By Robin G. Jordan
How could a second alternative North American Anglican
province differ from the Anglican Church in North America? Here are nine ways
that I envision the new province might be different from the ACNA. They are in
no particular order.
1. The new province would embody in its formularies a degree
of comprehensiveness consistent with the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. It
would give a central place to the Holy Bible and the Anglican Formularies in
the doctrine and worship of the province and would genuinely affirm the
Jerusalem Declaration.
2. The new province would have a conventional syndodical form
of ecclesiastical governance with a general synod and its standing committee
serving as the principal governing body of the province. The general synod
would consist of the bishops of the province and clergy and lay
representatives from each missional community and congregation. The general
synod’s standing committee would be elected by the general synod and would be
accountable to the general synod and subject to its direction and supervision.
It would perform such functions and exercise such authority as the general
synod would assign to it.
3. The new province would make election by the judicatory
its primary method of choosing bishops. It would permit election by a
provincial episcopal selection committee for those occasions when a judicatory
could not agree on a new bishop or when a judicatory failed to choose a new
bishop within a specified period of time. The election of new bishops would be
confirmed by vote of the general synod or by vote of the standing committees of
the synods of several judicatories between sessions of the general synod.
Initially bishops would be elected by the general synod. As
the new province grows and judicatories are formed, the election of their
bishops would devolve to the judicatories.
4. The new province would limit the terms of its bishops,
requiring a vote of a judicatory’s synod to extend the term of a bishop. It
would limit the powers and prerogatives of its bishops to those expressly conveyed
to them by its governing documents. Bishops, like other members of the clergy,
would be bound by the provisions of the new province’s governing documents. How
much discretion they could exercise and under what circumstances would be
delineated in the same documents.
5. The bishops of the new province would not form a separate
chamber in the general synod but would sit with the clergy and lay
representatives in the general synod. When a vote is taken by orders, the
bishops would vote with the other clergy.
6. The new province would have moderator or presiding bishop
who would be elected by the general synod. The powers and prerogatives of this
provincial officer would be limited to those expressly conveyed to him by its
governing documents. The moderator or presiding bishop would have no
metropolitical authority.
7. The new province would seek to reach and engage a much broader
segment of North America’s unchurched population than the Anglican Church in
North America. It would start new missional communities and congregations in
small towns and rural areas as well as in cities and their suburbs. It would
make substantial use of locally-trained licensed ministers in its evangelistic
outreach and church planting strategy. A typical missional community or
congregation would gather around God’s Word on Sunday or at another convenient
time and then it would go back into the community to serve Christ. A major
focus would be building bridges with the community and reaching and engaging
the unchurched population in the community.
8. The new province’s Prayer Book would be based upon the
1662 Book of Common Prayer. It would incorporate a number of the better features
of the 1552 Prayer Book and more recent Anglican services books. The postures
in the rubrics would be suggestions only. It would include a number of alternative
forms of morning and evening worship that could be used in place of the services
of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Holy Communion. It would also include guidelines
for the development of local liturgies. The service of Baptism would be revised
to reflect the biblical teaching that regeneration does not automatically or invariably
accompany water baptism. The service of Baptism would include a rite for the
admission of catechumens modeled upon that of the Church of South India.
9. The new province would have its own catechism which would
reflect the teaching of the Bible and the doctrine of the Anglican Formularies,
including the two Books of Homilies.
How else might a second alternative North American Anglican
province differ from the ACNA? What are your thoughts?
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