TOWARD A RESOLUTION
Part X
(First posted on Jan. 23, 2018).
This is the tenth installment in our series "Toward a Resolution" in which we are answering questions in our search for truth about the schism in South Carolina. In this part, we take up question # 9 on out list (see Part I, Jan. 5):
HAS THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA RESTORED ORTHODOX ANGLICANISM IN THE DIOCESE?
We must begin with definitions. What is "orthodox"? The word orthodox generally means correct or right. In a religious context, this would mean true religion as traditionally understood.
What is "orthodox Anglicanism"? In other words, what is true Anglican religion as it is traditionally understood? To answer this, we must go back to the origins of Anglicanism.
Anglicanism was formed in the sixteenth century. The king and parliament of England declared the Church of England independent of Rome by 1534. "Via media" (middle way) was the overriding principle of Anglicanism as the C of E sought to be a national church of all people. It had to be broad and tolerant, and to be a consensus religion, could not be narrowly dogmatic and intolerant. Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) tried to unify the nation under The Book of Common Prayer. Prayer book worship became the defining characteristic of Anglicanism. The rites and directions combined some elements of traditional Catholicism and some of the new Protestant reform ideas. Richard Hooker (1554-1600) elaborated Anglicanism and summarized it as scripture, reason, and tradition. This became the famous "three legged stool" of Anglicanism.
One way of looking at Anglicanism is as a generic Christian religion, catholic and protestant. In another way, it is a reformed catholic church. At any rate, beyond the ancient creeds, classical Anglicanism has never been a confessional or intolerant religion stressing authority, dogma or doctrine over worship.
Although a generic, or "big tent" religion, Anglicanism has always entertained mutually opposing tensions. These tended to reflect the political, social, and cultural issues of the day. In the seventeenth century it was High Church and Low Church. In the eighteenth century it was the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the emotionalism of evangelicals as John Wesley. In the nineteenth century it was Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical. In the twentieth century it was democratic and fundamentalist.
As the British spread their empire and commercial power around the world, they took Anglicanism with them. This produced the Episcopal Church in the United States in 1789. From 1815 to 1914 Britain dominated the world in the Pax Britannia. This also brought the golden age of the expansion of Anglicanism. Independent Anglican churches, called "provinces" gradually formed on every continent. The Anglican Communion was established at the height of the Pax Britannia, in 1867, as the Archbishop of Canterbury called the first Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops from around the world. Today, there are 39 provinces of the Anglican Communion. These are independent churches, all claiming heritage of prayer book worship deriving from the Church of England. All recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as the nominal head of the Communion.
By the 1970s, the Anglican Communion had become defined by the Four Instruments of Communion: 1-Archbishop of Canterbury; 2-Primates (heads of the provinces); 3-the Lambeth Conferences; and 4-the Anglican Consultative Council. The last serves as a sort of vestry or standing committee for the AC. However, the 39 provinces remain independent. None of the four instruments has the right to interfere in the internal matters of a province.
At the very time of the Four Instruments, the AC began showing serious signs of institutional division. In America, opponents of prayer book reform and women's ordination started a "Continuing Anglican Movement" (see here ) in 1977. They claimed the Episcopal Church had abandoned the traditional religion and they would "continue" the true Anglicanism. In the 1990s this evolved into the self-styled "orthodox" Anglican movement. These people espoused views that relied on literal interpretation of the Bible, authoritarianism, intolerance, and dogmatism. None of these had been a characteristic of historic, classical Anglicanism.
Ironically, the so-called "orthodox" movement really was not orthodox at all. Quite the opposite, it was a new definition of Anglicanism. It was mostly spurred by opposition to equality for homosexuals among ultra conservatives in America and anti-homosexual-rights African bishops. GAFCON and Global South are organizations that grew from this movement. In 2009, GAFCON and American schismatics formed the Anglican Church in North America explicitly to oppose rights for homosexuals. It was meant to replace the Episcopal Church as the legitimate Anglican province in America. The Anglicans today who commonly call themselves the "orthodox Anglicans" are really new Anglicans trying to change Anglican religion into something it has never been, a confessional religion. They are not orthodox Anglicans at all.
The leaders of the Diocese of South Carolina have taken the diocese away from classical Anglicanism into this new Anglican fundamentalism. Bishop Lawrence attended the Jerusalem conference in July of 2008 that produced the Jerusalem Statement, the original document of this new Anglican fundamentalism. It condemned homosexuality as non-Biblical and rejected the authority of Anglican provinces that supported homosexual rights. Lawrence warmly supported the Jerusalem Statement; the DSC Standing Committee promptly adopted it.
In his talks around the diocese, as in Old Saint Andrews in February of 2013 (p. 427-32), Lawrence insisted the three legged stool had only one leg, scriptures. All authority had to come from the Bible. This trend to fundamentalism in DSC reached a head in 2015 when the leaders produced the four measures of the Marriage Task Force and imposed them in the diocese. The four measures:
1-"A Statement of Faith" (Oct. 6, 2015). (find it here ).
Christian Fundamentalism is defined by certain characteristics: literal interpretation of the Bible; personal (born again) salvation; the dualism of the universe; intolerance of other views; and social conservatism.
The Statement of Faith (p. 455) reflected every one of these points, most prominently the last. With a literal interpretation of the Bible, it proclaimed a purely vertical religion of individual salvation completely devoid of social concern. It was authoritarian proclaiming the bishop as the final authority on all "matters of doctrine." Mostly concerned with sexuality, it was replete with intolerance, as in "God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman" (no documentation). It also forbade clergy and staff from serving in same-sex weddings and diocesan facilities from being used in same-sex weddings. Furthermore, it required all diocesan employees and "leaders" to make an oath of allegiance to the Statement.
2. A form for parishes to adopt the Statement of Faith.
3. An employee policy requiring all employees to make an oath to the Statement. It said the bishop could terminate anyone's employment at will.
4. A facilities use policy requiring anyone seeking to use church property to sign a form of compliance with the Statement.
The four measures of the Marriage Task Force finally revealed the intention of the schism, to move the diocese from the classical Anglicanism of the Anglican Communion to the fundamentalist Anglicanism as espoused by GAFCON/Global South/ACNA.
In 2017, DSC joined the ACNA. ACNA is not a part of the Anglican Communion. It is not a "province" of anything. It is "recognized" by GAFCON and Global South, but not by the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican primates have confirmed this.
Shorter answer:
In the schism of 2012, DSC veered away from classical Anglicanism and moved into the twilight zone of the Anglican world, supported by some Anglican primates but not part of the Anglican Communion.
In the schism, DSC abandoned the historic Anglican ethos for a new kind of religion that is far removed from traditional Anglican sensibilities.
Shortest answer:
No, DSC has not restored orthodox Anglicanism in the diocese.
This is the tenth installment in our series "Toward a Resolution" in which we are answering questions in our search for truth about the schism in South Carolina. In this part, we take up question # 9 on out list (see Part I, Jan. 5):
HAS THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA RESTORED ORTHODOX ANGLICANISM IN THE DIOCESE?
We must begin with definitions. What is "orthodox"? The word orthodox generally means correct or right. In a religious context, this would mean true religion as traditionally understood.
What is "orthodox Anglicanism"? In other words, what is true Anglican religion as it is traditionally understood? To answer this, we must go back to the origins of Anglicanism.
Anglicanism was formed in the sixteenth century. The king and parliament of England declared the Church of England independent of Rome by 1534. "Via media" (middle way) was the overriding principle of Anglicanism as the C of E sought to be a national church of all people. It had to be broad and tolerant, and to be a consensus religion, could not be narrowly dogmatic and intolerant. Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) tried to unify the nation under The Book of Common Prayer. Prayer book worship became the defining characteristic of Anglicanism. The rites and directions combined some elements of traditional Catholicism and some of the new Protestant reform ideas. Richard Hooker (1554-1600) elaborated Anglicanism and summarized it as scripture, reason, and tradition. This became the famous "three legged stool" of Anglicanism.
One way of looking at Anglicanism is as a generic Christian religion, catholic and protestant. In another way, it is a reformed catholic church. At any rate, beyond the ancient creeds, classical Anglicanism has never been a confessional or intolerant religion stressing authority, dogma or doctrine over worship.
Although a generic, or "big tent" religion, Anglicanism has always entertained mutually opposing tensions. These tended to reflect the political, social, and cultural issues of the day. In the seventeenth century it was High Church and Low Church. In the eighteenth century it was the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the emotionalism of evangelicals as John Wesley. In the nineteenth century it was Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical. In the twentieth century it was democratic and fundamentalist.
As the British spread their empire and commercial power around the world, they took Anglicanism with them. This produced the Episcopal Church in the United States in 1789. From 1815 to 1914 Britain dominated the world in the Pax Britannia. This also brought the golden age of the expansion of Anglicanism. Independent Anglican churches, called "provinces" gradually formed on every continent. The Anglican Communion was established at the height of the Pax Britannia, in 1867, as the Archbishop of Canterbury called the first Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops from around the world. Today, there are 39 provinces of the Anglican Communion. These are independent churches, all claiming heritage of prayer book worship deriving from the Church of England. All recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as the nominal head of the Communion.
By the 1970s, the Anglican Communion had become defined by the Four Instruments of Communion: 1-Archbishop of Canterbury; 2-Primates (heads of the provinces); 3-the Lambeth Conferences; and 4-the Anglican Consultative Council. The last serves as a sort of vestry or standing committee for the AC. However, the 39 provinces remain independent. None of the four instruments has the right to interfere in the internal matters of a province.
At the very time of the Four Instruments, the AC began showing serious signs of institutional division. In America, opponents of prayer book reform and women's ordination started a "Continuing Anglican Movement" (see here ) in 1977. They claimed the Episcopal Church had abandoned the traditional religion and they would "continue" the true Anglicanism. In the 1990s this evolved into the self-styled "orthodox" Anglican movement. These people espoused views that relied on literal interpretation of the Bible, authoritarianism, intolerance, and dogmatism. None of these had been a characteristic of historic, classical Anglicanism.
Ironically, the so-called "orthodox" movement really was not orthodox at all. Quite the opposite, it was a new definition of Anglicanism. It was mostly spurred by opposition to equality for homosexuals among ultra conservatives in America and anti-homosexual-rights African bishops. GAFCON and Global South are organizations that grew from this movement. In 2009, GAFCON and American schismatics formed the Anglican Church in North America explicitly to oppose rights for homosexuals. It was meant to replace the Episcopal Church as the legitimate Anglican province in America. The Anglicans today who commonly call themselves the "orthodox Anglicans" are really new Anglicans trying to change Anglican religion into something it has never been, a confessional religion. They are not orthodox Anglicans at all.
The leaders of the Diocese of South Carolina have taken the diocese away from classical Anglicanism into this new Anglican fundamentalism. Bishop Lawrence attended the Jerusalem conference in July of 2008 that produced the Jerusalem Statement, the original document of this new Anglican fundamentalism. It condemned homosexuality as non-Biblical and rejected the authority of Anglican provinces that supported homosexual rights. Lawrence warmly supported the Jerusalem Statement; the DSC Standing Committee promptly adopted it.
In his talks around the diocese, as in Old Saint Andrews in February of 2013 (p. 427-32), Lawrence insisted the three legged stool had only one leg, scriptures. All authority had to come from the Bible. This trend to fundamentalism in DSC reached a head in 2015 when the leaders produced the four measures of the Marriage Task Force and imposed them in the diocese. The four measures:
1-"A Statement of Faith" (Oct. 6, 2015). (find it here ).
Christian Fundamentalism is defined by certain characteristics: literal interpretation of the Bible; personal (born again) salvation; the dualism of the universe; intolerance of other views; and social conservatism.
The Statement of Faith (p. 455) reflected every one of these points, most prominently the last. With a literal interpretation of the Bible, it proclaimed a purely vertical religion of individual salvation completely devoid of social concern. It was authoritarian proclaiming the bishop as the final authority on all "matters of doctrine." Mostly concerned with sexuality, it was replete with intolerance, as in "God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman" (no documentation). It also forbade clergy and staff from serving in same-sex weddings and diocesan facilities from being used in same-sex weddings. Furthermore, it required all diocesan employees and "leaders" to make an oath of allegiance to the Statement.
2. A form for parishes to adopt the Statement of Faith.
3. An employee policy requiring all employees to make an oath to the Statement. It said the bishop could terminate anyone's employment at will.
4. A facilities use policy requiring anyone seeking to use church property to sign a form of compliance with the Statement.
The four measures of the Marriage Task Force finally revealed the intention of the schism, to move the diocese from the classical Anglicanism of the Anglican Communion to the fundamentalist Anglicanism as espoused by GAFCON/Global South/ACNA.
In 2017, DSC joined the ACNA. ACNA is not a part of the Anglican Communion. It is not a "province" of anything. It is "recognized" by GAFCON and Global South, but not by the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican primates have confirmed this.
Shorter answer:
In the schism of 2012, DSC veered away from classical Anglicanism and moved into the twilight zone of the Anglican world, supported by some Anglican primates but not part of the Anglican Communion.
In the schism, DSC abandoned the historic Anglican ethos for a new kind of religion that is far removed from traditional Anglican sensibilities.
Shortest answer:
No, DSC has not restored orthodox Anglicanism in the diocese.
