Anglicans Grapple with Implications of 'Unprecedented' Consecrations in Denver
Episcopal News Service. June 25, 2001 [2001-169]
Jan Nunley
(ENS) "If they can point to me where I'm mistaken, I'm willing to repent," said South East Asia Archbishop Datuk Yong Ping Chung at a news conference the morning after he had defied the archbishop of Canterbury and consecrated four American priests as "missionary bishops" for the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) on June 24. The AMiA operates under the auspices of the Anglican provinces of South East Asia and Rwanda.
The actual status of the bishops within the Anglican Communion is murky, since they are not accepted as bishops in the Episcopal Church nor recognized by Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, but depend on acceptance as bishops in the provinces that consecrated them.
The consecrations, held at Denver's Colorado Community Church, represent an unprecedented crossing of diocesan and provincial boundaries, and were condemned last week by Carey and several other primates of the Anglican Communion, including Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, as a violation of traditional Anglican polity.
Humility and obedience
"I don't want to break the sacred tradition of the Anglican church," Yong told journalists, adding that he chaired the Anglican Consultative Council for six years and has "committed my whole life" to Anglicanism. As recently as June 11, he said, the decision to move forward with the consecrations was in doubt.
Despite pleas from other bishops and primates--including bishops from the conservative American Anglican Council--not to go ahead with the ceremony, Yong said that "nobody told me how to protect" those claiming persecution for their conservative views in the Episcopal Church without proceeding as planned. "What sort of integrity will I have if I now back down?" he asked. He added that he has "respect" for Carey.
Following the news conference, Yong said, the AMiA's council of bishops would gather to formulate a response of "humility and obedience" to Carey. He also has to confer with them about responding to the other three bishops of his province, who have disassociated themselves from his actions.
Overlapping jurisdictions?
Charles Murphy, consecrated for the AMiA in a controversial service held 18 months ago in Singapore, appealed to a 1968 Lambeth resolution recognizing "overlapping jurisdictions" such as exist among Anglicans in Europe as justification for the actions of the archbishops.
The four new bishops--Thaddeus Barnum, Alexander "Sandy" Greene, T.J. Johnston, and Douglas Weiss--were also seated at the news conference in new clergy shirts of episcopal purple.
According to Murphy, the four will not head geographical dioceses but will have "oversight by affinity," according to their "unique gifts and talents." AMiA congregations will have the freedom to work with particular bishops as they choose.
But fellow AMiA bishop John Rodgers, who was consecrated with Murphy, said that "geography will play a role...but not a definitive one" in the administration, which he described as operating with "flexibility" under Rwandan and South East Asian canons. It appears that congregations which accept the ordination of women may be gathered under Rodgers and the Province of South East Asia, while those who oppose women's ordination will gravitate to Murphy and the Rwandan jurisdiction.
Solemnity and spontaneity
The Sunday night service combined Anglican solemnity and evangelical spontaneity. Following the South East Asia consecration rite, the liturgy offered no opportunity for objection to the consecrations, as is customary in the U.S. church. Cameras flashed as Yong and Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, Bishops John Rucyahana and Venuste Mutiganda of Rwanda were joined by retired American bishops Alex Dickson of West Tennessee and FitzSimons Allison of South Carolina laid hands on Barnum, Greene, Johnston, and Weiss. The increased the number of AMiA bishops to six for an estimated 8,000 congregants.
In his sermon to the gathering of almost a thousand people, Yong alluded to letters from people condemning the action, saying, "It is never our intention to offend or hurt them....Despite tremendous pressure, we are going ahead with this consecration tonight."
Fifty clergymen processed down the aisle of the suburban Colorado Community Church with their hands upraised as the verses to "Alleluia! Sing to Jesus" were projected on to two screens flanking the dais. A praise band led by the Rev. Phil Eberhart of the newly formed Resurrection Anglican Fellowship in Colorado led the congregation in praise choruses prior to the service and in contemporary versions of traditional Anglican hymns.
The service was punctuated by "amens" and applause, with a standing ovation for Murphy as he thanked the two archbishops for providing "a way forward" for the AMiA.
'God knows what he's doing'
Earlier that day, at Christ Church in Denver--whose rector of just a month ago, Sandy Greene, was one of those consecrated--the Rev. Mike Flynn urged the congregation to reach out to both sides. "When you accept yourself in Christ Jesus, you don't feel tainted by those who compromise the faith," he said. "When you accept yourself in Christ Jesus, you don't feel abandoned by those who feel they have to leave."
Christ Church members were given a pastoral letter from Colorado's Bishop Jerry Winterrowd, who said that "my heart goes out to you as you try to move beyond the tear in the fabric of your life that has caused great pain...I pray that God will give you the grace and strength to let go of all the fear and hurt that has been caused and that you will be freed from the burdens Satan would place upon you." That evening they gathered for a colloquium on "Safeguarding the Faith," led by the Revs. Ephraim Radner, Don Henderson, Jack Stapleton, and Phil Webb, to talk about "our future together and our future as Anglicans in the Episcopal Church."
Parishioners at Christ Church estimated that no more than 100 of their fellow worshipers, out of more than 800, departed for the AMiA recently. Some even expressed relief that the direction of the parish was now much clearer.