Spiritual Tragedy for England if the Bishop of Maidstone left the Church of England
by Julian Mann, Virtueonline:
The Bishop of Maidstone, the Right Reverend Rod Thomas, is too prudent to go round blabbing to journalists about his future intentions if the Church of England were to fall over the moral precipice. But it is not difficult to work out from his track record what he could well do if the Church of England authorised services of same-sex blessing, the slippery slope to altering its heterosexual marriage Canon.
He was before he was consecrated Bishop of Maidstone in 2015, with a brief to provide episcopal oversight for conservative evangelical churches, opposed to women bishops around England, on the executive committee of the Anglican Mission in England, set up in 2011 to spearhead new orthodox churches outside the CofE’s structures. It was right to step out of that role when he was consecrated Bishop in order to focus on building relationships in dioceses, which he has successfully done.
But of course he remains supportive of AMiE and is publicly committed to the international confessing Anglican movement, GAFCON, with which AMiE is associated.
If he left the Church of England, surely he would become AMiE’s Bishop, ordaining frontline clergy for their new churches and supporting their existing churches as well as being involved in GAFCON internationally?
Would he not become England’s Bob Duncan without the bushy eyebrows?
Why would it be a tragedy for the Church of England if Rod Thomas left? Because many of the conservative evangelical churches he already oversees in the CofE are growing and have young people in them. Surely those churches would eventually follow him out?
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