Tag Archives: PEVs

Ruth Gledhill: The Anglican Receptions

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Over on the Ordinariate Portal there is a transcript of an interview with Ruth Gledhill which aired on BBC Radio 4. She had spoken with the three former bishops who have been received into full communion with the Catholic Church, and she has some observations about this most recent event, as well as her thoughts about the Ordinariate.

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Interview with Ruth Gledhill

At midday today a special Mass was held at Westminster Cathedral: the moment marked the conversion to Catholicism of three former Church of England bishops, two of their wives and three Anglican nuns. They became the first to take part in a scheme set up by Pope Benedict, allowing Anglican opponents of women bishops to defect to the Catholic Church. Some predict that these first conversions could be followed by many others, from up to twenty Church of England parishes, in the months to come. Ruth Gledhill, the Religion correspondent for the Times is with me. Ruth, you’ve spoken to one of those who took part. What are their reasons?

They are responding to an offer made by the Pope which they believe is very generous. But their reason is that they believe that the Church of England, despite claiming to be part of the one holy, apostolic and catholic church in the Creed, has in fact departed from apostolic teaching, particularly over the issue of women’s ordination.

Will they be followed by many others?

Well there were many priests in the congregation at Westminster Cathedral today who are likely to join the Ordinariate. I think it will be a small stream at first; the question that nobody knows the answer to, is whether that will turn into a river or a flood.

In practical terms, what happens to the parishioners they’ve left behind?

The parishioners they’ve left behind will be able to keep the churches and it will be their job, then, to rebuild their congregations, almost from scratch in some cases. The ones who are going will, in some dioceses perhaps, continue to share the use of that church, but for the most part they’ll probably be offered some kind of accommodation in a local Catholic parish.

And what happens—there may be a clear answer to this—the wives of these bishops?

Well, the wives have converted with them in two cases out of the three bishops. And there’s no problem there really because, just as in the Eastern Rite Catholic churches, the clergy are allowed to be married, so the clergy are in the cases of former Anglican clergy in England who convert—and these aren’t going to be bishops in the Catholic Church, they’re going to be priests.

What will this do, in terms of unity of the Anglican Church? Would it be better for them to leave in this way in order to restore and maintain unity, rather than being a more divisive presence if they stayed?

The Pope believes that this exercise is a pathway to unity. It’s a little bit tragic, really, for the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose goal in office has been to try and maintain unity in the face of schisms over gays and women’s ordination.

Because the Pope’s offer was considered to be controversial at the time, wasn’t it?

It was, yes, it was seen as even possibly an aggressive act, but in fact the Pope wouldn’t see it like that, and neither do the people see it like that who are going. In fact it is a form of bridge, really, between the two churches and, I think, rather than being seen as divisive, it might in the end turn out to be a bringing together—as implied by the name of the constitution itself, Anglicanorum coetibus—bringing them together: a union of the Anglicans and Catholics, particularly the catholic wing of the Anglican church, which is really unprecedented—ever—since the Reformation: it’s never been known before for serving Anglican bishops to convert while they’re still holding office, or, you know, during their working lives—they’ve all just resigned—but, during their working lives they’ve gone, they haven’t waited to retire before going, so it’s really unprecedented. No one really knows what shape it’s going to take or how it’s going to work, but it does seem to be happening, confounding the sceptics who believed it wouldn’t.

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent for The Times, thank you very much.

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Two Statements on Yesterday's Resignations and the Future of "Provincial Episcopal Visitors"

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Today two more groups in the Church of England have issued statements in reaction to yesterday's resignations.

The Catholic Group in General Synod has released the following statement:

The Catholic Group in General Synod is sorry to hear of the five bishops' intention to join the Anglican Ordinariate; we would like to thank them all for their ministry in the Church of England, and to assure them of our prayers and good wishes for their future. Bishops John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and David Silk have all been prominent members of the Catholic Group, and we thank them for their leadership of the Group in the past.

The Catholic Group remains determined to do all it can to ensure that the promises made by the Church of England to traditionalists at the time of the passing of legislation to permit the ordination of women to the priesthood are honoured by the General Synod as it now considers draft legislation to permit the consecration of women as bishops; significant amendment of the current draft will be required to enable this to happen.

We are heartened by the news that new appointments will be made for the Bishops of Ebbsfleet, Fulham and Richborough, and assure the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London of our prayers and good wishes at this time.

The Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod released this statement:

The announcement that the PEVs (Provincial Episcopal Visitors – known as flying bishops, since they have no dioceses and minister only to parishes which oppose ordination of women) are leaving to join the Ordinariate has not been a surprise.

Only 2.8% of parishes in the Church of England have opposed the ordination of women and requested the ministry of a flying bishop. These bishops are considered acceptable because they will not ordain women. This has been described as a “theology of Taint” which undermines the dignity of every woman and should hold no place within the Church.

The question arises as to whether there is any need to replace these bishops by new appointments. The General Synod of the Church of England, after lengthy consideration and debate has prepared legislation for the admission of women to the episcopate. The legislation does not envisage the use of PEVs. As their future is uncertain GRAS questions the wisdom of replacing these bishops for what could be a short duration.

Provision has been made within the legislation that will enable those opposed to have the ministry of a male priest or bishop. It is those in favour who have made concessions out of a spirit of generosity. As an interim measure the small number of parishes opposed to women’s ordination and episcopacy could be covered by existing bishops.

It is hoped, therefore that any future Episcopal appointment will be in keeping with the spirit of the legislation.

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Now It Can Be Told

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A great relief to have at least some things in the open.  Brother Stephen has given you most of the details in his previous posting; the only things to be added are Lambeth's formal announcement (mentioning only the two Canterbury Suffragans) and Forward in Faith UK's response.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, today gave the following statement in response to the resignations of the suffragan bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough:

"I have today with regret accepted the resignations of Bishops Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton who have decided that their future in Christian ministry lies in the new structures proposed by the Vatican. We wish them well in this next stage of their service to the Church and I am grateful to them for their faithful and devoted pastoral labours in the Church of England over many years."

The Archbishop will now set in train the process for filling the vacant sees. In the interim, arrangements have been made for pastoral care to be provided by Bishops John Ford, Mark Sowerby and Lindsay Urwin for those who formerly looked to Bishops Burnham and Newton for their episcopal support and have decided to continue ministry in the Church of England.

Forward in Faith UK responded:

Forward in Faith assures the five bishops who have announced their desire to enter the Ordinariate when it is created of the love, prayers and support of all its members and of our grateful thanks to them all for their ministries to us..

We likewise assure the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London of our prayers, as they seek to discern how the sees of Ebbsfleet, Richborough and Fulham are to be filled.

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When 'Tis Done, Then 'Twere Well It Were Done Quickly

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Emmanuel Centre

Odd, isn't it, that Forward in Faith is compelled to worship in a building belonging to a defunct sect, the Irvingites, and to hold its Assembly in a former Christian Science building, now the home of a group of Evangelical Chinese?  Yet that is how it was these last few days, meeting in the "Emmanuel Centre" in Westminster and celebrating the Eucharist in the Catholic Apostolic Church of Christ the King in Gordon Square.  Perhaps this is how it will always be for us in future, having to beg, borrow or rent buildings from  others.  You might also find it odd that my text — the title at the top of this piece — is not from Holy Writ but from the Scottish Play of Wm Shakespeare.  We performed it at school, and I was Duncan and Noises Off.  Duncan does not last long, so giving me the opportunity for my second role.  I made a great owl.  In the play Lady M is determined to do away with Duncan at the earliest possible moment.  Would that the Church of England were equally expeditious and kind where Anglo-Catholics are concerned.  Instead, it engages in a drawn-out death by a thousand cuts, gradually letting us realise that there is no place for us any longer.

A good Judge too 186x300 When Tis Done, Then Twere Well It Were Done QuicklyThe Assembly occurred just as a sizeable number of us have realised that "the game is up".  The Reverend Judge James Patrick outlined the sort of route which may be available to anyone entering the Ordinariate — it sounded remarkably quick, his draft; something set up soon after Christmas, a short time of preparation, then a joyful Easter and Pentecost.  For those of us who are seriously considering this option it seems incredible that anyone should still think there is anything left to play for.  Yet there are honourable men and women who plainly do think this.  For their sake, we heard the other day about the launch of a new Society, under the patronage of those two incorrigible Romanisers Saints Wifrid and Hilda.

Well, today we heard about this Society (SSWSH as it has become known) once again.  Some of us were looking forward to being able to ask questions of the sponsors of the Society Model.  There is a string of distinguished bishops who have lent their names to this, indeed the Bishop of  Plymouth came all the way to London a fortnight ago to tell a Sacred Synod what was being done.  There was no debate at that time, no room for questions.  But that was all right, for on the agenda for today we saw the name of that same Bishop, and also that of the Bishop of Beverley, the North's own Flying Bishop.  In the event, neither of them found it possible to be present.  Instead it was left to the Bishop of Burnley and Fr David Houlding to do their best to "reflect on developments following the Sacred Synods".  Now I have a great affection for Bishop John Goddard.  His father was Vicar of St Nicolas' Guildford when I was in the next-door parish, and he was my confessor for a time, so I knew Bishop John when he was nobbut a lad.  He did his best with a brief to tell us why things are different up North.  He told us that in the Synod elections there had been some gains by lay catholics especially.  There was no great enthusiasm for the Ordinariate and it had been left to Bishop John himself to put the case for it at that northern Synod.  Now it could be that the two things are not unrelated.  If you have to have as spokesman someone who is not keen on it, small wonder that the laity are seeking to get help from the Synod.  In the South, the PEVs have consistently helped us to understand and appreciate what the Holy Father is offering.  The North has not had, it seems, any similar explanation or  help.

I worked for nearly a decade in the Northern Province.  I believe that priests and people there deserve better than having to rely on a bishop who does not support the Ordinariate telling them about it.  Instead, they are being offered SS Hilda and Wilfrid.  It must be said that Bishop John Goddard did his best with us; but he had to admit that unless the Society could achieve Jurisdiction for reliable bishops, it would have failed.  Well, I was on the General Synod back in the 1980's [representing the Diocese of York, as it happens] and we got nowhere.  Bishop  John's wife pleaded with us today, tearfully, to give it once last chance.  She was elected to General Synod not many years after me, and she has been a doughty fighter for the catholic cause.  And of course we will try to give Synod a chance, those of us who are left.  But no-one should expect us, who have been in the battle for thirty years and more, to put the offer from Pope Benedict on the back burner while we draw one more line in the sand and give Synod one more chance.

After the Bishop of Burnley, Fr David Houlding was given an opportunity to gild the Hilda.  "In July we failed" he told us.  "It was about jurisdiction and alas it is not to be".  So why does he persist in clinging to the wreckage of the General Synod?  The Society Model was floated in the Revision Committee, the details all worked out by Fr Houlding, and it was turned down flat.  Now Fr David finds merit in having  it rejected by a committee but not put to the vote in General Synod.  He believes it may yet succeed second time round where all else has failed.  But again, he says "it will be useless unless it has jurisdiction", and asks "Will the House of Bishops recognise such a grouping?"  Well, I am ready to bet my zuchetta against a burst balloon that it will not.  Still Fr David persisted, and laid out five requirements of the Society.  Mission, our Catholic Identity being honoured, the ARCIC vision, a guaranteed sacramental life and being seen as a Gift to the Church of England.  In speaking of the guaranteed sacramental life (you can hear the whole of his and other contributions on the Forward in Faith website) he asked "Will those bishops be prepared to break the rules?  We must ask that question now at the beginning".  I wish that question could have been put to the galaxy of SSWSH bishops — Plymouth, Beverley, Horsham, Chichester and the rest.  Unfortunately, there was a question which preceded this: where were they?  None of them but Burnley had found time to come to the Assembly.  They are men who claim to be leaders in the catholic movement.  So where were they when we needed them today?  Indeed where have they ever been?  John Broadhurst, John Richards, Michael Houghton and other PEVs have had to bear the brunt of it, with only sniping from some who reckon themselves catholic bishops.  What is different now?  I hope SSWSH will flourish and achieve what has never been achieved up to now, the things which Fr Houlding listed … but I am not holding my breath.  And even Fr David seems to think it will be short-lived — about up to his date for retirement, I would guess.

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Fr Geoffrey Kirk

The Assembly ended with tributes being paid to Fr Geoffrey Kirk, without whom many of us would not have survived these past acrimonious years.  His learning, his wit, his friendship and good humour have sustained us.  John Broadhurst spoke of him with great affection, a presentation was made to him, and if you listen to nothing else from the podcast, do listen to Fr Geoffrey's words of farewell.  He has seen it, and told it, as it is.  We shall still need him, although he has retired as Secretary, to continue to prick the pompous nonsense of any of us when we are tempted to rely on the promises of  the Church of England.

Finally, an unashamed plug: 'Sea Without a Shore', the life and ministry of Michael Houghton, one-time bishop of Ebbsfleet is now out, available from the Additional Curates' Society for £15.99; their website is at:

http://www.additionalcurates.co.uk/

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Fairest Isle

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No long drives this weekend, just a half-hour ferry trip to the Isle of Wight.  Until 1927 it was, like all Hampshire and a good part of Surrey, part of the Diocese of Winchester.  In that great expansionist fit which overtook the Church of England in the early twentieth century — a sort of post-Imperial notion of grandeur, "wider still and wider shall her bounds be set" — new dioceses were spawned just as the Church began to shrink dramatically.  The Diocese of Portsmouth was invented to cover a sliver of eastern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.  Guildford, a former Archdeaconry of Surrey in Winchester Diocese, was similarly created, and given its very ugly shoe-box cathedral (architect, Sir Edward Maufe… who's he?) to deck Stag Hill.  Today, with York Diocese similarly carved up to create Bradford and Ripon and Wakefield, we have almost more bishops than parishes.  Now the Church Commissioners are anxiously seeking ways of reducing their numbers.  They had the  perfect opportuity when the Bishop of Portsmouth retired after long illness; but they ducked it, and a new Bishop is now in the post.

Meanwhile, parishes are milked of their income, having to pay £40k, £50k, sometimes up to £100k (that is, around $140,000 per annum) just to keep the show on the road.  After that they must raise the money for their own parish church, for mission, and all other such fripperies.  The important thing is that the Bishops' establishments, diocesan offices, diocesan advisers, diocesan experts, have been underwritten.

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Swanmore Rood

The Isle of Wight, they say is fifty years behind the times; which, of course, is not altogether a bad thing.  Once there were forty incumbent priests on the Island; now it is a mere handful.  Yet of those who remain, there are several whose parishes have asked for extended episcopal oversight.  The result is that the Bishop of Richborough probably has more active Anglicans in his pastoral care than the Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth.  We have to stress Anglican, for there is also a Catholic Bishop of Porstmouth, whose diocese is far bigger than that of his C of E cousin.

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Michael your Prince

So, when we visited St Michael's Swanmore today there was much talk of the Ordinariate.  I have never met a congregation so completely enthusiastic for it — not even in Tunbridge Wells.  After Mass (they were keeping their Feast of Title within the Octave of Michaelmas) we went on to see several other old friends on the Island, and quite unprompted all of them spoke, and spoke enthusiastically, of the Holy Father's offer.

I could wish there was equal enthusiasm across the whole country.  In parts of the West of England and the Welsh Marches, traditionalists are so scattered that some have given up the struggle and either gone individually to Rome, or have joined a continuing Anglican body.  As for the North!  I spent nine years working in the northern province, so I know that "the North is different" — but I had always understood that in the Northeast, in the dioceses of Durham and Newcastle, there were stalwart Anglo-Catholics.  Now it seems most of them are ready to give SWSSH a try.  Well, good luck to them; but I fear it will all end in tears.

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Another Bunfight

I do know, however, that there are many individuals who would like to know about the Ordinariate but have been prevented by their episcopal leadership.  If any such read this blog, direct your queries to Forward in Faith — the address and email contact is in New Directions.  We need to know who you are.  Time is getting short.  Things are beginning to move — I understand.  Don't be left behind.  For, though it will never be too late to join the Ordinariate, how much better to be one of the founding fathers — or mothers!

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Goodnight, Island

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The English Connection

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The Traditional Anglican Communion’s groundbreaking decision to approach the Holy See has been well-documented and much discussed over the last three years, most recently by our own Fr. Fleming in his new book, Convinced by the Truth: Embracing the Fullness of the Catholic Faith.  Now that the Holy Father has come and gone in the UK and the Sacred Synods there are confirming that some clergy and laity there are ordinariate-bound, mostly from the Province of Canterbury, it seems as if it might be a good time to piece together a bit of the history of how those in the UK also played a key role in the development of Anglicanorum Coetibus.  Most of this has appeared in other scattered sources, but I thought it would be good to at least make a first pass at a more coherent narrative.

When the news of the Apostolic Constitution broke last October, many of us speculated that an important role had been played by elements within the Church of England because of the choice of a press conference in London with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the fact that more than one C of E bishop had a statement ready for synchronized release.  These initial hunches received more support in comments made at FIFUK’s 2009 National Assembly shortly after the announcement of Anglicanorum Coetibus.  Statements made last fall along with information that has trickled into the public record since then have shed light on how the Church of England’s Flying Bishops lived up to their name in moving about to do their part in building the bridge across the Tiber.

It is my understanding that the English approach began almost by chance with a spring holiday.  Bishop Andrew Burnham of the See of Ebbsfleet traveled to Rome in April of 2008 to celebrate his 60th birthday.  While there, he sought meetings with the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.  Rather than finding himself having an informal chat with the monsignori of the staff, he found himself invited to meet with Cardinals Kasper and Levada.

Pleasantly surprised at the warmth of this reception, Bishop Andrew was able at short notice to arrange for Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough Episcopal Area to hop a plane and join him for the meeting.  In that meeting, these two suffragans of the Archbishop of Canterbury asked whether anything might be done to help English Anglo-Catholics.  They received a warm response and thereafter became aware of some of the details of the TAC approach and that other groups of Anglicans had been knocking at the door as well.

More than 15 years earlier, the then Cardinal Ratzinger had said of Forward in Faith, “If they accept the Magisterium, we have no alternative but to finding a means of admitting them to full communion with the Holy See.”  It was becoming clear that the Vatican would be as good as the now Holy Father’s word.  Subsequent events bore this out.

At this point, we can only speculate about what happened between the General Synod of the Church of England’s vote in July 2008 to move forward with the admission of women to the Episcopate and the present.  Media reports have included sightings of the Bishops of Fulham and Richborough in Vienna, where they met Cardinal Schonborn in January 2009, and of the Bishops of Ebbsfleet, Fulham, and Richborough in Rome in April 2010, where they had meetings in the Vatican. No doubt meetings and regular contacts have continued up to the present in both in England and in Rome.  Now we stand at the threshold of the public phase of the process, which I suppose one might think of as something of an ecclesiastical IPO.  In the words of Fr. Kirk at last year’s FIF Assembly, “Well, you’ve asked for it, now you’ve got it.”

I thought it was useful to fill in a bit of this particular history at the present time to show that the Holy See has dealt faithfully and pastorally with those who have approached it.  Now that the moment approaches when decisions are required or at least possible, the wedding-night jitters are rising among some of those considering taking advantage of the Apostolic Constitution.  Many ask whether the Holy See will treat them fairly.  I tell this story to help assure those of us who have not been in the inner circle of these developments that the process leading up to the publication of Anglicanorum Coetibus and now leading into its implementation, gives us evidence of the care and solicitude of the Holy Father and many in the curia and the various national hierarchies.  The Bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough and those who joined them later took a risk, as did the leadership of the TAC, and now that faith is being rewarded.  For many years, Bishop Andrew has been known for saying, “RITA!” for “Rome is the answer.”  Now Rome has given its answer, and the care given in consulting various groups in crafting that answer gives ample evidence of Rome’s solicitude.

However the ball began to roll among the various groups who approached the Holy See, Anglicanorum Coetibus was addressed to GROUPS of Anglicans who formally petitioned or had merely hoped for the full reunion that has been one of Anglo-Catholicism’s most fervently held desires for more than 175 years.  Whether it was TAC greasing the wheels or the English giving things a push, or the additional impetus added by groups and individuals as yet unknown, the train got moving and provision was made for everyone.  As the Bishop of Fulham said last fall, “This is a world approach of which we shall be a part.”

Now we enter a new phase where “coetibus” must become “coetus,” as old identities and acronyms fall away and groups coalesce into ordinariates in communion with the Catholic Church.  The ordinariates will be a home for members of the TAC, traditionalists from within the Church of England, members of other bodies inside and outside of the Anglican Communion, and for many who have already entered the Catholic Church individually and now welcome the opportunity to return to their native patrimony.

Those further back on the caravan road to full communion will be looking ahead to the vanguard, not only to see how it is treated by Rome, but also how those who go first treat one another.  As all of the various groups of Anglicans who will make up the ordinariates coalesce, we will do well to remember the Saviour’s prayer for unity in the Gospel of John:

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

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Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush…

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In the Gloom of the Emmanuel Centre

So today a visit to London, for the 'Sacred Synod' called by a number of those who call themselves catholic-minded bishops in the Church of England.  The clergy turned out in great numbers — very impressive.  I hope they were not all as disappointed as I was.  It began well enough, with the two southern PEVs, Ebbsfleet and Richborough, telling us the present state of play, and how it was likely the Ordinariate would begin in England early in the New Year.  The Bishop of Ebbsfleet, in particular, made it clear that as suffragans of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the PEVs could not proselytise for the Ordinariate.  If, however, anyone wanted to contact them and ask what they should do, then of course they would help them.  Then John, Bishop of Fulham, spoke in similar terms, telling us how his own family were pressing him to speed things up because they wanted a secure catholic home for their children and grandchildren.

Jonathan Baker (left, below) spelled out very clearly just where we were in the synodical process; and told us that for all the efforts of the Catholic Group, we had lost.  Anyone who thought the situation could be redeemed was living in cloud-cuckoo land.

Horsham among the Lions 1024x768 Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush…Then we began to hear from some of the cuckoos.  Do they nest especially in Sussex? — for all of them seemed to have connections with Chichester, bishops and former archdeacons of that diocese almost to a man.  The Bishop of Horsham (second from left, above, with the bishops of Fulham, Richborough and Ebbsfleet beyond him on the right) floated the notion of a "Society Model": I do not think he was talking about those high class hookers who, I am told, hang around Mayfair.  No, this Society was to gather up all the Anglican Catholics who, for whatever reason, would not join the Ordinariate (at least not at once) and give them a fig leaf of respectablity.

The trouble is we have been round this buoy already.  Fr David Houlding, Master General of SSC, had worked at the Synod's request on producing just such a model; and clause by clause it had been voted down in the Synod.  So why does anyone think it has a chance now?

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The Master General of SSC

It would need one of two things: either the support of the Synod (you must be joking!) or Anglican bishops of a catholic temper who were prepared to break the law.  Now who could these be?  The only ones with any guts will have left for the Ordinariate.  Why do we suppose the others would change the habit of a lifetime and dare defy the House of Bishops or the General Synod?  No, the whole idea of this "Society" is dead before it begins.  Not so much a Society — more a Cuckoo Club.

Some who spoke pleaded with us not to be judgmental with  one another.  We must treat everyone as acting from honourable motives.  Oddly, I was reading some of Newman's "Apologia" on the train to London.  When he began to write the Tracts, many of his former friends turned against him.  One of these liberals (that is what Newman calls them) produced a pamphlet saying that for instance Trinitarian Doctrine was simply a matter of opinion: Newman, on being sent a copy, wrote "you will forgive me, if I take the opportunity it affords of expressing to you my very sincere and deep regret that it has been published…  I lament that by its appearance the first step has been taken towards interrupting that peace and mutual good understanding which has prevailed so long in this place" (he was speaking  of Oxford).  Earlier he wrote, "My feeling was something like that of a man, who is obliged in a court of justice to bear witness against a friend".  When a northern dignitary wrote accusing him of  "wishing to re-estabish the blood and torture of the Inquisition" he responded, "The heresiarch should meet with no mercy: he assumes the office of the Tempter; …to spare him is a false and dangerous pity.  It is to endanger the souls of thousands, and it is uncharitable toward himself".

Of course there will be priests, and people, unable to join the Ordinariate from day one.  It should not be a pleasant situation, for that would extend it interminably.  It is no kindness to them to give them a comfort blanket, a little cosy club to make them feel "well, if Bishop X and Fr Y don't feel it necessary to go over, neither shall I".

We had Dame Mary Tanner, the doyenne of the ecumenical movement in England, saying "we are in a time of discernment".  "The ordination of women, if it proves to be wrong, will be reversed".  She must have been roosting too long with the cuckoos, too; IN THEORY, as we should know, the Church of England has said we are in a time of reception.  But the Synod no longer believe this, or it would have made space for us.  It is sure what it has done is right, and will go ahead to consecrate lady bishops over any number of our dead bodies.  Poor Mary, I weep for her, I really do, she has borne the heat and burden, and it is all coming to nothing.  No good her saying, "It is not for the Church of England to decide; it is not even for the Anglican Communion to decide: it is for the whole Church".  But the overwhelming part of the Church, Eastern and Western, has spoken, and we in England and the USA have thumbed our nose and just ploughed on.   She still pins her hopes on Son of ARCIC, and says how Benedict is supporting it.  Really?  What of lasting value has ARCIC ever achieved — just an expensive and time-wasting talking shop.

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Wallace in the Lions' Den

Then the Bishop of Lewes, Wallace Benn, a leader among Conservative Evangelicals, asked us to bury the hatchet (leave yesterday's battles at least until the day after tomorrow) and join forces with his supporters in the Society (of St Luther and St Calvin?).

It was sad, too, to see Fr Houlding trying to defend something — another attempt at the Society Model — when he knows in his heart it will fail.  He has been there, done that, has it branded on him, not just printed on a T-shirt.  It did not work then, and it will not be allowed to work.

They have chosen the title of "The Society of St Wilfred and St Hilda" for their brave new invention.  How odd.  Wilfred was the firebrand who determined to bring the old-style Northern British into line; and with the support of Abbess Hilda he succeeded.  Perhaps that is the secret message which the Bishop of Beverley and his colleagues wish us to hear and to follow; for sooner or later, they will have to follow it themselves, or lose whatever credibility they still possess.

It was a very strange and expensive day.  A priest friend summed it up in an email he sent me on his return home.  "Like you, …  I was rather irritated that what was billed as a "Synod" proved, in part, to be launching pad from what seems to me to be an ill-devised scheme for a Society model with little hope of success — it can't possibly secure jurisdiction, and I doubt that any episcopal leadership in it will dare to be illegal.  People, as ever, just seem to be ever drawing lines in the sand and redefining the non-negotiables.  But I'll endeavour to persuade the PCC that it was worth the £53.40 round trip."  Hope he succeeds.  For me, it was in the end worth it because so many younger priests were coming up to me and expressing similar exasperation with the cuckoo tendency, and saying they were more determined than ever to join the Ordinariate.

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Choir Dress

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Our readers always seem to get more excited about "tat" than any other topic, so I thought I would stir the pot a little after an induction this week in Portsmouth diocese.  It was one of those curious occasions we have come to expect in the present, increasingly shaky, dispensation of The Act of Synod.

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The new Incumbent among his people

The Parish of SS Peter and Paul Fareham has been a bastion of catholicism in Portsmouth (Anglican) diocese for many years.  The church itself is a bit of a hotch-potch; reputedly some Saxon long and short work in the ancient Chancel (which is now the North Chapel), a Chancel by Blomfield, and the heavy hand of, I think, Nicholson on much of the rest.  The great Fr Leslie Chad made liturgical sense of the space he inherited, putting in a very good nave altar, and confining the old High Altar and Tabernacle behind the Rood Screen, itself moved a bay or two to the east.  The Licensing was equally confused, set within a very decent Mass but including the various diocesan liturgical committee's bright ideas, such as taking the new incumbent to see the font and telling him what it is for.  It gives the 'lay chair' (which I thought you only came across in dentists' surgeries) and the Area Dean something to say.

So the licensing of the new parish priest was to be undertaken by Portsmouth Diocese; except that there is a vacancy in See, so the Bishop who did the legal bit was Ian Brackley who has been Bishop of Dorking (in neighbouring Guildford diocese) for the past fourteen years, and is just ending a stint as Commissary during the vacancy in Portsmouth.  Neither was the local Archdeacon on hand to assist him, since he is becoming bishop of Basingstoke, a suffragan of Winchester… and all three dioceses involved were, until some ninety years ago, all part of the Diocese of Winchester.  I hope that has not left anyone too confused.  The celebrant was the Provincial Episcopal Visitor, Keith Richborough.

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Licensing Sermon

In the early 20th Century the C of E busily created new dioceses believing the church was growing apace.  Ever since that time it has shrunk, but left itself with far too many dioceses and bishops — and churches.  Portsmouth, once simply an Archdeaconry of Winchester with its own Archdeacon but no suffragan bishop now is established for a Bishop and THREE Archdeacons!  Guildford, equally, was an Archdeaconry.  It has its own Bishop, Bishop Suffragan, and two Archdeacons.  What is more, whereas Archdeacons used to have other responsibilities (usually Parishes) they have become increasingly insulated from reality by having no parochial responsibilities.

The vacancy in Portmouth, after the long illness of the previous diocesan bishop, was the ideal time to start reversing the trend.  It would have been no great problem for the Bishop of Winchester to have held Portsmouth in plurality, until all three dioceses were sorted out in due course.  But, no, the system will not allow it.  There have to be Acts of Parliament to undo the follies of our forefathers and reduce the number of  bishops.  General Synod prefers to spend its time ridding itself of catholics, rather than getting the diocesan system to face reality.  It is all a little like the Royal Navy, now with more Admirals than ships.

Well, back to the important topic of What to Wear.  Fr Christopher Woodman SSC was in plain alb and white stole, since he was assisting Bishop Keith of Richborough who celebrated the Mass.  There were others in cassock and cotta, some with and some without stoles.  There were some in surplice, scarf and hood.  The Bishop of Dorking was in Cope and Mitre; what a former bishop of Kensington used to call "matching hat and coat".  He carried a pastoral staff which looked like a close relative to a knob-kerry.  The Celebrant was, of course, properly attired in gold chasuble and mitre.  Earlier in the day I had lugged my black rochet and chimere down from the loft (others might have worn scarlet, but I do not like pretending to an Oxford Doctorate which I do not possess).  Is it part of the Patrimony?  I do hope not, it weighs a ton.

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Choir Dress from Chelmsford and Winchester

It was good to have many brethren from our local SSC Chapter supporting Fr Christopher.  He takes on a new responsibility at a difficult time — even the Bishop of Dorking acknowledged as much — though he went on to be quite insensitively up-beat about how catholics should go on contributing to the C  of E forgetting that his liberal friends have made this impossible.  I believe Bishop Keith took him to task afterwards.  There was an outstandingly good bun-fight, and we returned home wondering just what it was we had been doing.

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I'll Just Say My Prayers at Home…

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I've published on tomorrow's Mass sheet at St Mary-the-Virgin, Kenton the letter from 15 CofE bishops to the 1,333 deacons and priests of the CofE who signed the June 2008 'Open Letter' to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on the implications of passing legislation for women bishops with little or no provision for those who don't accept the ordination of women.

Bishop Edwin Barnes has been quite pointed about that letter and its point, or lack of it. I largely agree with him — 90%ish — in terms of how it does or doesn't move the debate on — but I do see another point to it — the need for mutual respect as we find different ways forward.

The first psalm in today's Office of Readings contains the following lines:

Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,
finding no way to a city they could dwell in.
Hungry they were and thirsty;
their soul was fainting within them.

The 15 bishops plea for eirenicism; that we should all respect the different paths that we eventually follow and avoid rancour based in failing to understand why some have become members of an Ordinariate, why some have become Catholics by individual submission, and why some have remained in the CofE.

The group they don't mention — and in fact no-one does, because they are a sign of contradiction to us all — is those who will simply be lost. It certainly happened in 1992/93/94.

Not everyone who felt pushed out of the mainstream of the CofE in the ordination of women as priests of the CofE — the only church they had ever known — came to rejoice in the ministry of the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod and the 'Flying Bishops'. This is is a tragedy — especially given the quality of that flying ministry.

Some people, clergy included — and this is not idle speculation — were simply lost. Betrayed — as they felt — by the only church they had ever known, they decided to reconcile themselves to the mindset I encounter on a fairly regular basis in the context of funeral ministry: "you don't have to go to church to be a Christian."

The progressivists pushed ordinary, faithful, run-of-the-mill (all of which probably sound very patronising but aren't intended to) Anglicans out — and traditionalists failed to catch them as they left.

The Lost decided they would spend their Sunday morning tending their roses and playing with their grandchildren — from children who had already moved on from regular churchgoing — and say their prayers at home.

Anglican politics excite bloggers and the media — impaled as they generally are on sex. People outside that sphere are left cold — turned off by ecclesiastical politics.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distresss
and he led them along the right way,
to reach a city they could dwell in.

How do we — those Anglicans who are convinced that our home is in Rome, 'a city [we can] dwell in' — 'where Peter is, there is the Church, and Salvation' — ensure that we do not forget those who look with confusion on the CofE and the General Synod, but also wonder why their Vicar or Rector keeps going on about 'the Roman Church'?

What do we do to ensure to the greatest extent possible that they don't just end up saying their prayers at home?

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Finding the Church in Corinth

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S Ambrose Bmth 004 768x1024 Finding the Church in Corinth

High Altar, Reredos & East Window

Tired of a four-year interregnum, the Church Council of St Ambrose Bournemouth voted unanimously for resolution "C" — that is, they have asked the Bishop of Winchester for extended episcopal oversight.  They will hear from him in the Autumn about what provision he intends making (I have said something about this on my Ancient Richborough blog) but I thought you might like to know what I had to say at Solemn Evensong (very patrimonial).  There are also a few pictures of the very handsome building, just restored after a major fire.  The second reading was from II Corinthians Chapter 1, hence my text.

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Paul an Apostle of Christ Jesus… to the church of God which is at Corinth

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West End in evening light

There was no post office when Paul wrote his letters to the Churches.  So who delivered them?  And where did they take them?  We are so used now to instant communication — an email reaches our correspondent the moment we press the send button.  And even the post office usually manages to get letters to their destination within a week or so.  It must have taken many weeks for a letter from Paul, in prison in Rome, to arrive in Corinth; and Corinth was one of the nearer churches.  When it was a matter of the Church sending a collection for those in need in Jerusalem, we know it was taken by the hands of Barnabas and Paul; in some of the other letters we have hints who might have been the messenger– maybe Timothy, maybe another of the brethren.  But how did you find the church?

Finding St Ambrose’ is easy: just enter the postcode on the computer, and there it is.  And if that is too hard, the diocesan web site provides a little map.  They’ve got you listed!  Of course they did not advise on the diversion because of a carnival on the seafront, but after a tour of Bournemouth we got here.  Not so easy in Corinth.  Not because they did not have a postcode, but because they did not have a church building.  There were no special buildings for worship for the first three centuries of the Christian Way.  As persecution happened, a cemetery, maybe an underground one, a catacomb, would be a favourite place for the eucharist — not least because the tomb of someone who died for the faith would make a very appropriate altar table for the sacred elements.  To find the Christians in Corinth, it will have been a question of asking for a particular person, one of the leaders of the Church, and getting him or her to introduce you to the Church.  That is, once you could understand the particular dialect of Greek spoken in Corinth.  When at last you found them they would all gather, perhaps in a private house, to listen to what Paul had to say to them.

You have heard it said so many times, but do you really believe it?  The church is not a building.  Even the word church does not originally mean building; it translates ekklesia, which means “those who are called out” — a congregation in other words.  A church is people, not stones.  Living stones, if you like, built up into a temple for God.

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N.W. Tower

Now you might ask what sort of message is that, for a time when you are rejoicing that at last, after nearly four years, this building is fully restored from the fire?  But from the moment that the Roman Empire recognised Christianity as a permitted religion, congregations have tried to put up buildings which would be worthy of the worship offered in them.  Originally, the building fitted the worship — the minimum is a shelter for the holy table, and, if possible, some way of having that table raised up so that it can be seen by everyone.  Gradually, rules built up which defined this more carefully; three steps, so that the ministers at the altar could be properly arranged according to their importance.  Then, a couple of reading-places, one on either side of the building, so that everyone could hear what was read.  And so it went on; almost the last thing to be added in the course of history was fixed seating; originally there were just ledges at the bottom of the walls where the infirm could perch… then benches, then pews, eventually great stalls where families could sit around a fireplace… if you know Whitby you will have seen the extravagant last gasp of such an arrangement.  In most places they were torn out as people began to see that privileged seating was out of keeping with Jesus’ teaching.

So at first buildings were put up to house the worship; but as worship changed, buildings could dictate how worship should be.  If you have visited Holland you might have seen great Gothic churches, not unlike Westminster Abbey in shape; but inside, they have been turned round to suit the reformed worship.  In the nave will be great banks of seats arranged in a circle, with a pulpit to one side and maybe a small table.  The east end of the building is neglected, often just full of tombs and dust.

Some English churches were treated like that at the Reformation; in some cases the entire east end pulled down, and the nave turned into a preaching space.  Then, with the Catholic Revival in the 19th century, churches began to be put back much as they had been before the Reformation, sometimes even with a rood screen added to shut off the priests from the people.  The building began to determine the worship.  Once that had happened, new churches were built to look as much like a mediaeval church as possible; hence St Ambrose’ Bournemouth.  The result is that if you ask a child today to draw a church it will almost certainly have pointed windows — even though for a half century and more churches have been built, like Coventry cathedral, with no pointed arches, no gothic decoration.  But pointed arches and towers mean CHURCH.

Now you have a beautiful building, and you should be congratulated on restoring it so carefully.  But remember what it is for: a place for the congregation, the ekklesia, you who have been called out of darkness into God’s wonderful light.  It is a shelter for the altar, a protection for the worship of Almighty God.  The danger of these beautiful buildings is that they can become idols, and we find ourselves more concerned about the building than the people and the worship it contains.

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S Margaret of Antioch; I was consecrated on her feast day.

There are some Anglicans just now who are getting ready to leave their familiar much-loved churches and move away — they don’t yet quite know where.  It has been happening for some years in other parts of our church, most especially in the USA and Canada.  There, the church authorities have deviated so far from what Christ taught, or so many think, that they have had to make a choice.  Will it be the building I love, where what is done and taught is no longer Christian; or shall I cast off and find a home elsewhere?  Already thousands of our fellow Anglicans have been making this difficult choice.  You might think this is not a matter for you here at St Ambrose.  Indeed, it might not be today, or this week, or this year.  But already the General Synod has been making such alterations to the church’s teaching and practice that many of us are looking at other options.  It so happens that just at this time the Pope has made it clear that he would welcome former Anglicans, to join the Catholic Church and bring into it some of their Anglican tradition.

It is not my place as a visitor to tell you what you should be doing; but it is my duty, as a bishop, to remind you that choices will have to be made.  Those who turned the temple into a market were driven out by Jesus; if we cannot drive out false practices from our church, then we may have to reconstitute the church somewhere else.  In the end, the place does not matter, however much we may sing “We love the place, O God."  If the glory is departed, then the time may come for us to uproot, shake the dust from our feet, and go where the faith is believed and taught, the sacraments celebrated, and we are welcome.

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