The first principle of the Ordinariate is then about Christian unity. St. Basil the Great, the Church’s greatest ecumenist, literally expended his life on the work of building bridges between orthodox brethren who shared a common faith, but who had become separated from one another in a Church badly fragmented by heresy and controversy. He taught that the work of Christian unity requires deliberate and ceaseless effort...St. Basil often talked with yearning about the archaia agape, the ancient love of the apostolic community, so rarely seen in the Church of his day. This love, he taught, is a visible sign that the Holy Spirit is indeed present and active, and it is absolutely essential for the health of the Church.

- Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Homily on the Occasion of his Formal Institution as Ordinary

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Orlando deliberations focused on the Petition

Bishop Williams
Friday 5 March 2010


Dear People of the Diocese of the West

Many of you may have read the press release issued from the House of Bishops of the ACA in connection with our meetings March 1-3 in Orlando, Florida. I reprint it here:

We, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America of the Traditional Anglican Communion have met in Orlando, Florida, together with our Primate and the Reverend Christopher Phillips of the "Anglican Use" Parish of Our Lady of the Atonement (San Antonio, Texas) and others.

At this meeting, the decision was made formally to request the implementation of the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus in the United States of America by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.


As I’ve reminded you before, it is very important that you keep the House of Bishops in your prayers daily. It is important to attend to what your bishop tells you and also your priests who will have been in touch with us. This means that it will not be useful, but it will be unhealthy for the Church to draw conclusions from the statements of others who think they know the details, when they really have no accurate information, or only partial information. There is already incomplete and/or inaccurate information being distributed on the internet. It is impossible to keep this from happening. Many people desire to distort or embellish what has been said and done. It accomplishes nothing positive and causes much confusion. This is a very challenging time in the life of the Church and I ask you to work with me as we seek to be obedient to God’s Will for our ministry in the Anglican tradition...

Read the rest on the web site of the Diocese of the West of the Anglican Church in America.
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