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LAMBETH: Ecumenicity does not include Anglicans not recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury
By David W. Virtue in Canterbury
www.virtueonline.org
August 4, 2022
CANTERBURY: The Anglican Church in North America is not recognized as a member church of the Anglican Communion and is not in communion with the Church of England as are many other Anglican bodies, the Rev. Will Adam Archdeacon of Canterbury told VOL. That status is likely to remain unchanged.
"Because of its history and Anglican character, the ACNA cannot be a member of the Anglican Communion nor recognized by the Church of England even though it is recognized by a number of Anglican provinces that are in communion with Canterbury and the Church of England."
Canon lawyer Rev. Canon Phil Ashey, chair of the Governance Task Force of the ACNA said, "I remember going to Westminster House and presenting our constitution and canons to the bishops of the Faith Order and Ecumenical Relations along with Archbishop Robert Duncan and others from the ACNA.
"We were making the case not only to be recognized by the CofE but specifically to have our holy orders recognized. 'My friend Will Adam said to me and our entire delegation its set for the Communion and the CofE, it is wonderful! My only question is whether you actually live into them.' The CofE did decide to recognize our holy orders. I wonder if Archdeacon Adam is referring to the fact, we have not applied to the Anglican Consultative Council for membership and listing on Schedule C. We have and continue to have reason not to do that."
Ironically, the Church of England does recognize the orders of the ACNA under the terms of the Overseas Clergy Measure of 1967, said the archdeacon, who is an advisor on Unity, Faith and Order to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
"If a priest is ordained in the ACNA he can be received into The Church of England, they would not need to be re-ordained," he said. "The same applies to a priest from the Roman Catholic Church. He, too, would not need to be re-ordained. We recognize their orders where the ordination rite and intention has been recognized."
Archbishop Beach is on record as saying that as long as the Archbishop of Canterbury is inviting bishops to Lambeth who are living in immorality and continuing to tear the fabric of the Communion, the Anglican Church in North America and other GAFCON provinces will not participate in the Lambeth Conference. We have not agreed to 'walk together.' That narrative is not true; we didn't agree to this. There are some things that we simply cannot agree to disagree on, and the biblical truth about human sexuality is one of those things."
ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach; Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH SA) presiding bishop and the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Brazil Miguel Uchoa were invited as "ecumenical observers" to the Lambeth Conference. They all declined to attend.
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