The Right Revd Riah Hanna Abu El Assal, the retired Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, was interviewed on Sunday about the situation in the Middle East. He speaks candidly about the plight of the Christian community and his hopes for peace. You can listen to the interview here
Tag Archives: Church of England
Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) cites the Jerusalem Declaration to repudiate The Episcopal Church (TEC)
October 14th, 2008
The Church of England Evangelical Council issued this statement to express support for Bishop Bob Duncan and the Diocese of Pittsburgh after their meeting on October 10th.
CEEC deplores the recent deposition of Bishop Bob Duncan and expresses full support for him and sends warm greetings and prayers to him, the Diocese of Pittsburgh and their new home in the province of the Southern Cone.
We endorse the following two statements from six diocesan bishops of the Church of England and Anglican Mainstream.
“We declare that we continue to believe that Bishop Bob is a bishop in the Church of God and a bishop in good standing in the Anglican Communion.”
and
“It is with great sadness that we have learned of the recent vote of TEC House of Bishops to depose the Bishop of Pittsburgh for abandonment of communion. To take such action is hardly in the spirit of the reflections at this year’s Lambeth Conference or the Archbishop of Canterbury’s final presidential address.
“We see this vote as further evidence that The Episcopal Church in the USA in its formal decisions and structures ‘have denied the orthodox faith.’ As the Jerusalem Declaration on behalf of 1100 Anglican church leaders around the world said: ‘We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.’
“Anglicans who adhere to the orthodox faith will continue to welcome and receive the ministry of Bishop Bob Duncan as a faithful Bishop and wish him and the people of the Diocese of Pittsburgh the Lord’s blessing in their faithful witness to the gospel.”
The CEEC is holding a NEAC Consultation at All Soul’s Church on Saturday 15th November to consider GAFCON and the Jerusalem Declaration. See www.ceec.info
The Jerusalem Declaration: Why Anglican Churches should endorse it
The Jerusalem Declaration was endorsed by the 1200 Archbishops, Bishops, clergy and laity attending the GAFCON pilgrimage to Jerusalem in June. While it is simply a restatement of Anglican orthodoxy, it is nevertheless probably the most important document to be formulated by Anglicans since the Reformation. In a couple of weeks our own Church Council, like many others, will be considering whether it can endorse the following resolution:
“Recognising that the Jerusalem Declaration is consistent with the doctrine of the Church of England as stated in Canon A5, we stand in solidarity with the Jerusalem Declaration and Statement on the Global Anglican Future.”
Here are five reasons why I believe every indivdual Anglican and every Anglican Church Council should do so:
1. This act of solidarity will encourage those especially of the Anglican Communion in the USA and Canada who are being deposed and persecuted for their gospel stand and commitment to the Scriptures. It is lamentable that so few evangelical Anglican Bishops, for example, have shown solidarity with Bishop Duncan of Pittsburgh recently deposed.
2. This act of solidarity will strengthen Anglicans in the Global South in countries such as Nigeria and Sudan who are being persecuted by Muslims because they are wrongly identified with the schismatic and immoral stance of The Episcopal Church in the USA and Canada.
3. Endorsing the Declaration in no way prejudices relationships with our Bishop, Diocese and the Church of England. Just the reverse – it is a restatement of the official teaching of the Church of England and demonstrates our fidelity.
4. Endorsing the Declaration demonstrates that we remain fully committed to the Church of England. We are not leaving, being schismatic or divisive. We are going to reform the Church of England from within. Endorsing the Declaration is a way of declaring our intent.
5. Expressing our solidarity with the Jerusalem Declaration does not commit us to any other decision or course of action. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is precisely that – a fellowship of like-minded believers. We invite you to be a part of this growing fellowship.
“We stand in solidarity with the Jerusalem Declaration and Statement on the Global Anglican Future.”
Visit Anglican Mainstream to endorse the declaration as individuals and as Parochial Church Councils There is a separate petition for non-Anglicans
The full text of the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration