Orthodox Anglican Council in Works?

I do not want to jump the gun. Hence the question mark in the title.

But at the Mere Anglicanism Conference, a primate and a prominent bishop sure sounded like a binding orthodox Anglican council is in the works.

++Mouneer Anis (blogged by a third party. Quote may not be exact.):

I agree that the times today need Orthodox Anglicans from around the world to lead. We’ve been reactive for 10 years now and need to take the lead and look at a gathering of Bishops and Primates. The Global South bishops and primates need to meet with orthodox bishops in the West. This meeting is being planned.

+Michael Nazir-Ali:

In resolution of some of these matters, Anglicans need to bring to bear the Word of God on the issues and to be the guardian and interpreter for the church. We should have a healthy perspective on a proper conciliarity that Anglicans have evaded for 150 years. The Reformers would have resolved similar difficulties with a church council. What is wanted now, today, is a conciliar gathering.

Of course, the current Archbishop of Canterbury and allies will avoid, evade, and undermine any binding council. So I foresee the following:

A number of (but not all) orthodox Anglican primates lead a conference of all Anglican bishops who will come and submit beforehand to a brief statement of orthodox belief.

The council will come to robust and binding agreements on the basics of the faith and on contradicting agendas in the Anglican Communion. The council will not formally break with the Anglican Communion but most of the participants will afterward completely disregard the authority of those who do not sign on to the Council’s statements. Although the council may seek to reform the Anglican Communion, there may in effect be a new orthodox Anglican Communion of some sort formed sooner or later.

If a miracle happens, and I’m right, remember you heard it here first.

Not A Good Weekend for Orthodox Brits

This past weekend was a difficult one for orthodox British of both Anglican and Roman Catholic stripes. My prayers go out for both.

On the Anglican side, the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali announced that he is leaving his bishopric early. He was a rarity in the Church of England, an orthodox bishop with a backbone, and the most prominent one. One can hope the Church of England’s loss will be a GAFCon province’s gain. But this can’t be good news for the Church of England.

Here are Ruth Gledhill’s and Damian Thompson’s takes on this.

For UK Roman Catholics, the bad news is the increasing likelihood that Arthur Roche will be the next Archbishop of Westminster. He is an appropriately named enemy of traditionalists. I pray reports are mistaken and that a much, much better man is appointed. Perhaps the outcry rising up will scuttle his momentum.

If you wish to know the sort of pastoral care traditionalists can expect from Roche, ask the parishioners of St. John the Evangelist, Allerton Bywater.

The only good I can see out of Arthur Roche becoming Archbishop of Westminster is it would make Anglo-Catholics think yet again before swimming the Tiber.

And that is a sad commentary on both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England.

About the Lambeth Attack on +Nazir-Ali

By now most of my good readers have surely read of Lambeth Palace’s juvenile attack on The Bishop of Rochester. Here are the stories on the sordid matter from The Daily Mail and from the Independent, which actually broke a religion story for once.

The most directly responsible perpetrator has been found and sacked. To most, that’s the end of the matter. And perhaps it should be. But I’m not so sure.

For Lambeth Palace is full of hostility to traditionalists and to orthodoxy. It is just usually not so overt as the noted slur. It is a passive-aggressive brand of hostility that doesn’t call traditionalists names, but does oppose them, even ignore them on everything that matters – very politely, of course. Even key decisions of the Primates Meeting have been ignored by the Lambeth crowd.

Given this record, the naughty word is almost an improvement.

In any case, Lambeth is such a politely poisonous hothouse of hostility toward traditionalists that someone felt comfortable letting the polite façade drop and put such a slur on a document to be distributed to the Prime Minister and all 43 of the Church of England’s diocesan bishops. (Perhaps the perpetrator intended to remove the offending word before document actually went out, but that is speculation.) Yes, the person is question is surely a rogue maverick; but I suspect he is so only in method, not in attitude.

And guess who is ultimately responsible for the atmosphere at Lambeth being so poisoned? That’s right. Dr. Rowan Williams.

And I much prefer he fire himself.