We, the Bishops, together with the Delegates from the Clergy and Laity of the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada, now assembled in the first General Synod, hereby make the following Solemn Declaration:
We declare this Church to be, and desire that it shall continue, in full communion with the Church of England throughout the world, as an integral portion of the one Body of Christ composed of Churches which, united under the One Divine Head and in the fellowship of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, hold the one Faith revealed in Holy Writ, and defined in the Creeds as maintained by the undivided primitive Church in the undisputed Ecumenical Councils; receive the same Canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as containing all things necessary to salvation; teach the same Word of God; partake of the same Divinely ordained Sacraments, through the ministry of the same Apostolic Orders, and worship one God and Father through the same Lord Jesus Christ by the same Holy and Divine Spirit Who is given to them that believe to guide them into all truth.
And we are determined by the help of God to hold and maintain the Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of Christ as the Lord hath commanded in His Holy Word, and as the Church of England hath received and set forth the same in “The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to the Use of the Church of England; together with the Psalter or Psalms of David pointed as they are to be sung or said in churches; and the Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests and Deacons;” and in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion; and to transmit the same unimpaired to our posterity.
So what exactly was that, you ask? Why, it was the Solemn Declaration of 1893. And why, exactly, does it matter? Well, depending on who you ask, that question should be relegated to the past tense: it used to matter, but doesn't so much anymore. Or at least not in the way people might think. Here's an interesting excerpt from the New Westminster website, regarding their position in the ongoing difficulties (eg lawsuits and such) of the ACoC:
The 17 Plaintiffs also claim that what is known as the 1893 Solemn Declaration, one of the foundational documents of what the Anglican Church of Canada, requires a diocese to “maintain and defend historic, orthodox Anglican teaching and practice.” They say the Diocese of New Westminster violated the Declaration by establishing a rite for the blessing of same sex unions.
In its statement of defense, the Diocese notes that Bishop Ingham has always acted in accordance with the Diocese’s Constitution and Canons, and his actions have been properly ratified by Diocesan Council.
The statement adds that the term “historic, orthodox Anglican teaching and practice” has no basis in law or in Anglicanism, and that “the Solemn Declaration does not constrain the evolution of doctrine.”
The Diocesan statement filed in court also notes, as the Bishop has said from 2002 onwards, that no person, parish or priest in the Diocese will ever be required to perform blessings of same sex unions against their conscience. None of these former priests had ever been required to do so.
full article at Diocese of New Westminster website (h/t Scott)
That last paragraph might be seen as a possible red herring. For the underlying issue is not whether anyone is presently compelled to perform such a rite, but whether one will be allowed to speak against such rites, or in good conscience to protest against them in the proper manner. The phrasing sounds "generous", but I suggest it betrays a fundamentally relativistic approach to the question: you do what you want and I'll do what I want.
The position of the Diocese of New Westminster might appear at odds with the position of another diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada. In 2008, the Diocese of Athabasca passed the following resolution:
Resolution #2008-16 - BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Diocese of Athabasca reaffirm and uphold its foundational theology as expressed in The Solemn Declaration of 1893 as complete and accurate in every part, and consequently,
That this synod repudiates those actions of the Anglican Church of Canada and its constituent parts which are contrary to the Solemn Declaration in any way;
That this synod affirms and encourages the stand of those who have declared a like understanding of Anglican theology as expressed in the Solemn Declaration;
That this synod directs the Secretary of Synod to memorialize Council of General Synod of this motion.
So we have one diocese saying that the Solemn Declaration does not "constrain the evolution of doctrine", and another diocese apparently affirming that the Solemn Declaration indicates "a like understanding of Anglican theology".
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