of Islam (they are free to worship in the National Cathedral and other Episcopal watering holes), the new Presiding Bishop Michael Curry should come out now and say: "These arrests only serve to highlight our need for more interfaithery with our Muslim brothers and sisters. When we love the terrorists as Jesus loves us, then the Muslims will love us back and stop doing terror to us. They just want to feel welcomed and included. Through our Abrahamic outreach to them, they will feel the kind of love that will make them meek and mild like we are. That's who they really are, and they are waiting for us to lead them into self-awareness that transcends their terror urges. We can't help them if we fear them. The time is now for love through Jesus instead of prejudice through bigotry."

*****

Can we or can’t we, that is the question. The Vatican’s cardinal in charge of liturgy and the sacraments has strongly defended the Church’s tradition on reception of Communion in the wake of Pope Francis’ comments to a Lutheran woman suggesting she could choose in conscience to receive.

Speaking with Aleteia reporter Diane Montagna, Cardinal Robert Sarah said, “Intercommunion is not permitted between Catholics and non-Catholics. You must confess the Catholic Faith. A non-Catholic cannot receive Communion. That is very, very clear. It’s not a matter of following your conscience.”

In responding to a Lutheran woman seeking to go to communion with her Catholic husband, Pope Francis said, “There are questions that only if one is sincere with oneself and the little theological light one has, must be responded to on one’s own. See for yourself.” The pope, who was speaking to a Lutheran community in Rome November 15, added that both Lutherans and Catholics believe the Lord is present in Holy Communion, and that while there are “explanations and interpretations” that may differ, “life is bigger than explanations and interpretations.”

Pope Francis concluded it was not within his competence to allow a Lutheran woman to receive Holy Communion with her Catholic husband, but to answer her question, she should, “Talk to the Lord and then go forward.”

"A person cannot decide if he is able to receive Communion. He has to have the rule of the Church,” he said.

But Cardinal Sarah, who serves as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, contradicted this suggestion. “It’s not that I have to talk to the Lord in order to know if I should go to Communion,” he said. “No, I have to know if I’m in accord with the rule of the Church.”

*****

Alfred Kinsey, the godfather of gay rights, was an agenda-driven reformer with a dark background, says a story in Mercator.

During the 20th century, no one individual did more to bring homosexuality into the public forum than Alfred Charles Kinsey (1894 – 1956). A professor at Indiana University, Kinsey was a zoologist by training and spent the early years of his career studying gall wasps, collecting thousands of specimens of the insects. Kinsey then transferred his obsessive and taxonomic approach of research to the study of human sexuality. Kinsey and his colleagues gathered thousands of “interviews” in which he or his researchers asked detailed questions about the sexual backgrounds of research participants.

Kinsey compiled the findings from these interviews into two books, the opening salvos of the sexual revolution that soon swept the United States: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). Both works contain many sweeping assertions and often move quickly from tables full of data to moral speculation about the repressed sexual ethics of America.

Kinsey officially began sexual research in 1941 with the help of funds from the Rockefeller Foundation and the assistance of the National Research Council. In 1947 Kinsey founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now simply known as The Kinsey Institute. What has become clearer in the years since the publication of the Kinsey reports is that Kinsey was not merely gathering information about other people’s sexual experiences. He was also engaging in assorted sexual practices with various members of the research team.

Instead of the staid atmosphere most people associate with academia, the Institute for Sex Research became a kind of sexual utopia for the gratification of the appetites of Kinsey and his team. According to one biographer, “Kinsey decreed that within the inner circle men could have sex with each other; wives would be swapped freely, and wives too, would be free to embrace whichever sexual partners they liked.”[1] Kinsey himself engaged in various forms of heterosexual and homosexual intercourse with members of the institute staff, including filming various sexual acts in the attic of his home. My purpose here is not to engage in ad hominem attacks on Kinsey, but to emphasize that Kinsey was not a dispassionate scientist seeking truth. He was an agenda-driven reformer bent on changing the sexual ethics of a nation.

You can read the full story at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/godfather-of-gay-rights/17280#sthash.0gNC4Hn6.dpuf

*****

An impression of a biblical king's seal was found in Jerusalem this week. Alice Linsley, a scholar in these matters, said the find is absolutely amazing!

The discovery raises a big question mark over the modern Jewish narrative which would have us believe that Abraham was the first Jew and his beliefs and religious practices had no connection to his ancestors mentioned in Genesis 4, 5 and 10. You can read her piece in today’s digest.

*****

Tasmania elected a conservative evangelical bishop this week. The Chairman of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Australia) selected the Ven. Richard Condie to succeed the Rt. Rev. John Harrower, who retired earlier this year after 15 years of service.

Evangelical leaders in Australia said they are pleased with the election of Dr. Condie, as it strengthens the traditionalist witness within the Anglican Church of Australia’s House of Bishops.

Dr. Condie serves as vicar of one of Melbourne’s largest parishes and is also Archdeacon of Melbourne. He previously served as a lecturer in New Testament at Ridley Theological College, Assistant Minister in Murwillumbah, NSW, and a Research Officer with the Queensland Police Department.

*****

Many of you will have received an online appeal for funds to keep VIRTUEONLINE going in 2016 this past week. I hope you will take a few minutes to read it and consider writing out a check or making a PAYPAL contribution to keep us afloat.

We bring you the news locally, nationally and internationally as no one else does. We bring you stories about individual churches, the Episcopal Church, the ACNA and the wider Anglican Communion with an eye on the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England. We bring you the best of the culture wars, theological commentary, archeology, history and much more. Please support us.

You can send a tax-deductible check to:

VIRTUEONLINE
570 Twin Lakes Rd
P.O. Box 111
Shohola, PA 18458

Or you can make a contribution through VOL's PAYPAL link here: http://www.virtueonline.org/support-vol/

Thank you for your support.

Advent blessings,

David

Subscribe
Get a bi-weekly summary of Anglican news from around the world.
comments powered by Disqus
Trinity School for Ministry
Go To Top