The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church will debate and decide on the Anglican Covenant next week on Friday 8 June 2012 during a session that is timed to last from 0915 until 1045.
The General Synod will debate two motions.
Anglican Covenant
Motion 26: That this Synod agree in principle to adopt the Anglican Covenant and instruct the Faith and Order Board to arrange to bring forward appropriate canonical provision for consideration for first reading at General Synod 2013.
Anglican Communion
Motion 27: That this Synod
- Give thanks for the part played by the Scottish Episcopal Church in the early stages of the evolution of the Anglican Communion through the consecration of Samuel Seabury in Aberdeen;
- Affirm its desire to continue to be part of the Anglican Communion as it seeks closer union while celebrating its diversity;
- Call on the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ Meeting, the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Consultative Council to encourage the development of bonds of shared mission, respect and mutual support through which the Anglican Communion can help spread the love of Christ across the world;
- Affirm the work of the Anglican Communion Networks, bodies and initiatives through which those bonds can be nurtured.
The notes from last year’s General Synod ‘indaba’ process are available.
There is also a paper from the Faith and Order Board.
A is for Anglican is for Affirming things and for Adopting things even when they’re mutually contradictory?
It will be entirely up to the synod to decide whether to adopt either of these motions. My hunch is that it will adopt one of them resoundingly.
I hope the Synod votes against the first motion and approves the second motion.
BTW, we in Mexico thank you for the consecration of Bishop Seabury because of our TEC heritage.
For those who aren’t able to be present for the debate (or for any part of Synod’s business) a live audio stream will be available from the Provincial website when Synod is sitting.
Kennedy
It is interesting to ponder that if an “Anglican Covenant” had existed in the 18th century, that it is distinctly possible that the SEC might have been “excluded” from the Anglican Communion for consecrating Bp Samuel Seabury, the first American Bishop, as the Church of England Bishops had refused to do so.