CP Bishops’ Resolution Affirming the Anglican Covenant
CP Bishops’ Resolution Affirming the Anglican Covenant
Apr 18The following resolution has been submitted for consideration at this year’s General Convention by Communion Partner bishop’s.
Resolved, the House of ____ concurring, that the 77 th General Convention express its profound gratitude to those who have worked faithfully on the Anglican Covenant as an expression of mutualresponsibility and interdependence in the Body of Christ (Toronto 1963); and be it further
Resolved, that The Episcopal Church reaffirm its own historic commitment to constituent membership in the Anglican Communion (Preamble of Constitution of TEC); and be it further
Resolved, that The Episcopal Church recommit itself to living in a Communion of Churches with autonomy and accountability (Anglican Covenant 3.1.2), by acknowledging our interdependent life (3.2) and seeking a shared mind with other Churches (3.2.4); and be it further
Resolved, that The Episcopal Church therefore affirm the Anglican Covenant and commit itself to adoption of the Covenant in order to live more fully into the ecclesial communion and interdependence which is foundational to the Churches of the Anglican Communion (4.1.1); and be it further
Resolved, that The Episcopal Church recognize that such mutual commitment does not represent submission to any external ecclesiastical jurisdiction (4.1.3) and can only be entered into according to the procedures of The Episcopal Church’s own Constitution and Canons (4.1.6; cf. 4.1.4); and be it further
Resolved, that the Convention ask its Presiding Officers to appoint a task force to assist the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons in the preparation of whatever changes may be needed in order to make the Covenant constitutionally and canonically active and effective, accompanied by a historical and theological study guide and whatever other teaching materials may be deemed useful; and be it further
Resolved, that the Task Force on the Anglican Covenant and the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons complete their work in time for the 78 th General Convention to take whatever appropriate action may be required.
Explanation
This resolution builds upon The Episcopal Church’s pivotal role in bringing the Anglican Communion into being through its own formation as a Church and its ongoing role in the development of the Lambeth Conference and other Communion structures, several of which are the fruit of the call for “mutual responsibility and interdependence” at the 1963 Anglican Congress in Toronto. The resolution affirms the Covenant as a whole and commits The Episcopal Church to it, recognizing that the commitment to seeking a shared mind with other Churches requires some process by which that common mind may be discovered, hence that the procedures outlined in Section Four of the Covenant, “Our Covenanted Life Together,” are in keeping with and implied by the affirmations of the first three sections. Finally, the resolution charts a course for adoption of the Covenant according to The Episcopal Church’s own constitutional and canonical procedures, as called for by the Covenant.
Proposed by: John Bauerschmidt, Bishop of Tennessee
Endorsed by: Daniel Martins, Bishop of Springfield; Michael Smith, Bishop of North Dakota; James Stanton, Bishop of Dallas; Ed Little, Bishop of Northern Indiana; Russell Jacobus, Bishop of Fond du Lac; Paul Lambert, Bishop Suffragan of Dallas; Gary Lillibridge, Bishop of West Texas; Bill Love, Bishop of Albany; David Reed, Bishop Suffragan of West Texas; D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana.