Anglican Communion Ejects U.S., Canada Church in Gay Fray
The World's top Anglicans urged thier American and Canadian counterparts to withdraw their membership from the communion’s council – at least temporarily, until they explain their liberal, divisive view on homosexuality
Heeding to the advice of biblically-based Christians around the world, the top leaders of the global Anglican Communion urged the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada to withdraw their membership from the communion’s council – at least temporarily, until they explain their liberal theologies regarding homosexuality that has brought the 77-million member communion to a breaking point.
The statement, which was drafted during the highly anticipated Anglican Primates meeting in Northern Ireland, was presented a day earlier than the expected Friday release.
The ECUSA thrust the Anglican world into chaos 15 months ago when its bishops elected an open and active homosexual man as bishop of New Hampshire. The unilateral decision not only stirred a firestorm of criticism – it prompted a flurry of divisive statements from conservative Anglican church bodies around the world. More than two thirds of the world’s Anglican denominations broke fellowship ties with the ECUSA, and threatened to eject the American church from the worldwide church body.
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The conservative Anglican churches were also angered by their Canadian counterpart for “legalizing” the blessing of gay unions in the church walls. Canada’s move squarely opposed the 77-million-member communion’s longtime recommendation to refrain from blessing homosexual “marriages.”
The head of the Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, commissioned a group of Anglicans worldwide to issue a yearlong report on homosexuality and the unity of the Communion. Entitled, "The Windsor Report," the 100+ page statement essentially asked the ECUSA and the ACC to place a moratorium on gay union blessings and ordinations.
The ECUSA announced last month that while it apologizes for the divisions that arose from its decision to consecrate the gay bishop, it does not plan to halt the ordination of gays. The cordial statement was rejected by the world's conservatives, who said repentance -- not apologies -- are needed in the American church.
The Anglican Primates were to further debate the implications of the Windsor Report and the future unity of the Communion in light of such controversies at this week's meeting.
The primates’ statement urges both the U.S. and Canadian churches to leave the global church body until they explain their actions at a meeting in Nottingham, England in June. Additionally, it reiterates the Windsor Report's call to halt the celebration of gay unions and consecration of gay individuals.
"In the meantime, we ask our fellow primates to use their best influence to persuade their brothers and sisters to exercise a moratorium on public rites of blessing for same-sex unions and on the consecration of any bishop living in a sexual relationship outside Christian marriage," the statement read.
Although the North American churches' suspension from the Anglican Consultative Council was said to be temporary, it's marks the first time the 450-year-old communion has split formally over the election of a gay bishop in the United States and the blessing of same-sex unions in both counties.
