Here's the news we have been waiting and hoping for: the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia has endorsed their bishops' request for an Ordinariate.
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Australian Synod votes on Anglicanorum Coetibus.
The Synod of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia (one of two Traditional Anglican Communion Provinces in Australia – the other being the Church of Torres Strait) met at Saint Stephen’s College, Coomera, for four days from 27th – 30th July.
The Synod worked through a series of seminars on “Power and Trust in the Church”, “Child-safe environment: reporting child abuse and neglect” and “Occupational Health and Safety” in response to changing legislation in Australia. A representative from the Synod insurers, the Catholic Church Insurances Ltd, was present for two of the sessions of Synod.
These seminars were conducted by Lay Canon Cheryl Woodman, who has just completed four years of Masters–level study in order to be qualified to head the Professional Standards work of the Australian TAC. She is also a Chaplain (working mainly with sex offenders) at South Australia’s principal prison.
Also on the agenda were resolutions designed to move the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia further along the path of accepting and implementing the Apostolic Constitution. Many Synod members were clearly unsure at the outset about the need and value of Professional Standards, but were scarcely into the first seminar when the importance became obvious. This work on three mornings of Synod laid the groundwork for a church intending to grow. And surrounded by the two thousand students of the first College founded by the TAC in Australia, that message was hard to ignore.
Archbishop Hepworth celebrated the opening Mass of the Holy Spirit, preaching the same sermon as he had the previous week at the Canadian National Synod.
His charge set out the global problems facing the Church, and reflected on the unique moment in Anglican history in which the Synod was meeting.
Two afternoons were spent studying the Apostolic Constitution and debating the resolutions arising from it. Every member of Synod took part in the discussion.
At the end of a debate that went into the evening to allow everyone the opportunity to speak, Synod passed six resolutions. One was a technical endorsement of the suggestion for an Interim Governing Council in the letter of ACCA Bishops to Cardinal Levada responding to his invitation to start the Ordinariate process. Another was a carefully worded technical resolution designed to protect the assets of the ACCA in the process of founding the Australian Ordinariate.
The four remaining resolutions passed with six dissenting votes in a Synod of 56 voting members:
That this National Synod endorses the action of its Archbishop and Bishops in requesting the establishment of an Anglican Ordinariate in Australia under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, and that the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia, in the words of the Apostolic Constitution, desires to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner*, thereby achieving the status of an Anglican Ordinariate.
That this National Synod welcomes with joy the partnership of Forward in Faith Australia and all other Anglican clergy and people who desire to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner* through the Anglican Ordinariate in Australia.
That this National Synod strongly endorses the application of the Bishop of the Torres Strait to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for an Ordinariate of the Torres Strait.
That this National Synod requests the Primate to communicate to the Holy Father its gratitude for his Apostolic Constitution, ands warmly thanks him for his continued protection of faithful Anglicans and their tradition, and assures him of our prayers at every celebration of the Eucharist for his ministry of “caring for all the churches”.
There was an overwhelming sense of joy and relief among members after the vote. Years of longing and praying for unity had borne fruit.
Bishop Entwistle celebrated a Votive Mass for Unity on the Wednesday of Synod, and gave a homily on faith and belief that was quoted by many of those who spoke in the debate.
Bishop Robarts celebrated the Synod Requiem for deceased members and benefactors of the ACCA. He preached a moving homily on holiness and stillness in our quest for God. Three sermons, three bishops, a feast of biblical preaching.
This was a tough Synod. The issues were emotionally and spiritually demanding. There were more than a few tears. Even the readings at Morning Prayer conspired to move us.
The Anglican Catholic Church in Australia is a daughter church of the Anglican Catholic Church in Canada. Its first bishop was consecrated in Ottawa. Archbishop Hepworth observed how appropriate it was that the two National Synods should have met within a week of each other, and together accept the offer of Pope Benedict to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner*.
* Anglicanorum Coetibus, Introduction, Paragraph 5
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Not to sound harsh but how many churches are in these 2 jurisdictions? How many own their own church property? Are any of them large congregations which have a chance of surviving? To be quite honest, most 'continuing' churches are very small and a large percentage could be described as 'storefronts'. Not that there aren't some beautiful ones like Incarnation in Florida, but those will be exceptions. Everyone well knows that TEC, CofE, Anglican Church of Australia, etc. are not going to just give up their properties.
I hate being so negative but let's face it, it's not going to be a big splash.
I completely support Pope Benedict's Anglicanorum Coetibus and hope Anglicans do take advantage of the opportunity. I think in the end, most Anglicans will still want to be Anglicans (or Episcopalians) and stay where they are.
Let's not be mean-spirited. To speak only of my own city, here Bp Robarts shepherds a very small congregation in rented premises, but is not every soul of incalculable worth? God will give the increase; in the meanwhile, "Gather up the fragments that none be lost".
There aren't that many, perhaps. But I think of some of the other churches in union with the Holy See, and note how small they are. Here in Canada, other than Ukrainian Catholics, most of the Eastern Catholic Churches have only a very few parishes, located in the major cities. Some of these Eastern Catholic parishes do not have their own building, and share a bishop with parishes in the United States or elsewhere. And yet, I would argue that these churches add a tremendous amount to the life and witness of the Catholic Church.
The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, even when we account for some who may not enter the Ordinariate, has a presence in every province save Manitoba. Although some of our congregations are small and struggling, a number of our other parishes, such as our cathedral parishes (located in Victoria, Ottawa and Halifax) are strong and healthy- with an average age of membership that is tending steadily downward! We attract a range of people, including cradle Anglicans, members of other churches, and those from no church background at all. We have seminarians in various stages of formation in every region of the country.
I do not necessarily expect the situation to change. I certainly expect the church to continue to survive and even thrive, and if the Ordinariate allows many who previously entered into full communion with Rome to return to Prayer Book worship, that's wonderful – but even if the church remains a small jurisdiction, it will continue to punch far above its weight in terms of providing wonderful Christian fellowship, formation, and – dare I say it – even fun. As someone who has attended churches of a variety of denominations, I continue as a member of the TAC because it is quite simply the most compelling and attractive church group that I have ever been associated with.
There are about 6 parishes and as many priests in the Hebrew-speaking Catholic vicariate. Only a handful of churches in Spain–2? 3?–regularly offer the Mozarabic Rite. As of 2008, the Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church had 3600 members, 9 parishes, and 1 bishop. The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church had 2325 members, 4 parishes, and 1 bishop. The Bulgarian Catholic Church, 10,000 members, 21 parishes, 1 bishop. And across the world, in far-flung missions and lands where persecution has broken out, a lone priest has had to serve miles and miles of territory with only a handful of souls to minister to in each place.
In a family like the Church, the littlest members are the most precious and dearest of all.
That was very well put.
Can anything good come from Nazareth?
"There was an overwhelming sense of joy and relief among members after the vote. Years of longing and praying for unity had borne fruit."
Beautiful. Indeed, a gift of the Holy Spirit.
This is truly what unity is all about.
'How many own their own church property? Are any of them large congregations which have a chance of surviving? To be quite honest, most 'continuing' churches are very small and a large percentage could be described as 'storefronts'.
I am soooo thankful that questions such as these are not deterring us from responding, in faith, to the Holy Fathers' initiative. The remnant of the twelve left the Upper Room, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and preached in the public square. No building; in essence not even a storefront. No worldly assurance, but the assurance given by their Lord. Three thousand souls were converted! I think it is being faithful adding, if only three thousand souls, to the one billion+ Catholics worldwide. A drop in the bucket, perhaps, yet I would not dare place my finger in the hole of that dam in hopes it will hold.
Not picking on you, Matthew, but 'Everyone well knows that TEC, CofE, Anglican Church of Australia, etc. are not going to just give up their properties.'
And that in the end may be a blessing in disguise. And I do not think, other than possibly in the CofE, anyone is anticipating such a giving up of properties. Lord knows, TEC will not even sell it to us, preferring to do so to Muslims and the like. Yet the possibility of RC accommodations seems quite compelling.
I don't think the Pope was bothered about numbers when he started the process of the Ordinariates. I believe that quality is more important than quantity.
I would rather have just 10 people who firmly believed with all their hearts, and all their souls, that what they are joining is the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church, handed down by the apostles and will do their best to uphold the faith rather than have 10,000 people who are only doing it because, "Everyone else is doing it so let's follow them. Anyway, if we don't like it, we can always leave and go back to OUR church."