Bishops and Marriage: The No Longer Episcopal Church

A revisionist can always change his mind, and because of this you can't trust anything a revisionist says.

"I have no authority nor intent to change the church’s doctrine of Christian marriage—“a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman in the presence of God”—as contained in the Canons of Episcopal Church and in The Book of Common Prayer..." Bishop Andrew Waldo in 2014

Bishop Waldo came out in support of blessing same-sex marriages and started permitting the use of the text approved by the last General Convention in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina not long after making the above statement.

Last week, the Episcopal General Convention moved forward and authorized the continued trial use of another rite, this one a gender neutral one to be used for same-sex marriage called "The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2". This worked its way into Resolution B012, a resolution that essentially strips bishops of their episcopal authority over priests conducting such marriages against the Bishop's will, and allocates $100,000 to keep the drive alive.

As Bishop Dan Martins puts it,

"The Episcopal Church has arrogated to itself authority that it does not inherently have, and redefined a sacramental relationship that was instituted by God in creation. That is monumental hubris. And, to add insult to injury, it has deprived bishops of the authority of teaching and liturgical leadership that does properly inhere in the episcopal office. This is scandalous, and a source of shame."

And elsewhere he says,

"The action of this convention flouts the notion that the Episcopal Church is true to its very name—'episcopal' means “pertaining to the Bishop”—let alone that it stands in the broad stream of Catholic Christianity. We have grievously erred, and are in need of repentance and amendment of common life."

To which I commented,

"After stripping Bishops of their authority, I guess the next logical resolution to submit will be one that calls for removing the word 'Episcopal' from the Prayer Book, the logo, all letterheads, titles, and 815."

And I suggest the organization be renamed "The People's Church".

Here is the final resolution,

B012 Marriage Rites for the Whole Church 

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 79th General Convention authorize for continued trial use, in accordance with Article X of the Constitution and Canon II.3.6, “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage” and “The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2” (as appended to the report of the Task Force for the Study of Marriage to the 79th General Convention); and be it further

Resolved, That the 79th General Convention authorize for trial use, in accordance with Article X of the Constitution and Canon II.3.6, “The Blessing of a Civil Marriage 2” and “An Order for Marriage 2” (as appended to the report of the Task Force for the Study of Marriage to the 79th General Convention), beginning the first Sunday of Advent, 2018; and be it further 

Resolved, That the period of trial use for these liturgies shall extend until the completion of the next comprehensive revision of the Book of Common Prayer; and be it further 

Resolved, That the SCLM monitor the use of these rites as part of their work of revising the Book of Common Prayer; and be it further 

Resolved, That the material prepared by the TFSM with regard to paragraph one of “Concerning the Service” of Marriage, the proper prefaces for Marriage and the Catechism be referred to the SCLM for serious consideration as they engage in the process of revision of the Book of Common Prayer; and be it further 

Resolved, That all of this material be authorized for publication as part of Liturgical Resources 2 (as appended to the report of the TFSM) and be made available electronically in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole at no cost by the first Sunday of Advent, 2018; and be it further 

Resolved, That under the canonical direction of the Rector or Member of the Clergy in charge and where permitted to do so by civil law, provision will be made for all couples desiring to use these marriage liturgies in their local congregation or worshipping community, provided that nothing in this Resolve narrows the authority of the Rector or Priest-in-Charge (Canon III.9.6(a)); and be it further 

Resolved, That in dioceses where the bishop exercising ecclesiastical authority (or, where applicable, ecclesiastical supervision) holds a theological position that does not embrace marriage for same-sex couples, and there is a desire to use such rites by same-sex couples in a congregation or worshipping community, the bishop exercising ecclesiastical authority (or ecclesiastical supervision) shall invite, as necessary, another bishop of this Church to provide pastoral support to the couple, the Member of the Clergy involved and the congregation or worshipping community in order to fulfill the intention of this resolution that all couples have convenient and reasonable local congregational access to these rites; and be it further 

Resolved, That the provision of Canon I.18.7 applies by extension to these liturgies, namely, “It shall be within the discretion of any Member of the Clergy of this Church to decline to solemnize or bless any marriage”; and be it further 

Resolved, That the provisions of Canon I.19.3 regarding marriage after divorce apply equally to these liturgies; and be it further 

Resolved, That bishops exercising ecclesiastical authority, or where appropriate ecclesiastical supervision, who hold a theological position that does not embrace marriage for same sex couples, shall in the case of remarriage after divorce, invite another bishop of this Church to oversee the consent process and to receive any report of such Marriages, as provided in Canon I.19.3(c); and be it further 

Resolved, That bishops continue the work of leading the Church in comprehensive engagement with these materials and continue to provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church; and be it further 

Resolved, That this Church continue to honor theological diversity in regard to matters of human sexuality; and be it further 

Resolved, That the 79th General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget, and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $100,000 for the implementation of this resolution; and be it further 

Resolved, That the 79th General Convention direct the Secretary of General Convention and the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, in consultation with the outgoing Chair of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage and the Chairs of the Legislative Committees to whom this legislation is referred, to finalize and arrange with Church Publishing for the publication (in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole) of the material contained in “Liturgical Resources 2” as approved by the 79th General Convention; the General Convention Office to make these materials available electronically at no cost no later than the first Sunday of Advent 2018.

Now that adding a full marriage rite for same sex Episcopalian couples appears inevitable in every Episcopal diocese, where is Waldo of Upper South Carolina? If he is a man of his word, he would abdicate and leave the Episcopal sect, because to be a participant in such a change would be to accept a change in the doctrine of marriage which should run counter to his intent.

Of course, revisionists have no core values, so I am sure that Bishop Waldo will have no problem with making an adjustment to his intentions in order to meet the facts on the ground that same sex marriages are already happening.