Archbishop attracts further criticism

The Archbishop of Wales (right) and gay pride supporters, the sub-dean of Bangor
 and former Mayor      Source: Twitter

Martin Shipton writes in Nation Cymru:

 "Questions are being raised about the judgement of Archbishop of Wales Andy John after the emergence of concerns relating to potential financial irregularities in his home diocese of Bangor.

"Several Church in Wales sources have independently contacted NationCymru to criticise the Archbishop for creating a situation where one cleric – the Rev Canon Siôn ap Rhys-Evans – was effectively running both the diocese of Bangor and its cathedral. He has been on gardening leave since February 29."

Continuing their mushroom method of management the church remains silent about the absence of the sub-dean of Bangor.

Shipton continues, "One Church in Wales source told us: 'The Church is doing its best to keep a lid on this and make sure it doesn’t become a public controversy. But the fact is that the Archbishop made a serious mistake when he appointed Sion Rhys-Evans as the Sub-Dean of Bangor Cathedral in 2021. The fact that he’s in charge of both the cathedral and the diocese is a major problem and he may live to regret it'."

The archbishop's judgement has already been called into question for ignoring the teaching of the Church having remarried after his divorce form his first wife. Also for appointing an assistant bishop who is engaged to another man implying future marriage which contrary to the teaching of the Church in Wales.

Not the symbol of unity his flock expects.

Beyond belief

Church in Wales bishops, from left: Bishop John Lomas, Bishop June Osborne, Bishop Gregory Cameron, Archbishop Andrew John, Bishop Joanna Penberthy,
 Bishop Cherry Vann and Bishop Mary Stallard. Source: Church in Wales

The apparently not-at-all-busy archbishop of Wales who needs an assistant to help him do next to nothing has surfaced to make what he regards is an important announcement along with other like-minded Anglicans who are promoting same sex marriage. 

Marching off to Lambeth, not with the cross of Jesus, but with the LGBT banner going on before, the most reverend Andrew John, bishop of Bangor and archbishop of Wales proclaims: "The draft Lambeth Call on human dignity “undermines and subverts" LGBT+ people...the bishops pledge to work to amend the passage “to reflect more adequately our understanding of their equal place in the Church".

 That is a distortion of the facts.

LGBT+ people already have more than an equal place in the Church. Gay bishops, LGBT chaplains, same-sex blessings, pride eucharists. All are welcomed and affirmed.

By contrast, Anglicans who, in conscience, are unable to accept the new order, the ordained ministry of women and the liberal agenda that has come with it are cast aside without a thought. There is no longer even a pretence of any place for them in the Church. That evaporated as soon as the movement for the ordination of women achieved their goal.

The female dominated bench of bishops shows no desire to provide an equal place for Anglicans who have not swallowed their propaganda.

That is a battle lost but the baggage that has come with it continues. For many Anglicans the institution of marriage is sacred. As the official policy of the Church in Wales states:

"Drawing on the teaching of the Bible, and of the Church down through the centuries, the Church in Wales Marriage Service talks about marriage as a gift of God. Marriage is described as the lifelong, faithful union between a man and a woman, and married love is compared with the love Jesus has for his people – a love expressed in his willing sacrifice of himself on the cross."

To uphold this officially stated view is being characterised as homophobic while the bishops openly campaign to allow same sex marriage in Church, the archbishop of Wales' first expressed wish after his enthronement. 

For the women's movement, first they demanded equality based on secular standards, then parity, already surpassed but the female dominated bench shows no desire to provide an equal place for Anglicans who have not succumbed to their falsehoods.

The bishops of the Church in Wales have become a joke outside their own province. Why should anyone at Lambeth listen to them when their message is anathema to the vast majority of Anglicans and other Christians around the world.

Ironically the lead author in the Lambeth Conference drafting process for The Lambeth Call on Christian Unity is bishop Gregory Cameron - see pages 5 and 44 of the link to LAMBETH CALLS: GUIDANCE AND STUDY DOCUMENTS. The section begins:

"We are committed to the work of unity. We confess we are not united and for Christians that is a scandal and a cause of shame. We urge all our sisters and brothers to commit to work for unity and we call especially on our ecumenical partners to help us, work with us and enable us to move closer to one another."

Yes, it is a scandal. Trendy Anglican bishops are renouncing the faith and dragging down others with them instead of saving their souls. 

Postscripts 

[27/07/2022] Motion of no confidence threat for Justin Welby over the Lambeth Calls surrender

[28/07/2022] From Christian Today: "Bishops who deny the Gospel 'should be removed from their positions'."

[29.07.2022] ORTHODOX bishops at the Lambeth Conference - representing 75% of the Anglican Communion - announced today (29JUL) that they will be tabling their own ‘Lambeth Resolution (Call)’.

[02.08.2022] Orthodox bishops reveal text of resolution reaffirming ‘Lambeth 1.10’ as the Anglican Communion teaching on marriage and sexuality

Last Night at the Proms

Remainers at the Proms singing Land of Hope and Glory                                                                                                                                             Source: BBC

I wonder what Sir Malcolm Sargent would have made of it.

A self-proclaimed 'Queer girl with a nose ring' waving the pride flag after singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow to "unify" an audience already unified in music.

The proceedings were brought to a close with the utterly incongruent spectacle of 'Remainers' in EU berets singing Land of Hope and Glory while waving EU flags.

US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton waving a Pride flag to "unify the audience".               Source: BBC

Political activism gone mad.

Postscript [19.09.2019]

Love is the thing. Presiding bishop Michael Curry drawled it out at the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. 

Liberal infiltrators into Anglicanism continually talk of love, conveniently rolling all forms of love into one. 

The BBC is at it too. 

US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been elevated to the status of national treasure having 'unified' the nation under the gay pride flag rather than the traditional Union Flag as she sang Rule Britannia at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms. 

Yesterday I received a promotional email from the BBC celebrating love as portrayed at the Proms.

They are also telling school children ‘There are more than 100 gender identities’. 

Discover more with the BBC!

I don't care says Archbishop

Archbishop Justin Welby                                    Source: The Spectator

It is a sad time for orthodox Anglicans when archbishops don't care, adopting a mix and match approach to faith, driving Western Anglicanism into the mud as it becomes bogged down by secularism. And it is not just Canterbury. The Church in Wales and the Scottish Episcopal Church are in the same rut.

The US Episcopal Church (TEC) was allowed to become terminally infected by the spirit of the age before if wafted over the pond to infect the Church of England (CofE) and beyond, welcomed by impatient liberals as if it were the Holy Spirit rather than the Zeitgeist.

Interviewed for The Spectator the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, responded to claims that "one in ten Catholic priests is a former Anglican vicar by saying, "Who cares? I don’t mind about all that. Particularly if people go to Rome, which is such a source of inspiration."

Such an inspiration that after talking since the 1970s about possible reunion the CofE ignored pleas by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches and admitted female priests, blocking the road to unity.

Archbishops may not care but orthodox Anglicans do care. While Anglican priests cross the Tiber going to Rome, Catholic priests are travelling in the opposite direction. The numbers are likely to increase after Pope Francis told gay priests to "be celibate or leave the priesthood", thus further diluting Anglican orthodoxy as the CofE embraces homosexuality and same sex marriage.

Rev Dr Tina Beardsley: "Positive development"

 Next on the Anglican agenda is the CofE's welcoming of transgender people with calls for an Affirmation of Baptism service adapted to allow transgender Christians to celebrate their new sexual identity.

A step too far? The Church of England is facing opposition from more than 2,000 of its own clergy and office holders over new guidance on celebrating transgender ‘transitions’.

It comes as no surprise that according to an analysis of CofE churchgoing in 2017 less than 50 people attend Sunday services at a typical English parish church and just one in ten babies is baptised into the Church of England.

Archbishop Welby accepts that the numbers are "challenging". From the Spectator article, "vocations are rising but weekday and Sunday services decreasing and the number of marriages and baptisms declining sharply. Perhaps the most startling statistic is that just 2 per cent of under-25s regard themselves as Anglican. ‘If you’re over 70, you’re eight times more likely to go to church than if you’re under 30,’ he says. ‘And I think that’s a huge challenge.’ I ask if he thinks rising secularism is also a challenge: that young people who go to church are seen not just as weird but as potential bigots and homophobes. It’s not a story he recognises."

No doubt the archbishop will welcome liberal minded Roman Catholic priests into his un-orthodox Anglican Church leaving orthodox Anglicans even more isolated. As conviction Anglicans they are unlikely to become Roman Catholics. Many have already left. Those who refuse to contemplate leaving 'their church' will be further compromised by sustaining an organisation that no longer shares the faith of the vast majority of Christians in the Anglican Communion

For those who are tempted to become Roman Catholics the writing is on the wall in the headline Papal advisers on female deacons hopeful for positive answer.

Rome has only to look to Canterbury for the dangers in that. As deacons in the Anglican Church justice demanded that they be allowed to become priests, then bishops, then cohabiting priests, then married priests, then married bishops. They call it progress but it is not Biblical.

2018 Top Ten

Celtic Bishops visit the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome.                                                                                                        Source: Twitter

The entry When in Rome topped the list of reads in 2018.

                   Former giants of the Church in Wales before bishops were replaced by 'prefects'.
Five held Oxford Firsts in Theology.     Source: Anglican Misfit

In a sense When in Rome typifies the direction of the Church in Wales (CinW) today under bishops who possibly would have have made it to area dean or perhaps archdeacon in years past and two who would not have been ordained.

A week long jolly in Rome for the entire bench for a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity after Anglican bishops deliberately imperiled any move to unity, widening the gap between orthodox and progressives by Renouncing the Faith.

The bishops of the CinW along with the Church of England bishops thumbed their noses at the Roman Catholic and Holy Orthodox churches when they warned of the consequences for unity of admitting women to the priesthood.

Sat at the table with the Archbishop of Wales is the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church [1st from left]. The archbishop was so impressed with the credentials of the Primus that he would invite him to speak at the September 2018 meeting of the CinW Governing Body in favour of same sex marriage, widening the gap between orthodox and progressives even further.

Not giving a fig for Christian unity other than on their own terms and openly promoting behaviour contrary to scripture and tradition, it would be bad enough for one bishop of the CinW to have turned up in Rome, but all six!

No 2 on the list, Holy smoke commented on the report which described Llandaff Cathedral as "a wonderful place with committed clergy and staff. It has a healthy attendance at services with many young people and a wealth of skills and experience in the congregation." Despite the glowing report the Llandaff saga rumbles on along with frequent expressions of unease with domestic affairs in Bangor. Monmouth is currently under the spotlight while the institution continues to paddle along, apparently unconcerned.

The ten blog entries with the most views in 2018 were:

When in Rome...! 17 January 2018, 145 comments

Holy smoke 30 May 2018, 124 comments

The cost of change 14 February 2018, 70 comments

Church in Wales Ministry Areas 20 January 2018, 53 comments

Unholy row in Diocese of Monmouth 22 December 2018, 29 comments

Wimmin called to ministry 28 February 2018, 51 comments

Yr eglwys a'r Gymraeg: 'Dechreuad' ond mwy i'w wneud 29 January 2018, 56 comments

The Monmouth saga 24 December 2018, 34 comments

Church in Wales bench of bishops in renewed push for same sex marriage 2 September 2018, 36 comments

What a gay couple of days! 19 April 2018, 56 comments

Again typifying the direction of the CinW today, from The cost of change, No 3 on the list, their view of the world beneath them

View enjoyed by Church in Wales Representative Body staff                                     Source: Twitter

Happy New Year!

Catholic-Anglican dialogue

Pope Paul VI (right) presents his episcopal ring to Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey when the two met in 1966 in what was the first public meeting
between a Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury since the Reformation. Source: Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS)

Years ago I would have been thrilled by the publication of the first report by Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission in 13 years which considers authority and role of laity. Now I recoil in fear and trepidation for the Church.

"Among the considerations in the 68-page report, released July 2, are questions of how the Catholic Church might learn from the Anglican experience to empower local church leaders to act more independently from Rome at times, and to give more governing authority to consultative bodies such as the Synod of Bishops.

It says that the Catholic Church can also "fruitfully learn from the inclusion of laity in decision-making structures at every level of Anglican life."

In March 1966 there was a Common Declaration by Pope Paul VI and Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey after their meeting in Rome. They gave "thanks to Almighty God Who by the action of the Holy Spirit has in these latter years created a new atmosphere of Christian fellowship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Churches of the Anglican Communion."

"In willing obedience to the command of Christ who bade His disciples love one another, they declare that, with His help, they wish to leave in the hands of the God of mercy all that in the past has been opposed to this precept of charity, and that they make their own the mind of the Apostle which he expressed in these words: ‘Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (Phil 3:13-14)."

Anglicans in the West have become obsessed with 'love'. Not love in the sense referred to in the Declaration but as a do-as-you-please passport. In a word, eros. When an openly gay man in a realationship, Gene Robinson of the US Episcopal Church (TEC) was appointed of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop it caused a hiatus.

Western Anglicanism is in disarray. So much so that it has been reported that TEC spends "$8 million brokering rites for sodomite marriage into the Episcopal Church and messing with the Book of Common Prayer (over three triennium) to change it so non-heterosexual marriages are forever enshrined in the BCP in order to cater to the behavior of a handful of homosexuals and lesbians who may or may not choose to get married. And Jesus will weep. https://tinyurl.com/yc2l8eqw "

Ahead of their General Convention three bishops from the TEC have proposed a "compromise resolution on same-sex marriage which they hope will move the church forwards in an 'atmosphere of mutual respect, reconciliation and the love of Jesus Christ'."

Anglicans landed in this mess because faith is decided by committee, dominated by special interest groups which claim to be persecuted, while appealing to secularists for support. This is the well tried strategy:

• Exploit the “victim” status;
• Use the sympathetic media;
• Confuse and neutralize the churches;
• Slander and stereotype [traditionalist] Christians;
• Bait and switch (hide their true nature); and 
• Intimidation.

Taking one step at a time Western Anglicanism has moved from deaconess to women bishops, from a sympathetic understanding of homosexuality to brazen homosexual relationships among clergy who demand to be allowed to marry in church. All in the name of love.

The deviousness of special interest groups knows no bounds. Governance by committee has allowed them to infiltrate, dictate and regulate to the point that many cradle Anglicans now find themselves excluded while the infiltrators drive the wedge ever deeper between the Anglican Church and the Holy Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

"The future of ecumenism is in great peril with the gap widening between orthodox and progressives, said Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church a noted theologian and church historian."

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 entry at the time here.

Against this background it seems almost incomprehensible to read: "Will the Amazon synod open the door to women deacons?" as reported by the Catholic News Agency.

That was the road to disaster for the Anglican Church. Read The journey's end but for whom?

Bishop Gene Robinson putting the Anglican Church on the road to ruin

Women bishops defy Governing Body

Jolly June          Source: Twitter@LlandaffDio

Within the Church in Wales, those who on grounds of theological conviction and conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion. The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued. Appropriate provision for them will be made in a way intended to maintain the highest possible degree of communion and contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church in Wales. (Principles. Women Bishops Code of Practice) 

It appears that the newly appointed women bishops in the Church in Wales are happy to defy their Governing Body in an act which can only be described as a visible sign of disunity, showing no regard for the procedure which enabled them to be appointed bishops.

At ordinations presided over by the first female bishop of Llandaff, as a mere gesture towards the agreed Code of Practice, arrangements have been made for a male bishop to step forward for the laying on of hands if the ordinand, on grounds of conscience, is unable to receive the sacramental ministry of a woman diocesan bishop.

I understand that similar arrangements have been made for ordinations carried out by the bishop of St Davids. The gesture is clear.

The rules were changed unilaterally by the Church in Wales to grant the wish of women who claimed to be 'called to ministry', even though the Church in Wales claimed to share the historic episcopate with other Churches, 'including other Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, which continue to ordain only men as priests or bishops'.

No provision was made for those, who on grounds of theological conviction and conscience, are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests. Instead the Governing Body voted for a Code of Practice.

Under the Code, "Individual members of the Church in Wales who, on grounds of conscience, are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of a woman diocesan bishop, shall not be required to do so against their conscience, and alternative provision shall be made".

For the Code of Practice to have any meaning it must be seen to satisfy the consciences of those for whom it was intended but I understand that the new female bishops are making their own arrangements, thus placing orthodox ordinands in an impossible position.

The procedure has become so far removed from when the Provincial Assistant Bishop presided at ordinations that it lacks any integrity whatsoever.

The minister in the Sacrament of Ordination is the Bishop. The celebrant presides over the whole service – the interrogation of the candidates, the laying-on-of-hands (assisted by other priests who are symbolically receiving the new priests into the presbyterium) and the celebration of the Eucharist.  Importing another bishop (solely because he is male) to step in and lay hands on any candidates who have conscientious objections to the sacramental ministry of women, far from being a gesture of accommodation, turns the whole business into a charade of misogyny.

The curious arrangements proposed in Llandaff and St Davids do nothing to solve the basic problem of conscience either, since it is a requirement in the ordination service that those being ordained receive Holy Communion from the bishop who is the celebrant.

It has been said over and again that we do not have a problem with women; our problem remains the unilateral departure from the practice of the undivided church and by far the greater part of Christendom whose orders we have always claimed to have shared.

Traditionalist Anglicans in Wales are not alone in their struggle to survive. In the Church of England specific provision was made for men and women who in conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests but there has been a constant chipping away at the agreement. For the latest developments see the Forward in Faith document Nomination to the See of Sheffield: Lessons Learned.

When it comes to women's ordained ministry there seems to be far more of the old Eve than the new.

Welsh bishops relegate unity

The bishops of St Davids, St Asaph, Llandaff, Swansea and Brecon (archbishop), Bangor, and Monmouth having a laugh          Source: Premier Christian Radio

The Church in Wales has placed an advert in the Church Times for a Director of Faith, Order and Unity. 

This looks suspiciously like an empire building re-jig of an advert which resulted in the 2014 appointment of a WCC staff member to the post of Unity, Faith and Order Director for the Anglican Communion while relegating unity to third place.

No surprise there since the Church in Wales slammed the door on any hope of church unity in the conventional sense many years ago when Barry and his bench sitters chose to ignore most of Christendom and apply their own version of faith and order by choosing instead an alliance with Nonconformist churches, thus causing further disunity within the Anglican Communion and beyond.

The Church in Wales already has its own Doctrinal Commission to tell its bishops what they want to hear. They also have their own version of unity - being a 'big' fish in a very small pond. As there is no hope of unity with the much larger Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches there should be little for the successful applicant to do unless the object of the role is to continue re-interpreting the Gospel to promote gender equality and parity in place of suitability, the main thrust of the newly enthroned women bishops.

At the last meeting of Governing Body of the Church in Wales, the new Archbishop John Davies promised ‘more of the same’ — but faster! The Scottish Episcopal Church is following suit with the recently appointed first female bishop indicating that her first priority is to see the election of more women for high-profile roles. Their General Synod has already agreed to permit same-sex marriage.

As for the Church of England, they are still trying to work out what they believe with their 'Shared Conversations on Scripture, Mission and Sexuality' (here) while preaching a message that is contrary to Christian belief based on scripture.

Given the continually shrinking regular attendance figures at Church in Wales Sunday services (28,291 and shrinking) one has to wonder what the bishops  do these days. The latest figures show confirmations fell by 21% between 2015-2016  to 872.

Much of their time has been diverted towards the propagation of feminism and, contrary to scripture, formerly establishing homosexuality in the church as the expression of God's love, a situation neatly summed up on BBC Radio 4 [@18.01] when Ed Stourton speaks with Lorna Ashworth, a highly regarded evangelical, who has resigned her place in General Synod and the Archbishops’ Council over the issue, and Jayne Ozanne who "campaigns for gay equality within the Church of England and the wider evangelical community" using our need to love one another as her passport to acceptance of deviating from the Gospel.

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, who jointly oversees both the general synod and the Archbishops' Council alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said he was 'sad' Lorna Ashworth had resigned. He added, "However, I do not share her doubts that the Church of England will be part of God's renewal of the Christian faith in this nation" indicating the problem faced by Lorna Ashworth and those of us who share her concern for the Christian faith in this country.

Empire building in a declining church appears to be high on the list of priorities for the bench of bishops even though the Church in Wales Review recommended a reduction in the number of dioceses and the associated administrative costs.

From Section 15 of the Review:

"...there is a widespread sense across the church that the Church in Wales is top heavy, with too many committees and too much time spent on simply keeping the institution going as it is."

The problem for the Anglican Church is that most of the bishops in Great Britain are so busy trying to satisfy the desires of the flesh that they are blind to the needs of the spirit. As a consequence they are fishing for minorities while many of the faithful feel excluded from an organisation that has lost the Way and the truth and the life. They leave and giving goes down creating the current crisis.

The irony of it

Metropolitan Bishoy and Bishop Gregory Cameron sign the Agreed Statement on the Procession and Work of the Holy Spirit during a special evensong
service in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.  Christian Today / Lynn Glanville / Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough 

Taking timeout from the advancement of all matters  LBGTI+ in the Church in Wales, the Bishop of St Asaph has been involved in matters spiritual, a hangover from his years in the Church of England.

Appointed Director of Ecumenical Affairs at the Anglican Communion Office in 2003, he became Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion in 2004. He was elected as the 76th Bishop of St Asaph in 2009.

Unsurprisingly the report 'Anglicans and Oriental Orthodox agree on doctrine of Holy Spirit' appears not on the Church in Wales website but in Christian Today .

The controversy dates back to the 7th century, when Eastern theologians objected to the statement the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father 'and the Son' ('filioque'). Anglicans inherited this reading from the Roman Catholic Church. Agreed Statement here.

 One might have thought that resolving this impediment to Christian unity would have merited at least a mention but the Church in Wales abandoned matters spiritual in favour of politics long ago under their previous archbishop

Many of the faithful who would have appreciated this agreement have also been abandoned by the Church in Wales which may explain why Church in Wales reports are dominated by the advancement of feminism, homosexuality and same sex marriage.

This report shows what might have been before the bench of bishops and, indeed, the house of bishops in the Church of England opted for deviancy over unity.

Depression! Time to get a grip

Archbishop Justin Welby,  "a risk-taker and reconciler by nature".- Gurardian/Photo: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

From the Guardian, Thursday 21 March 2013 08.00 GMT:

"Justin Welby doesn't do fluffy spirituality – he's the tough leader the church needs

"The new archbishop of Canterbury will not be easily fazed by the burdens thrust upon him. Welby is a decisive man of action.

"Rowan Williams' parting wish, as he bid farewell to Lambeth Palace after a difficult decade, was that his successor might be blessed with "the constitution of an ox and the skin of a rhinoceros". Many are wondering how the new archbishop of Canterbury will cope under similar stress. Justin Welby, a risk-taker and reconciler by nature, is gifted with unusual mental toughness, shaped through personal suffering. His background at Eton, Cambridge and Kensington gives the impression of untroubled privilege, but must be set alongside a broken home, an alcoholic father, and the tragic death of his firstborn daughter aged just seven months."


Fast forward to the Telegraph, 11 OCTOBER 2017 • 9:45PM:

"Archbishop of Canterbury opens up about 'black dog' as he reveals he suffers from depressive episodes 

"Justin Welby has opened up about suffering with a "black dog" as he reveals for the first time that he has suffered with depressive episodes. The Archbishop of Canterbury revealed that he has only recognised that he experiences the bouts of feeling "hopeless", which have not been formally diagnosed, within the past year.

"Asked in an interview for GQ Magazine whether he had been depressed, he said: "I think if you had asked me a year ago I'd have said no, and ten years ago I'd have said absolutely not. "But what was that phrase Churchill used? 'Black dog'. There is an element of that. I think as I am getting older I am realising it does come from time to time."

In his customary, forthright manner the Rev Dr Peter Mullen says it as he sees it when writing in his  'All Things Considered' blog. He writes, "Welby admits he’s hopeless" before going on to illustrate how the teaching of Scripture concerning sexual relations turns darkness into light, something Dr Mullen assumes Archbishop Welby has not done:

"Difficult as this might be to believe, it seems that the Archbishop of Canterbury has not thought to look at the 3000 years old tradition of Judaeo-Christian ethical teaching to help him settle his mind on the matter of sexual relations."

Depression has been described as a "common mental disorder that causes people to experience depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration". Anyone who suffers from it deserves sympathy and understanding.

Less severe but also debilitating are periods of stress and anxiety, especially when brought on by others. So consider all those poor souls whose religion has been their only solace, taught from an early age to leave their problems at the altar to be borne by Him, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light". How are they expected to cope when their church has left them?

One would think on that basis that many bishops, particularly in the Church in Wales, would be feeling depressed at the misery they have caused to others. There is no evidence of contrition as they sideline the many while elevating the vocal few who allege injustices despite a church presence which is out of all proportion to their numbers in society (2%). Perhaps the bishops today have problems with numeracy as well as biblical erudition.

Looking wider, according to Pew Center Research, "Five Centuries After Reformation, Catholic-Protestant Divide in Western Europe Has Faded". From their August 31, 2017 Report:

"As Protestants prepare to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that the prevailing view among Catholics and Protestants in Western Europe is that they are more similar religiously than they are different. And across a continent that once saw long and bloody religious wars, both Protestants and Catholics now overwhelmingly express willingness to accept each other as neighbors – and even as family members.

While some Catholics look down their noses at the Ordinariate and over zealous converts dismiss Anglicans who, for many legitimate reasons, have not followed them across the Tiber, there are also new Anglicans who see no problem in defining faith according to their own desires rather than as it has been received.

How ironic, then, that while the average (often lapsed) Catholic and Protestant has come closer together, the new 'liberal' Anglican church is tearing itself apart over the LGBTQI+ ascendancy when they account for just 2% of the population in the United Kingdom leaving many cradle Anglicans excluded because they remain faithful to biblical teaching.

Christianity in the UK is approaching crisis point as illustrated by the headline: An Oxford College has banned the Christian Union from its freshers’ fair on the grounds that it would be “alienating” for students of other religions, and constitute a “micro-aggression”:

"The organiser of Balliol’s fair argued Christianity’s historic use as 'an excuse for homophobia and certain forms of neo-colonialism' meant that students might feel 'unwelcome' in their new college if the Christian Union had a stall. Freddy Potts, vice-president of Balliol’s Junior Common Room (JCR) committee, said that if a representative from the Christian Union (CU) attended the fair, it could cause 'potential harm' to freshers".

While Christians face "worse persecution than at any time in history" according to a new Report, 'progressive' Anglicans are happy to reject other Anglicans who remain faithful to scripture and tradition resulting in an alarming drop in numbers regularly attending church services put at only 1.4 per cent of the entire British population.

If we don't get a grip, Christianity which has formed the basis of Western society will become something for academics to ponder over in secular institutions and madrasas.

According to a 'Christian Today' report, the supermarket chain Lidl has edited out the Christian cross from churches in its Greek food range because it 'does not wish to exclude any religious beliefs'.

I wonder if they are have read about the boy in Mosul who was buried alive because he "steadfastly refused" to throw away the small cross he was wearing around his neck when ordered to do so by "IS terrorists". Read The Last Christians: Priest Describes Horror, Courage of Christians Being Killed for Their Faith

Depressing, isn't it.

Take it or leave it!

Churches coming together (CNS)                                                                                                         Church moving apart (Church in Wales)

     

As the Catholic and Orthodox Churches continue to come closer together the Anglican Church in the UK drifts further away from the unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church with every ill-advised congregationalist move it makes.

During his visit to the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Francis joined with the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the Eastern Orthodox churches, in placing flowers, lighting a candle and praying at the site where dozens of Coptic Orthodox Christians were killed by an Islamic State militant last year. Video here.

Christian Today reported: "As Christians face an increase in violence around the world and especially in the Middle East, there are significant signs that the major Churches are coming together, with the blood of martyrs acting as the 'seed of unity'." - But not the inward looking Anglican Church.

The contrast could not be greater. Coptic Christians are regularly attacked and killed in Egypt. Christians throughout the Middle and far East are constantly targeted by Muslims but in Great Britain Islam is affirmed as a religion on a par with Christianity while the Anglican Church pursues its fixation with secular matters.

As Scottish Anglicans move towards same sex marriage their leader has warned that GAFCON should "stay out of our territory" while the Church of Ireland is split over whether it should liberalise its stance on same sex marriage. Meanwhile the Church of England continues its shared discussions before its expected capitulation to the LGBT lobby in opting for secularism.

The bishops of the Church in Wales will still be smarting over their failure to lead the charge towards same sex marriage but they lost the plot years ago. Many congregations are elderly with little sign of younger people joining them. Indeed, for many youngsters in Wales religion has become a no go area. Some are even petitioning for an end to compulsory prayers in Wales' schools. They gained more than 870 signatures of support in less than two weeks. Without new blood collapse is inevitable.

Perhaps the experience of readers is different to mine but from what I hear, any faith visits to children in their formative primary schools are often carried out by female Methodist ministers, sometimes by an evangelical nonconformist but never by a traditional male Anglican priest.

I had hoped to be more positive in my outlook after Barry Morgan's retirement but I fear I was too hasty in my April entry, A promising start, when I reported that the bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the senior bishop on the bench of bishops, told the Governing Body to "put evangelism at heart of ministry".

My positive outlook crashed with the appointment of the bishop designate of Llandaff who has made it clear that her priority is to appoint more women to senior roles until parity is achieved. That is feminism, not evangelism. An appointment which, incidentally, has been met with a stunned silence in Llandaff after the clamour created by claims of homophobia, subsequently disproved, because the Dean of St Albans failed to secure the votes he needed.

So no new broom to address the disillusionment created by Barry Morgan as he bent the church to accord with his own views. Just more of the same. Take it or leave it. Many have decided to leave it, doubtless with more to follow. As Church of England rejects have been appointed in Wales the best of Welsh talent has left for England while the laity have opted simply to leave altogether.

One wonders how all those clergy who abandoned their former colleagues and faithful parishioners for a career in the Church now feel as they look at the state of the Church in Wales and see that they have no prospects in Wales.

Many more clergy and laity will be examining their consciences after the appointment of two female bishops. Doubtless many red lines will become distinctly pink but for others it will be the end of the road. A sorry, unnecessary predicament. In that, Morgan and his bench sitters have been cruelly successful. Opposition has been virtually wiped out in some areas, but at great cost, ignoring the expressed wish of the majority in consultations for alternative provision, leaving the fate of the Church to the Jackson/Wigley/MAE Cymru cohort.

Does anything matter anymore in the do-as-you-please Church in Wales? What of those who broke their Llandaff Electoral College oath of silence and the shameless campaigners including the unnamed bishop who put LGBT issues before the Church? No doubt that will be swept under the carpet by the bench along with everything else.

While some will find reasons to stay put, others will continue to leave. Evangelism is fine but for what? A church in which faith managers have shattered the parish system, interpreted the Bible to justify their own secular desires and ignored the wishes of its members when asked for their views while still claiming to be members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

How many more must leave before the bishops get the message? Without acceptable alternative provision, leaving is the only option for anyone who wants to keep the faith.

A call to repentance

Jacob tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and wails deeply.  He is beside himself in grief
and no-one can comfort him.    Source: Free Bible images

1st March 2017 is Ash Wednesday. Many Christians will receive the sign of the cross made from the ash of palm crosses blessed and distributed on Palm Sunday in 2016. Many will not. Not because they do not believe but because their Church has left them.   

Jacob was beside himself in grief at the loss of his son Joseph. No-one could comfort him. There are many former members of the Church in Wales (CinW), and, indeed, of the Church of England (CofE) who feel like that. Their Church has been their life with everything revolving around worship and friendships. Suddenly their lives are changed. Sustained quietly by their faith, they have not had the shrill voice of vocal campaigners. They simply kept their heads down praying that God would understand. Then snap. They feel alone as their Church loses its mystery for secular mores. In desperation they leave, finding themselves, like Joseph, alone in the desert pit.

Some may decide to join other churches but many will not because of their conscientious beliefs. These are the people bishops need to be concerned about as shepherds. They are not expected physically to tear their clothes but they should be wailing deeply for those cast into the pit by their brothers and sisters.

In addition to errant bishops there are many clergy who should be wailing in grief at their actions. Barry Morgan's social experiments have resulted in too many 'do as you please' vicars manipulating their malleable, 'vicar knows best' congregations. Sexual licence has been used to engineer personal preference leading congregations into error, accepting minority standards which are contrary to the teaching and tradition of the Church. In fact there are some clergy in my experience who really do need to tear their clothes and return to Christ.

The current shambles in the diocese of Llandaff inherited from Barry Morgan well illustrates the mess his experimentation has bequeathed the bench. Rumours suggest that the candidate with the most votes for Bishop of Llandaff was the Very Rev Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans but he was short of the two thirds majority needed. We cannot be sure of what took place in secrecy behind locked doors but I understand that his strong showing was a desperate ploy by the gay wing to avoid the election of a woman bishop.

Having their cake        Source; Inclusive Church

It was the withdrawal of Dr John's nomination as Bishop of Reading in 2003 after it became publicly known that he was in a long-term same-sex relationship which inspired the initiation of Inclusive Church. Fourteen years later the headlines continue causing further distractions.

One would have thought that anyone with half a brain would have considered the experience of Anglicans in the US after the appointment of the openly gay bishop Gene Robinson to be followed by the appointment of the openly lesbian bishop Mary Glasspool before doing the same. They did not so the decline of the CinW and the CofE has matched the fate the US Episcopal Church.

It is no coincidence that LGBT+ issues go hand in hand with the feminist inspired movement for the ordination of women. Not content with having achieved their original goal Women and the Church (WATCH) are busy trying to feminise the liturgy and undo the agreement reached which resulted in women bishops in England, often aided by clergy spouses.

In Wales, practices more akin to pagan rituals are in vogue with the WATCH sister organisation, MAE Cymru boasting the 'history making' bishop of St Davids among their members, unfortunately for the wrong reasons. 

The true mission of the Church is obscured when modern-day missionaries such as the founder of Diverse Church and "future bishop", the Rev Sally Hitchiner, is seen as the face of the Anglican Church.  Co-ordinating Anglican Chaplain and Inter Faith Advisor at Brunel University she is not alone in providing a strong LGBTQ influence in many universities.

Non-investigative journalism is driven by perception and press releases so it is not surprising that worship and theology are secondary to secular 'equality' issues of  women's rights, gay rights, transgender rights, etc. Nor is it a surprise that press releases from the CinW appear under 'Politics' in its main mouth piece, Wales Online, because under Barry Morgan, the CinW has been turned into a political machine. Given all that is wrong in the CinW one has to wonder why sycophantic praise tops investigative journalism when it should be clear to all that the Church in Wales is in crisis. 

Unity has been the hope for the Church for generations but it was tossed out of the window with the liberal 'enlightenment'. This Lent provides time to follow the rule of St Benedict, "Always we begin again" in genuine repentance.

The problems facing the Diocese of Llandaff are mirrored throughout the CinW. The absence of unity is obvious,  largely created by factions insisting on candidates for higher office of their own choosing to boost their own cause. The bench of bishops has been corrupted into accepting secular ideas instead of remaining faithful to the Gospel.

Repentance must start as Lent begins. The bench must make amends, rejecting secularism with the appointment to Llandaff of a deeply spiritual man capable of reviving the mysteries of the church. The 'otherness' that society lacks.

Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.

Barry's legacy

Source: Church in Wales

So it is game, set and match to Morgan. 

Barry's bench sitters dutifully welcome the latest and last bishop to be appointed under his patronage, Wales’ first woman bishop, the 129th Bishop of St Davids. "She was greeted with cheers and applause" after her election was confirmed at the "Sacred Synod". 

No price has been too high but while the Church in Wales dies the Ordinariate continues to grow. Perhaps Dr Morgan has done more for unity than he bargained for.

In Memoriam

50th Anniversary meeting

Archbishop Justin Welby with Pope Francis at Vespers in the Basilica of San Gregorio al Celio

Some may have thought that the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsay in 1966 was an odd event given the changes that have taken place between 1966 and 2016, particularly the ordination of women and questions regarding human sexuality in the Anglican Church.

A joint declaration admits that issues of women and homosexuality are "currently insurmountable", thus shattering the promises of the earlier 1966 meeting. But an understanding is being sought to make some sort of progress out of the rubble that has been created by the unilateral actions of some churches in the Anglican Communion against the wishes of the much larger Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In his sermon Justin Welby referred to the 'Good Shepherd', a theme which will be familiar to regular readers of this blog, and to the good sheep and the bad sheep, enabling those assembled to categorize themselves along doctrinal lines, each assuming any fault lay on the other side. Nevertheless, it must be seen as a positive step that the two leaders are 'undeterred'.

In a Common Declaration Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby declared that "While we ourselves do not yet see solutions to the obstacles before us, we are undeterred."  Their 'sending out' of  pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops shows a willingness to work together, something that the Church in Wales is belatedly learning to do, living with diversity within its own structure.

Update [09.10.2016]

The ACNS lists the pairs of Commissioned bishops covering 19 countries/areas. There is no mention of Wales or Scotland so unless 'England' is intended to cover Great Britain, Wales and Scotland will be excluded from the united mission "to those who are captive and oppressed".

Closer together and wider apart

Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Reverend Lorna Hood
 making her way through the Church of Scotland's Assembly Hall, where commissioners made
 "a historic vote" in favour of accommodation for congregations that choose a minister in a
 same-sex civil partnership    Source: Christian Today (Photo: John Young)

From one "historic step" (see caption) to another. Addressing Synod yesterday the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (C of S), the Right Rev Dr Angus Morrison, said: The Columba Declaration paves the way for future joint working between the Kirk and the Church of England (C of E). It sets out how members and clergy will be allowed to worship and exercise ministry in each other's churches. Approved by Synod by 243 votes to 50 the report will now go to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May for approval.

Paved with good intentions, the declaration moves the C of E further towards nonconformity while pretending to keep a toe in the Apostolic Church following the lead of the Church in Wales (C in W).

The proposals are set out in GS 2016, "Growth in Communion, Partnership in Mission -
A Cover Note from the Council for Christian Unity". There are two references to apostolic succession.

Para 18 (i): Within the apostolicity of the whole Church is an apostolic succession of the ministry which serves, and is a focus of, the continuity of the Church in its life in Christ and its
faithfulness to the words and acts of Jesus transmitted by the apostles.

Para 31: The Church of Scotland also believes that its ministries are in apostolic succession, without needing to include the episcopal order nor to express that succession through it.
In its ordination rites it emphasizes the continuity of the Church and its ministry. It can
recognize in the historic episcopal succession maintained by other churches a sign of the
apostolicity of the Church. It does not, however, regard it as important for the bene esse
(‘well-being’) of the Church in the same way as the Church of England, and therefore
while respecting its perspective does not share from its own side the significance for the
Church of England of this issue in seeking to grow together.

God forbid that the C of E should follow the lead of the C in W:

"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'."

Sidelining the Scottish Episcopal Church, the C of S and the C of E "acknowledge one another’s churches as churches belonging to the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and truly participating in the apostolic ministry and mission of the whole people of God". 

But what of the wider Church? 

The C of S, the C of E and the C in W are minnows in the Christian Church which is dominated by Catholics and Orthodox, now showing signs of coming together while Anglicans drift apart. In global terms Anglicans are mentioned once, "Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to include Anglicans  and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation yet they claim to be in the forefront of advancing the apostolic ministry and mission of the whole people of God.

What does this amount to? 

The C of S has opened the door to the appointment of married gay ministers. Having lost the same-sex marriage battle, the Archbishop of Wales is encouraging his rapidly diminishing flock to support the Iris Prize Outreach project which aims to "make 36 short films over the next three years with different community groups to build understanding of LGBT issues". 

Driven by WATCH the C of E  is obsessed with gender issues: "Fewer than one in 50 large churches led by a woman priest".

For the Church to survive in Britain it will have to become closer to the apostolicity of Catholics and Orthodox, not more protestant and secular.

Postscript

'No unity at the expense of truth': a response to Justin Welby's Presidential Address.
An excellent analysis from Christian Concern, H/T Anglican Mainstream, here.

Defender of the Faith

Source: AIN News (Sputnik/Osservatore Romano)

Pope Francis sees President Putin as the 'Only Man' to defend Christians around the world the Assyrian International News Agency reports: According to Pope Francis, Putin is "the only one with whom the Catholic Church can unite to defend Christians in the East."

The report comes from the Russian controlled Sputnik News looking forward to the historic meeting between Pope Francis and Russian Patriarch Kirill in Cuba on Friday (12 Feb 2016). From The Guardian: The pair will sign a joint declaration in Russian and Italian, the details of which have not been made public, before exchanging gifts and making brief statements. There has been speculation that the meeting would lead to a papal visit to Russia, although the Vatican would not confirm such plans were in motion.

The discussions in Havana will focus on the persecution of Christians. The Russian Orthodox spokesman  Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told journalists "The situation as it has developed today in the Middle East, in North and Central Africa and in some other regions, in which extremists are perpetrating a real genocide of the Christian population, has required urgent measures and closer cooperation between Christian churches."

If these discussions eventually lead to unity Anglicans will be marooned on the outside but no doubt the new breed of Anglican priests and bishops will continue claim they are right in ordaining women and the rest of Christendom is wrong.  

Practising Christians are now a "minority" in Britain like persecuted Roman Catholics during the Reformation, say two of Britain's most senior clerics here. A sad reflection on New Anglicanism which has simply become a vehicle for advancing the interests of minorities over the majority.

Today is Ash Wednesday. There is much to repent.