ARCHEPISCOPAL RESPONSE TO ECUSA’S ELECTION AND AGENDA
A statement fromArchbishop Scott McLaughlin
Presiding Bishop of The Orthodox Anglican ChurchMetropolitan and Primate of The Orthodox Anglican Communion
The election of a woman as presiding bishop, the ongoing attempt to ignore the sin of homosexuality, and the declared priorities for social issues are clearly at odds with teachings of the Bible, the Early Church, and the historic Anglican faith. Most certainly they are in conflict with our mission to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
While we acknowledge that women provided support to Christ in His earthly ministry and even owned homes in which worship was held, it also should be acknowledged, from the establishment of the Church in the first century, that the responsibility for the formation and government of the Church was only entrusted to men called to Holy Orders and led by the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge the remarkable role of women as doctors, attorneys, politicians, mothers, and uphold their supportive roles in Christ’s Church. But, clearly, the clerical roles of deacon, priest, and bishop were, and are, given only to men.
The teachings of the Bible on sin and on the consequences of sin are quite clear. The Scriptures clearly state that homosexuality is a sin. Mankind did not define this as a sin, neither can mankind erase this as a sin. We believe, as the Bible teaches, that while we are to love the sinner, we are to hate the sin.
While the teachings of Jesus clearly demand a connection between the Gospel and such issues as hunger and poverty, many denominations and churches have chosen to focus on social issues. From immigrant rights to environmental affairs, the priorities in the Episcopal Church of the United States, and others, are not the mission given us by Jesus Christ. The only mission Christ gave us was, and remains, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no Gospel of the Environment, there is no Gospel of Political Action. Adherence to and completion of this only command, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will erase all concerns of environment, justice, and policy, because Christ’s teachings will have convicted all people to live and act according to His holy will.
We call upon the Episcopal Church to join us in standing true to the teachings of the Bible, the original teachings of the Early Church, and the original teachings of The Church of England.
