ACNA Assembly Ratifies Constitution

By Robin G. Jordan

In Bedford, Texas yesterday delegates to the inaugural Provincial Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America, caught up in the excitement of the moment, almost unanimously ratified the proposed constitution, the provisions of which had become the source of contention in the days leading up to the gathering. I must wonder how many of the delegates really studied the document and weighed its implications before they voted for its ratification.

The provisional constitution on which the document was based the Common Cause Leadership Council did not release to the public until after its adoption on December 5, 2008. The Council made public several proposed amendments to the provisional constitution and a set of canons on April 3, 2009. Interested parties were given until midday of April 20, 2009—seventeen days—to study the documents, make comments, and offer suggestions. The Council adopted the finalized version of the constitution and canons on April 25, 2009. Most of the changes made in the documents originated with the Council. Only a few of the suggestions that were submitted to the Governance Task Force were incorporated into the finalized version.

The constitution suffers from a number of problems. Among these problems it takes an unnecessarily narrow and partisan doctrinal position on a number of key issues that divide conservative Anglicans, as do the proposed set of canons that will be presented for ratification on Wednesday. Consequently the ACNA will not be as comprehensive church for conservative Anglicans in North America as it had been originally envisioned.

The new church follows a trend evident in The Episcopal Church from which many of its congregations and four of its dioceses broke away and moves toward a greater centralization of power at the national level. The highest governing body of the ACNA is not the Provincial Assembly but the smaller and less representative Provincial Council. The latter elects a twelve-man Executive Committee which serves as the Board of Directors of the ACNA. The Provincial Assembly has no power beyond ratifying the initial constitution and set of canons of the ACNA and any subsequent amendments to these documents. It is particularly vulnerable to manipulation by persuasive speakers and experienced lobbyists (See "The ACNA ASSEMBLY – DAY 1”).

With the ratification of the constitution ACNA has abandoned centuries of hard-won lay involvement in the governance of the church and the selection of church leaders, which has been an integral part of North American Anglicanism. Under the provisions of the constitution the bishop of a diocese may appoint the delegates to the Provincial Assembly and Provincial Council from his diocese. The ACNA College of Bishops has authority over the election of bishops of the new church. If a diocese chooses its bishop, the College of Bishops must confirm the choice. However, the College of Bishops may choose the bishop of a diocese. The proposed canons make the College of Bishops’ selection of the bishops of the diocese the norm for new dioceses and commend this mode of selection to the existing dioceses that continue to select their own bishops. They also permit dioceses to operate under the constitutions and canons of the Provinces that took their constituent congregations under their wing when they broke away from The Episcopal Church. The Anglican practice of a bishop exercising his power synodically and sharing the governance of a diocese with a synodical meeting of clergy and laity is not mandated in the constitution or the canons. The College of Bishops elects the Archbishop of the ACNA.

The constitution and canons contain few checks and balances and other safeguards. Dioceses may continue to hold property in trust. Dioceses may also take property into trust with the consent of the local congregation.

Among the difficulties that I have encountered in seeking to draw attention to the problems with the constitution and canons has been the unwillingness on the part of a number of conservative Anglican web sites supportive of the ACNA to run articles drawing attention to these problems. One website stopped running my articles ostensibly because of growing criticism from members of the ACNA leadership. The editor of the website informed that they had told him that I was “too narrow” in my views. The editor of another web site informed me that his organization was a strong supporter of the ACNA and he would have to verify what I was claiming in my articles. He never ran any of my articles. At the same time these web sites have freely run articles that ACNA leaders and the ACNA Governance Task Force had written in defense of the constitution and canons. Under the circumstances the delegates’ ratification of the constitution is not surprising.