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Thursday, November 17, 2005

Covenant Union of Nigerian Church and REC/APA
A letter from Bishop Sutton

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Thanks for this opportunity to write about the humbling new relationship in Christ between the Church of Nigeria and the REC/APA.

Perhaps a little added background will help. Discussions among the three churches began in December 2004, when bishops from the Church of Nigeria convened with REC/APA bishops in Summerville, South Carolina, the Episcopal See and offices of the Diocese of the Southeast of the Reformed Episcopal Church. A second series of meetings was hosted in January, 2005, by the Diocese of Egba in Abeokuta, Nigeria, the location of the Episcopal See and bishop's residence and offices. These meetings resulted in a unanimously agreed upon report with a covenant union document recommended for final approval by the House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria, and the Council of Bishops and General Committees of the REC/APA. Having received ecclesial approval of the report/covenant, the Archbishop and Presiding Bishops were able to act with the support of their churches.

It is also helpful to know that the descriptive wording, "covenant union," is used to convey a stronger relationship than simply the typical intercommunion kind of document. It clearly is an intercommunion (in communio sacris). Orders, prayer books, doctrinal commitments and practices were carefully examined. But a covenant union is much more. Or perhaps I should say, it gets to what an in communio sacris is really supposed to be. The Nigerian leaders asked us to use the Biblical word covenant, for which I/we were glad. On a personal note, I wrote a book on the Biblical covenant 18 years ago that miraculously still stays in print. The REC/APA are strongly committed to the theology of the covenant properly understood as the covenant first between God the Father and God the Son through God the Holy Spirit; and then secondly between Christ and His Church. What our brothers and sisters in Christ were asking resonated strongly in the Scripturally plowed soul of our jurisdictions in other words.

The Nigerians wanted the word covenant, therefore, because they desired our relationship to be first and foremost clearly Biblical. Covenant is the Scriptural word used to describe how we are untied to Christ and one another. Second, the word covenant relates directly to mission. We are brought into the New Covenant of Christ's blood to be witnesses for the King of kings. Third, the word covenant implies that the parties involved have equal responsibility with one another in the cause of Jesus Christ's mission in the world. Time and again the Nigerians have expressed to us that they will pay their own way and they expect us to take their commitments to Jesus Christ, His supreme Word, evangelism and mission just as seriously as they do. Here's where it is so very humbling for us.

For so long the REC/APA have had wonderful doctrinal fidelity; the Church of Nigeria would never have become yoked with us if we were not to their satisfaction loyal to the Biblical and classical standards of Anglicanism. Yet, we like many others in this part of the globe have let our Lord down when it comes to His mission. We have been too long on preservation and too short on proclamation! For this reason we have had to do much soul searching and repenting. Not that we're relaxing our time proven commitments to classical Anglican belief (1662/1928 BCP, Ordinal and Articles of Religion) and practice. Rather it's a matter of regaining to our spiritual DNA what has been missing, mainly mission and evangelism. As you may know, to this end the REC/APA have recently renewed our commitment to take up Jesus' Cross and proclaim His Name in new and bold ways. At our triennial General Council in Orlando, we joined with the APA, also conducting its national council at the same location and time, to set aside an entire day of business to learn about mission and evangelism from the wonderful staff of Christianity Explored. Archbishop Greg Venables was our guest preacher.

Therefore, we enter this new covenant relationship with much learning and work to be done. We thank our God always for allowing us to walk together with our brothers and sisters in Christ from Nigeria to reclaim this land for our God. Please pray for us. To paraphrase one of the church fathers, "Our boat is so small and His sea is so great." Thanks be to God He's in the boat with us; He's not abandoned us in this lost world; and, with Him in our boat we can pass through any raging storm. God bless,

+Ray R. Sutton, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Interchurch Relations Committee, REC


posted by benbernier - 11:52 am



Biblical Authority
Letter from Global South Primates to Archbishop Rowan Williams


This letter clearly exposes the limitations of the biblical exegesis of the Archbishop of Canterbury as he avoids following the witness of Scripture in its fulness.
Read the Letter in our Article section


posted by benbernier - 4:48 am


Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Press Release

COVENANT UNION OF ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN CONCORDAT AMONG

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Reformed Episcopal Church, and
The Anglican Province of America

Whereas the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America share a common heritage of faith and order within the Anglican tradition; be it understood that:

Article 1:      The Churches, recognizing the fact that they are working together in the common cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pledge to each other, their mutual cooperation, support, discipline and accountability.

Article 2:      Wherever possible, individual congregations within proximate geographic locations will work closely and cooperatively to demonstrate their commitment to one another and their desire to witness to a consistent Biblical, Evangelical and Catholic expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Article 3:      As evidence of our union in Christ and the Common Standards of the faith existing among the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America, a delegation of ministers and laity may be sent to attend each other’s Provincial and General Synods or Councils. As a further demonstration of our union, bishops of the Churches may attend each other’s episcopal meetings with the expectation that they will be invited to speak but not cast votes.

Article 4:      The Ministers of the Churches may, subject to the respective regulations of the Churches, be eligible to exercise pastoral ministry in each Church. Archbishops and Bishops of the Churches in the concordat may also be invited to conduct episcopal duties with accountability, discipline and the episcopal blessing of the local appropriate provincial authorities.

Article 5:      Communicants of the Churches may be received into the other Churches on presentation of letters of transfer, or their equivalent.

Article 6:      It is also our declared intention to initiate a process that will permit us, in due course to enter into an agreement of full communion with a clear and common understanding of all of its implications.      

 

COVENANT UNION OF ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN CONCORDAT AMONG

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Reformed Episcopal Church, and
The Anglican Province of America

In an historic moment, as part of the realignment of global Anglicanism, on November 12, 2005 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Leonard W. Riches, Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, and the Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America, entered on behalf of their three Churches a Covenant Union of Anglican Churches in Concordat.

The purpose of the covenant of concord is to work together in the common cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pledging to each other their mutual cooperation, support, discipline and accountability. Recognizing that all three Churches share a common heritage of faith and order within the Anglican tradition, they are united by saving belief in Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life, and by their commitment to the Faith once delivered, based on the irrevocable Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the final authority for faith and life.

It was agreed that ministers of these Churches, subject to the respective regulations within the jurisdictions, may be eligible to exercise pastoral ministry in each Church. Archbishops and bishops of the Churches in concordat may also be invited to conduct episcopal duties within the other jurisdictions with the blessing of the appropriate provincial authorities.

The three Churches have united specifically for joint mission in North America. Archbishops Riches and Grundorf welcomed the Church of Nigeria's CANA initiative. They assured Archbishop Akinola that, wherever possible, individual congregations of all three jurisdictions, within proximate geographic locations, would work closely and cooperatively together to demonstrate their commitment to one another and their desire to witness to a consistent Biblical, Evangelical and Catholic expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Church of Nigeria News http://www.anglican-nig.org/pressreleaseAmerica_Nov.htm

http://www.anglican-nig.org/covenant_union.htm


posted by benbernier - 7:13 am

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