Diocese of Ft. Worth’s Resolution on GAFCON and Women Bishops

In the aftermath of the latest GAFCON Primates meeting, two responses I have seen stand out for being succinct and on point: Lee Nelson’s excellent article over at North American Anglican and the resolution released by the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Ft. Worth yesterday.

Yes.  Something timely and well written came out of a church committee.  The Diocese of Ft. Worth must be of divine origin!  God be praised!

The resolution points out three things well:

1. The GAFCON Primates have rather blatantly chosen to ignore their own 2017 resolution on the subject of a male-only episcopate. (The Ft. Worth resolution puts it more nicely than I, of course.)

2. Since it pertains to the validity of the sacraments, whom is chosen to be a bishop is hardly a secondary issue.

3. Ideally, bishops are to be bishops for the whole church.  The innovation of women bishops disregards that.

But read the resolution, which follows, for yourself.  Again, it is not long and is very well written.

 

Resolution of the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth 

21 September 2021 

Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist 

“Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). 

In a 2017 communique from the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCon), the Primates noted: “It is our prime recommendation that the provinces of GAFCon should retain the historic practice of the consecration only of men as bishops until and unless a strong consensus to change emerges after prayer, consultation and continued study of Scripture among the GAFCon fellowship.” In 2021, the Chairman of GAFCon, Archbishop Foley Beach, noted: “At our meeting, the GAFCon Primates agreed we have not come to a consensus on the issue of women in holy orders, and specifically women in the episcopate.” And yet, three women have been consecrated in the GAFCon provinces of Sudan and Kenya since the moratorium on such consecrations went into effect, despite the lack of consensus. 

We enthusiastically support the statement of our own Primate, Archbishop Beach, that “we will continue to stand with these brothers and sisters [of GAFCon] to the greatest extent possible to maintain the Biblical Faith in the Anglican Communion and proclaim the saving Good News of Jesus Christ.” And we enthusiastically celebrate the rich contribution of women vitally engaged with significant impact in the ministry of the church throughout her long history. In an effort to strengthen and not to whither our bonds of affection, we also wish to record our strong objection to the recent consecrations of women in provinces of the Global Anglican Future Conference and to the classification of the action as a “secondary issue.” 

Primary and Secondary Issues 

“Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ . . . Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:15,25). 

In their recent meeting, the primates of GAFCon passed a resolution which noted: “In our discussion, the Primates acknowledged that while there is disagreement and ongoing discussion on the issues of the ordination of women as deacons or priests, and the consecration of women as Bishops, we are agreed that these are not salvation issues and are not issues that will disrupt our mission: to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.” 

Issues that touch upon the salvation of souls are always primary issues, and certainly not to be considered adiaphora (“things indifferent”). The catechism of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer describes the sacraments of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord as “generally necessary to salvation.” The Jerusalem Declaration affirms as a tenet of orthodoxy (#6), that “we uphold the 

1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer.” The validity of the sacrament of the Supper of the Lord is contingent upon the minister being a valid priest or bishop in Holy Orders. The validity of a sacrament that is generally necessary to salvation is, by definition, a salvation issue. 

The Jerusalem Declaration affirms as a tenet of orthodoxy (#2), “The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.” The innovation of the ordination of women is not respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading of scripture. 

Bishops for the Whole Church 

“The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). 

Bishops are consecrated not just to serve a local diocese, but are consecrated for the whole church. What one province does in this matter affects all. 

We recognize that the ordination of women has been a contentious and divisive issue. We urge our brethren and spiritual fathers to move away from divisiveness, not toward it. We affirm the unanimous statement of the ACNA College of Bishops about the subject on 7 September 2017. While acknowledging that the ordination of women is practiced within some dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America, it stated: “we also acknowledge that this practice is a recent innovation to Apostolic Tradition and Catholic Order” and “we agree that there is insufficient scriptural warrant to accept women’s ordination to the priesthood as standard practice throughout the Province.” This standing committee, together with our bishop, believes that the same principle of restraint should be applied locally as well as in the global church. 

In our view, the way forward toward our global Anglican future lies in faithfulness to the Holy Scriptures and the received tradition, not in a theological innovation which would seek to overturn created order by attempting to consecrate women as spiritual fathers. The sacred trust placed in the episcopal office, as successors to the apostles, is to hand on the historic Christian faith and practice to a new generation of believers. 

Adopted unanimously at the 21 September 2021 regular meeting. 

The Rev’d Timothy M. Matkin, President of the Standing Committee 

Ft. Worth, Sowing, and Reaping UPDATED

Yes, I have been rather quiet as I warned I might.  But having followed the travails of the Diocese of Ft. Worth for most of the life of this long lived blog, I should say something about the property dispute finally being resolved with the U. S. Supreme Court declining to hear an appeal of the Texas Supreme Court decision in favor of the ACNA Diocese of Ft. Worth.

There were a few congregations once in the diocese that aligned with The Episcopal Church in the dispute.  After the case was resolved, they had to vacate the church buildings.  Living Church, as they often do, has one of the better accounts of that.

All Saints, as usual, was among the worst actors, stripping the church before they left.  But St. Stephens Wichita Falls (Yes, I guess even Wichita Falls has a handful of libchurchers) tried to out do them by even taking the pews.  It was breathtaking.

I say “was” for a judge has since said they can’t do that and at least some of the stolen property has been returned.

I do have to restrain myself in opining on this for I am well aware that All Saints, perennial libchurch spokeswoman Katie Sherrod and company have been bad actors for decades.

But I will say this.  The departing libchurchers merit no sympathy no matter how many crocodile tears they shed.  If there had been a good faith negotiation, I am confident Bishop Iker and the diocese would have been glad to let St. Stephen’s, All Saints, and the like leave with the parish properties.  But no, The Episcopal Church under the Lady of Perpetual Litigation Katharine Jefferts Schori did not have “good faith negotiation” in their vocabulary.  They went scorched earth and tried to take all the property.  And All Saints, Sherrod and other libchurchers supported that policy.  Further they had over a decade to pull back and settle instead.  (I suspect that the courts were slow in part to provide opportunity to settle, but that is speculation on my part.)  But no.

So they get to have it their way.  Now what they tried to do to the orthodox majority of the Diocese of Ft. Worth is happening to them.  It sounds downright Biblical.  To be more Biblical, they would have to pay fourfold.  Reaping what one sows can be a . . . difficult experience.

Meanwhile, I am thanking God that He is just.  And I am trying not to engage in ungodly gloating.  I really am.

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Photo courtesy of ACNA and Living Church

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UPDATE: I have been reminded just how much All Saints, St. Stephen’s and ilk have only themselves to blame.  The orthodox Diocese of Ft. Worth on their own accord offered parishes that wanted to do so to stay with The Episcopal Church with their properties.  That even though TEC was showing no quarter.

This from the Standing Committee of the orthodox Diocese of Ft. Worth back in 2009:

On April 14, 2009, the newly formed diocese of Fort Worth, along with representatives of The Episcopal Church (TEC), filed a lawsuit in a Tarrant Count, Texas, court. The suit names Bishop Iker and the five-person Board of Trustees for the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth as defendants.

As you might remember, at our 2007 diocesan convention we passed a revised canon outlining a process that could be used if a parish disagreed with the course of the diocese. At the end of the process, if reconciliation were not possible, the canon provided that the church property would be released to the congregation. Even after our 2008 convention, where we ratified our decision to separate from TEC by an 80 percent majority, none of the congregations wishing to remain loyal to The Episcopal Church asked for that procedure to be used.

However, the facts allowed the Bishop and the Standing Committee to investigate, and at the end of our investigation, the properties of Trinity Church, Fort Worth, and St. Martin in the Fields, Keller, were deeded to their respective congregations. At the same time, two other parishes - St. Christopher's in Fort Worth, and St. Luke's in Stephenville - were contacted. They had outstanding building loans which were made in the name of the Diocese. The Diocese offered to release their properties to them if they would renegotiate the loans and remove the Diocese from their notes. St. Luke's renegotiated their note and had their property deeded to them. As soon as we hear from St. Christopher's, we will do the same for them.

We've done everything we can think to do to make a settlement with any congregation that wants to stay with TEC. Bishop Iker and the Standing Committee have no wish to take property from those churches that do not wish to remain with us.

Which begs the question why did St. Stephens and All Saints and company not take the offers even while other parishes did?  I am told it was because they wished to assist The Episcopal Church in their lawsuit in taking it all.  They were in a better position to so assist in that predatory lawsuit if they stayed in the diocese.  But whatever their motives, they have only themselves to blame for what has befallen them.  The Diocese of Ft. Worth bent over backwards to accommodate them graciously.  St. Stephens and All Saints spurned that grace and trampled it under foot.  

They had best learn from their just defeat under secular judges and prepare for the final Judge.  But I am not holding my breath for those fools so to do.

ACNA Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth Wins at Texas Supreme Court UPDATED

This lllllong standing case is not 100% over, but it is close to it.  Good news from the Texas Supreme Court and the Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth (ACNA):

Today we rejoice that the Supreme Court of Texas has issued a unanimous decision in our favor concerning the suit first brought against the Diocese and Corporation more than 11 years ago. After considering our Petition for Review of the 2018 opinion issued by the Second Court of Appeals, the high Court has granted all the relief requested.

Page two of the opinion says in part,

Applying neutral principles to the undisputed facts, we hold that 1) resolution of this property dispute does not require consideration of an ecclesiastical question, 2) under the governing documents, the withdrawing faction is the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, and 3) the trial court properly granted summary judgment in the withdrawing faction’s favor. We therefore reverse the court of appeals’ contrary judgment.

In its opinion, the Court found that the Diocese had not violated any Episcopal Church charter in withdrawing from association to TEC in 2008, and that the actions of the Diocese and Corporation were consistent with our own charters and with the state’s trust and unincorporated association statutes, and it upheld the dismissal of the Dennis Canon as determinative in Texas church property disputes.

Plaintiffs may exercise their rights of appeal, after which a mandate will go to the trial court for implementation.

We are grateful for the Court’s hard work on this decision and for the clarity with which it was rendered. We give thanks to the members of our legal team – Shelby Sharpe, Scott Brister, and David Weaver – for their sound counsel, expertise, and perseverance throughout these proceedings.

We give thanks for our visionary founding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. A. Donald Davies, and for those who assisted him in setting the legal and temporal foundations of the Diocese and Corporation. We stand on their shoulders.

We praise God for the steadfast faith and leadership of our third Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, a true shepherd of the flock, who made many sacrifices throughout his episcopate for the sake of Christ’s holy Church.

Above all, we thank God for his eternal provision and protection for his Church and the people he has called to serve him.

If you wish to wade through the opinion, it is here.

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UPDATE: I've been eagerly awaiting A. S. Haley's take, and he has not disappointed.  Read what an actual honest lawyer has to say on this ruling.

Bishop Jack Iker to Retire in 2019

I hate to see Bishop Iker retire soon.  We need more bishops like him.  The man is a hero to me. 

But he has announced his intention to retire at the end of 2019 and has called for the election of a Bishop Coadjutor.

Beyond that I am at a loss for words.

Bishop Iker: ACNA is “in a state of impaired communion.”

Earlier this month, Bishop Jack Iker addressed his Diocese of Ft. Worth in convention.  He was very frank in addressing division in the Anglican Church in North America over women’s ordination.  After discussing the Holy Orders Task Force and the Conclave earlier this year, he concluded:

So where are we? Most ACNA bishops and dioceses are opposed to women priests, but as it presently stands, the ACNA Constitution says each diocese can decide if it will ordain women priests or not. We now need to work with other dioceses to amend the Constitution to remove this provision. 

And he went further (Emphasis mine.):

We are in a state of impaired communion because of this issue. The Task Force concluded that “both sides cannot be right.” At the conclave, I informed the College of Bishops that I will no longer give consent to the election of any bishop who intends to ordain female priests, nor will I attend the consecration of any such bishop-elect in the future. I have notified the Archbishop of my resignation from all the committees to which I had been assigned to signify that it is no longer possible to have “business as usual” in the College of Bishops due to the refusal of those who are in favor of women priests to at least adopt a moratorium on this divisive practice, for the sake of unity.  Bishops who continue to ordain women priests in spite of the received tradition are signs of disunity and division.

The hoary joke about bishops having their backbones extracted at ordination does not apply to Jack Iker!

The bishops and dioceses that ordain women are the sources of so much that is objectionable in ACNA – weakness on the authority of scripture, confusing lib/left activism for ministry, lack of concern for unity for starters – that I am glad to see the Bishop of Ft. Worth take this stand.  I once was sanguine about ACNA and women’s ordination.  Taken by itself, women’s ordination has not been a big issue with me.  But I now see the issues are more than the gender of whom we ordain.  After seeing these bishops and dioceses – and who they ordain – in action since ACNA’s formation, I am with Bishop Iker on this.  Sometimes godly unity requires saying enough is enough.

A Brief Reflection on the Diocese of Ft. Worth’s Victory

Back in May of 2007, I happened to be at an Anglican ministry meeting at the Diocese of Ft. Worth’s Camp Crucis when word came out that the diocese was leaving The Episcopal Church.  I remember the excitement of the priests there that they manfully but not altogether successfully restrained.

Afterward, I had one of those small experiences that impress upon the memory.  I was driving on the narrow, pretty country road that leads out of Camp Crucis.  I reflected on the risk the Diocese of Ft. Worth was taking in order to be faithful.  I thought how awful it would be if the diocese were to lose the lovely camp and the rest of their property to the lawsuits that were sure to come.  And I hoped and prayed earnestly that it would not be so.

So the news that the lawsuit is virtually over and that the (real) Diocese of Ft. Worth has won increases my thankfulness to God.  Thanks be to God indeed.

Texas Court Declares The Episcopal Church is Very Silly

Well, yes, my headline is slightly inaccurate. But The Episcopal Church and its puppet diocese trying represent themselves in court as the Diocese of Ft. Worth reminds me of the Monty Python sketch in which a variety of disreputable characters declare themselves to be the Bishop of East Anglia – in other words, very silly. The Second Court of Appeals of Texas did not exactly declare TEC’s strategy to be silly, but close enough. The strategy was very firmly disallowed in their ruling.

More erudite analysis may be found over at the Anglican Curmudgeon, of course. The real Diocese of Ft. Worth’s statement on the ruling may be found here.

Ft. Worth: Phony Bishop Issues Silly Letter

The Faux Bishop of Ft. Worth, C. Wallis Ohl, has issued a letter purportedly deposing 57 priests and deacons in the real Diocese of Ft. Worth.

Of course, the Diocese of Ft. Worth some time back left The Episcopal Church and is now in the Anglican Church in North America. So Ohl’s letter is rather pointless.

One of the recipients of this letter is shaking in his cassock . . . . No, actually, he is amused and puts the letter into perspective quite well:

I fully expect to receive a letter from Gordon Brown any day revoking my British citizenship, despite the outcome of that little spat between 1775 and 1783. Some people just don't get the message that the ship has long ago already sailed.

Indeed.


MORE: This comment says volumes about how Ohl treats clergy:

Ohl, former Bp. of Northwest Texas, is being true to his nature. After I had begun the process for ordination as a local priest (Canon 9 priest for most of you), he refused to allow me to go forward because of my orthodox stand, telling me that I was “too strong” for the parish. Then he lied to the parish, telling them he had learned things about me that they did not know, hinting that there was something sinister in my past (there isn’t). Way to go, Wally!!

TEC’s Pythonesque Attack on Ft. Worth Floundering UPDATED

As Texanglican sums up well, The Episcopal Church’s attempt to loot the Diocese of Ft. Worth by claiming to be THE REAL Diocese of Ft. Worth is not going very well.

First, the trial court judge has already ruled that the lawyers suing on behalf of TEC's "diocese" DO NOT represent the corporation known as the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth that was established in 1983 and which Bishop Iker still heads. Yet the trial judge did not strike all the pleadings TEC's lawyers had filed claiming to act on behalf of the corporation at the time he ruled that they were not real diocese's lawyers. Logically, if these TEC lawyers do not represent the real diocese that actually owns the property, then they should not be able to even appear in court to file pleadings demanding that property be handed over to the folks they represent!

The appellate court has stayed any further proceedings until this fundamental illogic can be resolved. And that is GOOD news for the ACNA diocese--the real diocese of Fort Worth.

One wonders what sort of stimulant the worthies at 815 were drinking when they decided to pretend they and/or their puppets were the real Diocese of Ft. Worth in order to loot the Diocese of Ft. Worth. That strategy is, well, rather silly. It reminds me of the Monty Python School Prize-Giving sketch in which a thief mugs the Bishop of East Anglia, who was presiding over a school awards ceremony, and proceeds as follows:

I'm afraid there's been a mistake. The man who has been speaking to you is an impostor. He is not in fact the Bishop of East Anglia, but a man wanted by the police. I am the Bishop of East Anglia and anyone who doesn't believe me can look me up in the book. Now then, the first prize is this beautiful silver cup, which has been won by me. (He puts the silver cup into a sack) Next we come to the Fairfax Atkinson Trophy for outstanding achievement in the field of Applied Mathematics. Well, there was no-one this year who reached the required standard so it goes in my sack. And by an old rule of the school all the other silver trophies also go in my sack.

It makes for good humor, but a questionable legal strategy.


UPDATE:
The Diocese of Ft. Worth (Yes, the real one.) has issued a statement.

The Anglican Curmudgeon is following this closely, of course.

The Perfect Man for the Job!

The word is that retired Bishop Wallis Ohl is in line to become the bishop of the faux Diocese of Ft. Worth in The Episcopal Church (opposed, of course, to the real diocese in the Anglican Church in North America).

Yes, that is the same Bishop Ohl who, as Bishop of Northwest Texas in 2005, drove the orthodox congregation of St. Nicholas’ Episcopal Midland out of their building they built and bought just four years earlier. . . .

. . . Which means he is the perfect man to be a bishop in Katharine Schori’s Episcopal Church!

Good News From Ft. Worth

It’s not the final word, but a significant ruling has come down in the dispute between the Episcopal Church and the (real) Diocese of Ft. Worth. The 141st District Court slapped down the TEC puppet diocese’s claims to be the real Diocese of Ft. Worth. But the court went far beyond that:

The judge also ruled that neither the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church nor the Constitution and Canons of this diocese prohibit withdrawal from TEC and realignment under another province. Further, he found that the Diocese had done so at its November 2008 annual convention, saying that “they [the members] took the diocese with them.” The action of the November convention was not, he said, ultra vires and void, as the suit’s plaintiffs have argued. He declared, too, that the Diocese had taken its property with it in realignment.

I’m no lawyer, but it seems to me this ruling leaves The Episcopal Church without a leg to stand on in its attempt to steal the property of the Diocese of Ft. Worth, in this round at least. Is there a legal term for “slap down”?

Expect an appeal.

For more lawyerly comments, the Anglican Curmudgeon is following this matter closely.


Hat tip to Stand Firm.

Worship This Morning with ACNA Bishops

I’m glad I decided to come here early to attend Choral Eucharist at St. Vincent’s this morning. It was quite the occasion with the bishops of the Anglican Church in North America attending. You can imagine what a procession that was. Seeing all the bishops of different jurisdictions coming up the aisle was wonderful.

St. Vincent’s has an interesting sanctuary. It is spacious with excellent acoustics, but more plain than one would expect from an anglo-catholic cathedral. It is definitely not spikey. I like it though. And the choir and organ were impressive.

The Primate of the Southern Cone Gregory Venables presided, the first time he has done so at St. Vincent’s since the Diocese of Ft. Worth came under his wings. He, Bishop Iker, and Bishop Duncan wore big golden mitres, of which I heartily approve. Sadly, most of the other bishops did not follow their godly example. (Hey. So I like tat.)

The retiring Archbishop of Kenya, Benjamin Nzimbi, gave a rousing sermon. ++Venables also made some remarks before giving the closing blessing. Referring to the Gospel from Mark 4:35-41, he noted that things may get bumpy in the boat with Jesus, but He will get us to the other side. Jesus did not say, “Let us go into the middle of the lake and drown.”

It was indeed an appropriate Gospel and message for the beginning of ACNA.

Then ++Venables invited Bishop Duncan to join him for the blessing, and they gave it in unison.

There was a reception afterwards. St. Vincent’s knows how to put out a spread!

The College of Bishops should be meeting as I type this. If I hear anything of note, I’ll let you know.

New Province to be Formed on December 3rd! (UPDATED)

This was a big weekend, was it not?

First, the Diocese of Ft. Worth left The Episcopal Church. Texanglican reported along with photos.

I love the Diocese of Ft. Worth and am looking forward to being in the same province with them.

Speaking of which, word came out and was confirmed by Bishop Duncan himself that there will be a constitutional convention on December 3rd at Wheaton to form a new Anglican province, d. v.

I have yearned for orthodox Anglican unity since the day I was confirmed – and even before! So thanks be to God!

UPDATE: The Anglican Communion Network has now posted more details.

Two Important Meetings This Weekend

There will be two important Anglican meetings this weekend. The Church of England House of Bishops will meet. Task one will be dealing with what General Synod has wrought on women bishops and provision – actually, lack of provision – for objectors.

The bishops are feeling pressure from all sides on this. Some positive pressure comes from this open letter. And then there’s pressure from the “inclusive” crowd.

The second meeting will be that of the Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth. They will likely decide to leave The Episcopal Church and join the Province of the Southern Cone. Shortly before this meeting, Stand Firm has an interesting interview with the Bishop of Ft. Worth, Jack Iker.

Please pray for both meetings.

Also pray for a youth retreat of my parish tomorrow night. The theme is “What is the Gospel?” And we do expect non-Christians to attend.

Bishop Iker: 10 Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Realign

Bishop Iker has written to his Diocese of Ft. Worth with “10 Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Realign.”

Some time back, I made a number of “No Safe Place” posts on why staying in the Episcopal Church is a very doubtful option for orthodox Anglicans. I think Bishop Iker’s letter merits reflection from all orthodox who still remain in TEC, particularly these points:

4. If we do not act now, we will lose our momentum and lose our God-given opportunity. Many laity and clergy who have been standing with the Diocese, as a beacon of hope, will give up and leave for other Anglican bodies. We will never be stronger than we are right now! We will never have another chance to act with such a strong majority. The Episcopal Church many of us were born into or became members of many years ago no longer exists! It has been replaced by a liberal, revisionist sect that does not deserve our allegiance or support any longer.

5. TEC is not turning back and matters will only get worse. General Convention is out of control and beyond reform. The Deputies seem to think that they can do whatever they want as long as they can muster a majority vote, even if what they propose is contrary to Holy Scripture. We will not accept majority votes of the General Convention that compromise the Christian ?faith. The more they change the teachings of the church, the less tolerant they are of dioceses such as ours. By the time I retire (in the next 7 to 13 years), this diocese will be unable to elect an orthodox bishop to succeed me.

6. TEC is coming after us, and they are the ones that brought on this crisis. In October 2006 the chancellor to the PB wrote a letter to our diocese demanding that we change our Constitution to remove the clause that says that we will not accept General Convention dictates that are contrary to the Bible and the apostolic teaching of the church. In addition, we were instructed to remove provisions stating that all church property in this diocese is held in trust for the use of our congregations and to state instead that our property ultimately belongs to TEC. If we don’t make such changes, the letter asserted that the Presiding Bishop would have to determine what actions she must take “in order to bring your diocese into compliance.”

7. At this time there is nothing in the Constitution or Canons of TEC that prevents a Diocese from leaving. Oh, I know that General Convention officials claim that dioceses cannot leave TEC, but you will not find that anywhere in the Constitution and Canons as they presently stand. So we have this window of opportunity to do what we need to do, for you can be sure that the next General Convention will close off this option by adopting amendments that will make it even more difficult to separate in the future.

In short, the Episcopal Church is very soon coming to the point, if it’s not already there, where it will not allow you to be an orthodox Anglican in peace.

Let me again say that I respect those orthodox who, out of conviction (and without undercutting those who leave TEC), feel they should stay in the Episcopal Church and contend for the faith within it. But I do think they are mistaken. There is a time for separation, and it is now.

On Anglo-Catholics and Rome

I at times take issue with Fr. Robert Hart. And I’m usually very well disposed towards the good men of the Diocese of Ft. Worth. But I heartily agree with Fr. Hart’s commentary on the “Eight Useful Findings” of some of those Ft. Worth men. That is indeed a most unfortunate document, to be polite.

The efforts of these Ft. Worth priests to have their diocese join Rome reminds me of how perplexed I can be at how eager some Anglo-Catholics can be to ditch their Anglican brethren and join Rome.

Now I know that sounds harsh. But a large part of my annoyance is that I really want Anglo-Caths to stick around. When I was in Oxford, the only place I could conscientiously take communion after the first month or so was Pusey House. My favorite place to worship in the Dallas area is Smokey Matt’s. And I could go on. Anglicanism and the church as a whole just wouldn’t be the same without a vibrant Anglo-Catholic presence. So in recent years, I’ve been distressed to see that the default option for Anglo-Caths who have had it with the enormities in the Anglican Communion too often is Rome. Heck, they sometimes act as if continuing Anglicanism doesn’t exist.

I can understand that somewhat better than I once did. After all, these are catholics (And I consider myself small “c” catholic.) They put a high priority with unity in and with the church, both past and present.

But they seem not to give much weight to that, when they join Rome, they are cutting themselves off from much of the catholic church, including all Anglicans. I cherished receiving communion from Bishop Iker and his priests and from Pusey House. Isn’t that unity valuable as well? But if either join Rome, that is gone. The Diocese of Ft. Worth has excellent relationships with lower church Anglicans, including the Province of the Southern Cone, GAFCON and the REC. Is it good for unity for those to be tossed aside?

Then there is the question of deserting Anglicanism itself. Is not traditional Anglicanism worth saving? There are still people out there (And I am one.) who cannot conscientiously join Rome, but who also cannot endure the sloppy “worship” and “theology” of most of Protestantism. Traditional Anglicanism is the ideal ship for many of them. Should that ship be abandoned?

I love and value my Anglo-Catholic friends. But the tendency of many of them to flee to Rome frustrates me. When they so flee, it diminishes Anglicanism and the church as a whole (even it does the RC church good . . . for a time). I do pray those with that tendency would reconsider.

Bishop Iker’s Statement on Ft. Worth-RC Talks

Bishop Iker has issued a statement on the aforementioned talks between four of his priests and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ft. Worth:

I am aware of a meeting that four priests of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth have had with Bishop Kevin Vann of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth on June 16, 2008. After a year of studying various agreed statements that have come out of ecumenical dialogues between Anglicans and Roman Catholics on the national and international level, these clergy expressed an interest in having a dialogue on the local level and asked my permission to make an appointment to talk with Bishop Vann. The stated goal of these official Anglican/Roman Catholic dialogues (which have been going on for over 40 years) has been full, visible unity between the two communions.

The priests who participated in this meeting with Bishop Vann have my trust and pastoral support. However, in their written and verbal reports, they have spoken only on their own behalf and out of their own concerns and perspective. They have not claimed to act or speak, nor have they been authorized to do so, either on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth or on my own behalf as their Bishop.

Their discussion with Bishop Vann has no bearing upon matters coming before our Diocesan Convention in November, where a second vote will be taken on constitutional changes concerning our relationship with the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. There is no proposal under consideration, either publicly or privately, for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth to become part of the Roman Catholic Church. Our only plan of action remains as it has been for the past year, as affirmed by our Diocesan Convention in November 2007. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth intends to realign with an orthodox Province as a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

By God’s grace, we will continue to work and pray for the unity of the one holy catholic and apostolic church.

The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker
Bishop of Fort Worth
August 12, 2008

He’s not ruling out unity with Rome. And I don’t expect any good Anglo-Catholic to do so. But in putting these talks in perspective, he now makes it appear very unlikely the Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth will be joining Rome any time soon.

Ft. Worth in Talks With Rome?

I don’t know what to make of this story, particularly since this source lacks credibility with me. But it appears the Diocese of Ft. Worth has been in talks about entering full communion with Rome.

I’m not jumping to conclusions. But this would be disappointing given Ft. Worth’s support of GAFCON, its amicable relationships with orthodox Anglicans of various stripes, including the REC, and that it’s a just a darn good diocese.

I’ll keep an eye on this story.

Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics Together?

One of my great concerns for orthodox Anglicanism is that we may lose the Anglo-Catholics. Many have already been lost to Rome. And that stream could become a flash flood if the Church of England Synod this weekend approves women bishops without structural provision for objectors. Outside of England many A-Cs look askance at GAFCON and the evangelical flavor of its statement and don’t see a good home even among conservatives.

Now, there are some Anglo-Catholics who just can’t be pleased. They would rather the One Holy and Apostolic Church meet in their apartment than to join with churches that aren’t just so. And, of course, there are those uber-Protestants who can’t be pleased either, who are allergic to incense, break out in hives at the mention of Mary, and don’t want anything to do with anything remotely Cartholick. Yes, I do sometimes get frustrated with both varieties of nit-pickers.

With those Anglo-Catholics who aren’t very eager to join with other orthodox Anglicans and with those evangelicals who wouldn’t be very sad to see them go, there is the potential to lose many, even most orthodox Anglo-Catholics to Rome and Constantinople. I would hate to see that. It would greatly impoverish Anglicanism.

But all is not gloomy. I’m encouraged by some responses to GAFCON from both evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics.

From the evangelical wing come remarkably conciliatory comments from the Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen at All Souls, London. For example:

The last two weeks have been two of the most extraordinary in my life. What we are dealing with here is not a split, but a movement possibly as significant as the Evangelical Revival, or even the Anglo-Catholic movement if you prefer, and it may bring Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics together.

Coming from someone who *understatement alert* hasn’t exactly been a great friend to Anglo-Catholics, that is quite an olive branch and is encouraging.

On the Anglo-Catholic side, I’m encouraged by the enthusiastic support of GAFCON from the Diocese of Ft. Worth. Bishop Iker quickly endorsed GAFCON. And other positive responses may be sampled here and here. From Ft. Worth, I see a recognition that GAFCON isn’t perfect but that it is very good progress and worthy of support. I also see a recognition that orthodoxy includes the orthopraxy of flexing on the details of secondary matters for the sake of orthodox Anglican unity.

Would all those who believe in “the communion of the saints” and “one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church” act like it and follow their good example.

Class and No Class in the Diocese of Ft. Worth

Bishop Pope, formerly Bishop of Ft. Worth, has swam the Tiber again.

But I don’t want to focus on that, but instead wish to point to wonderful examples of class . . . and no class.

These may be found in abundance in the responses of Bishop Jack Iker and arch-liberal Katie Sherrod to the event.

The contrast between the responses of the two is striking, but hardly surprising to those familiar with past statements of both.