30 September 2015 A.D. Orombi: Archbishop of Canterbury has “betrayed” Anglicanism
30
September 2015 A.D. Orombi: Archbishop of Canterbury
has “betrayed” Anglicanism
Morgan,
Timothy C. “Orombi: Archbishop of Canterbury has “betrayed” Anglicanism.” Christianity Today. 31 Jul 2008. http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2008/july/orombi-archbishop-of-canterbury-has-betrayed-anglicanism.html. Accessed 30 Sept 2015.
Here's the sound bite:
"St Francis of Assisi said: "Preach the gospel
at all times; when necessary use words." We believe that our absence at
this Lambeth Conference is the only way that our voice will be heard. For more
than ten years we have been speaking and have not been heard. So maybe our
absence will speak louder than our words."
HENRY LUKE OROMBI, Archbishop and primate of Uganda, will
have a commentary piece published in The Times of London, which will post
online at 9 p.m. BST (British Summer Time).
Times religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill leaked word of
this piece on her blog this afternoon.
Here's what she wrote:
...in tomorrow's Times, the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry
Orombi, will accuse the Arcbishop of Canterbury of a betrayal at the very
deepest level. He will argue that even the Pope is elected by his peers, but Dr
Williams in his office is little better than a remnant of colonialism. 'The
spiritual leadership of a global communion of independent and autonomous
Provinces should not be reduced to one man appointed by a secular government,'
he says. Nor is the absence of Uganda, Nigeria and other Global South churches
a sign that they want to leave the Communion. Far from it. It is a sign of how
much they care that it endures. Read it all from when it goes online at 2100
BST and in the paper tomorrow, it is strong stuff!
This op-ed, if it holds up to be as strongly worded as
Ruth suggests, opens up an additional set of questions, beyond biblical
authority, human sexuality, or border crossings:
Should England retain the Church of England as its
established church? Could the Anglican Communion itself play a deciding role in
selecting the archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as 'first among equals' in
the communion?
Lambeth is about to enter its Final Three days and events
here on the grounds of the University of Kent and events off-campus seem to be
spinning beyond the control of any one person or committee.
As expected, the Lambeth Reflections document has begun
to take shape. And, now in its third draft, it is already huge. 18 pages. And,
drafters have yet to address these areas:
* Gender and power
* The Scriptures
* Sexuality and Listening
* The Convenant
* The Windsor Process
* Leading in God's mission
* Conclusion
Just this afternoon, there were three press conferences
nearly back to back, including one by Quincy Bishop Keith Ackerman. See below
for additional updates:
In the last three days, Lambeth has seen several
important developments. Here are some of the more important ones:
Wednesday, July 30, unofficial press conference with Bishop
Peter Beckwith from Springfield, IL, a well-known conservative.
Click here for Anglican
TV's full unedited video of this outdoor press event. And, click here for an
unofficial transcript.
Several comments about Bishop Beckwith's remarks:
1. CT asked, "Who speaks for conservatives here at
Lambeth?" This seems like a crucial issue since Lambeth has evangelicals
like the measles. They are everywhere, but don't seem to be making much
strategic difference. Granted much of Lambeth is as clear as mud, so time may
prove me wrong.
Whatever one thinks of GAFCON it has added another layer
of complexity on conservatives, who are already working their way through
women's ordination and related historical difference between evangelicals and
Anglo-catholics.
2. Beckwith's comments at times were deeply personal. He
admitted that around the time of General Convention 2003 he was convicted that
he had put the Episcopal Church ahead of his commitment to Jesus Christ; he
confessed this as "idolatrous" and has since then worked to overcome
that.
Thursday, July 31.
On Wednesday, the theme of the day at Lambeth was: Power
and Abuse. New York suffragan Bishop Catherine Roskam dropped quite a bombshell
with these words:
"We have 700 men here [at Lambeth]. Do you think any
of them beat their wives? Chances are they do. The most devout Christians beat
their wives... many of our bishops come from places where it is culturally
acceptable to beat your wife. In that regard, it makes the conversation quite
difficult."
These comments were published in Lambeth Witness, a publication
associated with the Inclusive Church Network, GLBT advocacy group. It is
published daily and available in print on campus.
As news of this near
libelous accusation filtered across the Lambeth conference, John Sentamu,
archbishop of York, today (Thurs.) issued a public demand for Bishop Roskam to
produce evidence proving her point.
This has set the news media here on a great quest. In the
past 12 hours, I have lost track of the number of Lambeth bishops who have been
asked by a journo: "Do you beat your wife?"
I include one choice question + answer:
Q: Does it trouble you at all that wife-beating is
contrary to the tradition of Christian faith and order, the teaching and
practice of centuries of Anglicanism, the explicit statements of previous
Lambeth meetings, and the consensus of the majority of the Anglican Communion?
A: Not at all. The spirit is clearly doing a "new
thing" in helping us value and celebrate wife-beating. The Church has
always been called to push the boundaries... so we need to leave behind the
comfortable but dated assumptions and practices of the benightened pre-modern
past in order to explore the new places to which God is calling us today. Our
church is, in that tradition of radical liminality, encountering God by blazing
a new way for others in the Communion to follow.
Comments
Post a Comment