Anglican rift deepest since Reformation: theologian
BY BOB HARVEY
The Ottawa CitizenFriday February 11, 2005
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The differences among Anglicans over Canadian and American churches' acceptance of same-sex unions may soon split the Anglican communion, says a Canadian theologian.
"There hasn't been a division so deep since the (Protestant) Reformation. The kind of questions being asked are even more serious, and more fundamental than the questions asked at the Reformation," says Edith Humphrey, an associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. "This isn't just about the issue of sexuality. It is about our understanding of scripture and tradition, our understanding of creation and humanity, and our understanding of the church." |
 Dr. Edith Humphrey |
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Ms. Humphrey said many of her Anglican friends have left the church over the issue, "scattering like mice, all over the place, because they don't know what the church is today, and whether they have a church."
The governing bodies of the Anglican Church of Canada and the U.S. Episcopal Church have affirmed the sanctity and integrity of same-sex unions, and the divisions were further exacerbated by the 2002 decision of British Columbia's New Westminster diocese to bless same-sex unions and the New Hampshire diocese's 2003 election of Canon Gene Robinson as the first openly gay Anglican bishop. In November, the diocese of Niagara in southern Ontario also issued and approved a rite for the blessing of same-sex unions. Other Canadian dioceses, including Toronto and Ottawa, have also debated the issue. Canada's primate, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, has said the Canadian church cannot make a decision until the next meeting of its governing synod, in 2007, and he has no jurisdiction to stop New Westminster's blessing of same-sex unions. African Anglicans, led by Peter Akinola, the Archbishop of Nigeria, have broken all ties with the Diocese of New Westminster and the USA Episcopal Church, accusing "the rich churches of the North" of using their wealth to force the poorer churches of Africa and Asia into "heresy". Ms. Humphrey, who taught theology in Ottawa at Augustine College and the Ottawa branch of the Ontario Theological Seminary before moving to the U.S., will tackle the Anglicans' same-sex divide in a talk tonight, at 7.30 p.m. at St. George's Anglican Church, 152 Metcalfe St.
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