By Robin G. Jordan
I regularly check the website of the Anglican Church in North America to see if it has updated its PDF file of the ACNA governing documents to reflect any changes that were adopted and/or ratified at the Provincial Council and Provincial Assembly meetings this past June. I also check to see if anything else new has been posted on the website. One thing that I have noticed is that the Common Cause Theological Statement with a single alteration is posted on the website’s “Theology” page. The statement on the “Theology” page differs from the original Common Cause Theological Statement in that it substitutes 1571 Articles of Religion for the 1562.
The website does not identify the statement as that of the Common Cause Partnership. A visitor to the website who is not familiar with the Common Cause Partnership and the Anglican Church in North America would assume that what they reading is the theological statement of the ACNA, not the Common Cause Partnership. They would be misled into believing that it states the beliefs of the ACNA.
The ACNA, however, incorporated only a part of the Common Cause Theological Statement into Article I of its constitution and not the entire statement. It dropped the article “the” from before the phrase “fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.” The statement on the website’s “Theology” page retains the article “the.”
The addition or omission of the article “the” makes a significant difference in meaning of the clause “expressing [the] fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.”
As I recall, Archbishop Duncan refers to “the fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief” in his public statements further misleading those not familiar with the differences between the Common Cause Theological Statement and the ACNA’s Fundamental Declarations.
Archbishop Duncan served on the Common Cause Task Force that drafted the ACNA governing documents. In all likelihood as Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership he influenced what provisions were included in these documents and what provisions were not. He urged their adoption and ratification. He has no excuse for misrepresenting their provisions.
The absence of accuracy on a page of a denomination’s website or in a denominational leader’s statement is not something that can be taken lightly. When accuracy is missing in such circumstances, it suggests little concern for Biblical standards of truth, as well as outright carelessness and inattention to detail. If they are not already serious problems, they can quickly develop into that kind of problem and have dangerous consequences for the Anglican Church in North America.
Related:
Will the Episcopal Church morph into a liberal version of the Anglican Church in North America?
A Pope, Oops, I Mean an Archbishop?! What Was the Common Cause Governance Task Force Thinking?
Willing to be rude, to wit, the Dumb Asses continue their eye-rolling parade and effort at Confessional, Reformed, and liturgical Churchmanship. Yawn. The youngesters will do a rope-a-dope hooyah supporting the continued ignorance. Sell it to the lads, including the enthusiast and revivalistic Virtue, a hapless reporter with few academic attainments. The exile continues.
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