Dr Rowan Williams was appointed the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in
2002 and its safe to say that his 10 year reign as head of the 85
million-strong Anglican Communion has been 'interesting'. He has now
announced his intention to step down from the role in December this year
to return to academia (and in this we at PC towers wish him good luck).
However, it has to be said that his decision to carry on until the end of the year could prove to be something of a mistake, because despite his legacy as Archbishop being open to debate, no one could deny the fact that the long anticipated split in the church has so far been avoided. This is something of an achievement, as the tensions that have beset the church for the last decade over homosexuals and women's ordinations are still there.
It safe to say that all his skillful maneuvering (especially the Lambeth agreement of 2008), could easily unravel over the next nine months and leave him with only a legacy of regret. Already doubts about his achievements have been voiced .... the BBC quote Church of England General Synod member and long term critic of his Archbishopric Alison Ruoff, as saying that "Under Archbishop Rowan's tenure, the Church has really gone in a most liberal direction. Many, many churches have gone away from Bible truth and that's really to the detriment not only of the Church of England but also to the detriment to the nation. He's a kind, wise, warm, godly man, but had he actually stood up and been counted as a leader, I think we would be in a very different place in the Church of England from where we are now, and that is thoroughly regrettable". .... in this she is voicing the sentiments of many on the conservative wing who consider that he has has not defended 'Bible truth' against those who wish to subvert it.
The struggle to replace him will no doubt cause yet another crisis in this collapsing Church as both right and left try to determine the next decades course.
For this blog, he will best be remembered for calling for elements of Sharia law to be incorporated into British Law ..... a madness that we may even now have to face in the future.
However, it has to be said that his decision to carry on until the end of the year could prove to be something of a mistake, because despite his legacy as Archbishop being open to debate, no one could deny the fact that the long anticipated split in the church has so far been avoided. This is something of an achievement, as the tensions that have beset the church for the last decade over homosexuals and women's ordinations are still there.
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| Dr Rowan Williams |
It safe to say that all his skillful maneuvering (especially the Lambeth agreement of 2008), could easily unravel over the next nine months and leave him with only a legacy of regret. Already doubts about his achievements have been voiced .... the BBC quote Church of England General Synod member and long term critic of his Archbishopric Alison Ruoff, as saying that "Under Archbishop Rowan's tenure, the Church has really gone in a most liberal direction. Many, many churches have gone away from Bible truth and that's really to the detriment not only of the Church of England but also to the detriment to the nation. He's a kind, wise, warm, godly man, but had he actually stood up and been counted as a leader, I think we would be in a very different place in the Church of England from where we are now, and that is thoroughly regrettable". .... in this she is voicing the sentiments of many on the conservative wing who consider that he has has not defended 'Bible truth' against those who wish to subvert it.
The struggle to replace him will no doubt cause yet another crisis in this collapsing Church as both right and left try to determine the next decades course.
For this blog, he will best be remembered for calling for elements of Sharia law to be incorporated into British Law ..... a madness that we may even now have to face in the future.
I have had little cause to revisit the subject of the Anglican Church and its inherent contradictions between the bible teachings and western LGBT 'reformers' who have infiltrated the UK/North American wings of the Anglican Communion.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the corpse twitched this week, with a much delayed Lambeth Conference taking place (albeit minus the Archbishops of Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda - who refused to attend), where once again they tried to resolve the question of homosexuality. Archbishop Welby gave a keynote speech in which fudged the issue by on the one hand reaffirming a resolution passed by the Lambeth Conference in 1998, which said same sex marriage was wrong and "homosexual practices" are incompatible with scripture, while on the other saying that those Anglican churches which moved away from that historical teaching, would not be sanctioned or condemned.
They are so screwed up that its ridiculous .... you either believe in the great sky father and accept his teachings or you don't .... Leviticus 18 and 20 seem fairly clear on the matter. But hey, I am not trying to change the bible, so I do not try to wiggle out of the bibles accepted teachings.
For a coherent breakdown of the arguments about what the bible says or doesn't say go here
It just makes me laugh that this moribund organisation only makes the news at this decadal conference .... otherwise no one cares. Noticeably the Russian Orthodox church suffers none of the Anglican churches wobbles on this subject .... and has grown.