New Westminster moves to seize control of ANiC parishes

Posted on August 28, 2008 
Filed under News

Anglican Network in CanadaFrom the Anglican Network in Canada

On August 26, 2008, the Anglican diocese of New Westminster informed St. Matthew’s in Abbotsford and St Matthias and St Luke’s in Vancouver that the bishop had dismissed the parish Wardens and other officers (Trustees) that were duly elected by the congregation and appointed new Wardens who are more “loyal” to the bishop. According to their press release, these actions were taken to regain “control of the parishes”, which includes control of the properties and buildings.  

Both parishes voted in February this year to realign with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), under the Episcopal authority of Bishop Donald Harvey and the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone – one of the 38 Provinces in the global Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church of Canada is also one of these 38 Provinces.

“Whether the Diocese of New Westminster has the right to unilaterally replace these duly elected trustees, and move to seize control of the parishes’ assets is in dispute,” says Cheryl Chang, ANiC Chancellor.

The elected Trustees of the parish believe the parish properties are held in trust for the benefit of the current congregation who have paid for and maintained these properties, and who are upholding traditional Anglican ministry in accordance with the founding principles of the Anglican Church of Canada (contained in the Solemn Declaration 1893), and the current doctrine of the global Anglican Communion. The Diocese of New Westminster, which has acted unilaterally and contrary to those principles, asserts the property is held in trust for the diocese. Various actions are currently in the Canadian courts to determine who is the rightful beneficiary of such trusts in light of the growing divisions in the global Anglican Communion.

“The trustees of both St Matthew’s and St Matthias and St Luke are meeting and seeking legal advice regarding their response to the Diocese,” Mrs Chang adds. “However, we note with interest that the Diocese has chosen to act only against the two smaller parishes and not the larger ANiC parishes, St. John’s (Shaughnessy) and Church of the Good Shepherd in Vancouver. Another concern is that the notice alleging a ‘crisis’ was signed by the bishop on July 10th, but not served on the parishes for six weeks, after the Lambeth Conference had concluded.”

The four congregations have been in “serious theological dispute” with the Diocese of New Westminster since June 2002, when the diocese unilaterally proceeded with same sex blessings in clear defiance of leaders of the Anglican Communion and the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of the Anglicans worldwide that such action is contrary to scripture.

Since 2003, the Primates of the Anglican Communion have repeatedly asked the Anglican Church of Canada and the Diocese of New Westminster to return to biblically faithful Anglican practice and teaching and to provide adequate episcopal oversight for dissenting parishes, but to no avail. In fact, the communion-breaking actions of the Diocese of New Westminster sparked the current crisis and the global realignment which is now taking place in the Anglican Communion.

Members of the Anglican Network in Canada are committed to remaining faithful to Holy Scripture and established Anglican doctrine and to ensuring that orthodox Canadian Anglicans are able to remain in full communion with their Anglican brothers and sisters around the world.

Since it launched its ecclesial structure last November under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, ANiC has received two bishops – Donald Harvey and Malcolm Harding – and 18 parishes.

Backgrounder

About the parishes
St Matthias and St Luke Anglican Church (Vancouver) – www.stmstl.org

St Matthew’s (Abbotsford) – www.stmatthewsanglicanchurch.com/

St John’s Shaughnessy (Vancouver) – www.stjohnsvancouver.org/

Church of the Good Shepherd (Vancouver) – http://goodshepherdchurch.no-ip.org/

About the Anglican Network in Canada

Since the Anglican Network in Canada launched its ecclesial (Church) structure last November under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, it has received two bishops (the Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey and the Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding) and 18 parishes. These parishes have elected to seek episcopal oversight from Bishop Harvey and ANiC because they are determined to stay biblically faithful and true to historic Anglican doctrine and teaching and within mainstream Anglicanism.

About the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone

Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate (or leader) of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, has responded to the needs of biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans for spiritual protection and care on an emergency and interim basis – pending a resolution to the crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Venables is well respected as an orthodox leader in the global Anglican Communion. He leads the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone which is one of 38 Provinces that make up the global Anglican Communion.  It encompasses much of South America and includes Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay and Argentina. Archbishop Venables recently attended both the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCon), which represented the global biblically faithful majority of global Anglicans, as well as the Lambeth Conference at which the most participants represented the smaller liberal western provinces.

By accepting the Primatial oversight of Archbishop Venables, these Canadian Anglicans, who are in the mainstream of global Anglicanism, were able to re-establish full communion status with global church by being aligned with a Province which is in “full communion with the Church of England throughout the world”, unlike the Anglican Church of Canada, which is currently in a broken relationship with many of the largest Anglican Provinces.

About Anglicanism in Canada and around the world

While orthodox Anglicans are in a minority in Canada, they are in the majority worldwide.  ANiC parishes stand firmly in the mainstream of global and historic Anglican teaching and orthodoxy.  Our beliefs are shared by roughly two-thirds of the 80 million Anglicans worldwide.

Since 2003, the Primates of the Anglican Communion have repeatedly asked the Anglican Church of Canada to return to biblically faithful Anglican practice and teaching and to its own founding principles. They have also called upon the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) to provide adequate episcopal oversight to dissenting parishes while the Communion addresses the resulting division, but to no avail.  This forced a number of parishes in Canada to seek protection and Communion connection through ANiC.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he is in full communion with members of ANiC and many international leaders have acknowledged their support and fellowship with the ANiC.  This was evidenced by the recent inclusion of ANiC representatives at GAFCon.

We stand for historic Christian and Anglican teaching and want to faithfully preserve what has been entrusted to us by our forbearers so we can pass it on, intact and unaltered, to future generations.   We are determined to stay true to the fundamental and historic tenets of Anglican Christianity and stay in full communion with the global Anglican Church.

About the crisis in the Anglican Church of Canada

Because the Anglican Church of Canada has departed from the faith of, and is “walking apart” from, the global Anglican Communion, parishes have felt compelled to align with ANiC and the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in order to uphold the trusts and founding principles upon which the churches were established and built.

Parishioners in Vancouver-area ANiC churches voted overwhelmingly to request the care and protection of a biblically faithful Anglican bishop, Bishop Donald Harvey, and the orthodox Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in order to realign with orthodox Communion-committed Anglicans worldwide.

Why parishes realigned under the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone

This is fundamentally about staying true to historic Christian teaching that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that there is only one way to God through faith in Jesus Christ.  The issue of the Bible’s teaching on sexual practice is merely the tip of the iceberg. The realignment of ANiC parishes with an orthodox Anglican Province was an act of conscience.

Why must the Diocese react so harshly?  Why will they not negotiate?

We see no reason why the Diocese and the ACoC cannot accept this alternative arrangement gracefully and in good faith while the global Communion deals with the crisis which extends well beyond Canada.   There are examples of parallel jurisdiction existing in the Anglican Church of Canada already, and one more in the interim, does not have to be rancorous.  For example, the ACoC provides for the spiritual needs of the armed forces and indigenous peoples with bishops whose jurisdiction crosses diocesan boundaries.

More information can be found at: www.anglicannetwork.ca/our_genesis.htm