http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/news/communion/is_acna_too_catholic/
Is ACNA too Catholic?
Glenn DaviesJuly 1st, 2009
Last week the Anglican Province of North America was officially launched in Bedford, Texas and Robert Duncan, was elected its first Archbishop.
Some criticism has been levelled at the constitution as being too Catholic and not sufficiently reformed. I thought it would be helpful for readers to decide for themselves as to whether the constitution’s fundamental declarations might not be signed by right-thinking Anglicans. Note the comments of Bishop John Rodgers, retired Dean of Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa.
The constitution of the new province states:
As the Anglican Church in North America (the Province), being a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, we believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, we identify the following eight elements as characteristic of the Anglican Way, and essential for membership:
1. We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation, and to be the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life.
2. We confess Baptism and the Supper of the Lord to be Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself in the Gospel, and thus to be ministered with unfailing use of His words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him.
3. We confess the godly historic Episcopate as an inherent part of the apostolic faith and practice, and therefore as integral to the fullness and unity of the Body of Christ.
4. We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian.
5. Concerning the seven Councils of the undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures.
6. We receive The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books which preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.
7. We receive the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1562, taken in their literal and grammatical sense, as expressing the Anglican response to certain doctrinal issues controverted at that time, and as expressing fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.
8. We affirm the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Statement and Jerusalem Declaration issued 29 June 2008.
In all these things, the Anglican Church in North America is determined by the help of God to hold and maintain, as the Anglican Way has received them, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to our posterity. We seek to be and remain in full communion with all Anglican churches, dioceses and provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
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David Palmer 1 day, 18 hours ago
Some criticism has been levelled at the constitution as being too Catholic and not sufficiently reformed. I thought it would be helpful for readers to decide for themselvesAh, well done, no doubt you will be hearing from Robin G Jordan.I'm not sure a statement of belief such as this will answer all the questions.Orthodoxy needs to be matched by orthopraxis - I suspect the main difficulties lie in this direction: worship, church government in particular.
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David Palmer 1 day, 15 hours ago
Just see how comlicated matters can get - here
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Alan Dungey 17 hours, 56 minutes ago
As to point 3, I always thought the Anglican view (from Richard Hooker) was that episcopacy was consistent with scripture and therefore useful and defensible not "an inherent part of the apostolic faith and practice".
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Robin Grant Jordan 54 minutes ago
The version of the ACNA constitution ratified in Bedford, Texas removes the affirmation of the GAFCON Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration from the Fundamental Declarations and places it in the Preface where it is not a part of the ACNA definition of Anglican orthodoxy. For an article that helps evengelicals outside North America to see through the glamour surrounding Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and to get a real look at that ecclesiastical structure, a number of the events surrounding its formation, and how the creation of the ACNA may affect evangelical Anglicanism in and outside of North America, go to: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/beneath-glamour-evangelical-view-of-new.html
For an examination of the doctrine of the ACNA constitution, go to: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/doctrine-of-constitution-of-anglican.html
For an examination of the doctrine of the ACNA canons, go to: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/doctrine-of-canons-of-anglican-church.html
For a series of proposed amendments to the ACNA constitution and explanatory notes, go to: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/proposed-amendments-to-constitution-of.html
For a series of proposed amendments to the ACNA canons and explanatory notes, go to: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/proposed-amendments-to-canons-of.html
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Robin Grant Jordan 39 minutes ago
For Sydney Anglicans who would like to learn more about the ACNA from a conservative evangelical perspective, the following articles are recommended reading:
"A Response to 'An Introduction to the ACNA Constitution and Canons - by Bishop Robert Duncan"
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/response-to-introduction-to-acna.html
"A Plea for a Moratorium on the Ratification of the ACNA Constitution and Canons"
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/plea-for-moratorium-on-ratification-of.html
"The ACNA Constitution - An Evangelical View: A Reply to Bishop Rodgers"
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/acna-constitution-evangelical-view.html
"Where Does the ACNA Really Stand on GAFCON?"
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/where-does-acna-really-stand-on-gafcon.html
"The Anglican Church in North America Welcomes You - Part II"
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/05/anglican-church-in-north-america.html
"The Anglican Church in North America Welcomes You - Part I"
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/04/anglican-church-in-north-america.html
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Robin Grant Jordan 12 minutes ago
Alan #3At the Provincial Council meeting that preceded the inaugural Provincial Assembly the unnecessary partisan doctrinal position of point 3 was drawn to the attention of the Council. It was argue that it was "too Catholic." Anglo-Catholic members of the Council countered with the objection that other points were "too evangelical." For example, point 2 recognizes only 2 sacraments and not 7 and point 5 does not recognize all the teachings of the fifth, sixth, and seventh councils. The ojection was also raised that modifying the wording of one point might lead to calls for modification of the wording of the other points. On the motion of Anglo-Catholic Bishop of Ft. Worth Jack Iker, the Fundamental Declarations were left "as is," except the number of elements was reduced from 8 to 7, a correction that should have been made from when the affirmation of the GAFCON Statement and Jerusalem Declaration were removed from the Fundamental Declarations and placed in the Preface.
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Robin Grant Jordan 8 minutes ago
Alan #3In his opening address Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert Duncan and Archbishop-designate of the ACNA urged the inaugural Provincial Assembly to rally around the Fundamental Declarations. He claimed that the Fundamental Declarations were word for word the Common Cause Theological Statement and that the latter was a miracle that God had used to bring together conservative Anglicans in North America. His claim was not quite true since only a part of the Common Cause Theological Statement was incorporated into the Fundamental Declaration and the part that was incorporated was altered slightly:"1562" was changed to "1571" Here is the part that was omitted:“The Anglican Communion”, Archbp. Geoffrey Fisher wrote, “has no peculiar thought, practice, creed or confession of its own. It has only the Catholic Faith of the ancient Catholic Church, as preserved in the Catholic Creeds and maintained in the Catholic and Apostolic constitution of Christ’s Church from the beginning.” It may licitly teach as necessary for salvation nothing but what is read in the Holy Scriptures as God’s Word written or may be proved thereby. It therefore embraces and affirms such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the Scriptures, and thus to be counted apostolic. The Church has no authority to innovate: it is obliged continually, and particularly in times of renewal or reformation, to return to “the faith once delivered to the saints”.
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