Presiding Bishop Expresses Profound Disappointment at Episcopal Synod of America Demand for a Separate Province
Episcopal News Service. May 10, 1990 [90017_Z]
An organization of traditionalist Episcopalians is demanding an autonomous structure as the price for staying in the Episcopal Church.
At its annual legislative meeting in Denver 'on April 27, the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA), formed a year ago to resist what it perceives as liberal trends in the church, voted unanimously for creation of a separate nongeographic province as "the only realistic way for keeping together people of diametrically opposed theological outlooks."
"There is no middle ground between the historic position we embrace and the revisionists," said ESA president Bishop Clarence Pope of Fort Worth in a press release. "The time is upon us, I think, when further action must be taken to ensure our future and make it possible for all sides of these vexing questions to live more peaceably."
The unanimous vote in Denver was an ironic echo to the vote at the House of Bishops in Philadelphia last September that ushered in a brief era of fragile peace between traditionalists and the rest of the church.
A statement issued unanimously by the bishops in Philadelphia recognized the right of ESA bishops to dissent on theological issues and urged conflicts to be worked out on a pastoral level rather than a legalistic one.
"The spirit of Philadelphia is not working," said ESA Bishop William Wantland of Eau Claire. "There are still dioceses that persecute traditionalists -- who do not respect them."
Referring to the concord reached in Philadelphia as "merely an ad hoc agreement between bishops," the ESA has announced that "this is no longer an acceptable solution." According to the synod, "It is necessary that some definite institution of jurisdiction be established if the rights and convictions of traditional Episcopalians are to be safeguarded."
During a speaking engagement in Dallas, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning said the proposal "flies in the face of the unity we have been seeking to achieve in the past several years."
Browning released a statement (see complete text in Newsfeatures section) on May 9 expressing "sadness that this initiative by the Episcopal Synod of America to separate itself from the other provinces of the Episcopal Church is contradictory...to the spirit in which the House of Bishops gathered." He said that he was "profoundly disappointed" by the resolution and emphasized his continuing belief that "we all need to search for ways to reach out pastorally to one another." He questioned whether the traditionalists had given the House of Bishops agreement a chance.
The ESA resolution called upon Browning to cooperate in appointing a committee to plan the new province. In his May 9 statement, Browning turned down the request and said it would be "inappropriate for the Presiding Bishop to be involved in these actions in any way. If the synod wishes to bring legislation concerning the creation of an autonomous, nongeographic province before our General Convention it may certainly do so."
Pamela Chinnis, vice president of the House of Deputies, agreed in an interview that the Presiding Bishop should not "appoint a committee to make such fundamental structural changes in the polity of the church." She contended that such a proposal "should be committed to the standing committee on structure for referral to General Convention," although she doubted the proposal would find much acceptance there.
In his statement, Browning said the Eames Commission and the Primates have been very clear in rejecting parallel jurisdictions as jeopardizing "the role of a bishop as a symbol of unity."
Bishop Mark Dyer of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania), a member of the Eames Commission, expressed "great concern" that the ESA resolution functioned outside the framework already approved by the Anglican Communion.
Dyer expressed surprise that the ESA was acting "as though the Primates and the Archbishop of Canterbury have not taken a position already" on the idea of parallel jurisdictions. "They have said this is not a viable option," he said.
Some bishops affiliated with the ESA disagreed. According to Wantland, the ESA proposal does not conflict with the earlier statements of the Eames Commission. "The Eames Commission ruled out parallel jurisdictions, not separate jurisdictions. Our proposal is not a parallel jurisdiction."
Wantland offered examples of separate jurisdictions in the Anglican Communion: an ethnic diocese in New Zealand, the Order of Ethiopia in Southern Africa, and Navajoland in the Episcopal Church. "They are separate entities that are non-geographic and based on ethnic lines or cultural or language barriers. The 10th province we propose would be a doctrinal province."
However, the Episcopal Church's deputy for Anglican affairs disagreed. "Navajoland is not really an autonomous province in the way the ESA would envision a 10th province," said Patrick Mauney, because Navajoland is integrated into the life of the Episcopal Church in every way -- they are not separate.
"I cannot think of a single entity of jurisdiction in the Anglican Communion that would claim the kind of autonomy implied by the ESA resolution," Mauney added. "I think this clearly falls under what the Eames Commission calls a parallel jurisdiction."
Behind the current debate on polity is a simmering battle over theological issues that has embroiled the Episcopal Church for years. Some observers suggest that it is no less than a battle for the soul of the Episcopal Church.
"The ordination of women is not the only issue for the Episcopal Synod," said Wantland. "What's really at stake is the abandoning of Holy Scripture as having any authority."
Wantland cited an atmosphere of openness toward homosexuals in the Episcopal Church as a serious threat to the future of the church. "We cannot embrace as good what is clearly not good," he said. "I think there is a good possibility that the Episcopal Church will not survive (the 1991 General Convention in) Phoenix. If the church approves the idea of blessing same-sex unions, then you will see two-thirds of the Episcopal Church walk out."
Wantland said that he sees "little hope for the institution" of the Episcopal Church. "We've got to try to get the leadership -- including the General Convention -- to uphold the authority of Scripture and what the vast majority of Episcopalians still believe," he said.
The Rev. Titus Oates, new executive director of the ESA, agreed. "Our goal would be to change the entire church. We (the ESA) wish to restore the whole church to the earlier glory that has been lost. If we fail, then we must say that Anglicanism in America has failed," he said.
One midwestern bishop takes issue with the synod by saying that "all this apocalyptic language is a lot of hyperbole and scare tactics. We need to go into the General Convention clear about the real issues and not allow emotions to run things." He speculated that the ESA would try to gather all the unrelated anger in the church to achieve a 10th province.
The chair of the House of Bishops' theology committee, Los Angeles Bishop Frederick Borsch, hopes the church will proceed to General Convention with a broad perspective of history. "We need to go back and read some of the great leaders of Anglicanism to give us perspective. They understood both that the church has been given eternal truths, and that change and new ways of understanding can also come from God."
"Anglicanism has had a certain genius for...using differences of temperament and insight in order to hold onto larger perspectives," Borsch continued. "We do this better together, however painful it can be sometimes, rather than pulling apart into separate churches as Protestantism has done in the past, each insisting on its own version of the truth.
"Scripture has an absolutely central role of authority in the life of the church -- but its chief purpose is to point us to the Spirit of Christ, who is the Word of God, and to ask what our Lord would have us to do in our own time."
Although some observers have speculated that the ESA resolution is a prelude to schism, it is a charge that ESA leaders flatly deny. "Members of the synod reaffirm their desire to remain Episcopalian and to continue to share in the heritage and mission of the Episcopal Church in this country," its press release said. "We're not threatening to leave, we're threatening to stay," said the Rev. Ralph Walker of St. Michael's Church in Denver.
"If anything, the ESA has been prevented from succeeding," said Oates. "We are basically being pushed out of business -- that is the perception we have. Charity is only one-sided. We are being harassed out of existence and discriminated against," he continued. "It seems to me that we have a church that claims to be liberal and is acting more like fascists."
"I am really sorry the Episcopal synod leaders do not believe there is room for everyone within the existing structure of the church," said Marge Christie of the Episcopal Women's Caucus (EWC). Yet, she questioned the willingness of ESA members to join an open dialogue with those who disagree with them. "All our efforts to arrange a meeting with them have been repeatedly rebuffed," she said, despite a public promise at the House of Bishops.
Browning refused to speculate on what steps the ESA might take next, or whether or not it is moving farther toward the fringes of the church. Yet, he said in his statement that he was "grieved by what this resolution says about the unwillingness of those who relate to the synod to live and work with those who do not hold their views. This desire of the synod to establish a separate province is also a source of sadness to others around the Anglican Communion with whom I have been in conversation."
"It has always been my hope that we can keep the conversations going as we struggle over these important issues," Browning continued. He expressed doubts that many people understand the full implication of forming a 10th province -- and the kind of isolation it implies. Browning said in his statement that "it is my strongest sense, and at the heart of all the actions I have taken over the last years, that we all need each other."