American Conservatives Slam US Episcopal for Halting All Consecrations

In response to the Covenant Statement issued by the US Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops two days ago after the gathering in Texas, USA, the American Anglican Council (AAC) has been outraged at the ECUSA’s decision to halt all consecrations of bishops - heterosexual as well as homosexual - at least until 2006.

A statement dated 17th March, signed by the Rev Canon David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council (ACC), stated that the Covenant Statement of ECUSA was "insulting" to the 38 primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

However, the head of the worldwide 77-million strong Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, greeted the Covenant Statement earlier this week. He welcomed this constructive response from the ECUSA's House of Bishops which has shown its "real willingness to engage with the challenges posed."

However, Canon Anderson from ACC argued, "While it aims at specific requests of the 2004 Windsor Report and the 2005 Primates Communiqué, it fails to fulfil clear expectations outlined therein."

"The House claimed to affirm the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral 1888, and yet they failed to repent of their decisions and subsequent actions contrary to Scripture as well as Anglican faith and order."

Canon Anderson continued in the statement, "With regard to the so-called moratorium on consecrations, I am outraged that the House of Bishops drew equivalence between single or married individuals with those living in homosexual partnerships.

"To place a moratorium on all consecrations not only makes the episcopacy hostage to the homosexual agenda, but also places several dioceses in crisis. Canon law requires that bishops must retire at age 72- what happens in those dioceses where their bishop faces mandatory retirement?"

According to Times newspaper, Kendall Harmon, another leading conservative on the AAC commented, "These are apostolic leaders behaving like lawyers. They didn't do what the primates asked them to do. They're trying to continue to live in a community where they dictate membership on their own terms. That's not what the international Christian community needs."

Canon Anderson’s statement read, "Although orthodox bishops in attendance generally supported the Covenant Statement believing it had useful components in it, I disagree and believe they made a clear error."

He continued, "The House of Bishops claims a desire to remain part of the worldwide communion but seems not to understand what that entails. The Covenant fails to offer long-term, sustainable solutions and at best simply postpones inevitable conversation about the clear and ultimate choice before us - walking together or walking apart."

Many conservatives in the Church have been convinced that the current rift can no longer be healed. The Bishop of Pittsburgh, the Right Rev Robert Duncan, who heads the orthodox Anglican Communion Network, said to the Times, "I believe the real news from this meeting of the House of Bishops is that we have finally begun to be honest about what we did at General Convention 2003 and what the consequences are.

"Moreover, we began openly to engage the thought that our differences within the House of Bishops, within the Episcopal Church USA and within the Anglican Communion may be irreconcilable.

"In particular, we examined the complete breakdown of trust among some groups within the House and perceptions of abuses of power on the one hand and unhelpful tactics on the other, which have brought us to the breaking point."

The primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, has admitted that the Anglican Communion is broken and that the ACC may choose to "walk apart" from the rest of the church.