Drawing the line

For all the various conservative primates in the Anglican Communion have called on the Episcopal Church to return to traditional ways, to listen to the recommendations of the Windsor Report, and behave in a collegial and communal fashion, some have been more than happy to do precisely the opposite in pursuit of Episcopal dioceses and parishes in the US, seeking to “poach” them in a way that is against Anglican tradition, against the Windsor Report, and both non-collegial and un-communal.

Thus, we now have Archbishop Akinola, head of the Church of Nigeria, coming to the US to ordain a bishop in CANA, the Nigerian Anglican mission church they’ve set up in the US.  And, at long last, the Episcopal Presiding Bishop (the same as an Archbishop, but without pretensions of royalty) is speaking out against it.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said in a statement that Archbishop Akinola’s acceptance of “an invitation to episcopal ministry here without any notice or prior invitation” was not in keeping with “the ancient practice in most of the church” that bishops minister only within their own jurisdictions.

“This action would only serve to heighten current tensions,” the statement said, “and would be regrettable if it does indeed occur.”

“The archbishop of Nigeria may think the Episcopal Church has acted wrongly, but that is quite different from using that as an excuse to cross boundaries and do things that violate longstanding practice,” said the Rev. Mark Harris, a member of the Executive Council, which governs the Episcopal Church between the conventions it holds every three years.

Mr. Harris, associate priest at St. Peter’s Church in Lewes, Del., said Archbishop Akinola “is making clear that he considers the church in Nigeria is not in communion with the Episcopal Church.”

The conservatives are pooh-poohing all this, asserting that these are parishes and individuals and so forth who already feel alienated from the Episcopal Church, so they need (or want) to provide an alternative.  Which makes me wonder how Abp. Akinola would respond to TEC establishing a mission church in Nigeria to pastorally care for those alienated by the Church of NIgeria’s homophobia?

Y’know, if that’s what they, and the conservatives, want to do, I leave that to them.  I would love to have them in TEC and continue to sit at table with them.  But if they consider our theology to be so broken that they cannot, in good conscience do that, or if the Church of Nigeria is offering them a better deal — then let them go with their bliss.  I just wish they’d end the hypocrisy of pretending to be defenders of communality and tradition when clearly they are mostly interested in simply grabbing as many followers for their orthodoxy as they can.