The Lead

The Archbishop's amendment to the Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure, will preserve the distance between female bishops and those who object to them by creating parallel jurisdictions that were explicitly voted down by General Synod in 2008 and dropped by the revision committee last year.

Simon Sarmiento explains the proposal in detail on Thinking Anglicans:

First, they remove from the wording of the measure the explicit reference to “delegation”.
for the exercise by ~~way of delegation~~ to a male bishop

This is because the concept of “delegation” has proved to be a stumbling block for some of those who are opposed to women bishops. See for example the discussion in this earlier TA thread from last October, when for a brief while it appeared that the Revision Committee was going down a path towards “statutory transfer” which is exactly what this amendment now seeks to restore. See also the earlier (2006) proposals which were for Transferred Episcopal Arrangements (shortened to TEA) and from the debate in July 2008, look at Amendment 72, which is reported on here, and which sought to insert the words:

“either by way of statutory transfer of specified responsibilities or”;

The vote on that amendment was relatively close, compared to the others, but it failed in the House of Clergy.

This point is summarised in the press release from the archbishops as follows:

the legal authority of the nominated bishop to minister in this way would derive from the Measure itself – and would not, therefore, be conferred by way of delegation; but the identity of such a bishop and the scope of his functions would be defined by the scheme made by the diocesan for his or her diocese, in the light of the provisions contained in the national statutory Code of Practice drawn up by the House of Bishops and agreed by General Synod;

Second, they make an assertion that this change:

shall not divest the bishop of the diocese of any of his or her functions.

Third, they insert into the section about the Code of Practice, an explicit requirement that the code must include guidance about the

arrangements for co-ordinating the exercise of episcopal ministry under section 2(1), (3) and (5) by the bishop of the diocese and any other bishop who exercises episcopal ministry in accordance with those subsections.

This is intended to ensure that the Code of Practice does cover the topics mentioned in those subsections.

Comments (8)

Makes me tired - can't imagine how horrible it is for women clergy -- like pushing the tide

Posted by Ann Fontaine | July 2, 2010 9:37 PM

I understand the desire to maintain “unity” and not drive off brothers and sisters whom one has shared church with.

What I don’t understand is why they think that allowing a divide in the church in which some regard the very actions of worship and sacrament done by the others illegitimate and heretical.

At best this would achieve a facade of unity and simply kick the proverbial ball down the road. It is the opposite of what Solomon in all his wisdom would offer in my opinion.

Posted by Priscilla Cardinale | July 2, 2010 10:29 PM

"... at best this would preserve a facade of unity."

Bingo. If we've learned NOTHING else through this whole, sorry mess it's that in the CofE facade trumps fact every time.

Susan Russell

(PS - Bookmark this link and send it to anyone who suggests +Rowan is just a politically naive pawn in this game of global Anglican politics.)

Posted by revsusan | July 3, 2010 4:18 AM

What the archbishops propose is all so much deceitful gibberish -- to me the key word in Simon's explanation is "assert."

As other commenters are saying in their own way, there is no equality unless all reference to gender is removed. (Even that of course does not remove discrimination as we all know. In that regards, not the arch's appointment bishops in the CoE system.)

The arch's fear losing the traditionalists. Meanwhile real membership in the CoE has minimal. The arch's seem clueless as to why that is.

If it weren't for tourists the CoE's cathedrals would be scary empty.

Posted by John B. Chilton | July 3, 2010 6:46 AM

John, I was at St Alban's Abbey Cathedral in February and it was comfortably full, and I may have been one of the few tourists! The parish churches are another thing; cathedrals these days I think are doing better -- perhaps because of their resources.

But I quite agree about this spurious and superficial unity, a glossing over of the real divide in the church. At best a delaying tactic, as I expect even Rome may well have women priests within the next generation or so.

Posted by tobias haller | July 3, 2010 10:08 AM

@tobias - I was going by a sample of one, Durham Cathedral when I was there for a week in the summer of 2008. Delightful staff and quality worship (including sermons). Perhaps the numbers were down because the bishop was out of town. Oh, wait...

Posted by John B. Chilton | July 3, 2010 12:20 PM

My mother lives in a small village near Reading. Her parish church has been pretty full the couple of Sundays I've been there. Plenty of young families too. I know it's not the norm, but it did my heart good to see it.

Paige Baker

Posted by paigeb | July 3, 2010 8:21 PM

@john - ;-)

Paige, Dibley seemed to revive, too, with lively leadership.... I think this is often the case almost everywhere. Either good leadership, a devoted congregation, or a "cause" seems to be the way of things in these days when church attendance is less "culturally expected."

Posted by tobias haller | July 4, 2010 8:14 AM

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