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

Thursday, October 22, 2009

A first step to the new Anglican Ordinates in full communion with the Apostolic See

Father Jones, a priest of the Society of the Holy Cross who serves as the Parish Priest of St. Peter's, a Church of England parish within the Fulham Jurisdiction and part of Forward in Faith, writes on his blog:
The (London) Times loves the story and accords it the front page, the first leading article and a double inside spread, the Daily Telegraph is less sure and records it all at the bottom of page one and a turn over to the bottom of page two with a second leading article.
The logic of all this is obvious, the first people to be accorded the new status will be the Traditional Anglican Communion, who, in essence, brokered the deal. Then, no doubt, the existing pioneers of the Anglican Use in the USA will be Incorporated. I hope and trust that Diocese which have withdrawn from the Episcopal Church in the USA will resolve to apply for the new status; that leaves us, the English Anglo-Catholics. The joint Westminster statement speaks of a number of Anglican groups who, over the years have sought unity with the Holy See, it is not clear if the 'groups' descriptor includes the, as yet, less defined group in English Anglo-Catholicism. Nor is it clear if the Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster were addressing the dilemma of traditionalist Catholic Anglicans who at this time do not constitue a group ( in the TAC manner) but are still integral to the Church of England...


Read the rest of Fr. Jones thoughts on his blog St. Peter's London Docks.

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