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CHARLESTON, SC: Middle East Archbishop Calls for Church Council to Resolve Anglican Crisis
Primates' failure to implement past resolutions is reason why Global South Primates will not attend Dublin
By David W. Virtue in Charleston
www.virtueonline.org
January 22, 2011
The Archbishop of the Middle East, the Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis called for Global South Primates and orthodox bishops in the North and West to hold a Church Council with binding resolutions to break the ecclesiastical logjam in the Anglican Communion.
Speaking to several hundred orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans at the 6th Annual Mere Anglican Conference honoring Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison, SC (ret.) at St. Phillip's Church, Anis said there is now "no trust left at all" in the communion with "provinces taking actions and moving from the norm of Anglican tradition." Anis called for a Conciliar meeting of orthodox Anglicans to resolve the fundamental theological differences that now pervade the communion.
"The Anglican Covenant has not worked. We have a Conciliar model to express the mind of the communion on controversial resolutions. Lambeth Conference resolutions are not binding. They do not have the authority over Church councils," noted Anis. "It is time to give a lead.
"The Global South and other orthodox Anglicans have so far been reactive. They need to form a Conciliar body, it is going to happen".
Ironically, the call for a Conciliar Council was the solution proposed by Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda at Singapore in April last year. It did get traction at the time. It is an alternative form of leadership to the so-called four "instruments of unity". The idea later died. "We have lost the Conciliar concept," said Anis.
"The individualistic and hedonistic spirit of our work has penetrated deeply in the communion so churches are interpreting the word of God by the Lambeth conference has only got moral authority and are not binding. A Conciliar conference was completely lost in Lambeth 2008 it allowed TEC and ACoC to take actions they did and got what they wanted," said Anis.
"We must ask are we a biblical communion? We are founded on the Word of God and formed by it. Are we doing this? I believe we are far from it. If we had followed previous Lambeth resolutions we would not be in the dysfunctional state we are in today. The Word of God is ultimate standard of faith."
In measured tones, Anis blasted the drift away from the veracity of Holy Scripture saying that while Scripture had been reaffirmed in the 1988 and 1998 Lambeth Conferences, there was no resolution on Scripture at the recent 2008 Lambeth conference. They had Indaba that is listening to two sides and then making a decision. "But no decisions were ever made, we were just told to listen and listen and listen (laughter) with no moral authority like other Lambeth resolutions."
"We need to sort out the crisis. The Global South and other orthodox diocese should start today if we want to rescue and revive our beloved communion. We need another reformation within the Anglican Communion."
Reflecting on the upcoming primatial meeting in Dublin, Anis noted it was all being manipulated and that nothing would happen. "It is a waste of time, the results and outcome have already been decided. It has been cooked and pre-cooked."
The Middle East archbishop said the 10 primates are not boycotting it at all. "We asked that the recommendations of the previous meeting be followed through otherwise the meeting would be meaningless. We recommended and decided and now is the time for decisions. All we got was an invitation to sit in two separate rooms and we wanted to sit in one. There is no consultation. That is why the Global South and other Primates are not going," he said.
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