Locked out

Many regular Sunday church attenders will be feeling lost following the closure of churches in accordance with government instructions on defeating the spread of the coronavirus. In time of need they are denied the comfort of Holy Communion and fellowship. 

Many of us have been there for years. Effectively excommunicated, orthodox Anglicans have in many areas been left with no church to attend, especially in Wales where the Assistant Provincial Bishop David Thomas was not replaced following his retirement in 2008. 

My experience of virtual services has not been inspiring, unlike the above video link which was sent to me by a well wisher. 

We have lost so much.

“Women of Jerusalem, do not shed your tears for me, but for yourselves and for your children! For the days are coming when men will say, ‘Lucky are the women who are childless—the bodies which have never borne, and the breasts which have never given nourishment.’ Then men will begin ‘to say to the mountains, Fall on us! and to the hills, Cover us!’ For if this is what men do when the wood is green, what will they do when it is seasoned?”
Luke 23:28-31

Beyond belief

'Retiring' Archbishop Barry Morgan      Source: Wales Online

A fawning article in Wales Online "Archbishop Barry Morgan on love, bereavement and Christmas hope" affords the Archbishop more credit than he is due. It conceals the sense of loss experienced by many members of the Church in Wales as the direct result of Dr Morgan's actions and inaction.

The article continues: "Archbishop Barry Morgan is preparing for his last Christmas as leader of the Church in Wales and his first without his beloved wife, Hilary. Throughout his ministry he has sought to comfort people who have faced loss and illness, and now he is sharing his experiences of bereavement in the hope that it will help others."

The story ignores the needless pain Dr Morgan has inflicted on others, a sense of loss that either he fails to understand or chooses to ignore. Many believe the latter. He could have retired years ago but he chose to stay at the helm, leading the Church in Wales into the wilderness as his heretical mentor, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, did for TEC.

Loss is a terrible thing and can be heartbreaking but loss resulting from the deliberate actions of supposed Christian leaders is inexcusable. That is the situation many members of TEC have found themselves in. A situation that is being repeated in the Church in Wales simply because as 'loyal Anglicans', they are unable in conscience to depart from the traditional Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church. As priest and bishop it is Dr Morgan's duty to comfort people who have faced loss so to cause that sense of loss is unforgivable.

The lives of regular churchgoers often revolve around the church. Their religious and social lives are intertwined. When ostracised there is a vacuum. That is the position in which many church members have found themselves. The attitude of the Archbishop and the Bench is one of take it or leave or look elsewhere. Alternative provision as in the Church of England for anyone who does not subscribe to Dr Morgan's liberal agenda would be in his words, over his dead body. There is no comfort in that.

Campaigners for the ordination of women and some gay Christians love to protest that they have been persecuted but little if anything is heard about church members, often cradle Anglicans, who have been excluded for maintaining their historic belief in the Apostolic Church.  In my own experience supposedly devout Anglicans have refused to share the Peace and refused to speak because their liberal cause has been rejected. How very liberal!

Some 'traditionalists' have battled on in such circumstances while others have succumbed under the pressure of their harsh treatment and left the church. Although deprived of spiritual support many have found the experience liberating. Little surprise then that regular Sunday attendance in the Church in Wales has dropped to less than 1% of the population and continues to fall.

A Happy Christmas to my Orthodox readers

I need no excuse to indulge myself in the glories of the Russian Orthodox Church but their celebration of Christmas on 7 January is an opportunity too good to miss.

In the above video the congregation, male and female, young and old, rich and poor, are engrossed in the liturgy. There is a sense of spirituality lost in some other churches. Contrast their piety with that of many Anglican congregations in Great Britain today where reverence has been replaced by the familiarity of  'Other Forms of Worship' in which the Altar is no longer the focus of attention.

It is hardly surprising that congregations have dwindled when there is no sense of otherness. We are 'of this world' but losing the other worldliness of mystery and awe exhibited by our Orthodox brothers and sisters is a great loss.