Episcopal pride

"Lust, envy, anger, greed, gluttony and sloth are all bad, the sages say, but pride is the deadliest of all, the root of all evil, and the beginning of sin." - The Seven Deadly Sins - NPR

Reading their constant stream of LGBTQ+ tweets, Llandaff diocese looks anxious to be regarded as the gay ghetto of the Church in Wales. 

In addition to promoting LGBTQ+ propaganda in the above video, this Llandaff tweet refers to bishop June's speech in which she shamelessly outed a recently departed archdeacon when seconding the motion to allow same-sex blessings.

Shameful behaviour in the diocese of Llandaff is not new. Drawing a comparison with the campaign for the ordination of women, one commentator referred under the previous entry to the 'vile abuse' to which a former Bishop of Llandaff was subjected. It became 'increasingly vitriolic' until he caved in under the pressure and 'changed his mind'.

The nastiness continued long after enough votes were secured to accept the ordination of women with clear evidence of attempts to drive out of the Church as a punishment anyone who had opposed the innovation.

Reading some of the puerile comments received in response to the previous entry, a similar mindset is evident in supporters of same-sex blessings who view those who attempt to uphold the sanctity of marriage as homophobic.

Bishop Gregory told the Governing Body that "he did not wish to deny anyone their convictions or faithful discipleship". 

We have heard that before!

The bishops words fell on deaf ears. Some of the comments received illustrate scathing contempt and disregard by some gay and lesbian people for other people's faith yet these are the people bishop Gregory seeks to succour. 

Same sex marriage supporters in the Church of England have lost no time in welcoming the decision. "Church in Wales gives ‘gospel-inspired lead’ to C of E, says Bishop of Liverpool.

No doubt the bench of bishops will pride themselves on taking the lead. Next on their agenda a gay bishop for Swansea and Brecon?

 It was Pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. - St. Augustine

Dysfunctional Church

Bishops of Llandaff and St Davids with mentor, former TEC presiding bishop          Source: Twitter

Is it any wonder that the Church in Wales is dysfunctional?

"Llandaff Diocese ✝️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@LlandaffDio Feb 7, 2018

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Communion’s first woman primate, visited the diocesan office while in the UK as part of the Bishop’s Training programme.She is acting as mentor to @BishopJuno and Bishop Joanna"

I wrote at the time: "Since we were led to expect so much from women bishops it is a bit of a mystery why they need mentoring". With hindsight they did but why choose Barry Morgan's heretical mentor? To hasten disaster? 

The Most Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori is credited by US observers as having brought The Episcopal Church to its knees, not in prayer but in its demise, sinking into oblivion as is the Church in Wales.

As the problem with the bishop of St Davids lingers on, Andy John, the senior bishop in the Church in Wales pending the election of the next Archbishop of Wales, apologises for her behaviour while the leader of the Anglican Communion Justin Welby is 'embarrassed' by bishop Penberthy’s twitter comments.

No matter. As she seeks to 'recuperate' from her relentless party political tweeting, bishop Penberthy is on sick leave for a month while rumours circulate of her being translated to Swansea and Brecon. Even if true would they want her?

As absurd as the rumours appear, simply moving the problem is not uncommon as previously witnessed by the habit of moving predatory clergy before the whole issue exploded with dire consequences for the Church.

In Llandaff rumours abound following the prolonged absence of the Dean:

• Bishop June, on the advice of the Greater Chapter, took action against Dean Gerwyn and lost. The Dean was exonerated.
• The Dean is now taking action against Bishop June. 
• Dean Gerwyn recruited Archbishop Barry Morgan in his defence which has not gone down well with bishop June. She regards the former archbishop as being disloyal and are now in open warfare. Morgan now regrets June Osborne landing in Llandaff.
• Head Verger Hoad was suspended on a minor (but unknown) charge, which is still being investigated. 
• The Cathedral has advertised for a Chief Executive Officer to work with the Greater Chapter. This is the de facto role of the Dean. This is being done whilst the Dean is still in post, but on extended leave.
• The numbers attending the cathedral and the giving have collapsed.

What are the facts? Silence serves only to generate more rumours and speculation. 

In the diocese of Monmouth the results of the Enquiry and Review announced in May 2020 into the departure of bishop Richard Pain is long overdue. It was hoped the Enquiry and Review would be completed within six months.

Meanwhile in Monmouth the Historic Episcopate has been further 'locally adapted' in the 'methods of its administration in the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church' to accommodate bishop Cherry and Wendy seen here at Holy Synod in the sanctuary of Brecon Cathedral:

Holy Synod Brecon Cathedral January 2020                                Original Source: Church in Wales

Women in the episcopate: a new way forward!

This is the nature of the challenge from "Women in the episcopate: a new way forward" (GS MISC 1042): 

"There are various ways of interpreting what happened on 20 November. But one 
thing on which there is a very wide measure of consensus is that the outcome of 
that day has left the Church of England in a profoundly unsatisfactory and 
unsustainable position. There are several reasons for this: 

    It is apparent that opening all three orders of ministry equally to men 
      and women has a very wide measure of support across the Church of 
      England; 
  
    For those women already serving in the ordained ministry, the Church 
      of England’s continued indecision is undermining and harmful to 
      morale; 
   
   Even for those with theological difficulties over the ministry of women 
      as priests and bishops there is little appeal in a further prolonged period 
      of debate and uncertainty;  
   
   Wider society – including its representatives in Parliament - cannot 
      comprehend why the Church of England has failed to resolve the issue
      and expects it now to do so as a matter of urgency."

This is the new Church of England, now hardly distinguishable from a trade union for women in the church. To be 'called' to the priesthood is one thing, to presume preferment is quite another and peculiar to the ordination of woman, contrary to what one would expect from those sent to serve. How can the Church of England’s 'continued indecision' be undermining and harmful to morale for those women already serving in the ordained ministry unless they are in the ordained ministry for the wrong reasons?

But they have already been handed the key:

"...while not involving the majority in any new element of compromise on matters of principle" in providing... a greater sense of security for the minority as having an accepted and valued place in the Church of England. - Isn't that the same way forward?

A member of the working group, the Chair of the women's union has already set out her stall here suggesting a new mission statement for the Church of England: A female episcopacy at any cost. The search for simplicity in the General Synod paper shifts the emphasis away from 'respect' to 'trust' (Paras 14, 15, 39 and 40). Now call me a cynic but  all experience so far indicates that revisionists cannot be trusted. If they could be we would not be where we are. The latest example arose in the debate on same sex marriage [Hansard 5 Feb 2013 : Column 160]

"Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con): We should indeed treat one another with tolerance and treat everybody’s sexuality with understanding, but the fundamental question we are deciding today is whether English law should declare for the first time that two people of the same sex can marry.

Parliament is sovereign—we can vote for what we want—but we must be very careful that law and reality do not conflict. In 1648, the Earl of Pembroke, in seeking to make the point that Parliament is sovereign, said that Parliament can do anything but make a man a woman or a woman a man. Of course, in 2004, we did exactly that with the Gender Recognition Act. We are now proposing to make equally stark changes to the essence of marriage. During the civil partnership debates, I was given solemn assurances on the Floor of the House, including by some sitting on the Opposition Benches now, that the Civil Partnership Act would not lead to full same-sex marriage.

Chris Bryant rose—

Mr Leigh: I am happy to give way to the hon. Gentleman who gave those assurances to me.

Chris Bryant: Assurances from me do not necessarily determine what happens in Parliament in future. Several hon. Members have raised what I said in that debate. At that time, I believed that civil partnership was the be-all and end-all of the story. I have since entered a civil partnership and believe that the world has moved on. Many Conservative Members who voted against civil partnerships know that Britain’s mind has changed and want to reflect that in a change of the law."

Trust?

All that is wrong with the Church in Wales

"Radical re-thinking for the Church in Wales" is the main headline in Highlights of the Church in Wales Governing Body September 2012. The highlights can be read here. Described on the Church in Wales website as a 'full round up of news from the Governing Body meeting', it appears to be more of a rubber stamping of the Archbishop's decision making process with only positive comments allowed. I note the absence of any opposition to Dr Morgan's plans under 'Women in the Episcopate'; simply a rehash of the proposals and a dismissive: "After debate, GB agreed through a majority vote for legislation to be drawn up in this way". Just what the doctor ordered!

Introducing the Church in Wales Review Report Lord Harries, the Review Chairman, said:  “The parish system is no longer sustainable—we have to radically rethink the way we look at our ministry, and begin with the concept of an area ministry”. I doubt that the average person in the pew has fully grasped the significance of the loss, not just of the parish priest but of the whole concept of the parish system, something that has stood the test of time, as has the traditional concept of priesthood within the church. Wanting the best of both worlds, the bishops have become very adept at insisting that the church should become more relevant to society but where is that relevance when the overseers (managers) take no responsibility for the mess they have created? Further on in Highlights some interesting facts could not be hidden:

+ There is a continuing decline of between 2 and 4% in attendance on Sundays and the major festivals.

+ Total income and expenditure have fallen on 2010 levels, and the Long-term Trends 1990 to 2011.

+ Easter communicants and average Sunday attendance has fallen by close to 50% in the last twenty years. In fact the Easter communicant figure for 2011 was lower than the average Sunday attendance figure in 1990.

+ There is also a steep decline in the number of baptisms and confirmations over the twenty year period. 

Presenting the Membership and Finance Report from which these quotes are taken, Canon Mike Starkey said, "The membership statistics show that we are doing what we have always done with diminishing returns. How can we move forward? “We have a visionary and radical new Report which charts a way forward. But while restructuring is a good thing, that alone will not get us to the core of our problem. We need to ensure that we are renewing the Church, not just re-engineering it.” Concluding his report he pointed to Russell T Davies as a Welsh role model—he renewed a tired classic in Dr Who to make it fresh for new generations, proving it is possible to both satisfy the guardians of tradition and engage with a new constituency.

Secure in their bishoprics there has been no apology for the mess the bishops have created with their 'half-baked initiatives - “So often in the Church we move from one half-baked initiative to another, often at great financial cost with little or no thought at measuring outcomes and the difference we make, and learning lessons for future strategy and work.” - Highlights September 2011. Concluding his Presidential Address, Dr Morgan preceded a self-congratulatory poem with this quote:

"Cardinal Carlo Martini, the former Archbishop of Milan, and said to be the best Pope the Roman Catholic Church never had, in his last interview before his death this month said of his own church, “The church is 200 years behind the times. Why doesn’t it stir? How can we liberate the embers from the ash to reinvigorate the fires of love? Are we afraid? Faith is the foundation of the church – faith, trust, courage”."

But the Archbishop failed to quote Cardinal Martini's solution:

"Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous," the Cardinal said. "The Church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the Pope and the bishops."

The message is clear. 

Words, words, words

The words that resonated with me most in the first ordinations I attended many years ago were from Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”



Profound words but time has moved on. Some of the men I witnessed answering God's call now find themselves in the episcopate in a radically different church. Damien Thompson's recent piece for the Telegraph reminded me that different words resonated in consecrations I have attended. In the Church of England, before the Prayers of Penitence, the Archbishop introduces the service for 'The Ordination and Consecration of a Bishop' with the words:

God calls his people to follow Christ, and forms us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to declare the wonderful deeds of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

The Church is the Body of Christ, the people of God and the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. In baptism the whole Church is summoned to witness to God's love and to work for the coming of his kingdom.

To serve this royal priesthood, God has given particular ministries. Bishops are ordained to be shepherds of Christ's flock and guardians of the faith of the apostles, proclaiming the gospel of God's kingdom and leading his people in mission. Obedient to the call of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, they are to gather God's people and celebrate with them the sacraments of the new covenant. Thus formed into a single communion of faith and love, the Church in each place and time is united with the Church in every place and time.

Much of this sounds rather hollow in a new liberal church which often seems divorced from spirituality, especially the words: "Bishops are ordained to be ..... guardians of the faith of the apostles... . In the Preface to the Declaration of Assent the Archbishop reads:

"The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, worshipping the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation. Led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. In the declaration you are about to make, will you affirm your loyalty to this inheritance of faith as your inspiration and guidance under God in bringing the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and making Him known to those in your care?"

To my mind, after the decision of the Church of England to depart from the orthodoxy of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, the ordinand somewhat hypocritically responds:

"I, AB, do so affirm, and accordingly declare my belief in the faith which is revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds and to which the historic formularies of the Church of England bear witness; and in public prayer and administration of the sacraments, I will use only the forms of service which are authorized or allowed by Canon."

Coming to the Liturgy of Ordination, among the declarations the ordinand is required to make, I find two particularly irksome as a traditionalist:

"Will you teach the doctrine of Christ as the Church of England has received it, will you refute error, and will you hand on entire the faith that is entrusted to you?" I suppose under its own rules the Church of England now receives only what it wants to receive but when it comes to:

"Will you promote peace and reconciliation in the Church and in the world; and will you strive for the visible unity of Christ�s Church?", the ordinand Answers "By the help of God, I will" when clearly he should say 'No'!

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.

All roads lead to Rome – except the Anglican one!

What price unity?

It must now be clear to everyone but the blinkered that the wider Catholic and Eastern churches regard the Church of England as in error. The ambitions of a few frustrated women who have ignored Christ’s prayer that we all may be one have put self above church wrecking the possibility of unity which Christianity yearns for, aided by the Church of England hierarchy.

Before the Synod vote to allow women to enter the Episcopate, many women protested that failure to grant the demands of WATCH would lead to a mass exodus to other churches. What price loyalty? Their secular regard for equal opportunities clearly means much more to them than sacramental assurance.

Some Anglo-Catholics are already in the lifeboats hoping for a safe arrival in their promised land but while details are awaited, squabbling has broken out between different factions. Apart from being unchristian further fractures could have serious repercussions with secular indifference and the threat to religious freedom posed by the spread of Islam.

‘United we stand, divided we fall’ could never be more apt. Anyone involved in the Synodical process should remember that.

Two Faced

I found the ‘Two faces’ in my previous post amusing but being ‘two faced’ is quite a different matter particularly when people describe themselves as Christians. The majority of people in Great Britain think of themselves as Anglicans especially at times of baptism, marriage and burial but few attend church regularly and many of those who do have forgotten the basis of their faith as expressed in the creed of the one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.

Disingenuous from the start, supporters of the ordination of women have used stealth to achieve their aims. With the majority of people in the church happy to support women’s ministry there seemed little objection to women being made Deacons rather than Deaconesses especially in an age of political correctness. Not content with that, there soon developed a movement to ordain women to the priesthood using spurious claims of sexism and prejudice which pricked the consciences of the uninformed but fair minded. Hence they gathered support not only from those who, as nominal Christians, had never thought deeply about their faith, but more importantly from agnostics and atheists adding secular, political pressure to the soft under belly of the broad Anglican Church which had traditionally tolerated many kinds of churchmanship.

It wasn’t long before women Deacons were complaining that the only difference between them and Priests was that priests uttered a few words in the Prayer of Consecration and were allowed to administer the blessing. They insisted that their demands for ordination to the priesthood didn’t mean that they wanted to be bishops! Sufficient numbers believed them to gain a slender majority in a body not regarded in the wider church as competent to make such a decision but they entered the sacred ministry. The task of ‘converting’ parishes then followed encouraging those who couldn’t care less about theology and tradition to sing their chorus of ‘Oh what a lovely person, she’s doing a splendid job’ as though that were all there were to it. One could say the same of Albert Pierrepoint but it has no relevance.

Despite previous assertions they again raised their cries of discrimination because they were excluded from the Episcopate, notwithstanding the doubt about their admission to the priesthood in the first place. Now it seems they are to have what they always aimed for if the Church of England Synod accepts the recommendations of the Revision Committee set up to consider the necessary legislation. Those who oppose the measure on grounds of conscience are to be left with nothing despite being assured of an honoured place in their Church. A worthless ‘Hobson’s choice’ code of practice is offered with expressions of hope and desire that orthodox opponents will not leave.

This is duplicity in the extreme. They show themselves to be two-faced ‘Christians’ who read from the gospel according to WATCH. For Christ’s sake, Synod must reject the Revision Committee’s proposals and return to His teaching.

Bishops to Abandon the Faithful

Following the example of their close neighbours in Wales, Church of England bishops are preparing to welch on their promise to provide acceptable oversight for those who do not accept their church’s departure from traditional orthodox teaching.

In the Church in Wales there was no replacement for the highly respected Provincial Assistant Bishop David Thomas after his retirement. Not being a defender of the faith himself, their politically motivated Archbishop convinced himself and those around him that the Bench of Bishops could provide satisfactory pastoral and sacramental care for all, including those who thought that their bishops had erred in their ways and simply did’t care.

Today the Church of England has published the report of the Revision Committee which has been considering legislation to permit women to become bishops: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr4210.html . There are new provisions requiring each diocesan bishop to draw up a scheme in his or her diocese that takes account of the national Code of Practice and provides local arrangements for the performance of certain Episcopal functions in relation to parishes with “conscientious difficulties” - as if there were something abnormal about being orthodox.

In their proposals they demonstrate that they have no understanding whatsoever of the needs of those who expect the pastoral and sacramental care of a bishop who shares the faith of the majority of Christians in the wider Holy Catholic and Apostolic church. Any “difficulty” is of the Anglican church’s making and has nothing to do with being sexist or anti-women as is often implied.

As the once great ship of Anglicanism sails away to founder on the rocks it will be ironic if those whom the pirates abandon are saved by a Catholic lifeboat while the ship sinks into oblivion.