‘Please leave’: why the Sydney archbishop’s same-sex marriage message has Anglicans rattled

Oct 20, 2019 by

The blunt words of Sydney archbishop Glenn Davies come at a critical moment for Australian churches and demands for religious freedom.

By Andrew West, Guardian:

For a man renowned for his civility, the language was blunt. During his annual speech to the Anglican Church’s Sydney synod, Archbishop Glenn Davies told supporters of same-sex marriage to “please leave us”.

“My own view is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views,” he said. “But do not ruin the Anglican Church by abandoning the plain teaching of scripture.”

In a report published on the Sydney Anglicans website, Davies’s media manager, Russell Powell, said the archbishop received a standing ovation at the end of his address – as indeed he had.

But in pockets of the hall, there was also discomfort, if not with the core sentiment then with the tone. Davies has long been frustrated by what he believes is the excessive liberalism or tolerance of other Australian bishops towards same-sex relationships, particularly among clergy.

Now he watches as two relatively small parts of the church – the dioceses of Wangaratta in Victoria and Newcastle in New South Wales – are moving to bless same-sex marriages.

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