This year’s C of E General Synod’s indecision on the ordination of women as bishops was in fact a demonstration of hens coming home to roost.
At least give the C of I some credit. When it was decided to ordain women as priests, there was recognition that this included the episcopate. Admittedly, the C of I did not have too many literal biblicists who wished to resist women totally in leadership roles, nor did it have a significant Anglo Catholic rump. Both these constituencies in the C of E can combine to command almost one-third of the votes.
From the outset, the C of E Synod tried to do the impossible – to placate if indeed not satisfy both extremes. In doing so, a most basic fundamental of Anglican ecclesial polity was set aside. ‘Flying’ bishops were invented to cater for those mainly Anglo Catholic parishes and their clergy who did not wish not only to have anything to do with a woman bishop, but with a bishop who had ordained a woman.
This invention of flying bishops hits at the very heart of a fundamental aspect of Anglicanism, namely that the bishop is de facto the centre of unity in the diocese, and it is relationship to the bishop that the clergy and others exercise their ministries. This is neither rocket science nor a recent insight. In the past fortnight two commentators have recalled this in the media. The first was Trevor Beeson, former Dean of Winchester, in a most concise letter to The Times, and Clifford Longley in an article in The Tablet of which he is a trustee.
In its claims to be a bridge church, and a model of tolerance, the C of E failed to recognise firstly, that it had two sets of people whose ultimate aims were irreconcilable and secondly that in stalling and prevaricating, it in fact encouraged people to dig in rather than dialogue effectively. As a friend, who knows more about being a bishop than I do, said to me this week – ceasefires may stop the battle for a time but they also remove the need to find solutions. So you get frozen conflict while people have little reason to do other than remain in fixed positions.
I wonder had the office and role of a bishop as the focus of unity in a diocese been kept to the forefront of the debate and used as the yardstick, would the disagreements, postponements and hurts, never mind the totally negative image of a church concerned more about its internal affairs than society at large, been avoidable. There was also a need to acknowledge that clergy could find themselves having to respect this episcopal diocesan focus, even when they fundamentally disagree with a stance which their bishop holds.
I saw a wonderful example of this this week. Following the withdrawal of Bishop Lawrence of South Carolina from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church he circulated a letter condemning the actions of the national Episcopal church on same-sex blessing and gender issues and said he would open talks this week about the future of the diocese in the U.S. Church. All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island, staked a diffrerent stance, but the Rev. Richard Lindsey, the church’s rector, said the congregation will comply with Lawrence’s views.
“I stand solidly behind the (national) Episcopal Church,” he said. “That’s not to say I’m not loyal to my bishop, but I tend to disagree. … We will honor where he stands because we are part of his diocese and he is our bishop.”
The church’s website states it is a “welcoming, inclusive” church, and Lindsey said he was not surprised with the General Convention’s decision because it is the direction the national church has been headed for more than a decade.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The real issue is about how we read scripture, about how we interpret God’s Word today. God has given us indications we need to have a broader understanding of creation and a broader understanding of how humans are formed.”
How to disagree with your bishop whilst respecting his/her episcopal function and office, may be something we will need to learn in the C of I sooner rather than later if we cannot dialogue effectively.
Houston McKelvey