Episcopal oversight

In order to remain in Communion with the Church of England throughout the world, on February 17^th 2008 the Parish of St. Hilda held a special vestry to vote on whether to request, on an emergency and pastoral basis, the Episcopal oversight of Bishop Don Harvey under the primatial oversight of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone.

The vote was 86 votes in favor and 0 votes opposed.  1 abstained.

This is fundamentally about the staying true to historic Christian teaching that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that there is only one way to God through faith in Jesus Christ.  (The issue of sexuality is merely the tip of the iceberg.)

We stand firmly in the mainstream of global and historic Anglican teaching and orthodoxy.  Our beliefs are shared by roughly two-thirds of the 77 million Anglicans worldwide.

Rather than leaving, we’re actually staying – staying true to the fundamental and historic tenets of Anglican Christianity and staying in full communion with the global Anglican Church.

Getting to the heart of the matter

Biblically-faithful Canadian Anglicans and parishes who no longer feel they have a home in the Anglican Church of Canada now have a firm option that will allow them to remain fully Anglican and in full communion with the Church of England throughout the world – as well as remain true to the fundamental tenets upon which the Anglican Church of Canada was founded.

We are so thankful for the willingness of Archbishop Venables and the General Synod of the Southern Cone for opening their door to us.

We are also grateful for the encouragement and support we have received from so many Primates and Provinces as we have consulted with them over the past months.

And we are thrilled that Bishop Donald Harvey has recently been welcomed as a Bishop of the Southern Cone under the jurisdiction and care of Archbishop Venables.  He has officially come out of retirement and has accepted the role of Network Moderator and Bishop for all of Canada, turning his full attention to the care of clergy, congregations and all biblically-faithful Anglicans who choose to accept the offer that is now available through the Anglican Network in Canada.

Church congregations are – and have been – prayerfully considering this option and are deciding together if they wish to come under the oversight of Bishop Donald Harvey and the Province of the Southern Cone. 

The Anglican Church of Canada was asked to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council due to its intransigence and refusal to comply with Communion teaching on sexuality.  A number of Primates have also indicated they are not in communion with the Anglican Church of Canada and specifically the Diocese of New Westminster.

Because Canada has walked away from historic Christian and Anglican teaching and is no longer in full communion with the global Anglican Church as prescribed in the Anglican Church of Canada’s founding document, the Solemn Declaration of 1893, Network members and churches have sought and found a way to remain faithful. 

THE ICEBERG a concise (6 minutes) explanation of the real issues behind "same sex blessings". Please see: www.anglicandecision.org/vidpop_iceberg.html