…a point by point examination of the entire document with charts of the relationships of the various so-called Instruments of Unity and how an issue would be handled if the Covenant is passed.
In 664 a meeting was held at Whitby to discuss the date upon which Easter should be celebrated. Why discuss this old debate now? Partly out of love of the northern kingdom where it happened and of the writer who tells about it; but more than that, because the debate about Easter at Whitby in 664 shows how easily a secular appeal to uniformity can be confused with a theological concern for unity
“The religions of man may fit together, but they do not do so easily,” Houston Smith once observed. The theology of such encounters will be awkward, incomplete, and messy, for it is exploratory and breaking new ground, not offering final resolution of the topic of interfaith encounters.
Rowan Williams spoke in Rome and “reaffirmed his dedication to ecumenical relations between the two churches – and his belief that female Anglican priests should not be an impediment to union. ”
It is the first time since the 1960s that a sitting vice president was on the ballot for conference president and lost. The surprise choice affirms the conservative direction of the Catholic church.
Whatever message you heard, it probably emphasized taking a day off. But such sermons betray the fact that the vast majority of us have been taught to read the biblical text through the eyes of those who are economically privileged.
The wording of the Covenant is designed to legitimate future such threats whenever objectors kick up a fuss . . . In effect, those who make the most convincing threats of schism will be enabled to hold the rest of us to ransom, as they have just done.
In November 1197 there came a demand from the king for three hundred knights, or money sufficient to hire as many mercenaries, to serve against Philip of France. The archbishop convened a council of bishops and barons at Oxford, where the Bishop of London, speaking as dean of the province, declared his willingness to comply with the demand. Not so the holy Bishop of Lincoln.