Anglican Mainstream

In the Times today, under the headline Bishop John 'would be the end of Church's unity', Ruth Gledhill reports:

All hope of preventing schism in the Anglican Church will end if an openly gay cleric becomes the next Bishop of Southwark, leading conservatives warned last night.  The Archbishop of Canterbury has allowed Dr Jeffrey John's name to go forward. …. The Prime Minister is understood to support his candidacy. Speaking to the gay rights magazine "Attitude" before the election, Mr Cameron said: "I don't want to get into a huge row with the Archbishop here, but the Church has to do some of the things that the Conservative Party has been through."

The rest of the article is on the Times pay-as-you-read website.

Anglican Mainstream's full quote, from which a section is given at the end of the report is as follows:

"Anglican Mainstream calls for prayer that the appointment to Southwark and every other See should be of a godly person whose life and doctrine is fully in accord with the Church of England's teaching and formularies, and for the clergy and people of the diocese at what must be an anxious time. Those who cannot or will not meet those requirements cannot be a bishop in the Church of England.  Given the contested state of the Anglican Communion an appointment which does not meet those requirements in the Church of England would bring to an end any hope there might be of holding the Communion together."

Philip Giddings  Convenor

Chris Sugden   Secretary

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