Passing from city to city

Visit by Anglican Bishop Draws Episcopal Anger
By NEELA BANERJEE
April 28, 2007

WASHINGTON, April 27 —The Anglican archbishop of Nigeria, a fierce critic of the Episcopal Church for its acceptance of homosexuality, is arriving next week to install a bishop to lead congregations around the country that want to break from it.

Episcopal leaders say the visit threatens to strain further the already fragile relations between their church and the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion. But Episcopal traditionalists say there is a growing desire among them to break away. A decision by the Episcopal Church in 2003 to consecrate an openly gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire profoundly alienated those theological traditionalists, and most of the Anglican Communion overseas, who contend that the Bible condemns homosexuality.

The Nigerian archbishop, Peter J. Akinola, will preside over a ceremony in Virginia on May 5 installing Martyn Minns, former rector of an Episcopal church there, as the bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, an offshoot of the Nigerian church.

It’s all here …and here's the full statement from Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori:

"I have only just become aware of the possible visit by the Primate of Nigeria.  Unfortunately, my office has not been directly informed of his pending visit, but we will now pursue extending to him a personal invitation to see him while he is in the United States. I regret that he has apparently accepted an invitation to provide episcopal ministry here without any notice or prior invitation. That is not the ancient practice followed in most of the church catholic, which since the fourth century has expected that bishops minister only within their own churches, except by explicit invitation from another bishop with jurisdiction.  This action would only serve to heighten current tensions, and would be regrettable if it does indeed occur."

...and these are the Canons from the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD/CE that point to the "ancient practice" to which Bishop Jefferts Schori referred.

CANON XV.
ON account of the great disturbance and discords that occur, it is decreed that the custom prevailing in certain places contrary to the Canon, must wholly be done away; so that neither bishop, presbyter, nor deacon shall pass from city to city. And if any one, after this decree of the holy and great Synod, shall attempt any such thing, or continue in any such course, his proceedings shall be utterly void, and he shall be restored to the Church for which he was ordained bishop or presbyter.

CANON L.
There shall be but one bishop of one city, and one parochus of one town; also the incumbent, whether bishop or parish priest, shall not be  removed in favour of a successor desired by some of the people unless he has been convicted of manifest crime.

 

Comments

[annfontaine]

I don't see the "anger" in these comments. Catchy headline though.

[robmdphd]

"That is not the ancient practice followed in most of the church catholic, which since the fourth century has expected that bishops minister only within their own churches, except by explicit invitation from another bishop with jurisdiction." Truly stunning in its degree of irony. KJS, who throws away tradition right and left and whose very ordination flies in the face of ancient tradition, cites a canon adopted when there was one Christian church. She may as well rail against Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox bishops because they violate the same canon.

[BabyBlue]

Thanks for quoting the canons - I've been trying to find them in the back of the Prayer Book in the teeny-weeny type but can't find them there. Hey, when do we get the quotes from Scripture - oops, just realized this isn't TitusOneNine. Me bad.

[EPH]

It is important to consider that the Church of Nigeria, by its own decision, is not in communion with TEC. Therefore, from the position of +Akinola, what TEC thinks or doesn't think about "border-crossing" is irrelevant. In 2005, The Church of Nigeria removed all reference to the the Archbishop of Canterbury from its Constitution and substituted the following statement:

"1. The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) hereinafter called “The Church of Nigeria” or “This Church” shall be in full communion with all Anglican Churches Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church as the Lord has commanded in His holy word and as the same are received as taught in the Book of Common Prayer and the ordinal of 1662and in the Thirty-Nine Article of Religion.

In addition, the primate of Nigeria is accountable to no one but himself:

"3. OATH OF OBEDIENCE
At his consecration or translation, every Bishop of the Church of Nigeria shall swear an oath of Canonical obedience to the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the Church of Nigeria and to his lawful successors."

He thus exercises de facto or de jure total control over both theology and practice in the Church of Nigeria. To request permission from +Lee, +Chane or ++Jefferts-Schori to enter the US for the purpose of exercising a canonical function such as an ordination would imply that +Akinola acknowledges their authority and/or the validity of TEC. He doesn't.

++Akinola's ability to exercise absolute authority in Nigeria and through it has major implications for +Minns and CANA congregations. For +Minns, his accountability to +Akinola has probably been made very clear, but it is unclear to what extent the average CANA congregation member understands +Minns' responsibility or the Nigerian church polity which he is now adopting as his own.

[toujoursdan]

It's in the same place of the Bible, Prayer Book, Creeds, 39 Articles that monogamous gay relationships are discussed.

Perhaps the INS can keep him out on possible human rights violations.

[epiScope]

Nunley's Corollary to Johnson's First Law of Ecclesiastical Thermodynamics:
If you're going to invoke the ancient practice of the church to object to another church that ordains or gives pointy hats to women or practicing homosexuals, at least have the courtesy not to violate some other ancient practice of the church while you're doing it.

[Ellie in T.O.]

"That is not the ancient practice followed in most of the church catholic"

"This action would only serve to heighten current tensions"

Final proof -- as if any were needed -- that progressivist Episcopalians have absolutely NO sense of irony.

[Phillip Cato]

There is no encouragement in seeing the Canons of Nicaea quoted. When there were a raft of breakaway churches following the adoption of the 1979 Prayer Book and the ordination of women to the Priesthood, these churches beat each other to death quoting the Canons of Nicaea, trying to out-Catholic each other.
Further, every Naval officer knows that when you have to read or quote Naval Regulations to a subordinate or a superior, you have already lost the battle.
Akinola doesn't care a fig whether or not we approve of what he is doing. He is a single-minded, somewhat pompous, ecclesiasticrat who is bent on his own way, and apparently genuinely thinks the rest of us are lost souls, as do many of his admirers and followers. He and they are best ignored, save when they claim property not theirs, and unlawfully occupy Episcopal churches.
Fretting over them and quoting regulations, however irrelevant, is a waste of time and only makes our leadership look ineffectual.

[nlnh]

>>>oops, just realized this isn't TitusOneNine.

It's nice to see that all those hours of sitting in the dark waiting for the process server to knock on the door have not dimmed bb's amazing powers of observation.

[judith Maxfield]

An aspect of our tradition is the Benedictine Rule, which stressed hospitality and charity to all. Even secular society values civility. Bishop Akinola has demonstrated neither of these to those "he" has judged to be sinners. By his actions, I would not know this man as a follower of Jesus. He can come to Virginia and ejoy his power. But, his actions will speak for his distain for Anglican tradition.

We in TEC can suffer all things and bear all things,
even this. Our witness is to the dispossessed. It may require us to sit at the back of the bus inside the Anglican Communion, but I pray we will continue to go where Jesus went. It is the cost of discipleship.

[David]

The fact that there are people who would actually welcome someone as evil and sinister as Akinola amazes me. Akinola is truly personified evil at it's best.