CANADA: New Westminster - New Gospel; the ANiC trial

Commentary by Charles Raven
June 5, 2009

Court cases between orthodox parishes and revisionist dioceses have, sadly, become something of a commonplace in North America, but the current court battle in the Supreme Court of British Columbia between four Anglican Network in Canada parishes, including St John's Shaughnessy, and the Anglican Church of Canada's Diocese of New Westminster led by Bishop Michael Ingham is proving to be very revealing.

This is the first time a Canadian court has been asked to rule on the question of overall control of Anglican church property. The trial itself began on 25th May and has some time to go, with judgement not expected until late summer, but whether they win or lose, the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) has already done orthodox Anglicans - if they take notice - a great service by this bold decision to take a legal stand.

The ANiC parishes' case is essentially very simple; that the Diocese of New Westminster under Bishop Michael Ingham no longer holds to the central doctrines of the Christian faith; it has reinvented the gospel and the presenting issue, the blessing of same sex unions, is simply a symptom of this deeper malaise. In evidence at the trial on day three, a member of one of the ANiC congregations spoke of her shock as far back as 1994 when Bishop Michael Ingham denied the uniqueness of Jesus as the only saviour and in 1997 he subsequently enlarged on this theme in his book 'Mansions of the Spirit'. As members of the ANiC, they are aligned with the orthodox majority in the Anglican Communion through the GAFCON movement and see that they have a duty to ensure that historic assets are protected and held in trust for orthodox Anglican ministry. In essence, their argument turns on a confessional understanding of the church - that a valid Anglican Church is one which is faithful to historic and orthodox Anglican doctrine and practice.
the rest at Virtueonline