The Most Reverend and Right Honorable
Rowan Douglas Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury
& Primate of the Church of England
Lambeth Palace
London SE1 7JU, ENGLAND
Dear Archbishop Williams:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This letter is an official appeal on behalf of the Bishop, Standing Committee, and Diocesan Board of the Diocese of Central Florida. We seek Alternative Primatial Oversight and mediation in the dispute between the Diocese of Central Florida and our Province, The Episcopal Church.
The Diocese of Central Florida finds itself in a serious dispute with The Episcopal Church, and in particular, we protest the actions, inactions, and errors of our 74th and 75th General Conventions, specifically:
1. The 74th General Convention’s consent to the election to the office of Bishop of a man living in a same-sex relationship, and his subsequent consecration, with the Presiding Bishop as his Chief Consecrator.
2. The 74th General Convention’s declaration that “local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions.”
3. The 75th General Convention’s incomplete and therefore inadequate response to the Windsor Report and the Communiqué of the February 2005 Primates’ Meeting, most notably, its failure to effect a moratorium on same-sex blessings.
4. The 75th General Convention’s elevation to the office of Presiding Bishop-elect and Primate of The Episcopal Church, of a Bishop who advocates in word and deed the above mentioned errors, and a person who will therefore further breach the bonds of affection within the Communion.
The Diocese of Central Florida has made every effort to be reconciled to our Province. We have consistently called The Episcopal Church to its Constitutional commitments to the Lord, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and the Anglican Communion. We have done this through the statements and resolutions of our Diocesan Conventions, the efforts of our Deputations to General Conventions personal attempts at persuasion and encouragement to faithfulness, and through the Bishop of Central Florida’s proactive engagement on the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops, and within the House of Bishops itself and the General Convention. All of our efforts have been to no avail.
The Bishop and elected leadership bodies of the Diocese of Central Florida have repeatedly affirmed our commitment to remain in full communion as a Constituent Member of the Anglican Communion. We have enacted the recommendations of the Windsor Report in their entirety. Lambeth 1998 Article 1.10 remains our official teaching and practice with respect to human sexuality.
We embrace wholeheartedly your own recent reflection, Challenge and Hope for the Anglican Communion. We recognize the way forward through this crisis for the Anglican Communion will take some time to reach resolution. We are fully committed to the process of developing an Anglican Covenant, and we will wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to work through the Communion to resolve this crisis.
However, we are facing a pastoral emergency within our own Diocese right now. We are losing members in all orders of ministry and we have even lost one entire congregation, approximately two-thirds of another, and one-third of still another. Our ability to carry out the Great Commission is hindered as many members withhold financial contributions due to uncertainty regarding the future of The Episcopal Church. The focus, time and energy of our most gifted clergy are being diverted away from mission and ministry by this crisis. Our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is strained by these errors, and the controversy and conflict they have produced.
Therefore, we are making this appeal to you for Alternative Primatial Oversight. We urge you to recognize this is a necessary measure to prevent further loss of members, money, and ministry. Such Oversight will provide temporary structural stabilization to allow us to focus once again on the twin priorities of the Diocese: the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
Official support and counsel from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Panel of Reference and the Primates of the Anglican Communion will provide much needed security and encouragement to the people of the Diocese of Central Florida. Resolute and swift accountability of The Episcopal Church to the wider Anglican Communion will enable our Diocese to remain faithful to our primary identity, calling and vocation. We understand this crisis to be a test of our willingness to submit to the Lord and his Word, and to one another, and we pray we may be found faithful in our weakness.
The Diocese of Central Florida acknowledges its allegiance to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ. We confess him as Lord, and we look to him with hope for the future.
We await your reply, and commit our prayers and love for you in these very challenging times for our beloved Communion.
Warmly in our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Rt. Reverend John W. Howe, Bishop;
The Reverend John Liebler, President of the Standing Committee
cc: The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
cc: The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
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