Brood of vipers!

"To expect someone whose theological conviction does not enable him to receive the sacramental ministry of women routinely to turn up to a celebration of Holy Communion when he cannot discover in advance whether he will be able to receive Holy Communion seems to me to be asking too much."

The words of Sir William Fittall in response to a complaint by an orthodox Anglican who claimed he was being "marginalised" because he was forced to arrive at services  at Wakefield Cathedral without prior knowledge of whether there would be a male or female celebrant.

That will have a familiar ring for readers of this blog. In Welsh Primate abandons twin integrity I wrote:

" In his newly created role of Acting Dean of his own Cathedral, the dictatorial Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Llandaff, Dr Barry Morgan, has decreed that the Cathedral Office is not to publish the names of officiants at each of the Cathedral services. The intention is to put a further barrier in the way of those who, for theological reasons, are uncomfortable with a woman presiding at the altar. Rather than being able to plan ahead to avoid unfortunate pastoral situations, it would appear that the only way of knowing who is celebrating the Eucharist at Llandaff is to see who appears at the entrance procession. 

"This action again illustrates that there is nothing so intolerant as an arch-liberal. If this is the level of pastoral care shown by the Archbishop in his own Cathedral for those who are told they still have an honoured place in his Church, what hope is there for the rest of us? "

The Dean of Wakefield Cathedral argued that "Removing the names of those - male and female - who are to preside at a particular service helps to make the point that it is our offering of the Eucharist that is central, rather than the particular individual who is presiding."

In the Anglican Church orthodoxy has become a hindrance resulting in outright discrimination.

Transgenders are thought by the House of Bishops to deserve a special welcome service while LGBT Anglicans have their own chaplains and LGBT Masses, often with the Lord's Table draped in a rainbow flag.

Orthodox Anglicans have to fend for themselves, often having to take steps to avoid being trapped into embarrassing situations as in Wakefield Cathedral.

Yet women priests still complain. "Not everybody accepts us” sighs England's first female priest as she casually trots out more secular propaganda about equality: "Despite the many advancements in equality that the Church of England has seen in the past few years, there is always room for further progress. One should never sit on one’s laurels and while there are pockets of resistance, it’s nice to kind of think we’ll persevere until there aren't any, but that’s probably being unrealistic.”

Presumably the pockets of resistance she refers to are orthodox Anglicans such as the "nice woman" who is "not hostile" to her but just can’t accept that women can be priests so she wont accept communion from her, and the worshipper in Wakefield Cathedral forced to complain because of a wilful failure to honour the agreement that enabled women to be ordained in the Church of England.

In its 'Five Guiding Principles', the Church of England says it is "fully and unequivocally committed to all orders of ministry being open to all irrespective of gender". But the principles also state: "Those whose theological convictions mean they are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion, so the church of England remains committed to enabling them to flourish"

With hindsight it appears that the revisionists had no intention of honouring the pledge intended to enable orthodox Anglicans to flourish.

In September 2018 a row broke out in the diocese of Oxford because an advert for a new vicar at St Barnabas and St Paul with St Thomas the Martyr Parish specified that it was seeking a male priest.

The Oxford Mail reported that the advert provoked outrage in the community with one councillor 'slamming the church' for being 'too cowardly' to confront misogyny.

In their pursuit of power Women in the Church have talked of equality rather than theology permitting false accusations of misogyny and discrimination in the Church.

The former Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan used similar tactics when he wrote of "discrimination in a church that believes there is 'no male or female' in Christ". He used one of the most misquoted verses in all of Scripture, in an attempt to hoodwink his readers.

He went further saying, "At the heart of the Christian gospel are values of integrity, justice, wholeness and inclusion". Values he and his brood have consciously neglected to apply to Anglicans who keep the faith as received.

Seeking to validate their dishonesty they claim that the Church has to be credible to outsiders. In doing so they have allowed feminism to take control and substituted sex for love as they scratch around in scripture looking for any reference they can take out of context to boost their cause.

The latest row over whether gay bishops attending the 2020 Lambeth Conference should bring their same-sex partners as guests illustrates how far Anglicans have moved away from the gospel. Nigel Evans MP said that he believes the rule could equate to workplace discrimination adding that "If it wasn't for the gays in the Church, the Church would crumble"!

Unable to distinguish between faith and secular fads, people outside no longer care what the Church has to say. The Anglican Church has successfully made itself 'more relevant' to society, losing the sense of otherness which had set her apart in the process.

The revisionists speak not for Christ but for themselves. They use their own interpretation of the gospel to support a preferred lifestyle while recruiting secular opinion to justify their cause.

The Dean of Wakefield Cathedral talked of the centrality of offering the Eucharist while the Acting of Dean of Llandaff, Archbishop Barry Morgan, wrote of sanctioning schism, threatening the unity of the church if he supported calls for a male bishop with jurisdiction for those who oppose the authority of a woman bishop.

The Holy Eucharist has become a weapon in support of claims that are not only unsupported by but condemned by most members of the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

Pilate asked the crowd whom he should release to them, Barabbas or Jesus? The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to chose Barabbas.

What is the choice offered today? The Gospel of Christ or crowd pleasing liberalism?

In good faith and bad

A row has broken out in the diocese of Oxford because, horror of horrors, an advert for a new vicar at St Barnabas and St Paul with St Thomas the Martyr Parish specifies that it is seeking a male priest.

This is entirely within the rules adopted when the Church of England agreed to ordain women but of course rules are there to be broken now that feminists in the Church have what they always wanted - control.

According to an Oxford Mail report the advert provoked outrage in the community with one councillor 'slamming the church' for being 'too cowardly' to confront misogyny, presumably unaware that many women are more opposed to the ordination of women than are men and are suffering the consequences of effectively being excommunicated, a matter of complete indifference to the type of women who are calling the shots in the Church.

Showing her apparent ignorance of the workings of the Church, Labour city councillor for West Oxford Susanna Pressel said she was 'shocked and appalled' and asked: "What century are they living in?" She went on: “They have several excellent women church wardens who do most of the work. It’s profoundly insulting to regard them as not good enough to be paid for what they do. It’s such a pity that the government has exempted churches from the legislation that enforces equal opportunities in every other organisation of any size.

“The Church of England has the power to prescribe equal opportunities within their churches, but they are too cowardly to confront these dinosaurs and to challenge their misogyny."

It is not clear whether Cllr Pressel ever darkens the door step of a church other than perhaps in connection with her civic duties but in any event her understanding of the roles of vicar and churchwardens appear to be strictly limited.

Her support on the other hand for the 20th anniversary of the Oxford International Women’s Festival may explain her outrage. The theme was 'Pioneering and Inspirational' women.

Following on from the outrageous protests at the appointment of the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev Philip North, to become Bishop of Sheffield, this is yet another case of feminists bashing the church regardless of the facts and agreed procedures.

It was no surprise to read, therefore, that Emma Percy, chair of  the feminist pressure group Women and the Church (WATCH) said that she would like the church to be in a place where ‘people don’t worry about or have to specify the gender of their priest’ although she was kind enough to stress that she ‘respected’ the parish’s decision.

In England and in Wales women cried, begged and cajoled, promising to abide by agreements made but the ink was hardly dry before the wrecking began.

It is interesting to read in hindsight a WATCH paper written by the then canon F A Jackson, now archdeacon of Llandaff having been imported by the former archbishop of Wales to drive forward his secularisation of the Church in Wales.

The intention is clear. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no room for traditional Anglicanism in today's church. This from a woman who was welcomed by the Anglican church at a difficult time in her life only to do her damndest to punish men and women who do not share her self-centred approach to Anglicanism. In doing so the spiritual lives of many who were faithful Anglicans long before Jackson took to religion have been ruined.

One of the brightest stars in the Church in Wales, a traditionalist Anglican who towered above the bench, was told “There is no place for you in this church”. By contrast one of the many men he inspired to become ordained has risen to the top having bowed to Barry Morgan's secularist agenda.

Traditional Anglicans in the Church of England have, for the time being, access to alternative  episcopal oversight, something denied Anglicans in Wales where a 'brood of vipers' pretended to care but clearly did not.

The Code of Practice claimed "The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued".  They reneged on the agreement to provide acceptable pastoral and sacramental oversight for traditionalists by refusing to re-appoint a Provincial Assistant Bishop and have forbidden other bishops to cross the border to support them.

Consequently Anglo Catholicism in Wales has been virtually eliminated. If by some miracle there were a change of heart there is hardly anything left of the Anglican church itself as it crumbles into obscurity leaving the architects of its demise to sit out their retirement on their un-earned pensions.

The media along with ill-informed outsiders continue to use secular values to attack Christianity from a position of ignorance while protecting political ideologies which would bridle free speech. For Christians and Anglicans in particular the outlook is grim.

Many were surprised at the choice of words used by the former Archbishop of Canterbury in reaction to the lost vote in 2012. In a speech to the General Synod he said, "The failure of the vote in the house of laity...had made the church's governing body appear "wilfully blind" to the priorities of secular society before adding that "the ultimate credibility of the Church does not depend on the goodwill of the wider public. We would not be Christian believers in divine revelation if we held that."

The Church of England, as represented by those in authority, is no longer blind to the priorities of secular society. Hence the mess we are in which is clear for all to see except the wilfully, spiritually blind.