Church in Wales abandonment

 

An upbeat Archbishop Barry Morgan in 2013 with his Ass bishop and then Dean, Janet Henderson
before her shock resignation. It's been downhill for Llandaff ever since.          Photo: Church Times

Few if any people have sympathy for a mother who abandons her children. 

In 'Mother' Church in Wales under Barry Morgan that is exactly what happened to Anglicans who remained true to the faith of the Holy Catholic Church, something the Church in Wales claims to do but patently does not as it becomes more and more secularised.

Reading about the new structure set up in Australia by GAFCON to help conservatives in dioceses that bless same-sex marriages re-opens old wounds for 'traditionalists' in Wales.

A new Diocese will "operate in parallel with any Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It will have a Bishop, and the normal structure of an Anglican diocese such as a synod (church parliament and a standing committee)", something that Morgan and his cronies refused to do. Society bishops are banned from ministering in Wales.

Other Provinces have made provision for those who, in conscience, are unable to accept progressive ideas contrary to scripture and tradition. In Wales, after an initial nod to ensure the success of bills to allow women to be ordained, traditionalists have been abandoned without thought or consideration from bishops charged with caring for all. 

Other Provinces have not been so heartless so why have Anglican bishops in Wales been so cruel? 

One obvious answer is that traditionalists are a thorn in the flesh in a Church in which matters of the flesh and sexual preference are considered more important than one's faith.

Archbishop Morgan was determined that there would be no long term alternative pastoral or sacramental provision for those who did not share his secularised vision of the church.

Seeing himself as a 'progressive' bishop, Morgan followed the secular, feminist agenda of admitting women to the priesthood and to the episcopate regardless of scripture and tradition while liberalising sexual attitudes to permit same sex marriages in Church. He showed no consideration for those he regarded as opponents once the measures were approved.

Morgan even promoted his his own interpretation of the Bible to advance his cause and was promptly shot down.

The archbishop imported ambitious clergy from England to aid his cause leaving him with egg on his face. Most spectacularly following the resignation of the Very Rev Janet Henderson from her position as Dean of Llandaff after only a few weeks in post. That led to all manner of speculation and rumours of a non-disclosure agreement. 

More recently Morgan's manoeuvrings which led to the 'election' of  Joanna Penberthy as bishop of St Davids came badly unstuck. He had promoted Penberthy as 'the best person to be a bishop'. Experience suggests the reverse was true.   

Another of Morgan's casualties, Ass bishop David Wilbourne, complained of a "sustained campaign forcing him to quit". He often reminded anyone prepared to listen, or not, that he knew John Habgood, not the best acquaintance for some. It has been claimed Habgood 's intervention was responsible for the Church of England's acceptance of the ordination of women. 

The Rev Peter Mullin wrote in The Telegraph (£), 06 Feb 2012:  "This stinking fish has been a long time on the slab. Back in 1992, the church voted to admit women to the priesthood, but this was only agreed upon the intervention of the then Archbishop of York, Dr John Habgood, who insisted that there were “two integrities” within the church: the one that could accept women priests and the other that could not. Room must be made for both. If Dr Habgood’s agreeable compromise had not been accepted then there would not have been a majority in favour of the ordination of women".

The Church in Wales and the Church of England now ordain women. While the Church of England maintains the two integrities, traditionalists in Wales have been abandoned.

Initially bishop David Thomas was appointed Provincial Assistant Bishop but archbishop Morgan made it abundantly clear that there would not be another when Bishop Thomas retired in 2008. 

Another of Morgan's imports from the Church of England, Peggy Jackson used her position as Archdeacon of Llandaff to do all that she could to get rid of traditionalists, leaving them "to make personal decisions and individual choices, to find accommodation as best they can".

 She, in turn was to be humiliated when Governing Body rejected her mean private members motion which called on the bench of bishops to "cease to ordain those who, refusing the sacramental ministry of women, expect to rely upon the conscience clauses of the Code". 

Nevertheless, the process of abandonment in Wales continues. After Barry Morgan's retirement, the new Archbishop of Wales signalled no change in policy. There would be more of the same - but faster.

Barry Morgan made no secret of the fact that he would not oppose the appointment of a gay bishop. A strong contender to replace him was Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans.

From Llandaff stalemate: After three days of deliberations (note the link comes under 'Politics'), the Electoral College of the Church in Wales failed to produce a bishop-elect or, as the Rev Peter Ould tweeted, the Church in Wales "couldn't quite bring itself to elect Jeffrey John as Bishop of Llandaff".

While some argued that the appointment of Jeffrey John would attract too much attention for the wrong reason, others suggested that he was just too bright for the rest of the bench who feared they would be overshadowed.

The Church in Wales has two more imports from England sitting on the bench. A partnered lesbian elected bishop of Monmouth and an LGBT+ banner-waving sociologist who was appointed to Llandaff where she enjoys experimenting in her diocese regardless of the effect on existing congregations.

In Llandaff the continued absence of Barry Morgan's placement, Dean Gerwyn Capon remains a puzzle, as does the cause of the swift departure of his predecessor, Janet Henderson but given the mire Janet no doubt found herself in I would guess that she told Barry Morgan what he could do with his scheming. 

It says much about an archbishop who prides himself on his Welshness that, save for the one exception who escaped back over the border, he imported failures from England to do his bidding.

So faithful Anglicans across Wales have been abandoned, as Peggy Jackson directed, to find accommodation as best they can.

Some will have found an accommodation in the Church in Wales, presumably with fingers firmly crossed, while others will have advanced their careers, putting their souls in peril in the process. Others just have their memories.

Wales must be among the worst provinces in the Anglican Communion but who cares? 

Certainly not its bishops.

Sacred Synod!

The bishops of Monmouth, Bangor, St Davids (Bp-elect), Llandaff (Abp), Swansea and Brecon and St Asaph in Sacred Synod, 2016.  Source: Church in Wales

The bishops of the Church in Wales will meet in Sacred Synod on Sunday 5 January in Brecon cathedral to confirm the election of Cherry Vann as Bishop of Monmouth.

Pictured above is former Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan in Sacred Synod in 2016. He retired to his newly built Cardiff bunker in January 2017 after engineering the disastrous election of the first female bishop in the Church in Wales.

Much has happened since the new bishop of St Davids was appointed. She lost no time in surrounding herself with women clergy, turning Wales' national shrine into a feminist enclave while trying to eject elderly male priests from further service in her diocese. 

Gone in mysterious circumstances is the then bishop of Monmouth giving rise to claim and counter-claim in a long, drawn out process which did no-one any favours apart from his replacement which turned out to be more about the mission of feminism in the Church than the redemptive mission of the Church.

Persistent rumours of an improper relationship continue to dog another bishop on the bench while John Davies, bishop of Swansea and Brecon, has replaced Barry Morgan as Archbishop of Wales promising 'more of the same - but faster'. He has proved to be true to his word, dragging the Church in Wales into the secular world at an increasing pace.

Barry Morgan was replaced as bishop of Llandaff by LGBT campaigner, June Osborne, following in the footsteps of Joanna Penberthy. The previously tipped Sarah Rowland Jones, vicar of St John's in the heart of Cardiff, was instead made Dean of St Davids, offering Osborne the opportunity of extending the sexual diversity of clergy in her diocese by filling the resulting vacancy at St John's by a transgender vicar who appears to believe that her primary mission is to normalise transgenderism.

The sexual revolutionary mission of the Church in Wales continues with normalising same-sex relationships following the appointment as bishop of Monmouth of Cherry Vann who invited her electors and Monmouth diocesan officers to Bishopstow before Christmas for 'drinks and nibbles' with the new bishop and her partner Wendy.

The Notice of the meeting of the Sacred Synod to confirm the election of Cherry Vann was posted the day after the drinks and nibbles party. It states: "This will be a public meeting and, should any member of the Church in Wales wish to draw to the bishops' attention any matter in relation to this episcopal election, they are invited to attend the meeting in person."

Much has changed in the sixty + years since this photograph of Church in Wales bishops was taken when five bishops held Oxford Firsts in Theology:

Source: Anglican Misfit

Sacred in name only, it is unlikely that any member of the Church in Wales attending the Synod will wish to draw to the bishops' attention any matter in relation to this episcopal election given the current mission of the Church in Wales.

This is where it is leading. The new 'norm': Proud dad Reuben Sharpe has revealed how he gave birth to miracle baby Jamie with partner Jay in Britain’s most modern family - and even the couple's doctor was transgender.

2020 is the anniversary of the disestablishment of the Church in Wales. Preaching to the converted and those willing to 'go along to get on' the 2020 Vision video has been viewed a mere 2,840 times in the five years since its appearance in September 2014. A make believe world skips over the reality of the situation as regular, adult Sunday attendance continues to plummet; 14% down from 30,424 in 2014 to 26,110 in 2018.

The 2020 Vision initiative seeks a "reimagined Church in Wales" agreeing to support the "continued development of a unity scheme - the Church Uniting in Wales - incorporating Methodist, Presbyterian, United Reformed, and Baptist Churches alongside the Church in Wales."

There will be nothing sacred about Sunday's synod. It will merely confirm the bishops' intention to separate further the Church in Wales from the Holy Catholic Church to which it jokingly claims to belong - 'locally adapted' into a do-as-you-please Church.

Happy New Year!

Archbishop Barry Morgan: alternative valedictory

'Chez Barry' built on former Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff land. There's unity for you bach!

If readers think that Archbishop Barry Morgan's retirement pad looks like a prison block, most will no doubt be happy that he is retiring there but the specifications are far more grandiose. From the outside it appears that he has taken his inspiration from the Hajj in Mecca which will not surprise readers who recall his preference for putting the interests of his Muslim chums before members of his own church who have remained faithful to the wider Anglican Communion.

Whatever your views, 31 January 2017 is a great day for the Church in Wales. One which has not come soon enough for many who have despaired of Dr Morgan's complete disregard for anyone who disagrees with his vision of a secularised church. As usual Llandaff diocesan office has gone into overdrive leading with their own valedictory appraisal of Morgan's ministry which has been dutifully picked up as an Establishment item by the BBC and ITV, but much slower in the press, example here. Perhaps they have rumbled him at last after reading the official release.

An unelected politician in vestments, Dr Morgan has used the influence of his office to push a personal, liberal agenda. He has appointed acolytes eager to do his bidding advancing their own careers at the expense of others. A glaring example is seen in the Ass Bishop of Llandaff's letter to diocesan clergy in preparation for Barry's ticket only leaving ceremony in Llandaff Cathedral on Sunday in which he appears to liken Barry Morgan to Jesus Christ. A typical example of deluded obsequiousness, here is an extract from the letter in which the Ass+ claims "The Archbishop’s final service on Sunday will rightly be his hour":

"Archbishop Barry is supremely a mountain top person, who has looked wide to horizons far beyond those who toil on the plain. Volcanoes are exciting if dangerous places, and surprise us with heat and light and molten rocks which change the landscape for ever, and the Archbishop has had the nerve and courage to do that. In the words of Cardinal Basil Hume, he has been a bishop who has come to where people are and taken them to places they have never dreamt of going. 

"Of all the five archbishops I have worked with, Barry is the one who has most displayed the hallmarks of our Lord, surely the ultimate mountain with attitude! Unashamed of his own tenderness, he has a deep and genuine compassion for the underdog and marginalised, and has been a champion for the people of Wales, so often down-trodden. Prophetic to the core of his being, he has been unafraid to overturn tables and fiercely denounce white-washed sepulchres. It seems fitting that Candlemas is on the horizon for his final days as Archbishop, a faithful servant of the one whom Simeon predicted ‘was destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, to be a sign to be opposed, with the inner thoughts of many laid bare – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ "

Much has been made of Dr Morgan being the longest serving Archbishop in the Anglican Communion. If length of service were a measure of success Robert Mugabe would be way out in front. Based on Church in Wales own membership figures, over 99% of the population do not attend Barry Morgan's church so any understanding of the Anglican faith by the population at large and the media in particular will be negligible at best. From a position of profound ignorance they confidently report on matters of faith as if it were a secular issue affecting people in the workplace.

As in the Church of England, the Church in Wales has been targeted by a feminist onslaught which has left many cradle Anglicans with nowhere to express their faith sacramentally, something deliberately orchestrated by Barry and his bench sitters and enthusiastically engineered by the Archdeacon of Llandaff who takes the view that people can leave the church she joined later in life if they do not like what has been inflicted upon them.

None of this is reported in the media let alone explained. The new drive by the bench is to have gay marriage in church accepted. This has been Barry Morgan's ministry. He claims the support of the bench and the Governing Body, most of whom owe their position to Morgan's patronage. His mission has effectively wrecked the Church in Wales in pursuit of political ambition without the courage to test his convictions at the ballot box.

His methods of operation have been devious. Consultations have been ignored when the bench has disagreed with the outcome resulting in much dissatisfaction. So what has Barry Morgan done to deserve the praise and adulation heaped upon him? It cannot be his success as a Pastor because the Church in Wales is predicted to become extinct within a generation. It is because he has followed secular fads to the point of adapting scripture to suit his case which has earned him the dishonorific 'Bullshitter' Barry Morgan: "To claim that they can interpret the Bible in a manner that condones and blesses what it explicitly and unambiguously forbids and prohibits is bullshit par excellence".

Claiming to have been "gobsmacked" when buggin's turn resulted in him being elected as Archbishop of Wales in 2003 he said,  "God has made me a different kind of person" [from his predecessor, Archbishop Rowan Williams] and consequently I can only bring the gifts he's given me to the job." Whatever he thought those gifts were, none has been of any benefit to the church.

The sign to the left was spotted in 'The Lion' in Criccieth.  In 1986 Barry Morgan was appointed Archdeacon of Meirionnydd and Rector of Criccieth with Treflys. Could this be where his views on the ordination of women were formed? 

He was later to claim to have been 'astonished' that when he 'trained for the ministry' in the early 1970s, he did not even question why the ordained ministry was restricted to men.  Only in his little world has it changed.

His triumphalism at the consecration of the bishop of St Davids diminished the Church. There was nothing spiritual or uplifting. Simply that 'I have done it'. Dr Morgan said  “I can’t think of a nicer way to end my ministry – it is fantastic.” The price? A diminished church which has left many cradle Anglicans. Hardly worthy of praise.

Dr Morgan said in his address at the consecration of the bishop of St Davids, “The Church in Wales can now claim to be a universal Church”. Unless he deludes himself in having set up another universal Church, the 'universal Church', the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church does not share the Archbishops views. In fact the Orthodox and Catholic churches wholeheartedly reject them as do the majority of Anglicans. It is so disappointing to have to read public plaudits for a man who has done so much damage to the Church while enhancing his own profile.

In doing so he has displayed an amazing schoolboy naivety. Obsessed with as sense of equality which is reduced to sameness, his own sense of justice has led him to penalise those who fail to follow him. If he recognised that the body is made of many parts, though many, still making up one body, he would have been much the wiser.   

Remember the giants of the Church in Wales before bishops were replaced by 'prefects'. Five held Oxford Firsts in Theology. Need one say more?

                                                                                                  Source: Anglican Misfit

Church in Wales to embrace polygamy next?

"A man with two boyfriends had asked where the [Green] party stood on polyamory" - Independent

One of the more alarming claims I heard in the run-up to the 2015 General Election was that the Green party was open to the possibility of three in a marriage. Not as Princess Diana described it but legally, adding the seal of approval to polygamy. 

From the Independent, 1 May 2015: 

"Natalie Bennett has said her party is 'open to consultation' on the possibility of legalising polygamy and civil partnerships involving three or more people. The Green Party leader was responding to a question from a man living with his two boyfriends in a polyamorous relationship in London on Friday.

Dr Redfern Jon Barrett, taking part in an event organised by Pink News, said people like himself in three-way relationships faced a 'considerable amount of legal discrimination'. He asked: 'As someone living with his two boyfriends in a stable long-term relationship, I would like to know your stance is on polyamory rights. Is there room for Green support on group civil partnerships or marriages?'

Ms Bennett replied that although the Green Party 'at present' has no specific policy on legal partnerships involving more than two people, members could develop one and vote for it to be introduced. 'We have led the way on many issues related to the liberalisation of legal status in adult consenting relationships, and we are open to further conversation and consultation on this issue,' she added."

Politically the Green Party may have led the way on many issues related to the 'liberalisation of legal status in adult consenting relationships' but in the Church the champion of liberalisation in Great Britain is the Archbishop of Wales. I have been unable to find an official report of the proceedings but Dr Morgan secured an overwhelming vote in favour of his same-sex marriage proposals at the extraordinary meeting of the Llandaff Diocesan Conference held in Aberdare on May 9 to discuss the matter.

Not that it has any more relevance than voting at Parish and Deanery level because the Bench of Bishops have endorsed ++Barry's decision that they alone will decide the issue after the measure has been massaged through the Governing Body, just as they did when they denied traditional Anglicans a meaningful Code of Practice, contrary to the wishes expressed at Diocesan conferences organised at considerable expense to obtain the views of Church in Wales members.

After same-sex marriage polygamy is the next logical step for people in stable, long-term polyamorous relationships who love one another. If same-sex marriage is acceptable what possible objection can there be if two or more people love each other? Justifying their legislation Government Ministers said: "Put simply, it's not right that a couple who love each other and want to formalise a commitment to each other should be denied the right to marry."

Supporters of same-sex marriage who want the Church to be involved use 'love' as justification because love is at the heart of Christianity. It is. Christ said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another", which raises the question whether the Bench understands the meaning of true discipleship.

What can the Bench of Bishops be thinking about to go along with this misguided secular campaign? The price being paid is in direct opposition to Christ's prayer that we all may be one. As a result of ++Barry's misguided political policies, ecumenism between the Catholic and the Anglican Churches may be ending:

"Questions are being raised about whether the ecumenism between the Catholic and Anglican churches is coming to an end. According to Crux, many ask is there any point in the ecumenism as female bishops and gay bishops are present in Anglican churches, and they are now well-along the path toward same-sex marriage." Report here.

'Plural marriage' is currently out of favour in Mormonism but eager bed-fellows will be found in Islam. So the Archbishop of Wales will retire in the knowledge that in terms of marriage the Church in Wales could have more in common with Islam than with the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of which he claims membership. What a legacy!

The Gathering of [a few of] God's People

Ecumenical Communion at The Gathering 2012               Credit: The Presbyterian Church of Wales

After posting my previous entry I was reminded by a reader that the Church in Wales had approved the rite of Holy Communion for Ecumenical use. The rite, "The Gathering of God's People", can be found here. But is it the Sacrament of Holy Communion for Anglicans or an Agape Feast?

The gathering together of Christians is to be welcomed but there is a heavy price to pay when so-called 'unity' puts the Church in Wales outside the greater gathering of the Orthodox and Catholic Church.

The "Ecumenical Communion" service begins with a passage of scripture which has been used  to justify just about every liberal departure from the historic Christian faith, in particular the ordination of women: "In Christ Jesus we are all children of God through faith. There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female: [Response] We are all one in Christ Jesus.

What is unsaid is more alarming. Later in the service there is "An Affirmation of Faith" which replaces the Nicene Creed: "Let us proclaim our faith: 

We believe and trust in God the Father, 

who created all that is. 

We believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ, 

who redeemed the world. 

We believe and trust in his Holy Spirit, 

who gives life to the people of God. 

We believe and trust in one God, 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Amen." 

That is fine for Sunday School children but how can that be reconciled with The Constitution of the Church in Wales which, under the Formal statements of faith, states:

 "The Church in Wales is a fellowship of dioceses within the Holy Catholic Church, constituted as a Province of the Anglican Communion. It maintains the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons which it has received, and acknowledges as its supreme authority in matters of faith the Holy Scriptures as interpreted in the Catholic Creeds and the historic Anglican formularies, that is, the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests and Deacons as published in 1662. Its calling is to nurture men and women in the faith of Jesus Christ and to aid them to grow in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, so that the good news of God’s grace may be clearly proclaimed in the world and that God’s Kingdom may be honoured and advanced."

The Catholic Creeds are central to our faith but the bishops of the Church in Wales skirt around them. Then in Holy Scripture: "We often see what we want to see ... We often use Scripture to reinforce viewpoints that we have already arrived at in other ways and for other reasons". – The Archbishop of Wales (here). That excludes Galatians 3:28 of course when it is wrongly used to justify the ordination of women.

The Bishop of St Asaph, the Right Revd Dr Gregory Cameron said: “We have been challenged by the Gathering of Churches in Wales to seek for unity among Christians. ... Jesus requires his followers to be one family: it’s time to take that command seriously.” Quite so Dr Cameron!

Back in 2008 Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity posed the question to Anglicans: "Are you Protestants or Catholics? He said it was time to decide: "Ultimately, it is a question of the identity of the Anglican Church. Where does it belong? Does it belong more to the churches of the first millennium, Catholic and Orthodox, or does it belong more to the Protestant churches of the 16th century? At the moment it is somewhere in between, but it must clarify its identity now and that will not be possible without certain difficult decisions." See Fr Z's blog here.

Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church, a noted theologian and church historian, made a similar point when he blasted Anglicans for Renouncing the Faith here.

The response in Wales? "Chapels and churches from five denominations are being encouraged to think of themselves as The Church Uniting in Wales" - The Presbyterian Church of Wales (here).

Barry and his bishops are unable to spot the difference. Those who can are being ostracised for keeping the Catholic faith. Surely it should be the other way round if the Constitution continues to have any relevance in the Church in Wales.

Another Anglican step towards nonconformity

Dr Heather Morris, president of The Methodist Church in Ireland    Photo: Justin Kernaghan/Photopress

The latest news from Ireland, "Two Irish churches move closer together", will be right up Barry Morgan's street, going back to his nonconformist roots before his long overdue retirement. I have no quarrel with Methodism. I respect their tradition. Each to their own. But those of us who profess our belief in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and take it seriously rather than mouth it at the Eucharist are mindful that whilst "being one" has a Biblical resonance, the Church of Ireland and the Church in Wales are going in the wrong direction, increasing the gulf between Anglicanism and the Catholic and Orthodox Churches who have been showing encouraging signs of moving closer together.

From the "Overall Judgement" of the report from the Standing Doctrinal Commission of the Church in Wales (See 'Executive Summary' [- after item 11, Assisted Dying!]):

 “The proposals are a time of opportunity, and an invitation to take risks. The inherited structures of all churches in Wales are in our view both contingent and changeable, although Anglicans would always wish to assert the importance of the three- fold ministry in their ecclesiology.”

“It is also the case that there is much duplication both of structures, and of buildings, which could be pruned. However the experience of recent decades is that local experiments need facilitation from higher structures in order to flourish. We do not see the proposals as establishing a culture of uniformity, but rather affirming and enabling a variety of Christian traditions to flourish.”

Consequently the Church in Wales Working Group's Long-term Recommendations to their Governing Body were that:
"the Methodist jurisdiction, the Presbyterian jurisdiction and the URC/Covenanting Baptist jurisdiction each elect a bishop, the bishop will ordain all those who are to become ministers within that jurisdiction. That this bishop will be a bishop in the Church Uniting in Wales and will share collegiality and full interchangeability with all the other bishops of that Church".

As the Church of England continues to celebrate women rather than Christ, the Church in Wales continues to follow a policy designed to turn itself into protestant "congregational, presbyteral and episcopal" Church in Wales. Why Welsh nonconformists would want that after seeing what Dr Morgan has done already to the Church in Wales is a mystery.

Credit must be given to the Church of England for honouring their pledge towards traditionalists. Some may see that as a desperate move to allow women bishops at any cost but the mistakes of others in Wales, Ireland and the US are all too obvious to ignore. 

Spectacular own goal

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby welcomed female priests at St Paul's Cathedral

Today's march of ordained women from their picnic in Westminster to St Paul's Cathedral was no walk of witness to Christ. It was a triumphal march celebrating what has become an issue of so called equal rights for women. The Anglican Communion has no authority to ordain women other than that which Provinces have taken upon themselves, thus setting Anglicans apart from the rest of the Holy Catholic Church.

Archbishop Welby, who had been permitted to Deacon at the women's celebratory Eucharist, said "In 20 years we have come a long way". Indeed we have. Such a long way that men and women of conscience have to beg to be considered faithful Anglicans in this increasingly women's church. ++Welby added,  "How did we not see that women and men are equally icons, witnesses, vessels of Christ for the world?" - What?!! - There appears to be little hope for true Anglicanism outside Africa!

How to misapply the obvious!

Postscript

Read also: Why are we celebrating 20 years of the ordination of women? From Susie Leafe, Director of Reform

Lowlights

Source: BBC video here

Have you ever felt ashamed to be an Anglican? Those of us in the UK who feared that the influence of the US Episcopal Church would have dire consequences for Anglicanism have been proved correct but perhaps few realised the depths to which newcomers would sink to achieve their liberal objectives.

A report of the recent meeting of the Governing Body (GB) of the Church in Wales now appears in 'Highlights' here under the headline Moral, Doctrinal and Ecumenical. What a laugh!

The piece on Women Bishops is a real eye-opener on the levels of deceit the bishops and their minions are prepared to sink to achieve the objectives of His Darkness. Here is an extract:

"The Bishops were present at the open forum, but did not participate. Members of GB were encouraged to share their views about what provision should be made in the Code of Practice, but not to return to general principles about women bishops that were made during the original debate last September. [my emphasis - Ed.]

The Venerable Peggy Jackson (Llandaff) reminded GB that it made a very important decision last September that there should be no ongoing discrimination in law on the grounds of gender, and that should be built into the process by which women should be made bishops. “From that date, we have all been members of a Church that no longer discriminates on grounds of gender. So the Church changed on that day.” “The Bishops should draw up a code such that all may have security in their accepted and valued place in the Church in Wales. It should not be interpreted as meeting the needs of a minority.” “Women must fully grow into their place of equality alongside men within the Church—that is a reassurance that the code should reflect.”

Archdeacon Peggy applied three principles: that the provisions of the code should apply equally to male or female bishops; that the code should honour the authority of the diocesan bishop in her or his diocese; that all the bishops should be willing as necessary and as needed to assist one another in meeting pastoral or sacramental needs in each others’ dioceses. “This means that the concept of a Provincial Assistant Bishop should be resisted, as this role would set up a two-tier episcope.”"

That the bishops would not participate was fair as was the guidance "not to return to general principles about women bishops". The bishops had no need to speak; their mouthpiece was allowed free rein. But why was the Archdeacon of Llandaff allowed to speak putting an entirely different slant on her original proposals? Effectively it was her motion that was carried at the previous GB, a motion which promised fair play but on a voluntary basis. That 'voluntary' was going to have any force can now be seen as a complete delusion bar a miracle that the Bench will do the honourable thing and disregard the latest contribution of the Venerable Peggy Jackson, a woman who does not understand the meaning of discrimination other than as a propaganda tool. They have good reason for doing so since she, like some of her fellow-travellers who tried to derail the process at the diocesan meetings by returning to general principles, is clearly determined not to let traditionalists have the sacramental and pastoral oversight they have pleaded for to maintain a link with the Holy Catholic Church which the Church in Wales is so busy cutting after reading Highlights.

The gentle art of persuasion or is it deception?

A BILL TO ENABLE WOMEN TO BE CONSECRATED AS BISHOPS

"WHEREAS the Law and Constitution of the Church in Wales has hitherto not permitted women to be consecrated as bishops

AND WHEREAS it is now appropriate in the Church in Wales that women be eligible for consecration to the Holy Order of Bishops

AND WHEREAS the Church in Wales intends to continue the ministry of the universal church in its threefold orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons and to remain part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church 

AND WHEREAS the Church in Wales, subject to the provisions of the civil law relating to equality and other relevant matters, wishes to respect those who in conscience cannot accept that women be eligible for consecration to the Holy Order of Bishops ..."

The above preamble to the Church in Wales Bill to Enable Women to be Consecrated as Bishops reads as a statement of facts but only the first statement is true. The universal church does not consider it appropriate that women be eligible for consecration to the Holy Order of Bishop. This is an innovation based largely on secular principles of equality misapplied to the church for political reasons and have nothing to do with the Christian faith as handed down through the ages.

The Anglican Communion has been torn apart by separate provinces breaking with our traditional understanding of ordination. This and the related matter of Homosexuality and Anglicanism has resulted in many provinces representing about half of the 80 million practising Anglicans worldwide responding to these theological disputes by declaring a state of impaired communion with their counterparts.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches have made their positions abundantly clear, examples here and here. Ordaining women to the episcopate is in direct contradiction to the statement that 'the Church in Wales intends to continue the ministry of the universal church in its threefold orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons and to remain part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church'.  As Metroploitan Hilarion observed, the future of ecumenism is in great peril with the gap widening between orthodox and progressives.

'Progressives' have shown themselves determined to plough their own furrows regardless of the cost to unity and to the fate of their brothers and sisters whose only 'error' has been to remain loyal to the traditional teaching of the 'One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church' in common with the vast majority of Christians including most Anglicans. The preamble to the Bill asserts that the Church in Wales...wishes to respect those who in conscience cannot accept that women be eligible for consecration to the Holy Order of Bishops" but on the evidence so far, this sounds as empty as 'the Church in Wales intends to continue the ministry of the universal church in its threefold orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons and to remain part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church'.

Unlike the Church of England where alternative episcopal oversight is provided by Provincial Episcopal visitors, such oversight has been denied to worshippers in the Church in Wales following the retirement in 2008 of the Provincial Assistant Bishop (PAB) on the grounds that alternative oversight creates a church within a church. This argument is refuted in The Church, Women Bishops and Provision : "We have shown that authentic episcopal oversight can be, and has been, exercised in a variety of ways,  both historically and today" [p.77].

Under Section 3(2) of the Bill:
Recommendations made pursuant to the provisions of subsection (1) and agreed by the Bench of Bishops must be included in a Bill introduced into the Governing Body of the Church in Wales within two years of the promulgation of this Bill [My emphasis - Ed.]. But what sort of provision can possibly be made given Dr Morgan's outright rejection of anything acceptable to those for whom it is intended? Without a complete about face there cannot be acceptable provision. A PAB would no longer be appropriate because he could not with integrity be an assistant to a woman bishop so a duly consecrated bishop, or bishops, perhaps from outside the province, would be required which is unlikely given Dr Morgan's refusal even to replace the PAB.

The danger if this legislation succeeds is that having achieved their main aim of permitting women to be consecrated as bishops, the Bench of Bishops will find themselves unable to agree any proposals put to them, no doubt making full use of the proviso 'subject to the provisions of the civil law relating to equality and other relevant matters' if their conduct to date is taken as a guide. One only has to look to the manoeuvring in England and what has happened in the United States to be wary of this legislation. 

A period of reception or deception?

Dr Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales                                                                Picture: WalesOnline

From WalesOnline: "The Church in Wales is set to have a crunch vote for the first time in five years on whether to allow women to be ordained as bishops. Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan said: “Since we ordain women as deacons and priests it makes no theological sense not to ordain them as bishops since we believe in the three fold order of ministry. That is why I and my fellow bishops will be asking members of the governing body to vote in favour of the Bill". "

Of course the Archbishop's fellow bishops agree with him; otherwise they would not be bishops in the Church in Wales. But Dr Morgan's logic is not shared by the wider Holy Catholic Church of which the Church in Wales professes to be part. His belief that there is no theological sense in not ordaining women as bishops is dictated by his secular obsession with the ordination of women, an obsession well illustrated by two quotes from supporters:

"Plaid Cymru’s Rhodri Glyn Thomas, a Minister of Religion and a member of the Assembly’s equalities committee said: “Our party has played an active part in the fight for women’s equality, because we recognise that this is important in allowing everyone in Wales to play a full and active part in their communities. I hope that the members of the Church in Wales will recognise if they are asked to vote on the matter, and that they deliver equality for women within the Church.”

Eluned Parrott, the Liberal Democrat AM for South Wales Central, said: “This is welcome news and I applaud the bishops’ attempts to reform and modernise the Church in Wales.

The vast majority of Christians hold to the biblical faith of the church. Adapting Christianity to make the church 'more relevant to society' under the pretext of equality is nonsense. There is no inequality in the church. There are different ministries, lay and ordained. To equate the ordained ministry with secular employment to justify women bishops is to appeal to secularists who have no interest in religious belief. It is not that "it makes no theological sense not to ordain [women] as bishops", rather, it made no theological sense for a tiny minority in the Anglican Communion which is a relatively small church within the Holy Catholic Church, unilaterally to ordain women to the priesthood in the first place.

The new vote comes following a trail of false promises and deception both in the Church of England and in the disestablished Church in Wales. When women were ordained to the priesthood pledges were made that provision would be made for those opposed on theological grounds to the ordination of women. Opponents have since been deceived and marginalised. As Sir Peter Bottomley so frankly put it: "Essentially everyone knew that when you had the ordination of women as priests that this would lead to the ordination of women bishops after a decent length of pause. Some would say it has now been an indecent length of pause." Presumably he meant everyone without a conscience.

Despite all the deception, some provision has been maintained for opponents in England through the continued appointment of Provincial Episcopal Visitors. Not so in Wales. Their Provincial Assistant Bishop was not replaced after his retirement because the goal of women priests had been achieved. The following extract from 'A Noble Task' written by Bishop David Thomas helps to clarify the situation in Wales. Read it in full here.

The  appointment of a PAB reflected the scale of the problem in 1996: the suggestion  that the PAB would need to be replaced by a bishop with jurisdiction simply  reflects the scale of the problem that would arise if women were admitted to  the episcopate. The fifth  recital of the 1996 bill made reference to the pastoral guidelines, and the  guidelines were distributed at Governing Body before the vote. Being no lawyer,  I therefore assumed that the arrangements contained in the guidelines were  constitutionally guaranteed. Several months later, I discovered that this was  not so. I mention this because any arrangements of the kind outlined above  would need to be enshrined in legislation. A new episcopal jurisdiction is, by  definition, not the kind of thing that can be brought into being simply on the  basis of goodwill and mutual agreement to disagree, essential though those  things would undoubtedly be. I would argue further that the necessary  legislation should be part of any bill, or possibly a schedule to any bill,  opening the episcopate to women. To fail to do this would create untold  confusion and anxiety. It might also lead to a situation where the election or  appointment of a woman bishop meant that appropriate legislation had to be  prepared in a great hurry. That would be most undesirable from all points of  view, including, one suspects, that of the bishop-elect or -designate  herself.

Under proposals to be presented to the Governing Body, the Archbishop and his fellow bishops are asking for a "blank cheque" to achieve Dr Morgan's cherished ambition of approving women bishops while offering unspecified provision for those opposed on theological grounds. To date the track record of the revisionists has been appalling. In the Church of England there was outrage at the lost vote. The guidance of the Holy Spirit which they prayed for has been ignored and a new approach is being engineered by the bishops under the guidance of WATCH.

In Wales Dr Morgan is insistent that there will be no provision for opponents which he regards as a 'church within a church'. So what provision can there be? Without a complete reversal it is clear that there is nothing for opponents in these proposals other than ultimate exclusion if the Bill is passed.

The Church of England: A new Sect

"The Church of England's decision to reject the introduction of
women bishops makes it look like 'a sect'." - Sir Tony Baldry

 The Second Church Estates Commissioner, Sir Tony Baldry, displays an unusual understanding of the word sect which in Christian terms means a group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong. In our case that means the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church which Parliament, the House of Bishops and a majority of clergy in Synod choose to ignore for purely political purposes.

Much has been made of the Commissioner's buffoonery in sporting a male-only, club tie while he was berating orthodox Christians for being sexist. What he had to say about sects was equally ridiculous. It is the rejection of Christian orthodoxy that will turn the Church of England into a Protestant sect, not the other way around. As mentioned in my previous entry, the new Dean of Llandaff wrote that "We should listen to Parliament". Why? MPs have demonstrated that they have no understanding of the issues involved. Every member I heard made false accusations on the lines of that peddled in the press by 'over one thousand clergy' when they suggested that orthodox Anglicans believe women are inferior to men. What utter nonsense and from senior clergy!

Comments made in Parliament showed an abysmal ignorance of the theology involved. This offering from David Winnick was typical: I am not involved with the Church of England and I am a lifelong non-believer, but I want to say to the hon. Gentleman, whom I greatly admire for the stance he has taken, that it is simply impossible to understand how on earth it can be argued that if women are considered appropriate to be deacons and priests, as they have been in the last 20 years, they are not worthy to be bishops. It is simply impossible to understand that. Will the hon. Gentleman also accept that, for many of us, this opposition to women bishops bears comparison with the opposition 100 years ago to women having the right to vote and to sit in the House of Commons? It is an anti-women attitude—a feeling that women have no place in public life, in religion or in politics—that I find contemptible.

It is contemptible that an Honourable Member is allowed to get away with such statements such as "they are not [considered] worthy to be bishops" and "It is an anti-women attitude—a feeling that women have no place in public life, in religion or in politics" when nothing of the sort has been suggested. That is not the position of the church but it remains unchallenged because clergy and bishops in general hold their positions not for their belief in orthodox Christianity but in the church being relevant to society. Typical of the bishops' response came from the Bishop of Sheffield who told the BBC that 'he hoped the news would not affect congregation numbers' when the most vocal don't attend church anyway. He should wake up to the fact, as one historian put it, 'God doesn't do relevance'. What has affected congregation numbers is the use of half-truths and even lies to promote a liberal agenda at variance with Christian teaching. 
 
There are far too many women who experience real suffering and desperately need our help instead of squabbling over imaginary injustices. Although illegal in the UK Female Genital Mutilation goes on because of "respect" and "cultural sensitivity" which makes detection in the UK almost impossible. Also, gender inequality is one of the main reasons for early and forced marriage: women and girls often occupy a lower status in societies as a result of social and cultural traditions, attitudes, beliefs that deny them their rights and stifle their ability to play an equal role in their homes and communities. Young girls are forced into marriage as child brides. It is ironic that immense suffering is allowed to continue out of respect for other cultures while a lack of respect for our own culture sees Christian orthodoxy overturned and genuine believers marginalised.

Women and men who complain about the supposed pain and suffering of women because they are not yet able to be bishops in the Church of England should focus on the real pain experienced by women and even girls in this country and far beyond. If they had had any thought for others they would already have secured the vote they crave for. All that is needed now is to allow orthodox Anglicans to practice their faith as it has been received. If they would only do that they could direct their considerable talents into helping to ease real suffering among women. That is the challenge. As Christians they should have the humility to accept it.

A sense of proportion

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

In the face of claims by advocates of the ordination of women that they now command a majority in favour of women bishops in Synod we should retain a sense of proportion. Using published figures the Anglican Communion accounts for just 6% of the total membership with whom we closely identify in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. In the above chart the Anglican Communion is sub-divided into those who do not ordain women (4%) and those who ordain women to the episcopate or claim a two-thirds majority in favour (2%) so they are out-numbered by two to one in the Anglican Communion and overwhelmingly marginalised in the wider church. 

Addressing the 2008 Lambeth Conference, Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, observed that in breaking with the apostolic tradition the Anglican Communion is moving away from not only the Catholic Church but also the Orthodox churches. More and more, he said, the Anglican stance appears to resemble that of the Protestant churches born of the Reformation rather than a branch of the older Christian tradition. He said that despite 40 years of cordial and often productive talks between Rome and Canterbury, "full visible communion as the aim of our dialogue has receded further."  

Similarly in a recent letter congratulating Bishop Justin Welby on his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church commented: "Regrettably, the late 20th century and the beginning of the third millennium have brought tangible difficulties in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Churches of the Anglican Communion. The introduction [of] female priesthood and now episcopate, the blessing of same-sex ‘unions’ and ‘marriages’, the ordination of homosexuals as pastors and bishops – all these innovations are seen by the Orthodox as deviations from the tradition of the Early Church, which increasingly estrange Anglicanism from the Orthodox Church and contribute to a further division of Christendom as a whole."

The message could not be clearer. The Anglican Church is moving away from unity in direct contradiction to Christ's prayer 'that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me'. If the issue were before a Church Council it would be decisively rejected. Instead the self-interested constantly chip away at the foundations church by church so weakening the body of Christ in the world. How can anyone vote for that?

Ordering and teaching of the Church of England

 "Knowledge of the Canons by the Clergy is essential for the
right ordering and teaching of the Church of England."
+ERIC KEMP (former Bishop of Chichester)

From the Church of England web site which boasts 'a Christian presence in every community'. Perhaps 'a presence in every community' would be more appropriate.

C 18 Of diocesan bishops
1. Every bishop is the chief pastor of all that are within his diocese, as well laity as clergy, and their father in God; it appertains to his office to teach and to uphold sound and wholesome doctrine, and to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange opinions; and, himself an example of righteous and godly living, it is his duty to set forward and maintain quietness, love, and peace among all men.

Given that typical congregations are aging fast, they must include many cradle Anglicans who have done their bit and more over the years but no longer sit on committees or attend synods. Leaving others to take over their work they still, mistakenly it seems, rely on their bishop to promote unity in the church while upholding sound and wholesome doctrine. Instead worshippers find themselves out of step with modern thinking, abandoned by bishops who are more comfortable with political posturing than caring for 'all that are within his diocese'. A clear majority in the House of Bishops have sided with revisionists who demand that their opponents accept what they are given or leave their church. Even if all the bishops of the last 2,000 years were too blind to see what is now regarded as sound and wholesome doctrine, by what authority do they exclude worshippers who simply refuse to accept doctrine that is outside the teaching of the Holy Catholic Church? They claim to respect the views of their opponents but do not show it in any meaningful manner. Instead they engage in a campaign to force through unacceptable legislation not based on universally accepted theology but on the grounds that there has been 'Enough Waiting'. 

In his opening statement at the press conference at Lambeth Palace following the announcement that Bishop Justin Welby was to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury he said:
"This is a time for optimism and faith in the church. I know we are facing very hard issues. In 10 days or so the General Synod will vote on the ordination of women as Bishops. I will be voting in favour, and join my voice to many others in urging the Synod to go forward with this change. In my own Diocese, and before I was a Bishop, I have always recognised and celebrated the remarkable signs of God's grace and action in the ministries of many people who cannot in conscience agree with this change. Personally I value and learn from them, and want the church to be a place where we can disagree in love, respecting each other deeply as those who belong to Christ." 
But what does that mean in reality for those praying for a greater understanding of their pastoral needs? Absolutely nothing. Bishop Welby simply joins those bishops who are urging Synod to vote in favour of the measure in full knowledge that what is offered to opponents is no more than a promise to provide a code of practice that has no legal force. A code that if WATCH and GRAS have anything to do with it will go the same way as the promises made to ensure that women were admitted to the priesthood.

Apart from a few honourable exceptions whatever bishops believe today falls well short of what older Anglicans expect for the right ordering and teaching of the Church of England. It may be new Anglican but it is not Christian.