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| 'Some traditions still continue in the See of St Asaph!' Source: Submitted Anon |
The current Bishop of St Asaph is on a four month sabbatical, possibly in a theological college overseas ending in November.
One can only hope that he is being encouraged to get back to basics when he returns and that he encourages his fellow bishops to do the same before all in the Church in Wales is lost to secularism.
So he won't be taking part in the Monmouth election.
ReplyDeletePP. Could he be in the frame and so, out of the way?
DeleteIt would be a homecoming, of a sort, but also a sideways move -- if not a downward one, St Asaph being a historic diocese and Monmouth a modern invention.
DeleteBishop Horsley was a great friend of Catholics. His biography was written by the late Fred Mather.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the rubric https://tinyurl.com/yya74h5d he is entitled to apply for a Sabbatical (in my denomination you're allowed one every seven years!) Only point is that he'staking four months rather than three.
ReplyDeleteI'm told that what he's up to during his sabbatical is described on his diocesan website.
ReplyDeleteOne can only hope that he is on a much needed refresher course in basic Christian fundamentals.
ReplyDeleteOne of the caveats for having a sabbatical is that you cover your commitments for the duration. How can a bishop cover theirs? With another bishop? And on whose authority?
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is right for a bishop to benefit from this facility, they should have separate arrangements.
Maybe a non-diocesan, 'roving' bishop. Didn't we have one of those in the past?
DeleteA second bishop out of four vanishing for months, in the space of a year!
ReplyDeleteIt's just a pity that it wasn't all of them vanishing for good. Perhaps then we could have some orthodoxy in the Church in Wales.
DeleteSeymour
Sorry - two out of six
DeleteI think you were correct the first time EE. Four bishops and two office holders. One wonders why a female office holder of The Church England was appointed 'Associate Bishop' of St Asaph?
ReplyDeleteI wonder, AB, if you think anyone internally could match up to the Diocesan Profile for Monmouth?! https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/news/2019/08/bishop-of-monmouth-election-2/
ReplyDeleteDPM. The Quiet Revolution has a point. With the carefully targeted "mission" word, peppered through the profile, are we destined for a certain AD of northern roots? For the diocese I just hope for some Anglo Catholic. Perhaps the Dean of Llan, I jest! Or a translation is on the cards. Who knows but we prayer for an over the border appointment please.
ReplyDeleteHas to be P. North.
ReplyDeleteThey want someone "orthodox" - does the Church in Wales know what that is? They want the bishop to be someone who is a "true focus of unity". To what extent do they want unity? Unity amongst those who agree with Same Sex Marriage? Or just within the diocese? Or just within the Province? Or unity with the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church?
ReplyDeleteAll Church in Wales clerics are entitled to apply for sabbatical leave every nine years. The Bishop of St Asaph is no different, and has been quite open about the plans for his sabbatical, not least via his regular ad clerum. It is a bit of a jump from A to Z (without going through B,C,D and all the rest) to link this to a translation of See. Will he actually be absent for the Monmouth election, or will he exercise his right to be present?
ReplyDeleteI'm no fan of the Welsh bishops by any stretch of the imagination, but +Gregory is probably the only one of them with any degree of theological literacy, pastoral empathy or in-depth grasp of the Anglican tradition. Unlike his westerly neighbour, he is largely carrying the Diocese with him. You might not like his conclusions, but imagine how worse it could be (and IS in other dioceses).
One thing I am picking up, however, is that +Gregory is in need of a break. As one priest in St Asaph recently told me 'he's absolutely Christmas crackered.' Refreshing the body, mind and spirit, which a sabbatical can offer, can only be beneficial to the Diocese and those receiving +Gregory's ministry in the immediate future.
PP. Totally agree seen +Gregory grow from his curacy to episcopi, he is certainly a man of God with a true pastoral heart. St Asaph are blessed under his leadership. Very hard working, diligent and caring. The others could do well to follow his example.
ReplyDeleteBut totally opposed to Orthodox Anglicans.
ReplyDeleteTotally - I mean TOTALLY - opposed to orthodox Anglicans, MO?
DeleteYou can confidently say that Barry the Golfer is totally opposed to orthodox Anglicans, in the same way that Peggy the Pilate and Wigley the Meth is opposed to them. Ditto Andy Crap (who, not too long ago, in the days when it was 'happy families' in Ty'r Esgob, came out in an allergic rash whenever an unmarried cleric applied for a vacancy in Bangor... in the days when people did apply for vacancies in Bangor). But +Gregory? Opposed? In the same way?
I think one of the things that those of us who are committed to upholding the Five Guiding Principles need to learn is the difference between disagreement and opposition. If we cannot be big enough to allow people to disagree with us, how does that make us any better than the fundamentalists I've already mentioned? Yes, +Gregory does disagree with aspects of orthodox Anglicanism; but I would be hard-pushed to find a single example of him seeking its wholesale destruction. Of the others, examples are too numerous.