Virtueonline on the ACNA vote
The vote, when it came, stunned everybody. There were visible sounds from delegates and then brief applause. At 309 to 69 (reminiscent of the Lambeth resolution 1:10 vote 527 to 69), members of the Church of England Synod, the governing body of the church, unanimously voted to affirm The Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) and to recognize its existence as legitimately Anglican.
It was immediately hailed as another stepping-stone in orthodox Anglicanism, separating the true orthodox and evangelical faithful from Western pansexual Anglicanism.
When you consider where ACNA was a mere two years ago, this is a giant step forward. From a bishop deposed in his diocese, publicly humiliated by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori, and despised by liberal and revisionist bishops in The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Robert Duncan has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of a dying church into the pure, clear air of an Anglicanism that has identified with Scripture, the creeds, and the vast majority of Global South Anglicans.
The truth about why the vote went as it did was this. When the Rev. Canon Simon Butler (Sanderstead) got up and accused the motion makers of lying and invoked the 9th commandment about bearing false witness, he blew everybody away. No one, especially this august body likes to be told they are liars or potential liars. He overplayed his hand. Now the other truth is this; had the original Ashworth motion been allowed to stand, based on voting figures she would have lost, but only by 60-40 – that is 233-166.
The truth is, there is only a small handful of revisionists In the Church of England (unlike the US), the large majority of which are broad church but not necessarily liberal. Unlike their American counterparts they can be persuaded with solid arguments. TEC revisionists specialize in emotion and cries of homophobia. That does not play so well here. The British are rationalists. They don't get jerked around by emotional displays of feelings. Make your case or shut up. Appealing simply to emotion won't do.
First to acknowledge the victory was the Bishop of Winchester, The Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt who promptly said he would welcome Archbishop Duncan into his diocese to preach and confirm. Will this lead to more ACNA bishops crossing the pond to preach and perform Eucharist functions with the blessing of local bishops? Time will tell. Anyway you look at it, a door has been opened that will not now close. The liberals and revisionists can scream all they want, but this week the Anglican Communion lurched rightward and away from the secular humanism and political (read sexual) correctness that now fills Episcopal pulpits.
On hearing the news, Archbishop Duncan wrote to VOL to say that the leadership of the Anglican Church in North America is very pleased with the result. While not the original straightforward motion of Lorna Ashworth, the (Bishop of Bristol) Michael Hill amendment speaks of us "remaining in the Anglican family."You can only remain in something of which you are a part. Bishop Hill also spoke of his purpose "to encourage those in the Anglican Church in North America." That encouragement carried 309 to 69. www.anglicanchurch.net.
One man who had diligently worked hard to present the facts about The Episcopal Church just prior to Synod was the Rev. Phil Ashey, COO for the American Anglican Council. He exposed the dark underside of Episcopal lawsuits, the millions spent in litigation and much more. He told VOL that it was "a step forward for us and neutralized some of the disinformation coming out of 815 in New York. It was a huge success for ACNA."
One can understand Duncan's jubilation at hearing the news. I have written a number of stories about this historic event which I urge you to read. There are links to audio and video as well in today's reports and at the website. You can read the Rev Phil Ashey's personal take on the synod action in today's digest as well. He, along with members of AAC, AMiA and Forward in Faith were present for this historic event.
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