Of Synods and stupidity.

I'm slightly at a loss to explain what happened in the English General Synod this week.  As a PR exercise it was a disaster and there is much understandable screaming for disestablishment/ removal of exemptions from equality legislation.  The former might be as good an idea for the Church's spiritual health (it was the making of the SEC in 1689) - but the Established Church is so wired into our unwritten political Constitution that has dismantling of it's current status would probably be a lousy idea if done in haste.  The latter begs the tricky question of having to do it for all religious organisations in the UK and that includes not only the RC church but also the vast majority of Muslims and the Orthodox Jewish - it's a minefield I strongly suspect HMG has no intention of wandering into.

The calls for Parliament to sort it out are I think misguided.  Anglicans in England are not established and funded like the Lutherans in Scandinavia and the legislature has no authority to change Church polity without the support of Synodical structures.  And if change isn't the mind of the Church, then imposing it on the Church is a recipe for disaster.  Women Bishops thus created would be seen as possessing legal authority but utterly lacking spiritual validity.  As were the "Tulchan Bishops" of Reformation Scotland.  No, sadly the slow and messy procedures of Synod are the way to go.

what it might mean is that the Episcopate of Women in the C of E is now utterly inevitable and that provision for the dissenter might well be radically reduced by will of Parliament who I reckon will be less inclined to pass generous provision than previously.  This may be neither the disaster liberals lament nor the passing victory some think it.  This may be a moment where the Church does a transformation no one suspected was possible into a much more inclusive body.  Perhaps we will have cause to thank God for the stupidity of Synod 2012.

Wifie bishops and Metropolitical Embarrassment!

Much yowling on the Wifie Bishops vote in Engerland. What from the traditionalist point of view went wrong?

1) The Abp's solution was identifiably ecclesiological mince that would have stuffed the Cyprianic concept of territorial episcopacy. And everyone knew it. But the possible goodwill that might have lived with that for the sake of charity had gone since 1992. Pourquoi?

2) The fact that the last time generous provision was made (not least financially) , a goodly number took the money, joined the RC's and came back when they found they really didn't care for being men under authority without handing back the moolah, meant that there there was a lot less willingness to be generous. One Rip Off is enough.

3) SEVERE umbrage was felt over Pope Benny's announcement of the Ordinariate and the way it was done. The C of E was dissed and that REALLY rankled. Payback time - your Convert Aid Societies can pay the fecking bill!

4) The Leadership of Forward in Faith's "secret negotiations" with my old friend Mgr Patrick Burke absolutely incensed the Anglican clergy. This was duplicitous p****ng around and really evaporated sympathy.

and of course...

It was the Archbishop's idea. The 2 Double crossed dudes interfered in the deliberations and conclusions of a Synod committee and Synods do not like being down graded by prelates. Also, Rowan's centralising/authoritarian tendencies could here be checked and rebuked. Warning signs for a covenant vote. This result was no surprise.