Clergy at two Canadian Anglican churches suspended

Unnati Ghandi reporting in the Toronto Globe & Mail:

The clergy of two Anglican churches in Ontario have been suspended with pay in the wake of several congregations voting last weekend to put themselves under the authority of a South American archbishop over theological issues that include the blessing of same-sex unions.

The diocese of Niagara yesterday informed St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Oakville and St. George’s Anglican Church in Lowville that it was appointing new administrators to the parishes.

Archdeacon Michael Patterson could not be reached for comment, but in an open letter to the parishes, Bishop Michael Bird said both church buildings belong to the diocese, and that new clergy and wardens “loyal to the Anglican Church of Canada” will be placed in the churches.

“People are free to leave the Church, and we are saddened by that, but congregations are not free to break away. The patrimony of this church belongs to the generations before and the generations to come who wish to remain within the Anglican Communion and the Anglican Church of Canada,” Bishop Bird said in a statement.

From Diocese of Niagra press release:

The dividing issue is the blessing of same sex unions. While the Anglican Church of Canada does not sanction or perform same sex marriages, the issue of blessing same sex relationships is still under debate by the Church. A small, ultra conservative group of Anglicans, represented by the two parishes, decided behind closed doors to leave the Diocese. The leaders of the group have aligned themselves with the conservative religious group called The Network.

The priest of St. George’s Church refused the entry of its Archdeacon on the day of the vote, leaving an appeal from the Bishop unread and unheard by parishioners. The appeal offered the congregation the opportunity to remain in the Diocese, under alternative leadership. The vote to join the Network was not sanctioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams; the Primate of Canada, Frederick Hiltz; or the Bishop of Niagara, Ralph Spence. This effectively means that the break-away parishes have defied the Canon Law of the Church, and are no longer considered officially Anglican.

Emphasis added.

As reported in The Anglican Journal:

Six churches in five dioceses, voting at their general meetings on the weekend of Feb. 16-17, decided to leave the Anglican Church of Canada due to disputes over theological issues, including homosexuality, and join a South American Anglican church.

A seventh congregation, which is not a member of the Canadian church, also voted to come under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone, which covers the southern part of South America. Such jurisdiction is to be administered through retired Canadian bishop Donald Harvey, leader of a breakaway group called the Anglican Network in Canada.

The split was prompted by moves by the majority of the Canadian church toward greater acceptance of homosexuality, but conservatives say the differences are more profound. “All of these churches have acted because they are concerned about what is happening in the Anglican Church of Canada. They are determined to stay true to historic Christian teaching but see the (Canadian church) changing its teaching on fundamental, historic Christian teaching such as the authority of the Bible and salvation through Jesus Christ alone,” read a statement from the network.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate, or national archbishop, of the Canadian church, in an interview with the Anglican Journal, said he does not agree. “The issue is very much focused on issues of sexuality. The Anglican Church of Canada is not in a crisis when it comes to matters of faith such as the divinity of Christ, the incarnation or the resurrection. I don’t know a bishop or a member of the clergy who week by week doesn’t confess their faith in Christ as redeemer and as our savior,” said Archbishop Hiltz.

He said he regrets the churches’ decision to leave, especially since Canadian bishops have agreed to allow conservative Canadian bishops to minister to disaffected congregations in their dioceses.

The National Post allowed the presiding bishop of the Southern Cone, Gregory Venables, to tell the story from his point of view:

The battle taking place inside the Anglican Church of Canada is a microcosm of a larger problem that could see the worldwide Anglican Communion end in division, said the South American archbishop who has been taking dissident churches under his wing.

ArchbishopVenables, speaking from Buenos Aires, said he is not happy about the potential for a global division, or what is happening in Canada, but he believes the worldwide Anglican Church has been on this course for more than 100 years, and he is becoming less hopeful for a resolution.

“It ends up you have two versions of Christianity,” he said. “There are two positions that have moved apart over the last century: the Bible-based orthodox Christianity that goes back to the early years of the Church and a post-modern Christianity that believes everybody can find their own truth. And those two things cannot work together.”

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