UK: Archbishops Issue Muted Warning on Gay Marriage

A British Evangelical theologian said the statement by the archbishops, while designed to appear orthodox, is as flimsy as a paper napkin.

AMMAN (Virtue on Line) - The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a statement expressing displeasure at the recent marriage of two priests in a London church.

The ceremony did not receive authorization by the Bishop of London and is not in accordance with church teaching.

"We have heard the reports of the recent service in St Bartholomew the Great with very great concern. We cannot comment on the specific circumstances because they are the subject of an investigation launched by the Bishop of London," wrote Dr. Rowan Williams and the Most Rev. John Sentamu.

"On the general issue, however, the various reference points for the Church of England's approach to human sexuality (1987 Synod motion, 1991 Bishops' Statement - Issues in Human Sexuality - Lambeth motion 1:10, House of Bishops' 2005 statement on civil partnerships) are well known and remain current.

"Those clergy who disagree with the Church's teaching are at liberty to seek to persuade others within the Church of the reasons why they believe, in the light of Scripture, tradition and reason that it should be changed. But they are not at liberty simply to disregard it."

A British Evangelical theologian, with whom VOL spoke, said the statement by the archbishops, while designed to appear orthodox, is as flimsy as a paper napkin.

"What, in essence, the archbishops are saying is that if you campaign hard enough the church will change its mind and we will change with it."

It is ironic and noteworthy that Dr. Rowan Williams has twice condemned attacks against homosexuals in Nigeria by alleged "homophobic" evangelical Nigerian bishops (both attacks turned out not to be true).

Here he appears to be showing only lukewarm condemnation of what is an openly flagrant and defiant violation of the church's teaching on homosexual acts, performed right on his front doorstep!

Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi confirmed to VOL, here in Amman, that what he told the Telegraph was true, that the marriage was "blasphemous".

Southeast Asia Archbishop Yong Ping Chung told VOL he is intrigued by the timing of the marriage. "It was a very deliberate and provocative act. There is a plan, and it is very clear that continuing to talk to us who are orthodox Anglicans would not make any difference. The '98 Lambeth Resolution 1.10 is clear. What else can we say?"

The homosexual "marriage" service combined the rich language of the traditional Prayer Book service with additional words in keeping with the nature and sexuality of the occasion.

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The service took place at St. Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield in London - one of the churches used in the filming of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" - and was conducted by the vicar, the Reverend Dr Martin Dudley.

Dr. Williams and Dr. Sentamu may have been so quick to denounce the gay "wedding" because it was made public at such a critical moment, according to one newspaper report.

The in-your-face act by these two priests has not gone unnoticed by archbishops and bishops meeting here in Amman at a theological consultation. Most just shrug their shoulders, indicating they expect nothing from a Communion so out of touch with what ordinary Anglicans believe around the world about sexual behavior in the West.

"We gave up on the Church of England a long time ago," said one archbishop, who asked not to be named. "I am not completely surprised," said another. "The Anglican Communion is deeply compromised and unless there is repentance and a turning away from sexual misbehavior, it is hard to know how we can live together."

The Church of England's homosexual clergy are moving in sync with the Episcopal Church's pansexual clergy in its bid to outdo the other for over the top acts.

Next month, some 600 hundred Anglican bishops from around the world will converge on Canterbury for the communion's 10-yearly Lambeth Conference.

Most of the Communions' leading orthodox clergy from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda will not be present. The communion wants to focus on other issues like global poverty, AIDS etc., but the elephant in the room will be homosexuality and the ever increasing violations of the 1998 Lambeth 1:10 resolution by Western pan-Anglican pansexualists.

The appearance of homogenital New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson will only inflame tensions already at fever pitch. Tolerance of homosexuality, preached by the church's leading prelates, at this stage of the game could prove disastrous, perhaps bringing about a finality of relations between, the Global North and Global South.

If disciplinary measures against the clergy, who took part in the marriage of the two priests, are little more than an admonishment, and they are simply told not to do it again, it is likely that Global South Anglican leaders will see it as little more than a sop to liberals who want to continue to push the church's inclusive sexual agenda forward with only minor impediments.

Traditionalists might want some public sign of official disapproval before bishops arrive for the Lambeth Conference in a month's time, but they should not hold their breath. It is unlikely they will get it.

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Revisionist American and Canadian bishops and dioceses have already stepped over the pansexual line. For them, there is no going back.

The only question is: will the Archbishop of Canterbury continue to turn a blind eye, saying that he has no power to stop it, while at the same time expressing little or no anguish at the continuing bombardment of orthodox clergy by a revisionist Presiding Bishop and her attorney, who seem bent on eviscerating orthodox clergy in the name of "another gospel."

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Virtue Online, edited by David W. Virtue, is the Voice for global orthodox Anglicanism.