Australian General Synod opens with anti-orthodox media campaign

May 8, 2022 by

by David Ould:

The 18th Session of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia is finally upon us after numerous delays. Delegates from all 23 dioceses will gather together for 5 days on the Gold Coast to consider a range of matters but it is clear that a long-awaited debate on human sexuality is the topic which garners most anticipation.

Writing in the Australian, Jamie Walker provides a balanced summary [paywall] of what he describes as “A long-delayed showdown over same-sex marriage”. I am quoted alongside a range of views from across the national church. The piece is fascinating in that we already see revisionists working to downplay any potential affirmation of orthodoxy from the General Synod.

[A proposed] statement on same-sex marriage sponsored by Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, will bring to a head the bitter dispute after blessings were conducted by the rogue Wangaratta Diocese in Victoria …

…Archbishop of Perth Kay Goldsworthy, the first woman to be consecrated bishop in Australia, said the outcome was impossible to predict.

Asked if progressives in the church could quit over same-sex marriage, she said: “I am certainly not leaving … Statements such as these are dealt with under a particular rule of our standing orders and I think then would need to be taken around the country and debated separately in every diocese.”

Delayed gay marriage debate ‘could split’ Anglican Church

There are 2 statements being debated, one on the doctrine of marriage and the other on chastity. The now widely-circulated statements are attempt to provide clarity after the contentious opinion of the Appellate Tribunal

Read here

See also:

The Line in the Sand: The Appellate Tribunal Opinion and the Future of the Anglican Church in Australia, Published by the Anglican Church League (Sydney).
Featuring analysis and opinion on the legal decision about canon law and blessing of same sex marriages in the Anglican Church of Australia, written before the convening of ACA’s General Synod in May 2022; and also featuring a chapter on “A view from the Church of England” by Andrew Symes, Editor of Anglican Mainstream.

Australia: Deadlock in key vote as Anglican bishops block a conservative statement on marriage, by John Sandeman, Eternity News: A motion to affirm traditional marriage has passed in two of the three houses at the Anglican General Synod (GS) being held on the Gold Coast, but has been blocked in the house of Bishops.

“If you want to solemnize same-sex marriages start your own church!” – Archbishop Glenn Davies, by David Virtue, VOL:
Former Sydney Archbishop Davies told Lionel Windsor in an Anglican Church League Podcast that homosexuality is “a salvation issue” and “dioceses that have departed from this have actually broken communion and that’s over very significant issues.”

The Attack on Sydney Anglicanism, by David Robertson, AP:
Principals of some Sydney elite schools of Anglican foundation, and some parents, were reported to be opposed to a document from the Diocese affirming biblical teaching on sex and marriage. “…there are some lessons for the Church which enable us to see how this particular attack will play out.”

 

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