Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
My dear Brother Stephen,
I had finished a draft of this letter before the recent meeting at which Bishop Duncan expressed his view that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lambeth Conference are “lost” in so far as they can serve as instruments of communion. He has expressed to me in private views similar to these on several occasions; but now that they have been expressed in such a public manner I feel a response to your open letter is even more urgent than when I first sat down to write. In your Open Letter to Network Bishops and Common Cause Partners you advise these Bishops that the time has come for a “full and final separation between those in The Episcopal Church (TEC) who hold a false gospel and those who hold fast the truth revealed in Holy Scripture and the evangelical and catholic faith of the Church.” You write as a baptized and confirmed member of the TEC of 40 years standing and as a priest of some 35 years standing. You write also as one who for the past seven years has viewed TEC with the eyes of the church in Africa.
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August 02 2007 | Articles
Written by: Rev. Dr. Philip Turner
Sunday, July 8th, 2007
We are gathered to discuss the covenant that has been proposed as a means of preventing the fragmentation of Anglicanism and insuring its continuance as a communion of churches. As a way to throw light on the subject, I have been asked to speak about “Integrity, Diversity, and Episcopal Authority within the Anglican Communion”. The fact is that conflicting ways of understanding these four nouns (integrity, diversity, authority, and communion) lie at the heart of our travails. The subject before us is in fact of central importance to our future. However, the pace of events is such that hardly a thought crosses my mind before it is rendered problematic by yet another development within one or another of our provinces. Within my own church, for example, the consecration of Gene Robinson and the election of a woman as Primate have been followed by the whole sale rejection on the part of the House of Bishops and the Executive Council of the scheme of pastoral care proposed by the Primates meeting in Dar es Salaam, In reaction to these and other previous developments, we have witnessed the formation of CANA, the announcement that Kenya and Uganda will each consecrate a bishop to oversee the “orthodox” parishes within the U.S. that have placed themselves under their care, and formation of a wider coalition (Common Cause) that includes these and other groups. This coalition bears all the marks of a proto province. By the time I deliver this address, I assume even more will have transpired; and I assume as well all that occurs will have profound effects on how the question I have been assigned is adequately to be addressed.
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July 08 2007 | Articles