A number of petitions are available online for those taking varying positions on women bishops, following the production of a letter, signed by over 700 serving women clergy, urging the bishops to take a minimalist 'Single Clause, Code of Practice' approach, which would marginalize those who take the traditional view of Church leadership.
An alternative petition (1) for those who endorse the historic Evangelical view, adopted at the National Evangelical Anglican Congress in 1977, is available on the Anglican mainstream site:
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/05/28/petitions-on-women-bishops/
A petition (2) for all those who support the consecration of women as bishops but who nevertheless reject the Single Clause approach in favour of one of the other options in the Manchester Report can also be found there.
Please consider signing one of these petitions and forwarding this e-mail to friends.
I'm not sure I'm 100% convinced that ultimate responsibility should usually be signular not plural / mixed but I don't want to quibble.
By the way, is it:
(1) Women bishops would not be bishops since bishops are men and women cannot become bishops
(2) Women should not be bishops but they could be, though they ought not to be.
Is somekind of subjective / objective distinction needed here?
Would the speech act of ordaining a woman a bishop merely be defective or would it completely misfire and be void?
(The same questions would apply to Elders, of course, Oh, Indie friends).(1) Women bishops would not be bishops since bishops are men and women cannot become bishops
(2) Women should not be bishops but they could be, though they ought not to be.
Is somekind of subjective / objective distinction needed here?
Would the speech act of ordaining a woman a bishop merely be defective or would it completely misfire and be void?
Right, sounds like I should head off to sign petition (1). Is it for reason (1) or (2)?
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10 comments:
Shouldn't ultimate responsibility be plural and male? And is it quibbling not to sign if you think both clauses of that sentence in the Nottingham statement are wrong? Serious question; I can't decide what to do!
Well, as I thought the issue of this thing was women bishops I thought I'd sign. Introduction of presbyterian church government may be a different argument, I figure.
I agree, Marc.
Sign it MWM, and the rest of you whose signatures aren't on there - I know because I just checked!
Ok; I signed it; but only so that Neil would think well of me...
'Would the speech act of ordaining a woman a bishop merely be defective or would it completely misfire and be void?'
Ooh, is this like a covenant objectivity question? My views on baptism would make me want to shy away from saying it would be void (baptism is baptism is baptism, even if given to a known unsuitable candidate, so is ordination to bishop still ordination to bishop even if given to an incorrect subject?). But is it legitimate to transfer principles from baptism to ordination?
Anyone?
Pete, well, we do know from Leithart's Priesthood of the Plebs that baptism is ordination to priestly service, do we not?
Thanks Marc. I guess I would've known that had I read PotP I guess. Sounds interesting.
I was thinking just at the level of the church's rites/ceremonies/services/legal pronouncements are real/do matter/change things. I presume even someone incorrectly ordained is under the obligations given to Overseers and will be judged on the final day accordingly.
Thanks, Pete. That sounds right. But what would you say of 2 men who had been married in church?
As the 'chief petitioner' (or is that chief of petitions?), can I also commend my background article, ‘Less like a Church’: the impact of the Manchester Report ‘Single Clause’ option on the future of the Church of England?
Marc, great question. I'm not sure you haven't totally stumped me. Nevertheless, my starter for ten...
...isn't that the problem with gay marriages? They're entering into an illegitimate union. It is nonetheless a union though? If it were a nothing then there wouldn't be a problem with it would there?
Don't know that this answers the question.
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