Every three years the Reformed Episcopal Church has its denominational meeting. Last month (October 2008), we met in Victoria in Canada. This triennium, much was said about Anglicanism throughout the world.
Though the Reformed Episcopal Church can trace her ecclesiastical orders back to the original Apostles, we formally began in 1873 under Bishop Cummins, who did not live long after founding the REC. Now in the 21st century, our Presiding Bishop Leonard Riches has led the REC into fraternal relations with many Anglican provinces around the world. There was a time when the REC stood virtually alone as an Anglican body, but since the consecration of the homosexual bishop by ECUSA in 2003 (Episcopal Church USA, now called The Episcopal Church), things have dramatically changed for the REC—and for the better! We are now recognized throughout the world as a conser-vative Anglican body, and we are now in communion with major, and two of them are:
• The Most Rev. Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, the largest Anglican Province with over 30 million members.
• Archbishop Greg Venables of the Southern Cone, who preached at the last REC General Council in 2005.
In light of the disturbing trend in some Anglican bodies where sexual promiscuity is en-couraged, homosexual bishops are consecrated, and heresy tolerated, many conservative Anglicans met in Jerusalem this past June. They called the conference GAFCON, Global Anglican Future Conference. They deliberately met before the ten year gathering of An-glicans in England in July, called Lambeth. Most of the Anglicans around the world were represented in this Jerusalem meeting, and three of our own bishops were there.
The concern was to promote unity in truth, not just in a family relationship. It is the quintessence of liberalism to promote unity above truth, but as the early church with its ecumenical councils and three creeds taught us, unity is gained in truth. All the men above represent this perspective. And as Bishop Sutton has well stated:
"Before praying for the magistrates, the prayer for the Church Catholic asks God, “And grant that all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity and godly love.” As always, the balance of classical Anglicanism strikes a Biblical mean. The prayer calls for agree-ment in truth. Jesus Christ described Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). There can be no life without Truth. For the Christian, the Truth—Incarnational and propositional, visual and verbal— is the basis for everything, even unity. The Church has always believed that its unity is in its common con-fession. Anything that jeopardizes the confession therefore undermines the unity."
And this truth is not just in formal, creedal matters, but also concerns moral issues. Just as a taste of what the REC believes about one social issue, the following motion was passed just before the close of the 52nd General Council on October 24th, 2008:
GENERAL COUNCIL MOTION REGARDING THE UNBORN October 24, 2008, Victoria, British Columbia 52nd General Council of the REC
Forasmuch as the Reformed Episcopal Church has affirmed the teaching of God’s Word that abortion is the taking of an unborn human life, and inasmuch as we have recog-nized the duty of all faithful Christians to work to protect the unborn and restrain the sin of abortion on demand, we hereby move that the General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church direct the clergy and laity of the Reformed Episcopal Church to make a political candidate's position on the Sanctity of Human Life the highest priority in dis-cerning for whom to vote regardless of political party represented or office being sought. [This motion passed unanimously, enthusiastically, and soberly. A season of prayer for God’s mercy on the unborn and for godly politicians followed.] Moreover, our own Bishop Grote of our Diocese of Mid-America, requested that his ministers preach a pro-life sermon close to the Roe vs. Wade decision in January, as he has done each year for as long as I can remember. Contrast all the above with the American liberal Bishop John Chane, whose diocese cov-ers the American capital: “I think it’s really very dangerous when someone stands up and says, ‘I have the way and I have the truth and I know how to interpret holy scrip-ture and you are following what is the right way.’” He went on to state that such was “demonic.” Of course, One did stand up and say that: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Fa-ther except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus also claimed to be the final interpreter of Holy Scripture: 44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44-45) The REC stands with our fellow Anglicans around the world for the truths that were proclaimed this past summer at the GAFCON conference in Jerusalem when they wrote the following as the Jerusalem Declaration (this is not all that was said): • In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Je-sus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of or-thodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity. • We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. • We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as ex-pressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. • We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today. • We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the un-changeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. It is a sad day when many of our fellow Anglicans do not accept unity in the truth of the Gospel but look for it in some other way, yet let us rejoice that many, if not most, Anglicans, still count the Bible to be the Word of God, and the Gospel of the Triune God and the Incarnation is still preached. St Francis is grateful to be a part of this wonderful family. Amen. ?
