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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Great Masquerade

I am certainly no canon lawyer, as I am sure you have all found out.  If you have not I am sure someone like the old A. Curmudgeon will come along and set me (and everyone else he talks to) straight.  That being said, I have some really interesting questions. 

In our denomination, should a deposed priest preside/consecrate the bread and wine and distribute communion to a group of Episcopalians is the deposed priest guilty of a sin?  I always thought he/she would be.  In addition, if the congregation/parishioners (some or all) know that the priest is deposed, then they are also guilty of sin.  (Those that are not genuinely aware I believe are not guilty of sin and in fact, through some metamorphosis actually receive a sacrament.) 

Now, by extrapolation, let's look at say, the "Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin".  All the clergy in the "diocese" have been deposed by a lawful bishop and House of Bishops.  Those individuals who currently attend the rites and services in the Anglican Diocese have been well apprised of the depositions of their clergy.  So, are they all in sin each and every Sunday or not?  Is deposition a relative thing that really exists only in the mind of the deposer and if so what is the real purpose? 

Let's take this one last step.  If a bishop, knowingly brings a deposed priest to a parish and installs that deposed priest as the rector, is the bishop guilty of a grievous sin?  And, if the depose priest destroys the parish (the people now, not the building) who is guilty of sin?  And, if some of the parishioners knowingly participate in the charade including receiving fake sacraments from the deposed priest what then? 

finally, are the clergy deposed by the Episcopal Church deposed throughout the Anglican Communion or just locally?  And are the clergy free to do as they please without recrimination throughout the same Anglican Communion as long as they do not practice in the Episcopal Church.  Now, one rule for response please.  let us assume for the sake of this discussion, that ACNA, AMIA, CANA et al are NOT some Other form of denomination.  THEY think they are Anglican, so are they only deposed as long as they think they are Anglican and as soon as they think they are Calvinist or Methodist or Unitarian are they no longer deposed? 

Lionel?  Mark?  Tobias?  Paul?  What's up?


To enhance your thinking ability I have taken the liberty of added this:

3 comments:

rob said...

Matthew 15:1-9

Your faux Anglican friend.

Frank Remkiewicz aka “Tree” said...

Rob, I am impressed that you were able to find the New Testament. I am unconvinced, however. It doesn't really answer the immediate question(s).

Leonard said...

It seems to me that all violations start with the violator (of course feckless codependents love to be led around by the stronger of the emotionally/spiritually disturbed--that way they don´t have to be responsible--personally that is...being irresponsible in matters of ones own ¨moral conduct¨ seems to me what this is all about-- all the while, pridefully, slandering ones neighbor, thieving and probably ¨coveting¨ the ¨association¨ with Anglican Communion. Being personally accountable is the key before God, at Church and beyond...quite a challenge. I know that´s not the question but think about the intentional act of deceit and the ¨convenient¨ (lazy) ability for many to play, nothings wrong, pretend. Rationalizing deceit doesn´t make it any more honorable by either the dispenser (s) or the receiver (s)...they only support one another by looking away from the true ¨intention¨ to demonize/marginalize others with their brassy coverup.

8.“You shall not steal.

9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's