Anglican Communion suspends US Episcopal Church over same-sex “marriage”

Before anything else let me say: Anglicanorum coetibus!

Here’s something slightly interesting.

From USA Today:

Anglicans suspend Episcopal Church over stance on same-sex marriage

The Anglican Communion suspended the Episcopal Church, it’s American branch, from voting and decision-making for three years on Thursday over its acceptance of same-sex marriage.

“The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union,” the Anglican Communion said in a statement. “The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching.”

The dramatic demotion follows a string of Episcopal Church decisions stretching back to 2003 when it elected Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as a bishop of New Hampshire. That decision led dozens of U.S. churches to break away from the Episcopal Church and declare their allegiance to a series of rival groups including The Anglican Church in North America.

In July, the Episcopal Church voted to allow its clergy to perform same-sex marriages, a move not taken by the majority of churches in the Anglican Communion.

Details of the suspension were first reported by Anglican Ink, which said they came from a leaked communique. The vote passed by a two-thirds margin, the publication reported, and included prominent voices among African bishops who have loudly condemned the American church for its liberal stance on gays.

[…]

Read the rest there.

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15 Comments

  1. tz2026 says:

    The State of the comm-Union?
    “There’s no place like Rome, There’s no place like Rome…”.
    That said, the irony runs deep – Henry VIII wanted to redefine marriage to the point Thomas More lost his head. Once you sever the brain from the heart or the lower organs, you cannot then argue from the heights of reason, but only from the depths of feeling..
    I won’t wait for the remake of “The Gay Divorcee”.

  2. Norah says:

    Contraception didn’t appear for the first time at the Lambeth Conference in 1930. It was put forward at a number of Conferences and each time the vote against grew smaller until in 1930 a majority approved Contraception for Married Couples in extreme circumstances. Well, we know what happened. The same will happen for Same Sex Marriage; I predict that in three years time the Episcopal Church will be welcomed back and there will be kisses and hugs all round and sooner rather than later the Anglican Communion will approve same sex marriages.

    Some time ago I made a prediction on this blog about the final outcome of the investigation into religious orders and their governing body – I was correct.

  3. TNCath says:

    No one who ever left the Catholic Church and bettered himself.
    Perhaps the Anglicans are finally getting around to realizing this fact.

  4. TNCath says:

    Correction: No one who ever left the Catholic Church bettered himself.

  5. andia says:

    ““The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union,” ” Seriously? Didn’t the Anglican Schism happen over divorce for the King? Because the Pope would not grant Henry VIII an annulment? SO how can they seriously make that claim.

  6. Mr. Graves says:

    My experience of Protestantism confirms Norah’s suspicions: Pull any one string (doctrine) loose and eventually the whole fabric unravels. Absent a central authority (Pope + Magisterium), doctrine can only devolve, however gradually. This is only a way station as mainline Protestantism continues to devolve.

    And yet, oddly enough, I find the news somewhat hopeful despite my general pessimism regarding the Anglican communion’s future — as also the news that my old (low) Protestant denomination has largely held firm on life and family issues (absent divorce and contraception, of course).

  7. Nicolas Bellord says:

    I must say I find this surprising coming from the masters of fudge. It is particularly interesting that the established Church in England is apparently diametrically at odds with Parliament on this issue. Can Parliament not legislate for the Church of England? If so might they be tempted to try and force gay marriage on the CofE? Could lead to disestablishment if they pursue this orthodox line. But maybe the CofE will soften their line over the years as Norah suggests. If the Africans stick with their line and leave the Anglican Communion I wonder whether they might not come over to Rome in some form of Ordinariate.
    I must say I cannot help smiling when I hear people talking of a possible schism in the CofE. I thought that was what they were from the start!

  8. Art says:

    The fact that the Anglican Church of Canada, which supports same-sex ‘marriage’ as much the Episcopal Church, was NOT disciplined shows that this is merely a slap on the wrist. Note the similarities between the statements from 2016:

    http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2016/01/statement-from-primates-2016.aspx

    and 2007:

    http://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/68393/communique2007_english.pdf

    There has been no change in policy. This is still fudge, of the rich, Anglican variety.

  9. LarryW2LJ says:

    I would hope the German Bishops, as well as some here, would take note.

  10. Jacob says:

    I came here to say what Art did already. This is a three-year slap on the wrist. The only possible good point is that the conservative elements will be able to show the moderates at the end of that period that ECUSA and its enablers cannot be trusted. Of course, that’s already been shown plenty of times, but the conservatives this time are organized.

    I recommend http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php for anyone who wants to follow this in-depth.

  11. IPSB says:

    Just to clarify the misconception some people seem to have about the origins of the Anglican Church; King Henry VIII indeed split the English Church from Rome in 1534 in order to obtain an annulment but the Church only remained separated until his daughter Mary I accepted Roman primacy again in 1554 and the Church remained united until 1559 when Mary’s sister Elizabeth I again separated the Church of England from Rome for reasons which are not known (although they probably included both pragmatism and the fact that Catholics considered her to always have been of illegitimate birth (technically the earlier Protestants (under Henry VIII and Edward VI (and possibly Lady Jane Grey whose monarchical status is disputed and who was executed by Mary I only nine days after possibly having inherited the throne)) also considered her illegitimate because Henry VIII had declared her illegitimate)) which is the true point of separation from Rome of today’s Church of England.

  12. anilwang says:

    tz2026 says: The State of the comm-Union? “There’s no place like Rome, There’s no place like Rome…”.

    You’d like to think so, but there is a great deal of Anti-Catholicism in Anglicanism, especially among the most orthodox Anglicans. Even among the TAC (the group that applied to join Rome) a large number refused to join after Pope Benedict XVI extended his invitation for corporate reunion. I don’t think the Indian province ever join, which is a pity since they were the largest TAC province. Pope Francis certainly doesn’t make it easier for orthodox Anglicans to join since they fear that if they convert and lose everything, they may have to go through the same battles they’re currently fighting in Anglicanism.

    IMO, the heart of the issue is that to be Catholic, one must believe everything the Catholic Church taught, is teaching, and will teach. Most orthodox Anglicans have no problem with the “taught” part, though they may vary about which councils they depart from the Catholic faith. The “is teaching” part is something most Anglo-Catholics like many in the TAC can hold to. The difficult one is “will teach”. The thinking goes, how can one honestly make this commitment when a day after conversion, the Church may teach heresy like St Mary is part of the Trinity or that radical marxism/capitalism/libertarianism/totalitarianism is the sole goal of Christianity?

  13. Gerard Plourde says:

    Dear Anilwang,

    Part of the belief of the Catholic Church is that the Holy Spirit will prevent the Pope and the College of Bishops when united to the Pope in Council from ever teaching heresy. This does not mean that individual bishops or cardinals are protected from teaching error. They have never been held to have the gift of infallibility.

  14. Jeannie_C says:

    What do Anglicans fear they will lose if they convert to Roman Catholicism? Their attachment to their liturgy and to their beloved Book of Common Prayer both of which hold pride of place in their belief system. There is not only a great deal of anti-Catholicism among the more traditional Anglicans as Anilwang states, but also a heightened sense of superiority. Any Anglican who wishes to return to Rome has always had a means to do so. There is nothing they would have to give up save their false pride and heretical beliefs. I know because our family converted decades ago thanks to the grace of God and the Catholic Church’s willingness to welcome us.

  15. DonL says:

    “SO how can they seriously make that claim.”
    How indeed, andia?
    In the words of a certain female presidential candidate, “That’s old news!”

Comments are closed.