English dioceses pile on
As of last week, it was clear that the Anglican Covenant was not going to be approved by the Church of England for quite some time, if ever, as a majority of the church’s 44 dioceses had already voted against returning it to General Synod for further consideration. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) On March 27, 2012, the Yes to the Covenant people issued a press release urging that dioceses that had not yet voted on the Covenant to vote for it, even though such a vote could only be symbolic. The dioceses of London and Manchester voted on March 29 and March 31, respectively. Both dioceses voted against the Covenant. (See tallies on Thinking Anglicans here and here.) The current tally, therefore, is 25 dioceses against and 15 dioceses for. The final four dioceses vote on April 21 and 28.Thinking Anglicans has been tracking commentary on the defeat of the Covenant in England. In addition to the post we cited last week, posts can be read here, here, and here.
Comments solicited on the next Archbishop of Canterbury
In an unprecedented move, the Church of England has advertised for comments about the next Archbishop of Canterbury and for suggestions as to who the next office holder should be. (See Pittsburgh Update story here on the coming retirement of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.) The notice was posted March 30, 2012, on the Church of England Web site and elsewhere. Comments and candidate names can be sent via e-mail.One Virginia church settles; others, maybe not
On March 30, 2012, the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia issued a joint statement with Church of the Epiphany Anglican, Herndon, one of the breakaway congregations ordered to return property to the diocese. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) Church of the Epiphany Anglican will pay the diocese $520,750 over two years and will vacate its property by April 30. The school operating on the property will continue to do so until the end of the school year.Meanwhile, The Falls Church, Truro Church, and Church of the Apostles have filed various appeals or notice of appeals. These can be read on the Diocese of Virginia Web site here.