Anglican Mainstream

From the American Anglican Council website

Late this afternoon, a judge of the B.C. Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Sigurdson, ordered the Diocese of B.C (on Vancouver Island). to allow the people of St Mary of the Incarnation (Metchosin) in Victoria, BC, back into their building in time for Sunday services.

At 7pm Friday, April 4, a St Mary parishioner discovered Bishop James Cowan of the Diocese of British Columbia supervising the changing of the locks and installation of a security system at the St Mary church building, 4125 Metchosin Rd, Victoria, BC. No notice was given to the clergy or approximately 185 parishioners who were displaced from the building they worship in and which they built and paid for.

The parish and the diocese had been engaged in a discussion regarding an amicable process to address the property issues with the assistance of Archbishop Terry Buckle. The congregation was hopeful these discussions would avoid the need for court proceedings, so the diocese’s actions came as a complete surprise.

Earlier this year, on February 17, St Mary parishioners voted 105 to 14 – an overwhelming, 88 per cent majority – to seek episcopal oversight and protection from Bishop Donald Harvey and the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). Immediately prior to the vote being taken, the diocese had attempted preemptive action by inhibiting the two priests – the Venerable Sharon Hayton and the Rev Andrew Hewlett. The congregation proceeded with the vote in the absence of the clergy who had been prohibited from having contact with the congregation by the terms of the inhibition.

More recently, a negotiated agreement between the diocese and the clergy and people of St Mary resulted in a Joint Statement, posted to the diocesan website, which says in part, “On behalf of the Diocese of British Columbia, Archdeacon Bryant-Scott has agreed to the continued use of the building of St. Mary of the Incarnation, Metchosin by the Anglican Network congregation pending further discussions with The Most Reverend Terry Buckle.”

“We are very grateful that the people of St Mary will be able to worship in their building again this Sunday,” said Cheryl Chang, a director of the Anglican Network in Canada. “We have said all along that there are serious legal issues as to the ownership of these properties and we have asked the courts to preserve the status quo in the parishes while these bigger issues are being determined. We regret that court proceedings were necessary to defend the right of the congregation to continue worshipping in their church buildings. We continue to pray for and seek amicable discussions to resolve these issues.”

On February 29th, a judge in the Ontario Superior Court issued a short-term interim decision allowing three Niagara-area ANiC parishes exclusive use of their properties. A further hearing was held on March 20 regarding a longer term order, but the judge has not yet released her decision.

Anglican Network in Canada parishes are committed to remaining faithful to Holy Scripture and established Anglican doctrine and to ensuring that orthodox Canadian Anglicans are able to remain in full communion with their Anglican brothers and sisters around the world. Since the ANiC launched its ecclesial structure last November under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, it has received two bishops – Donald Harvey and Malcolm Harding – and 15 parishes.

Backgrounder

St Mary of the Incarnation

St Mary has a healthy, vibrant, growing congregation with many ministries, including two worship services each Sunday, Christian education children and youth, a monthly senior’s luncheon, Alpha programs, youth programs and mission ministries. In addition, they host community concerts, participate in community events, organize a well-attended Blackberry Festival each Fall, host and invite the community to a café, and offer summer outdoor activities.

The parish is served by two pastors; the Rev. Sharon Hayton is the rector and the Rev. Andrew Hewlett is associate priest/pastor.

St Mary’s church building is located at 4125 Metchosin Rd., Victoria, B.C.

The Diocese of British Columbia’s relations with the people of St Mary

Back in February, the diocese tried to stop St Mary’s parish from holding a lawfully constituted meeting and vote by inhibiting our priests and telling them they couldn’t even contact parishioners or set foot on church property. Parishioners went ahead and voted overwhelmingly to seek protection from Bishop Donald Harvey and the Anglican Network in Canada, under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone – one of 38 jurisdictions in the global Anglican Communion -

The Diocese of BC’s website lists 56 parishes on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Anglican Network in Canada and the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone

Since the Anglican Network in Canada launched its ecclesial (Church) structure last November under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, it has received two bishops (the Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey and the Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding) and 15 parishes. These parishes - including St Mary - have elected to seek episcopal oversight from Bishop Harvey and ANiC because they are determined to stay biblically faithful and true to historic Anglican doctrine and teaching and within mainstream Anglicanism.

Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate (or leader) of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, has responded to the needs of biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans for spiritual protection and care on an emergency and interim basis - pending a resolution to the crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Venables is well respected as an orthodox leader in the global Anglican Communion. He leads the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone which is one of 38 Provinces that make up the global Anglican Communion. It encompasses much of South America and includes Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay and Argentina.

Anglicanism in Canada and around the world

While orthodox Anglicans are in a minority in Canada, they are in the majority worldwide. What is happening in Canada is part of a much bigger controversy in the global Anglican Communion.

Since 2003, the Primates of the Anglican Communion have repeatedly asked the Anglican Church of Canada to return to faithful Anglican practice and teaching and to its own founding principles. They have also called upon the Anglican Church of Canada to provide adequate episcopal oversight to parishes like St. Mary, but to no avail.

The crisis in the Anglican Church of Canada is part of a much larger realignment happening in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Since the ACoC has been barred from one of the instruments of unity and many Primates of the Anglican Communion worldwide have declared impaired communion with Canada, we want to align ourselves with the worldwide church and have adequate episcopal oversight.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he is in communion with the Anglican Network in Canada. And many international Primates and bishops have acknowledged their support and fellowship with the ANiC. (See our website for letters of support as well as numerous Communiqués from the Global South).

More information can be found at: www.anglicannetwork.ca/our_genesis.htm

Q&A

What is the fundamental issue?

Because the Anglican Church of Canada has departed from the faith of, and is “walking apart” from, the global Anglican Communion, they have breached the trusts and founding principles upon which this church was established and built.

St Mary’s parishioners voted overwhelmingly to request the care and protection of a biblically faithful Anglican bishop, Bishop Donald Harvey, and an orthodox Anglican Province in South America known as the Southern Cone in order to realign with orthodox Communion-committed Anglicans worldwide.

Why did St Mary realign under the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone?

The people of St Mary took this decision to be faithful…

§ To have the freedom to “further the mission of Christ in the Anglican tradition” within their community,

§ To be recognized as in “full communion with the Church of England throughout the world” per the Solemn Declaration 1983 - the founding statement of the ACoC.

§ To keep faith with their spiritual forbearers who built St Mary on established Christian convictions and historic Anglican practices.

§ And because they value their Anglican heritage and want to stay true to global and historic Anglican teaching and orthodoxy

This is fundamentally about staying true to historic Christian teaching that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that there is only one way to God through faith in Jesus Christ. (The issue of sexuality is merely the tip of the iceberg.)

St Mary realignment with an orthodox Anglican Province was an act of conscience.

Where does St Mary stand in relation to Anglicans globally and historically?

We stand firmly in the mainstream of global and historic Anglican teaching and orthodoxy. Our beliefs are shared by roughly two-thirds of the 77 million Anglicans worldwide.

We are standing for historic Christian and Anglican teaching. We want to faithfully preserve what has been entrusted to us by our forbearers, so we can pass it on, intact and unaltered, to future generations.

Rather than leaving, we’re actually staying – staying true to the fundamental and historic tenets of Anglican Christianity and staying in full communion with the global Anglican Church.

Why are the diocese and ACoC reacting so harshly?

We see no reason why the Diocese and the ACoC cannot accept this alternative arrangement gracefully and in good faith while the global Communion deals with the crisis which extends well beyond Canada.

There are examples already of parallel jurisdiction existing in the church, one more in the interim, does not have to be rancorous. For example, the ACoC provides for the spiritual needs of the armed forces and indigenous peoples with bishops whose jurisdiction crosses diocesan boundaries.

The real irregularity is the spiritual innovations instigated by the ACoC and some dioceses.

Date: 4/7/2008 12:00:00 AM

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