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From the=20 Bishop |
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Have we =
joined a different=20
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As you are aware, TEC is an autonomous Province of the Anglican = Communion, as is the Province of the Southern Cone. All 38 = Provinces of=20 the Communion share a common Anglican heritage and officially = recognize=20 the holy orders and sacraments of all the other Provinces (that = is, we are=20 in communion with one another). Just as TEC has dioceses in = Central and=20 South America (Honduras, Central Ecuador, Litoral Ecuador, = Columbia,=20 Venezuela, and others), so does the Southern Cone have recognized = dioceses=20 in North America (San Joaquin, Quincy, Pittsburgh and Fort Worth). = We did=20 not join another denomination; we realigned with another Province = of the=20 Communion. In Scotland, we are called Episcopalians. In England, we are = called=20 Anglicans. Likewise, in Canada, the term is Anglican, while in the = States,=20 the term is Episcopalian. All are members of the same church = family,=20 holding a common faith and order. In border areas of these = countries,=20 church signs often have the wording that says = =93Anglican/Episcopalian.=94 It=20 means the same thing. Not long ago I saw the sign out front of St. = James=20 Church, Piccadilly, in London that used this exact phrase to = describe=20 their affiliation as a parish of the Church of England. In addition, as you go around the world, you find that TEC is = not the=20 only Province calling itself The Episcopal Church. The name is = used in the=20 Sudan, the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Scotland, = Cuba, and=20 the Philippines, just to name a few. It simply will not do for TEC = to try=20 to claim ownership and exclusive rights to the name = =93Episcopal=94! Denominational lines in Christendom are much wider than our = adversaries=20 seem to recognize. On a global basis, denominations are broad = families of=20 Christians who come from various historic traditions, based on = common=20 beliefs and practices. There are Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans,=20 Presbyterians, and so on, but within each of these groups there = are a=20 number of different jurisdictions. So let us say it once again: We = have=20 not joined another denomination, but remain part of the=20 Anglican/Episcopalian denomination. Let=92s further illustrate this point by looking at some key = legal,=20 church documents pertaining to all of this. The Preamble of = TEC=92s=20 Constitution says:
Article I of our own Constitution of the Diocese of Fort Worth = on=20 =93Anglican Identity=94 states:
The Province of the Southern Cone has a similar statement in = its=20 Constitution:
Before the =93recent unpleasantness,=94 clergy and laity = transferred freely=20 from one Province to the other =96 bishops included =96 as = circumstances=20 required. Since our realignment in 2008, we continue to use the = same=20 Prayer Book, and Hymnal, buildings and polity, just as we did = before. Who=20 we are has not changed! Many of our people still call = themselves=20 Episcopalians =96 just not the kind that follow the innovations of = the=20 General Convention Church. The churches of this diocese assert that we have =93left=94 no = one. They=20 remain member churches in union with the Bishop and Convention of = the=20 Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, founded in 1982. All that our = Diocese has=20 done, acting by and through its duly constituted Annual = Convention, is to=20 amend our own Constitution and Canons in accordance with the = procedures=20 set forth in the governing documents of the Diocese. And likewise, our diocesan church property has not gone and is = not=20 going anywhere! It remains in the name of the Diocesan = Corporation, just=20 as it has since the beginning, for the use of our congregations. = The=20 question being litigated right now is going to be whether TEC = determines=20 the identity of the persons elected to govern the Corporation and = the=20 Diocese, or whether this Diocese, pursuant to our Constitution and = Canons,=20 makes that determination. It is clear from the above that both charity and truth require = our=20 adversaries to stop this silly little game of accusation that we = =93have=20 left the Church.=94 Our time would be better spent praying for the = unity of=20 the Church of Jesus Christ than casting stones across our = divisions. The Rt. Rev. Jack Leo =
Iker
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