Saturday, February 5, 2011

Post Primatial Reflections

Short of time today to put my own thoughts down - some ministry priorities are calling which may mean little comments posted for 24 hours - so links to various voices:

Church Times

Church Times Editorial (has there ever been a more egregious anti-conservative editorial than this one with it subtle Hattersley analogy?)

ACI - on the theological money as usual.

George Conger - note the words of the Primus of Scotland. I would like to return to those.

Make no mistake: a very big sea change occurred in Dublin.

6 comments:

John Sandeman said...

Great word egregious. And I agree with you. Big sea change, true. but did it occur at Dublin or had it happened already in the hearts of the Global South primates who stayed away?

Peter Carrell said...

Hi John,
The sea change was at Dublin inasmuch as that meeting could have said: We are a Communion that meets together, therefore what do we need to do to restore the absentee primates to our meeting together? Even if the answer to that question was yet another committee to look into the matter, the sea would still be 'the Communion represented by 38 primates.' Effectively the Dublin meeting said, 'We do not care (beyond words, candles, and some air travel for ++RW).' In some ways it went further: 'We have reviewed ourselves as a body which might do something about any Anglican matter that matters: nope, we are not that body. (By the way, about global warming, violence against women, etc: we think we are a body that matters and hence we have this to say).'

In a way the PM said: 'We have no care for the future of the Communion. It can shrink for all we care.'

So, yes, I think Dublin is a seachange!

Canon Neal said...

Yes, I daresay that the remaining primates blinked. And +Rowan is getting the very thing that he previously eschewed, namely, a Confederation of churches rather than a Communion.

I think it appropriate that we hereafter refer to "The Worldwide Anglican Confederation" or "The Anglican Confederation" for short.

I don't know why Dr. Williams is going to waste the Confederation's money by visiting any of these absentee primates personally. With the Internet and Telephones available, it really doesn't take a personal trip to hear these departed primates say to him, "Don't call us; we'll call you."

I suspect he will get a couple of photo ops to show that he is still welcome in these places.

Yes, this is a sea change. But unlike most sea changes which occur suddenly, this sea change was the natural consequence of actions that were clearly headed in this direction. It only took time to see them come to fruition after the decisions of Dar es Salaam were tossed by the wayside. When +Rowan took the reins of self-discipline out of the hands of the whole group, the only ones who would show up for later meetings would be the acquiescent ones.

I suppose the next meeting to watch for is the next ACC meeting. Will some of these provinces tell their people to stay home? Hmm.

Peter Carrell said...

Hi Canon Neal
The next meeting of ACC is in NZ ... they will all want to come!

Bryden Black said...

Reading the ACI review of recent AC history, from 1978 to, say, the Primates Mtg in Alexandria and/or the RCD of the Covenant, which avails itself of that meeting’s Communiqué, and then comparing it with Dublin’s conclusions, reminds me of many a Marxist re-write of history, from Mengistu in Ethiopia, to the Kims of North Korea, to Robert Mugabe’s views of his Matabele neighbours and fellow citizens of Zimbabwe. Of course, the reasons for such re-writes has to do with power ...

Kyrie eleison!

Father Ron Smith said...

Having been away in hospital recently, I missed the following excerpt from the excellent 'Church Times' Leading article which Peter has pointed us to on this thresd:

" If the conservatives ever choose to return, they will find that the guns have been spiked." - (C.T. Leader)

This goes to prove that naughty children do not have to hog all the space on the Anglican Communion canvas.

One cannot but speculate that the fact that ++Rowan still allowed the Primates Meeting to take place - despite the refusal of the GAFCON Primates to attend (in the presence of TEC and A.C.of C. representatives) - the Meeting did proceed. The chagrin of the dissidents is now being heard.

However, whatever they now plan to do (or not to do) there can be little doubt that future threats from the dissidents to further destabilise the efforts of the ABC to shake out a viable group of assenting Provinces will be treated with the nonchalance they deserve.

That the ABC will be doing his best to bring them back to the Table, in only a tribute to his efforts keep everyone together - despite their obvious differences. And this is to be expected of himn. In this he is behaving as Primus inter pares.

However, probably not even ++Rowan will be able to reverse the damage that has already been done by their culture of intentional schism.