Scottish Episcopal Stance to Homosexual Ordination Sparks Further Rift

Since the Covenant statement was issued by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) a week ago, fear has been rising among Anglicans whether the worldwide fellowship will break.

Amid a mix of anxiety and anger, the Scottish Episcopal Church, independent of the Church of England, declared in a statement yesterday that being a homosexual is not a bar to a person becoming a priest.

The statement from the Scottish Episcopal Church College of Bishops reads, "The Scottish Episcopal Church has never regarded the fact that someone was in a close relationship with a member of the same sex as in itself constituting a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry."

The Scottish Episcopal Church said that due to its loose historical ties with the Anglican Communion and the Church of England, it has a greater "scepticism" about the importance of the Anglican Communion than may exist elsewhere and provincial autonomy is highly rated.

The Church stated that it values its place within the Communion and will certainly be seeking to work to preserve the unity of that Communion. It is in fact what the Archbishop of Canterbury has always emphasised when dealing the controversy over homosexuality.

The Scottish Bishops showed their tolerance towards homosexuality in the statement. The statement said, "The Scottish Episcopal Church has, even before the 1998 Lambeth Conference, sought to be welcoming and open to persons of homosexual orientation in our congregations, and to listen to their experiences."

The Church has also openly admitted that clergy on occasions responded to requests to give a blessing to persons who were struggling with elements in their relationship, and who asked for such a prayer.

However, the Church agrees that as many different understandings on the issue exist, that it would certainly be premature to move formally to authorise such a liturgy for homosexuality.

The College of Bishops said that the main concern in the debate on homosexual ordination within Scotland leans towards scriptural authority and human rights and justice.

"...they personally regret the decision in the Communiqué to request the voluntary withdrawal of ACC members of ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference," the statement said.

The Communiqué was released in mid-February after the 38 Anglican Primates met in Northern Ireland as a response to the Windsor Report, and was an attempt to provide a resolution to the crisis over homosexuality in the Communion.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen is outraged at the move going on in the Church, saying that it would lead to a split of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Dr Jensen told AAP if the Scottish church was ordaining gay clergy it was "disturbing" and a mistake.

"The point at issue is that it is yet another piece of evidence that the Anglican Communion is drifting apart on this key issue," Dr Jensen said, "What is the key issue is not homosexuality - it is the authority of the Bible."

"If this is an announcement that they are ordaining actively homosexual clergy then I believe that constitutes a further barrier to our fellowship," he said.

On BBC Radio 4's Today programme last Thursday, Dr Jansen said, "The idea that we break from one another is a painful one, and very, very sorrowful."

"I hope we can stay together. I am hoping there will be reconciliation and a turning back again to what the Bible says.

"But in the final analysis, as in the past, as the Baptists had to break away from the Church of England, there are times where strong views are held and where division does occur," Dr Jansen concluded.

The Dean of Southwark, Colin Slee, has also warned the liberal Christians, particular those from North America, "is generating very severe divisions in the Baptist and Anglican and indeed the Roman Catholic churches".