Archbishop of Canterbury to Lose Worldwide Anglican Role Under Traditionalist Plans

The Daily Telegraph (UK) ^ | 4/24/12 | John Bingham

[marshmallow]

THE Archbishop of Canterbury could be stripped of his role as figurehead of the worldwide Anglican Church, leaders representing 40 million churchgoers have signalled as they launched a scathing attack on a liberal drift within the Church.

A coalition of bishops and leaders from Africa, the Americas and Australasia said it was time for a “radical shift” in how the church is structured away from models of the “British Empire”.

They criticised what they called “revisionist attempts” to abandon basic doctrines on issues such as homosexuality and “turn Christianity merely into a movement for social betterment” during Dr Williams’s tenure.

And they said it was now clear that the leadership in England had failed to hold the 77 million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion together, leaving it in “crisis”.

They spoke out as 200 clergy and laity from 30 countries gathered in London to discuss what they called the “present crisis moment” in the church.

The meeting of leaders of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans comes amid growing warnings of a split over issues such as homosexuality.

It is the first such meeting since 2008 when more than 200 bishops boycotted the official Lambeth Conference in protest at the presence of bishops from the US Episcopal Church, which had consecrated the first openly gay Anglican bishop.

This week’s meeting takes place as the search for a successor to Dr Williams gets under way. It emerged yesterday that the Ugandan-born Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu – who is popular with traditional evangelicals – had entered the race by standing aside from the body which will make the appointment.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Jolly good. The majority of Anglicans are now Africans, and their Archbishops are both conservative and have been shamed by the disgraceful heterodoxical and heretical antics of Rowan Williams as Canterbury.

Importantly, this also casts into doubt the status of QEII as head of the church, as the Queen no longer has more than a figurehead role, with her decisions being dictated by the government, as often as not, hostile to Anglicanism.

That English Bishops are appointed by the crown is intolerable, as many of them are not reputable representatives of the Anglican faith. Nor should the crown retain ownership of cathedrals and churches.