Rwanda on the Lambeth invitations
The House of Bishops of Rwanda has issued a statement on the invitations to Lambeth. It reads in part:
In a letter sent to Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini on 18 June 2007, the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote, “You should know that I have not invited the bishops of AMiA and CANA. This is not a question of asking anyone to disassociate themselves at this stage from what have been described as the missionary initiatives of your Provinces…. I appreciate that you may not be happy with these decisions, but I feel that as we approach a critical juncture of the life of the Communion, I must act in accordance to the clear guidance of the instruments of the Communion….” We would like to know if there are instruments in the Communion more important than the Primates and Provinces themselves. The Archbishop of Canterbury also refers to the consecration of the AMiA and CANA bishops as irregular. We would like to know why their consecrations are considered irregular when the actions of TEC are not considered irregular. We feel that the words of the Archbishop are tantamount to a threat, and we cannot accept this.My emphasis. What is the threat, and what is it contingent upon?Therefore, in view of the above, in good conscience, the bishops of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda have resolved not to attend the Lambeth Conference 2008 unless the previously stipulated requirement of repentance on the part of the TEC and other like-minded Provinces is met, and invitations are extended to our entire House of Bishops.
Related: The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Sydney (Australia) has issued a press on the invitations. An excerpt:
Standing Committee therefore -Finally, The Living Church reports that a retired Episcopal bishop has resigned its House of Bishops is joining the House of Bishops of Uganda. The concluding paragraph:(a) respectfully requests the Archbishop of this diocese to communicate to the Archbishop of Canterbury our dissatisfaction at the attempt to maintain union with the unrepentant while continuing to refuse fellowship to faithful and orthodox Anglicans such as the Church of England in South Africa,
(b) respectfully requests the Archbishop and bishops of this diocese not to accept the invitation to Lambeth without making public in protest, speech and liturgical action, both prior to and at Lambeth, our diocese’s principled objection to the continued participation of those whose actions have expressed a departure from the clear teaching of scripture, and who have consequently excluded orthodox Anglicans from their fellowship, and....
Bishop Fairfield is the fourth member of the House of Bishops to quit The Episcopal Church this year. In March, the Rt. Rev. William Cox, a retired Assistant Bishop of Oklahoma, moved to the Church of the Province of the Southern Cone; the Rt. Rev. David Bena, retired Suffragan Bishop of Albany, was received by the Church of Nigeria and serves as an assistant bishop in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America; and the Rt. Rev. William Herzog, retired Bishop of Albany, was received into the Roman Catholic Church.When a more conservative bishop that of leaves the remaining house less conservative of course.
JB,
I had exactly the same question you did regarding the Rwanda statement. Whence the "threat?"
I'm wondering if there isn't some unarticulated subtext here. Obviously, the move to undermine the authority of the ABC might open up the possibility for parallel provinces in North America and/or an alternate Communion.
But I also sense a streak of strong post-colonial resentment.
It is well worth also turning over the painful reality that Rwanda is still recovering from the simply unimaginable horror of genocide.
Posted by The Rev. Richard E. Helmer![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 27, 2007 6:14 PM