Anglican Mainstream

Thursday, 12th November 2009. By: George Conger.

Reports the Churches of England and Ireland boycotted the consecration of a partnered lesbian priest as Bishop of Stockholm are not true, spokesmen for the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of Armagh tell Religious Intelligence.com.

However, no episcopal representatives from the Churches of England or Ireland, the Church in Wales or the Scottish Episcopal Church were present for the Nov 8 consecration of the Rev Eva Brunne by Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd of Uppsala.

On Nov 3 the Swedish Christian newspaper Dagen reported the Church of England and Church of Ireland would ‘boycott’ the ceremony as a sign of their displeasure with the ordination of Pastor Brunne, who lives with her female partner, a fellow Church of Sweden pastor, the Rev Gunilla Lindén.

A spokesman for Archbishop Alan Harper, Primate of the Church of Ireland, said that while the substance of the comments attributed to Dr Harper were correct, the Archbishop “did not give such a statement to a Dagen journalist.”

Dr Harper would “not think of this in terms of a ‘boycott’,” the spokesman explained. An invitation had been received, he noted, but had been declined. The Archbishop of Armagh “has conveyed to the Church of Sweden that the Church of Ireland will not be officially represented at the episcopal consecration in Uppsala,” the spokesman said as the “Church of Ireland is observing the moratorium” on the consecration of partnered ‘gay’ clergy.

A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said the Church of England would be represented by the Area Dean of the Baltic and Nordic States of the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, the Rev Nicholas Howe, chaplain of St Peter and St Sigfrid’s Church in Stockholm.

A “diary conflict” would prevent Mr Howe from attending the consecration, Lambeth Palace said, but he would be present for the reception that would follow. The Church of England’s Diocese of Portsmouth, which is twinned with the Diocese of Stockholm, would also be sending a representative to the reception.

Speaking to the Church of Sweden’s newspaper, the Kyrkans Tidning, Archbishop Wejryd said he did not expect Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to attend. “We send invitations to those with the highest rank. That’s why the Archbishop of Canterbury received an invitation, but no one expected him to say yes.”

The consecration of Pastor Brunne follows upon the Oct 22 vote by the Kyrkomötet, the Church’s governing assembly to permit clergy to conduct same-sex church weddings.

Writing to the Archbishop of Uppsala on June 26, the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England said the adoption of gay marriage by the Swedish church would be “problematic.”

The “teaching and discipline” of the Anglican Communion was that “it is not right either to bless same-sex sexual relationships or to ordain those who are involved in them,” the Archbishops’ Council said.

The way the Church of Sweden had gone about introducing gay marriage liturgies was worrisome, the Suffragan Bishop in Europe, the Rt Rev David Hamid said. The Porvoo Agreement which joined the Church of England and Church of Sweden in full Eucharistic fellowship committed the partners to consultations with one another on issues of faith and order.

“Such a consultation has not happened on the matter of gender-neutral marriage,” Bishop Hamid said.

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=5271
 

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