ENS
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 13:19:50 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Open letter to all bishops from PB Griswold
2000-028
For all bishops
Dear brothers and sisters:
I have just learned this morning, as perhaps you have as well, that Saturday in Singapore two primates of the Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop of the Province of Rwanda, and the Most Rev. Moses Tay, Archbishop of the Province of South East Asia, along with Bishop Ruchyahana also of Rwanda, and two retired bishops of our Province, Alex Dicks on and Fitzsimmons Allison, have ordained two priests of our church, John H. Rodgers and Charles H. Murphy, as bishops. Their press release says that they have "agreed to step forward at this moment of crisis, in an initiative aimed at reversing a 30-year decline of 30 percent in the membership of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A."
I am appalled by this irregular action and even more so by the purported "crisis" that has been largely fomented by them and others, and which bears very little resemblance to the church we actually know, which is alive and well and faithful, as the Zacchaeus report so clearly indicates. A deepening of discipleship among Episcopalians is shown by increased attendance at worship and in stewardship. In actual fact, the report also indicates that it is actions such as the one just taken that confuse and alienate the faithful in the pew, who see structures beyond the congregation as conflictual and focused on concerns unrelated to mission.
It is ironic that this action occurs at a time in which we as a community of bishops have come to a deepened awareness of our unity and of the need to work together for the upbuilding of the church we serve in Christ's name. We are not helped by voices of panic and catastrophic projection which seek to undermine the careful and patient way we have sought to proceed together in discerning the motions of the Spirit.
To be sure, there are significant disagreements among us regarding human sexuality. We have been seeking to deal with those different points of view in a gracious and respectful way with a view to deepening the unity we share, and honoring the fact that scripture is read and interpreted from different perspectives - all seeking to be faithful to the mind of Christ.
I have every confidence that the action taken in Singapore, as unsettling as it may be, provides an opportunity for us as bishops to take ever more seriously the bond we share as overseers of the household of faith and limbs and members of Christ's Body who - because of our baptism - are never allowed to say I have no need of you.
Yours in Christ,
Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
January 31, 2000
2000-029
For the primates of the Anglican Communion
My dear brothers:
I have been profoundly disturbed by the caricature that has been presented of the Episcopal Church in the United States as being disregarding of scripture and the classical doctrines of the church. To be sure there are divergent views on the question of human sexuality which are supported by different readings and interpretations of the biblical texts, but in no way is the biblical record treated as other than the word of God "containing all things necessary to salvation." With regard to doctrine, I know of no active bishops who are other than completely orthodox in their understanding of the creeds.
I therefore regard the actions of the primates of Rwanda and South East Asia as singularly unhelpful at a time when we in the Episcopal Church are seeking to upbuild and strengthen our fundamental unity in faith for the sake of mission to a broken and needy world.
The enclosed letter is self-explanatory and I wanted you to have a copy of it, particularly as we look ahead to the primates meeting at which time I sincerely hope the internal life of the Episcopal Church will not be the dominant topic of our time together. Let us not be deflected from the larger concerns of genocide, crushing poverty side by side with inordinate affluence, and the dangerous fundamentalism - both within Islam and our own Christian community - which threatens to turn our God of compassion into a idol of wrath.
Yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church
January 31, 2000
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