On not snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory

Posted on February 12, 2023 
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars, Opinion

“In the immediate aftermath of the Synod vote, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York declared that the vote meant that; ‘For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church’ …

The problem with this interpretation, however, is that it fails to do justice to the motion which Synod passed. When we look at this motion carefully, we find that what Synod actually voted for makes any general liturgical affirmation of same-sex relationships by the Church of England impossible. …”

– Martin Davie expands on the same point made earlier by Dr Ian Paul. That is, the addition to the Bishops’ proposed motion of an amendment – paragraph g – limits what the Bishops can do.

The paragraph reads –

“g) endorse the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England.” (bold added)

He continues,

“… the addition of clause (g) to the Synod motion was a great victory. This is because when taken seriously it will mean that the Church of England continues to maintain an orthodox biblical position. However, in order to avoid ‘snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory’ traditionalist Anglicans need to do three things. …”

– Do read it all here.

Image: Several members stand to seek the call during the debate in the Church if England’s General Synod.