Church of England in crisis

The Archbishop of Canturbery celebrating 25 years of women’s ordination to the priesthood in 2019                Source: CofE

Now, thirty years after the first ordinations of women to the priesthhood, one of their number, the Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, is calling on Justin Welby to resign.

She has decribed the archbishop's position "untenable" following a damning report into abuse by a prolific child abuser associated with the Church.

She is not alone in her demand. The Revd Dr Ian Paul, a member of General Synod and the Archbishops’ Council, has, among others, initiated a petition calling for Welby's immediate resignation:

"Given his role in allowing abuse to continue, we believe that his continuing as the Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer tenable. We must see change, for the sake of survivors, for the protection of the vulnerable, and for the good of the Church—and we share this determination across our traditions. With sadness we do not think there is any alternative to his immediate resignation if the process of change and healing is to start now."

The archbishop is already under fire for making comments contrary to the doctrine of the Church of England after expressing his views on gay sex outside marriage.

One abuse survivor has demanded a “clean sweep” of senior clergy members. Allegedly, 7 or 8 bishops knew what was going on.

MPs are already considering a call to remove Church of England bishops from House of Lords, thus lessening their influence. 

If Welby does resign no doubt there will be fresh demands for a woman to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury providing feminists with yet another opportunity for celebration their success in the Church. 

Update

Archbishop of Canterbury resigns

BBC report here.

Church of England follows Wales into the wilderness

The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron blesses
the Revd Lee Taylor and his civil partner, Fabiano da Silva Duarte.
Source: Church Times

From Premier Christian News: 

"The Church of England has moved closer to offering standalone services for the blessing of same-sex couples. Members of the Church’s legislative body have backed proposals to trial the specific services from 2025 as part of the Living in Love and Faith process.

"The services are set to begin in 2025 as part of a three-year trial, pending the provision of 'pastoral reassurance' which would allow clergy and congregations opposed to the new arrangements to be overseen by like-minded bishops." Details here.

So the Church of England is following the Church in Wales in which a couple received the first same-sex  blessing in 2021.

 Commented at the time: "On Monday 6 September, the Church in Wales voted to allow its clergy to bless same-sex ‘marriages’ and civil partnerships. This was not entirely unexpected given the decline of Christian doctrine and ethics within the Church in Wales in recent years." - The Church in Wales abandons the Christian faith.

It has also abandoned those Anglicans who strive to keep the Christian faith.

St David's Day - 900 years on

The Dean of St Davids (second left) with cathedral clergy                                                                   source: Friends of St Davids

Friends of St Davids Cathedral will have received a message from the Dean, Sarah Rowland Jones, wishing all a 'joyful celebration of St Davids Day, and blessed and holy Lent'. 

The message begins:

"As St David’s Day approaches, I’m delighted to share with you details of two upcoming TV programmes, and a whopping 25 radio programmes, which are being broadcast between this weekend and Easter, wholly or largely about St David and aspects of the 900th anniversary of the papal recognition of Dewi as an 'international saint' and of two pilgrimages to St Davids being of equal value to one to Rome. I'm quite bowled over that BBC Radio Wales in particular have embraced the celebrations quite so enthusiastically."

The Dean enjoyed a jolly in Jerusalem to help her consider whether David may have made a similar journey. Wondering why she could not have contemplated the conundrum at her desk in the Deanery I listened to her broadcast on All Things Considered. In her 4 minute interview with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, his opinion was that it was quite likely that David did visit Jerusalem. 

The Dean asked the Patriarch to explain 'Patriarch' and 'Patriarchate'.

Advance to position 22 of the All Things Considered video for the Patriarch's probably unexpected answer in which he explained that the patriarch is the "living  testimony to the Apostolic Succession. That is to say that the Patriarch of Jerusalem is the successor to the first bishop, not only of Jerusalem but of the whole Church of St James, the brother of Our Lord. This succession has been without any break throughout the ages."

 

That is something for the still absent bishop of St Davids to contemplate privately as she celebrates the granting of a privilege from Pope Callixtus II in Rome that two pilgrimages to St Davids Cathedral were equal to one to Rome.

In my 28 February 2019 entry Bishop steals clothes I reported how the bishop had high-jacked Credo Cymru's motto "Be joyful and keep the faith". 

It was ironic then, now even more so. The Church in Wales abandoned the received faith years ago.

The ordination of women closed any hope of unity with Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Now the Anglican Church is split by the decision of some western provinces such as the Church of England and the Church in Wales to bless same sex marriages.

We were warned by the apostles:

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.-  The Letter of Jude (17-19)

Pot, kettle and black

Remember you are dust and to dust you will return.
Turn from sin and be faithful to Christ. Souce: Twitter

Pot, kettle and black were three words that sprang immediately to mind on reading this tweet from the archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Andrew John.

"Turn from sin and be faithful to Christ"!

The archbishop cannot be unaware of the reaction of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) to the Church of England's decision to follow the Church in Wales and allow clergy to bless couples in same-sex marriages "contrary to the faith and order of the orthodox provinces of the communion whose people constitute the majority in the global flock." 

If the bishops of the Church in Wales were to take their archbishop's advice, that would indeed be a significant start to Lent. 

Anglican Bishops

Church in Wales new bishops consecration 2022                                                                                                                                           Source: Church in Wales

The election of the 73rd bishop of Llandaff commences on January 18 following the retirement of June Osborne who was appointed by the bench of bishops in 2017 after the failure of the electoral college to agree on a candidate.

A disaster waiting to happen, Osborne was tipped to be one of the first bishops in the Church of England. Instead she was appointed Dean of Salisbury. With a background in sociology Osborne was a prolific LGBTQ+ campaigner but suffered from allegations of bullying. She was found, on the balance of probability, to have a case to answer until the then Dean of Llandaff withdrew his allegations and resigned. 

The Vicar of Radyr also resigned as incumbent and Ministry Area Leader saying that she could no longer, with integrity, knowing the many things she knows, serve in the diocese where she believed a 'culture of fear' exists. A diocesan survey conducted after her initial exposure 'brought up the same results'. 

New bishop Joanna Penberthy in 2017    Pic: BBC

The 'best person to be a bishop', in the eyes of former archbishop Barry Morgan, has been another disaster. The bishop of St Davids has been on a second bout of sick leave since the end of August 2022 with no official updates which is reminiscent of the secrecy surrounding the extended absence of the former bishop of Monmouth. The only news is this report from a commentator under a previous entry:

"Yesterday at meeting of LMA's priests archdeacon updated us on Johanna La Loca. Her sick leave has been extended again - to end of February, as she is suffering from depression and anxiety. At present on half pay, her stipend will cease on 28 Feb. Is this the moment she resigns and diocese starts to recover? It was suggested that people ought to write to ++ Andy to pile on the pressure. Lovely thought if we can celebrate St David's day sede vacante."

'Affirming Love' Pride Eucharist with bishop
Cherry Vann . Source: Twitter

Joanna Penberthy along with the bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, campaigned vigorously on secular matters while the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, is patron of Open Table. 

Following her appointment the Church in Wales tweeted:

"Find out more about the new Bishop of @MonmouthDCO @cherry_vann in an interview with her on @BBCWomensHour today from 10am."

I tuned in on catch up. There was nothing spiritual, just sex. See The Bishop of Monmouth and partner.

Contrary to biblical teaching, bishops in England and Wales are hellbent on conforming to the pattern of this world rather than being transformed.

In the Church of England there has been the predictable outcry from Women and the Church (WATCH) following the appointment of the Rt Rev Philip North to be the 10th Bishop of Blackburn:

Their Chair, the Rev Martine Oborne tweets under the heading 'Trying to lift the lid off the ongoing sexism & discrimination in the CofE & how this impacts women. Chair of WATCH but these tweets my own'. 

More apt would be Using the Church for self validation at the expense of others. 

Oborne said of the Bishop of Backburn appointment: "The appointment sadly reflects … institutional discrimination in the church and we are effectively told that we must just suck it up and get on with it."

This is a familiar feminist tune, regularly tweeted by the WATCH chair and well worn by bishop Joanna Penberthy. Disagreement is labelled discrimination regardless of facts. Integrity has been replaced by duplicity.

Inclusive Church said Bishop North's views made it "a painful appointment". 

So what is the problem with Bishop North's appointment? 

Simply it is because his beliefs are not based on false notions of equality but on biblical teaching and tradition along with the vast majority of Anglicans and the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Holy Catholic Church showing the 2% accepting the ordination of women (OW)

Provision was made in England and Wales for those who, in conscience, could not accept the sacramental ministry of women. WATCH has been picking at it ever since. In Wales Barry Morgan simply abandoned provision following the retirement and untimely death of the Provincial Assistant Bishop David Thomas.

Pray that the Electoral College meeting in Llandaff will follow the example of the Church of England and elect a holy man of God to be the next bishop of Llandaff, not leaving the appointment to a bench of bishops to appoint another in their image when they have clearly lost their way. 

Christianity on the wane in England and Wales

Homage of the Archbishop of Canterbury at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. Source: Royal UK

The latest release from the ONS Census 2021 reveals  that "for the first time fewer than half of people in England and Wales describe themselves as Christian."

The ONS release emphasises that the religion question is voluntary but 94.0% (56.0 million) of usual residents answered the question in 2021, an increase from 92.9% (52.1 million) in 2011. 

“No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12.0 percentage points to 37.2% (22.2 million) from 25.2% (14.1 million) in 2011.

Wales had a greater decrease in people reporting their religion as “Christian” (14.0 percentage point decrease, from 57.6% in 2011 to 43.6% in 2021) and increase in “No religion” (14.5 percentage point increase, from 32.1% in 2011 to 46.5% in 2021) compared with England and Wales overall.

Following my previous entry a commentator trolled: "Another possibility is the infantile and derogatory nature of the thoroughly unChristian contributors to this site. The rest of us, however few in number, do at least try faithfully to address the injunction to love one another and leave the judging to God."

So what is a Christian? What is love? We are made a Christian at our baptism when we pledge to turn away from sin, reject evil and remain faithful to Christ to the end of our life.

Many of us are challenged for being unchristian because we do not accept the secularisation of Christianity. "All you need is love" say revisionists using the word synonymously for same sex relations despite the various forms of love referred to in the Bible.

Church going has declined because for many it has ceased to have any of the 'otherness' of old. Others continue to attend from habit or to seek affirmation of their life style based on the claim that 'all you need is love'.

The issue is coming to a head.

Warning bells are sounding as the coronation of  Charles III approaches. The King's coronation must not be 'woke-fest celebration of so-called modern Britain', former minister Sir Edward Leigh told the Commons. The event must be a 'spiritual one', he said. 

Concerns had been expressed following an interview in 2015 whether Charles would be 'Defender of Faith' or 'Defender of The Faith'. This was the response of the then Prince of Wales:

"No, I didn’t describe myself as a defender: I said I would rather be seen as ‘Defender of Faith’, all those years ago, because, as I tried to describe, I mind about the inclusion of other people’s faiths and their freedom to worship in this country. And it’s always seemed to me that, while at the same time being Defender of The Faith, you can also be protector of faiths. It was very interesting that 20 years or more after I mentioned this – which has been frequently misinterpreted – the Queen, in her Jubilee address to the faith leaders, said that as far as the role of the Church of England is concerned, it is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. I think in that sense she was confirming what I was really trying to say – perhaps not very well – all those years ago. And so I think you have to see it as both. You have to come from your own Christian standpoint – in the case I have as Defender of the Faith – and ensuring that other people’s faiths can also be practised."

The desire to protect freedom of beliefs is laudable but contradictory in part given the nature of some 'religions'. Under Article 9 of the Human Rights Act 'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.'

One has only to read the appeal from Release International to see how Christians are persecuted in Muslim countries. Blasphemy laws are used to persecute Christians in Pakistan while Islamic terrorism is rife in Africa.

One cannot justify defending a political ideology that does not respect the rights of others and mandates the death sentence for apostates.

Breaking the trend in the census results apart from the increase in “No religion”, there were increases in the number of people who described themselves as “Muslim” (3.9 million, 6.5% in 2021, up from 2.7 million, 4.9% in 2011) and “Hindu” (1.0 million, 1.7% in 2021, up from 818,000, 1.5% in 2011).

In 2015 a survey found that Islam was the fastest growing religion in the UK while the Church of England was in decline. "In 1983, the number of people following Islam stood at 0.6% of the population compared to a little under 5% in 2014." It needs no encouragement

In the past, leaders in the UK and in the USA have claimed that Islam is a religion of peace despite all the evidence to the contrary. Many in the Anglican Church follow the same line.

The BBC has already taken the lead in promoting Islam by appointing Muslims as Religion Editors. If this spills over to the coronation of King Charles the Church of England may as well shut up shop now along with the Church in Wales where the 2021 census showed that Wales had a greater decrease in people reporting their religion as “Christian” (14.0 percentage point decrease, from 57.6% in 2011 to 43.6% in 2021).

Postscript [01.12.2022]

From Christian Post: Christians are being butchered in Africa. What are we going to do about it?

"The number of Christians who paid with their lives for their faith was 5,898 in 2022, which is up from 4,761 in 2021, according to the Open Doors USA organization.

"Out of that number, around 4,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria by Islamist groups, such as Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, and Ansaru, which teach that Christians should either convert to Islam or die."

What are we going to do about it? 

Religious and political leaders can stop endorsing Islam's claim that it is a religion of peace.

Church in Wales set to abandon the faithful!

Hot on the heels of my previous blog, rumours circulating in Wales suggest that already five out of the six dioceses - yes there really are six dioceses with six Diocesan Bishops and an Ass Bishop 'serving' just 1% of the 3million population - will no longer accept for ordination anyone who has objections of conscience to the ordination of women. 

I am told that at the last meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, a woman vicar was listened to with incredulity by some when she proposed that candidates for ordination must be refused if they did not support women's ordination but clearly she had the mind of the Bench, particularly of the Archbishop whose heart was hardened when the  measure to admit women to the Episcopate was rejected. Had the vote gone his way it would have been the 'work of the Holy Spirit'! These double standards have become standard in the crusade for women power.


For those in the Church of England considering the admission of women to the Episcopate who insist that it couldn't happen here, the writing is already on the wall. The Presiding Bishop's Welsh admirer has indicated that he is of one mind as he preaches feminism rather than the historic faith despite reports showing that Dr Jefferts Schori "has deposed more bishops than any other Presiding bishop in American ecclesiastical history and has spent more money (upwards of $22 million) on lawyers to litigate for properties that she and her bishops will ultimately be forced to sell than any other Presiding Bishop in history."


England, be warned.

Women in dog collars

Photo: Jane Mingay

How sad that this is what the Anglican church has come to. Dominated by women in dog collars desperate for purple shirts as though they have a God given right to be bishops. Such is the force of their feminist movement in the Anglican church they now dominate debate in England and Wales bringing with it all the equal rights baggage of parity, same sex partnerships and their pension rights.

The latest news from the BBC will give women clergy even more courage to oust all those who oppose their feminist strategies, faithful Anglicans or not, putting all their trust in synodical governance over the faith and tradition of the Universal church using their preposterous claim that their manipulations are the work of the Holy Spirit.

In our Creed we still claim to be members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church but unilateral decisions of Synod have separated us from the wider church of East and West at a time when great strides are being made towards unity. Putting religious differences aside, this dialogue from "Light of the World" [ISBN 978-1-86082-709-9] on 'Overdue Reforms?' sums-up the position of women's ordination in the Universal Church:

"The impossibility of women's ordination in the Catholic Church has been clearly decided by a "non possumus" of the supreme Magisterium. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith laid this down under Paul VI in the 1976 document Inter insigniores, and John Paul II reinforced it in his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis. In this document, speaking in virtue of his office about the "divine constitution of the Church", he writes —and these are his exact words—"that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful". Critics see this as a form of discrimination. The only reason Jesus did not call women to be priestesses, it is said, is that this would have been unthinkable two thousand years ago." - Peter Seewald.

"That is nonsense, since the world was full of priestesses at the time. All religions had their priestesses, and the astonishing thing was actually that they were absent from the community of Jesus Christ, a fact that in turn is a point of continuity with the faith of Israel. John Paul II's formulation is very important: The Church has "no authority" to ordain women. The point is not that we are saying that we don't want to, but that we can't. The Lord gave the Church a form with the Twelve and, as their successors, with the bishops and the presbyters, the priests. This form of the Church is not something we ourselves have produced. It is how he constituted the Church. Following this is an act of obedience. This obedience may be arduous in today's situation. But it is important precisely for the Church to show that we are not a regime based on arbitrary rule. We cannot do what we want. Rather, the Lord has a will for us, a will to which we adhere, even though doing so is arduous and difficult in this culture and civilization. Incidentally, women have so many great and meaningful functions in the Church that there can be no question of discrimination. That would be the case if the priesthood were a sort of dominion, whereas it is actually intended to be pure service. If you look at the history of the Church, women—from Mary to Monica and all the way down to Mother Teresa—have so eminent a significance that in many respects they shape the image of the Church more than men do. Just think of major Catholic feast days such as Corpus Christi or Mercy Sunday, which originated with women. In Rome, for example, there is even a Church where not a single man can be seen in any of the altarpieces." - Pope Benedict XVI

WANTED!

public spirited, second class (rail) citizens prepared to work anti-social hours, usually away from home, with non-negotiable salary and restricted allowances, interested in an unique opportunity to help run other people’s lives.

Provided you are not a peer of the realm, ‘established’ clergyman or a complete lunatic (other restrictions may apply) with £500 to spare and you are a British, Commonwealth or Irish citizen you could consider election as a Member of Parliament for one of the 646 seats in the forthcoming General Election.

You must be over 18 years of age and be nominated by ten parliamentary electors of the constituency in which you wish to stand. By not submitting yourself to the rigours of any political party selection process you would be an Independent candidate joining other do-gooders with disparate ideas and no cohesive policy for restoring Britain’s greatness.

If you are an independent-minded eligible person who has not been certified insane and you have no hope of a peerage just find ten eligible voters to nominate you. Others, especially female candidates, may wish to apply to the Church of England where few restrictions appear to apply.

Living in the past?

The Telegraph reports that "The BBC's [Muslim] head of religion has accused the Church of England of "living in the past" and said that the corporation should not give Christianity preferential treatment".

Fortunate for him that he enjoys the hospitality of a Christian country and is able to express such views but 'Living in the past' is not something Church of England bishops can be justly accused of, nor for that matter the bishops of the Church in Wales where their Archbishop makes a habit of saying that the church has to be relevant to society today. So relevant in fact that they no longer have room for their so called "traditionalist" minorities.

But now the bishops have been caught with their cassocks up. They have been so busy making their church relevant to society that it is now regarded as even less relevant than it was before. No surprise there then.

Postscript

In his Blog the BBC's Head of Religion posted the following response to the Telegraph article:

"The Sunday Telegraph article quotes me as saying that the BBC should not give Christianity preferential treatment. The question I was actually asked was whether minority faiths should be treated differently from other faiths - to which I replied that all faiths should be treated in the same way and that I don't believe in treating any faith differently."

An interesting observation but does Aaquil Ahmed seriously believe that the faiths of 3% and less of the population should receive the same coverage as that of around 78% of the population?

The 2001 census figures illustrate the point: