Personally Speaking

Editor. Richard Mammana has written for The Rock and has also been published by Touchstone. He has done a remarkably fine and valuable work, for which 1 thank him on behalf of Rock Readers, and 1 thank his friend, Ben Letzler for bringing it to my attention!

A Personal Reminiscence

The Rev. Fr. Francis Gardom

My first encounter with Trueman Dicken came about as a result of my attempts in the early 1980s to discover the real facts concerning the Continuing Churches, particularly in the United States.

It was, and it still is, extraordinarily difficult to get information through the normal Church of England channels. The evidence suggests that a policy of deliberate ignorance was being pursued at the time by the powers – that – be. However, perseverance, and a number of devious paths, led me eventually to Trueman's front door.

From that day onward our friendship grew. Trueman turned out to be the one person in England who not only knew most of the facts, who had been present in an advisory and not merely observational capacity at the Synod of St Louis and, perhaps most important of all, was willing to share his knowledge eagerly with those who sought it.

As a result of his encouragement I went on a fortnight's fact – finding mission to the USA, where, at his suggestion I met a number of the key persons involved in the Continuum. That was the first of many such visits, and before each of them I was careful to get myself briefed by Trueman as to the latest developments. Most of what I know about the triumphs and tragedies of the Continuum can be traced back to my acquaintance with Trueman.

As a result of my first visit it became obvious to several of us that we must inaugurate an organisation of priests who could specifically address the problems raised by the proposals to ordain women as priests. At that stage the Church of England was still in consultation – mode: no decisions had been taken in Synod apart from the much earlier one that there were "no theological reasons" against such a novelty as women priests. At that stage it was far from clear which way the debate would go.

However, it was perfectly clear that the traditional/catholic organizations, who in the past could be relied upon to defend the "faith once delivered to the saints" could no longer be depended upon to do so. Not only were there deep divisions amongst the members themselves, specifically those who now style themselves "Affirming Catholics" who took their lead from people like Richard Holloway (till recently Primus of Scotland). Such people sought by every means to correct anything which they saw as "offending natural justice". Yet in our view even more dangerous than this error, was the over – reliance which the leaders of such traditional – catholic organizations placed upon having a "blocking minority" within the General Synod, where the matter of female ordination would eventually be decided.

Trueman shared with many of us a deep mistrust of the democratic process as a means of deciding theological truth, and recognized that the next synodical election could remove that safeguard overnight (which it did!). He also warned us against placing an excessive reliance upon the "safe" bishops and dioceses which then existed. He had seen the we – shall – never – surrender lobby in the USA diminish from over one hundred and sixty bishops in 1972 to the mere three or four that are there today. So we had been warned!

Trueman became one of the founder – members of Cost of Conscience, the nationwide body of priests which set itself the task of co-ordinating the opposition to the Women Priest movement. We used to meet quite regularly, thanks to the generosity of their Warden, Dr Philip Ursell, at Pusey House, Oxford, which was equally accessible from Trueman's home, London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff where the other members of the Committee lived.

Trueman's insights and experience really came into their own at these meetings. Faced as we were with an unprecedented set of circumstances it was invaluable for us to have someone who had "been through it all before" in the case of St Louis and its aftermath. Possible solutions which might suggest themselves to our inexperienced minds could be ruled out from the start, if only because Trueman could say "don't try that one; the Americans did, and it didn't work"

One particular example of this was the suggestion to ordain "alternative bishops". That policy, upon which so much reliance was placed at St. Louis quickly unravelled at Dallas the following year. Despite Trueman's declared misgivings about it at the Congress, it seemed to be such an obvious "answer". But it wasn't, and the results of having taken that wrong turning against his advice remain with the heirs of St Louis in the USA even today.

Ironically, of course, bishops of our integrity was precisely what we did get in the Church of England under the Act of Synod. It took the form of Flying Bishops (or Provincial Episcopal Visitors to give them their official title), which have proved to be so successful that many liberals are now clamouring for their extinction as enthusiastically as they voted for them in the first place. It was Trueman's wise counsel which prevailed against any attempts to jump the gun, and events have proved just how right he was.

Trueman's wisdom and experience were equally invaluable when it came to the question of whether the Continuum in America (in particular the TAC, with which he was closely connected) should set up a full-fledged Alternative Church in England, with its own episcopal jurisdiction, in common with their practice elsewhere once women had been ordained as priests. Trueman was of the view that this would only serve to replicate some of the problems which had arisen with multiple jurisdictions in the USA to which I referred above. It was far more important that locally based bodies such as Forward in Faith and Cost of Conscience, both of whom he knew at first – hand and to whose principles he subscribed, should be allowed to sort things out in their own way. He believed that it would be only when and if that attempt failed, that a rescue – operation from overseas to set matters right should be attempted. Of course, he had to face the difficult task of persuading those who had experienced the tendency of official Episcopalianism in the United States to draw endless lines in the sand, only to retreat yet further and try and draw yet another `final' line where their feet happened to be standing.

With his advocacy of the Book of Common Prayer, to which he remained unswervingly loyal, Trueman used to remind us continually of the many worshippers who, whilst opposed to liberal innovations and heresies, did not fit easily into the Anglo-Catholic mold where most of us had been formed. This meant, amongst other things, that Conservative Evangelicals have found it much easier to relate to Cost of Conscience than to some of the other Anglo Catholic societies. Trueman, I remember, in common with all the other members of the Committee, myself excepted, once admitted to having been, at some very early stage in his life (Sunday School I imagine) attached to some non – conformist church. Whilst this didn't last long it at least gave him, and the rest of us, an insight into the needs and understanding of our Evangelical cobelligerents. That association, I am happy to say, continues in the form of a senior member of Reform being an Observer on the Council of Forward in Faith, and myself being the official FiF Observer to Reform.

After Trueman and Helene's move to their cottage at Bourton, Anne and I continued to visit them whenever we were passing that way. Whilst his progressive deafness was a real trial to him, it certainly did not in any way affect his razor – sharp mind and memory. One had only to ask him a question about the history of the Continuum, or the name of one of those involved and he could immediately give one the answer with a potted biography of the person in question.

Best of all, Trueman was intensely loyal, not only to his personal friends, but to anyone who was prepared to stand up with him for the Truth with which we have been entrusted. This meant that his circle of friends was both wide, and Catholic in the fullest sense of the word. The fact that a given fellow – combatant might not share his opinions on the merits of the Book of Common Prayer was never for him a barrier to standing alongside him and fighting together on those other (more fundamental) matters upon which they could both agree.

The history of Anglicanism during the past thirty years might have been significantly different if only there had been a few more priests with the wisdom and generosity which Trueman possessed, which enabled him to bring together those from many different backgrounds but who shared that common interest of safeguarding the faith which has been entrusted to us.

This memorable quotation is from Sir Alex Fraser Tytler (1742 – 1813), a Scottish jurist and historian who was widely known in his time and was professor of Universal History at Edinburgh University in the late 18th century. The quotation is from the 1801 collection of his lectures.

NEWS FLASH

(from Archbishop Louis Falk, Primate TAC)

As requested by the Synod of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa (Traditional Rite), Bp. Hepworth and I have appointed Bp. Trevor Rhodes, OSB, to be Bishop Ordinary of that Province of the TAC. This is, of course, subject to receiving the consent of the TAC College of Bishops for Bp. Rhodes' translation to his new See. As an Englishman (from Yorkshire) with experience in Africa, he is extremely well – suited to the situation there. He will retain his relationship of personal oversight with St. Andrew's Cathedral Parish in Caracas, Venezuela for as long as that is desired.

+LWF

"Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved" (St. John of the Cross). "This is how I treat My friends", said our Lord to a suffering St. Teresa. "That is why You have so few of them", she replied (alleged conversation between Christ and the nun).

In the cave of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel in Israel, we bumped into A Carmelite friar, Father Elias, a South African, a doctor of medicine, a convert from Judaism. We were an ecumenical group of pilgrims The friar told us that people were attracted either to St. Teresa Avila or to St. John of the Cross, not to both. As for himself, he was drawn to the gent. Some years later a retired officer of the Royal Navy, a man who had been in bomb disposal, told me the same thing. He was drawn to the lady.

Friendships are built because birds of a feather flock together. But other friendships are built because opposites attract. One assumes it's the latter that accounts for the mutual affection and respect between St. Teresa and St. John. She may have been the Mother Foundress of the Reformed Carmelites and, in this sense, his mentor and superior. He may have been her Little Seneca, her half friar", her mentor and spiritual director. But when one reads their writings, the two seem to have made no impression upon each other. All those ecstasies and illuminations and visions! Had she ever listened to a word he said? Shun ecstasies, visions arid illuminations. This way one never mistakes the devil for an angel of light (II Corinthians 11,14). Live by the common faith of Christendom.

When I told Father Dicken about Father Elias and the Commander RN, with both of whom I heartily concurred, he was not impressed. Whatever the truth about attraction, either to St Teresa or to St. John, Father Dicken set out to harmonize their teachings. Hence his magisterial Crucible of Love, which created a stir when it was first published in the early 60's. Father Dicken later changed his mind about a doctrine of Teresa's, and published an article to this effect in .journal Of Carmelite spirituality. But Crucible is not exclusively for those trying to reconcile the two great Spanish doctors. Most chapters of the book will benefit most readers. Father Dicken wrote several smaller books also.

The Second World War saw Eric William Trueman Dicken as a military intelligence officer in North Africa, the Middle East and Austria. After demobilization he read an honours degree in Modern Languages at Oxford, and then took a first in Theology. He later earned a DD from Oxford, a far from commonplace distinction. I assume Spanish to have been among his languages, necessary for work on the book. After ordination he ministered as a country parson in the diocese of Southwell, and then as a lecturer in moral theology at Nottingham University. Proximity to Kelham meant access to the library belonging to the Society of the Sacred Mission He is now joined to the small company of English speakers who have made Teresa and John accessible to us, Dom John Chapman of Downside Abbey, Professor Allison Peers of Liverpool University, Canon Eric Mascall of Oxford, and Sister Ruth Burrows, herself a Carmelite.

From the Congress of St. Louis and before, he has been a theological adviser to Continuing Anglicans. He visited this continent several times He served on the committee of Forward in Faith. He had a heavy and wide correspondence. From Zimbabwe I would consult him on behalf of the bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa: because of our civil war, might deacons and laymen administer holy unction? Like Dr. Henry Cooper of the Guild of St. Raphael, Or. Dicken advised against unilateral declarations of independence from universal faith and practice; it was not good to erect yet more barriers between Christian denominations. We took his advice. Though Father Dicken was a person of wide ecumenical sympathy, he never felt second class, less of a catholic, for being Anglican. He was glad of our own tradition and stuck to the Prayer Book.

Throughout his ministry Father Dicken has benefitted from the loyal support of his wife Helene, no theological ignoramus herself. She has been a retreat conductor, a spiritual director, and a selector of ordinands for the Church of England. Some of her essays were collected in "Living with God" (publisher The Convent Society (C$12.00). One essay is called "Women and the Apostolic Ministry"

Bishop Crawley and I first met at Monks' Barn, the Dickens' lovely stone house in Gloucestershire. Father Francis Gardom was there too. It was a spring day in 1987. We took tea in the garden, under the pink blossom of flowering Japanese cherry trees, and admired the blue forget-me-nots growing out of cracks in the garden walls. We prayed together in the domestic oratory. We talked about the Impaired Anglican Communion, about my coming to Canada. As somebody said of another memory,

Bp. Hudson and I were sitting, a few years ago, with Trueman in the ornate dining room of the Randolph Hotel in Oxford. In the street just outside one of the large windows, in full view, stood the Martyrs' Memorial (commemorating where Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer were burned at the stake a short distance away). Our very young waiter approached with full formality, one arm tucked properly behind his back. Our order was required. One of us commented instead on the impressive monument in view. "Yes, sir; very good sir. And your order, sir?" The request came back at once: "Could you suggest anything flambé?" Trueman roared. The waiter was stiffly nonplussed.

A good sense of humor is supposed to be a sign of a first – rate mind. In Dr. Dicken's case there could be no doubt of it. He conducted a protracted debate by mail with me and the redoubtable Dr. David Gregson on the question of what to think about the ordinations of men in a province which has adopted the "priesting" of women. None of the easy answers would do. He simply would not let go of the issue until, with Lewis – like tenacity it had been thought through thoroughly. all without recourse to slogans or wishful thinking.

We shall miss him. 1 shall miss him. Never was a rest better earned. Serve bone et fidelis, intra in gaudium Domini tui. +LWF

"There were giants in the earth in those days" Gen. 6;4

Bishop Robert C. Crawley SSC

Bishop Mercer, Archbishop Falk, and Fr. Francis Gardom have all written movingly about our dear departed friend, Dr. Trueman Dicken. All I can add is that he was a staunch friend, a wise counsellor, and a brilliant theologian and writer who helped me immeasurably in launching and maintaining The Rock. His regular column "In England Now" – his own choice of title – was a feature to which many readers first turned. (When he could no longer write or type due to severe pain, one discouraged reader cancelled his subscription!) Fr. Dicken then suggested that his place be taken by his close friend, Fr. Francis Gardom, so `his' column lives on through his literary `offspring'.

I first met Fr. Trueman at the St. Louis Congress (1977) but our friendship was sealed at our next meeting at his home near Stow – on – the – Wold together with Bishop Mercer and Fr. Gardom, where we had a wonderful time plotting the future – including the final persuasion of Bishop Mercer to "come over to Canada and help us." In 1994, four years after the TAC was formed, we journeyed from his home to London to meet with leaders of Forward in Faith, where he helped in drawing up the initial "concordat" between the TAC and Forward in Faith, which resulted in our mutual agreement of co – operation and inter – communion.

To honour his memory, I plan to produce a special extra publication of The Rock for those who would like to have a selected collection of his columns (details later). Meanwhile, to whet your appetite I reprint one of his columns, which is as fresh and vibrant today as when first written in March 1992, nine months before the fateful vote in Synod (C of E).

Our love and prayers for his devoted wife, H618ne. May we all meet again, along with Bishop Haley who was an ardent fan of his.

***************

I have selected Trueman's article published in the March, 1992 issue of The Rock. In a covering letter to me he wrote..

My considered opinion is that what follows is just that, and more. It is the finest condensed work on the subject I have yet seen and I urge you all to read it, re – read it, and study it until you are able to explain it to

others +RCC

The Priest as the Icon of Christ

While the bishops mull over their dilemma, public debate on the issues has lapsed somewhat, perhaps offering an opportunity for a more precise consideration of the theological case which has as yet been barely heard amidst the impatient stridency of the feminists. Current sociological fashions must be judged in the light of immutable verities, and not vice versa.

"No man hath seen God at any time", declares the Fourth Gospel (John 1:18), summing up in one short sentence the fundamental problem of the Old Testament. No image of the invisible transcendent God could be tolerated: It would have been dangerously and damagingly misleading. The ancient Hebrews were in no doubt that God was continually active in their affairs, but there was no complete certainty how his activity should be interpreted and his true character assessed. Even the prophets frequently disagreed on the matter, and to Jeremiah's bitter chagrin his prophetic predictions were so frequently falsified by subsequent events as to cast grave doubt on his credibility among his contemporaries (Cf. Jeremiah 4:10; 20:7; 28:1 – 11 etc).

It need not surprise us, then, that at many points the teaching of our Lord cuts clean across that of the Old Testament. Consider just a very few of the many, many examples to be found in the Gospels, e.g. Matthew 5:38 – 39; Mark 10:2 – 9; Luke 6:1 – 5; John 5:8 – 10,17. As the Fourth Gospel proclaims, although the Father is eternally invisible, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Visibly and audibly, God in the flesh sets out the divine will and makes manifest the eternal purpose and nature of the Father with unique authority.

The writers of the New Testament were well aware of the fact that abstract thinking, above all about all which lies outside our material world of time and space, can be achieved by human minds only through reflection on what we can perceive with our bodily senses. We can learn to think mathematically, for example, only by first counting material things or persons: nine soldiers, five apples, seven pencils. Once we have grasped the nature of numbers, however, we can add up 9+4+13+756 unrelated to actual things, knowing that the correct mathematical answer will apply equally to all of them. To see, hear, touch is the indispensable trigger for our understanding of all that we can abstract; and for this reason the Incarnation is crucial to our Christian understanding of divine revelation.

Christ, we hold, is both truly God and truly man in one and the same person. In him our world of time and space is inseparably welded to the timeless wisdom of God who transcends all time and space, and in him God is literally made visible.

Still further, in the words in which the early Fathers of the Church summed up the yet wider and deeper purpose of the Incarnation, "Christ became what we are in order to make us what he himself is" – to incorporate us into his body, the Church, so that we ourselves might share, here and now, his life in the unseen realm of eternity. But we are not left simply to look back in history to the earthly life of Christ in order to discover the link between the eternal and our own temporal existence. The risen Christ still lives, and life in Christ – the life of the Church and the life of each individual Christian within it – is sustained by the perpetual activity of the living Lord in the two great sacraments of baptism and Eucharist.

In baptism we became, once and for all, members of the risen Body of Christ by our sacramental washing in the water of life. In the Eucharist we are renewed, refreshed and sustained in that life by the body and blood of Christ, "verily taken and received by the faithful" in that sacrament as the Prayer Book asserts. Bread and wine, material things of this world which we see and touch and taste, are, by the express will of God in Christ, the means by which we receive ever anew the life of the risen Lord and the benefits of his sacrificial death in this world and the next.

The whole created order is, in fact, anticipatorally linked to the realm of eternity by that self – same principle of Incarnation and sacrament which underlies both divine self – revelation and our human redemption. Christ lives in the world and in the Church, and it is he who is the true celebrant in every Eucharist. It is his presence with us and within us, his sacrifice for us men and his resurrection which make real the ineffable coming together of heaven and earth as the Church offers these holy mysteries.

What is more, this same principle of Incarnation and sacrament pervades the whole life and worship of the Church, whose members live in two worlds at once: the world of here and now and the world of eternal reality. It was on these grounds that the seventh Great Council of the undivided Church (Nicaea II) solemnly asserted the already long – held doctrine that, since God had made himself visible in Jesus Christ, from that time onwards it is right and laudable for Christians to make pictures and images (Greek: ikons) of the visible Lord, to bring home to us by the medium of material representations the reality and significance of his Incarnation.

Similarly, the human celebrant in the Eucharist, acting on Christ's own authority and at his express command, using the Lord's words and reproducing his actions, must show forth in his own ordained person the person of Christ. The priest himself is necessarily an ikon of Christ.

Is the sex of the celebrant important, then? The point must first be made, despite all the irrelevant and often disingenuous claims of the feminists, that men and women are radically differentiated. Physically and psychologically they constitute two manifestly distinct forms of humanity, entirely complementary but irreversibly different, and the Christian cannot but believe that God purposely made them so: the very perpetuation of the human race depends upon it.

Basic to the whole Old Testament understanding of God, however, is that he has always been known as male. The ancient Hebrews were altogether too familiar with the notion of female deities, and well understood the sharp contrast implied by the modes of their worship and their supposed activities over against those of male deities. This is not in the least to say that God is at all a sexual being, but it is to human beings, with their human experience, that God's self – revelation is addressed. Human beings naturally and inevitably identify God's unrestricted initiative, his sovereign authority and his self – sufficiency much more readily with man than with woman. Modern anthropologists, the arch – feminist Margaret Mead among them, do not question the evidence that the headship of the male among human beings is a feature of the natural order quite independent of social conditioning.

So far from calling the Old Testament in question on this point, the incarnate Lord both reinforces and amplifies the concept: God is his Father, and our Father too, the infinitely loving and trustworthy provider and also the one ultimate authority over all things. The second Person of the Holy Trinity could "show forth" the character and the nature of the Father intelligibly only by becoming incarnate as a male, a Son in relation to the Father; and, incidentally, it should be noticed that the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ was conceived in the womb of the blessed Virgin, must also logically be thought of as notionally male.

The Priest as Ikon

By the self – same token, the priest in the Eucharist can "show forth" the divine Son and his relationship to the Father only if he, too, is male. The only intelligent purposeful beings of which we have knowledge or experience are our fellow humans, all uninterchangeably male or female, and nothing can change the fact that it was the male Christ who came to make the divine nature and purpose intelligible to us. Unless God's consistent self – revelation made under male forms is wholly misleading, the choice of maleness both for Christ and for celebrants of his Eucharist is inescapable. The priest must be, in Orthodox terminology, an ikon of Christ. He must be, in Western language, alter Christus; and any woman playing the part of a man is simply indulging in a charade.

Sometimes it's surprising what surprises people. There was widespread outrage last week over the killing of a new-born baby by Chinese Communists in Hubei province. Five officials invaded the parents' home, yanked the infant from their arms, took it to a nearby rice paddy and drowned it. Apparently finding this shocking, the Edmonton Journal, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald and Ottawa Citizen all ran it on the front page.

To which I can only say, I'm shocked that they are shocked. What did they think China's infamous one – child policy was all about? Did they imagine it was like limiting lawn – watering during a dry summer, or restricting a supermarket sale item to one per customer? Of course the child got killed. It was the woman's fourth. She should be grateful they didn't kill two more. Since the Communists decreed their one – child edict in the 1970s, they have forcibly aborted and sterilized countless women, and seized and starved countless children to reduce population. It has been credibly reported that fetuses have even been eaten as health food. Because most parents want their only child to be a boy, girls are now so rare in the more zealous one – child areas that they are routinely kidnapped and raised in captivity. All of this, of course, is supported with dollops of money, enthusiasm and expertise from Planned Parenthood, the transnational abortion conglomerate, and abetted by concerned globalists such as Bill Gates and Ted Turner.

It's a bitter irony that the super – rich always agree with the antirich that humanity's chief problem is humanity. As G.K. Chesterton observed, most philanthropy consists of a ceaseless effort by the rich to control the poor. It's always justified by some sort of false argument of expediency: we don't have room, we can't possibly feed all these people and so on. The reality is, of course, that China is not at all short of land. Most of its northern territories are almost empty and could produce far more food. But that would require officialdom in Beijing to adjust their thinking. It seems easier to order people to stop having children; and when people stubbornly insist upon having children anyway, officials dispatch them like unwanted kittens.

All of which should give us pause when gazillionaire humanists such as Ted Turner and Maurice Strong, in a spirit of public service, invite representatives of all world religions to a meeting in New York. As Shafer Parker reported in our last edition, Mr. Turner is not seeking their wisdom; he intends to impart his own. He wants them to accept his personal moral code and disseminate it across the globe.

Now if some Vatican moral theologian were to tell Messrs. Turner and Strong that they plainly misapprehend and despise humanity, both gentlemen would be genuinely offended. They would say, as Mr. Turner himself said in Edmonton a month ago, that they are "just trying to make the world a better place, both for its human inhabitants and all the other creatures that inhabit this planet with us." I'm sure they really think this.

The gulf between them and the Christian, however, is profound. The Christian holds that each and every human – rich or poor, young or old, smart or less smart, handsome or ugly, lucky or unlucky, healthy or sick, happy or miserable, Christian or otherwise – is made "in the image of God." This doesn't mean that we all look like God. It means that to an extent we can think like him, distinguishing virtue from sin, beauty from ugliness and truth from falsehood. This small apportionment of the divine is our source of all human dignity, freedom, rights and responsibilities. Anyone who arbitrarily shortens or ruins another person's divine life and freedom is guilty of a terrible sin.

But the pure humanist sees life quite differently. He has no concept of "the image of God," but has only an image of himself, and of his own wants and hopes. And what he wants, naturally, is comfort, convenience, knowledge, long life and friendship. Without them, or at least the hope of them, he considers his own lifer anyone else's – to be without point.

Two things should be noted about these divergent attitudes. The first is that they are both based on faith. They are both defended as self – evidently true, and anyone who disagrees is all too often dismissed as stupid or perverse. The humanist is just as prone to such condemnation as the Christian; in fact more so, because, unlike the Christian, he is rarely aware that he has a faith at all. Communists see themselves as "scientific"; liberals such as Mr. Turner imagine themselves as merely "rational." But all human understanding is ultimately based on faith.

The other noteworthy point is that our whole concept of human rights arises from our long exploration of the Christian doctrine of "imago Dei." It began with early Christians such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine, and continues to this day with Pope John Paul writing about the "transcendent dignity of man." Take away the acknowledgement of God and you remove the central agent, the yeast which causes the bread to rise. Almost instantly, you start deciding quite arbitrarily whose "quality of life" is sufficient and whose isn't. Instead of building more houses and ploughing more land, you end up drowning babies in rice pad –

Fr. Francis Gardom

A Potpourri of Happenings

In writing for the past few editions of The Rock there has usually been one topic of sufficient interest about what has been happening in England to warrant devoting a whole article to it.

This time, however, there have been just so many interesting things happening that it seemed more appropriate not to write about one of them at length but to give an overall picture of what has taken place. This is the more so because, with one or two exceptions, things have been going particularly well.

Last time I described the great Millennium Festival Mass, Christ Our Future, at the London Arena organized by Forward in Faith which attracted over ten thousand worshippers and was easily the largest event of its kind in England during the Millennium. That gave the lie direct to the pious hope expressed by the innovationists that we would soon pack our bags and be gone, that the opposition to women priests would "melt away", and that our churches would start filling up again when there were women at the altar and in the pulpit.

Well, of course, it hasn't happened. Indeed the decline of churchgoing in the Church of England has continued unabated except in one or two areas one of which is, significantly the traditional Anglo – Catholic churches where resistance to this novelty has been the strongest.

Encouraged by this, Forward in Faith has compiled a Directory of parishes where (to quote the sub – title) "those opposed to women priests can worship with confidence". It lists some thirteen hundred such churches up and down the country, unevenly spread to be sure, but where, nevertheless one is unlikely to find a woman priest presiding at the Eucharist.

At $10.00 a copy (inc. p&p) this book is a real must if you are coming on holiday to England and are concerned about where you can worship with such confidence. Of course things change, and it is advisable to ring up the contact telephone number given against a particular parish to ascertain firstly that they are still of that integrity and, more importantly, whether there is any service at that particular church on a given Sunday. The Guide can be obtained from Forward in Faith, 7 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QN.

My travels this summer took me to Presteigne, actually in North Wales, but ecclesiastically still in England, to preach for Fr Gill at his church which belongs to the Traditional Anglican Communion. This was another step in cementing relationships between Forward in Faith and the Continuum. As you know, Fr Aird is Archbishop Falk's Vicar General in this country and represents the Traditional Anglican Church of England as Observer on the Council of Forward in Faith. Presteigne was the first place where I have had the honour of taking part in one of their services, and I am happy to say that I have now also been invited to St Agatha's, Landport, to preach in the New Year. It is important that all

Traditional Anglicans grow together, and as far as possible operate the Lewisham Concordat which makes our respective ministries interchangeable with each other.

It was with this in mind that my wife Anne and I spent a most enjoyable fortnight in Des Moines as the guests of Archbishop and Carol Falk. Besides its being a holiday, we were able to meet, and be met by, members of at least two local TAC congregations, St Aiden's, Des Moines and St Andrew's in Dubuque. We also got a feel of the state of present – day Anglicanism in the USA (dire!)), which in the light of what I am going to tell you in a moment was remarkably useful.

The good news (for me at any rate) is that I am coming back to the USA not just once but twice in the near future. The first time is to be present at Rosemont Church in Philadelphia on Sunday 26th November when Fr David Moyer has invited a number of overseas Primates to come and take part in a series of services. This has happened because of the attempts which have been made within ECUSA to make Fr Moyer toe their line. I gather that his diocesan bishop has had second thoughts and backed off from a legal confrontation, but the event is without precedent. Fr Moyer's stand over this matter deserves every encouragement, so I offered to go and represent Forward in Faith (England) at that event.

My second visit in January is to Pawley's Island, North Carolina, where the Anglican Mission to America is holding its first official get – together. This movement is fronted – up by the two bishops, John Rogers and Chuck Murphy who were consecrated in Singapore almost exactly a year before with the specific remit of becoming missionary bishops to the United States. A number of parishes in the USA have asked to be given oversight and legal battles have already been joined between these parishes and ECUSA regarding the ownership of their plant and property.

I had the good fortune to meet Bishop Rogers when he came to the Reform Conference at Swanwick (where I am the FiF Observer), and the even greater fortune to find that he was not only willing to give me generously of his time but was actually glad to have the chance to hear about how things are going in England.

The answer to that question is: very well, – at least so far as the FiF constituency is concerned. We now have again, or shortly will have, our full complement of Flying Bishops and their colleagues. These are: Bishops Edwin Barnes (Richborough), Martin Jarrett (Beverley), Andrew Burnham (Ebbsfleet). In addition we have Bishops John Richards and John Gaisford (ex-Ebbsfleet and ex – Beverley respectively but still very active), Bishop John Broadhurst (Fulham, responsible for London, Rochester and Southwark), and Bishop David Thomas (The Church in Wales). Cost of Conscience will be drawing the non – retired ones together at our meeting in Northamptonshire in December to formulate our plans with them for the future, and to report on the successful John Keble Workshops which have been addressing the thorny question of marriage discipline within the Church of England. The next bit of good news is that the Glastonbury Pilgrimage Association at its Annual General Meeting reaffirmed the following motion (originally passed in 1992): "Having regard to its history and aims, the Glastonbury Pilgrimage Association resolves that it remains inappropriate to invite women priests to celebrate or officiate at any pilgrimage service" The Pilgrimage was amongst the first of the Catholic Organizations to respond in this way to the ordination of women as priests. The original motion (which the above replaces) only covered up to the year 2000 inclusive. The present motion has no determining time – limit placed upon it. The voting was 75 to 2 in favour, and this is resonant of a new confidence within our constituency. The Pilgrimage takes place every year and is a great gathering together for all the traditional/orthodox claims.

It has now become perfectly clear that the ordination of women as priests and bishops will never be acceptable to the Church of England as a whole as was once confidently supposed. This means that either adequate provision must continue to be provided for those of us who believe it to be unscriptural and wrong, or else it means that we've got to be driven out of the Church of England by one means or another. Since there really isn't any mechanism (at present) for doing so and some of us at any rate are determined to hang onto the heritage which we have been commissioned to safeguard, we are rapidly approaching a stalemate.

At the final session of the last General Synod, Archdeacon Judith Rose's motion to the effect that the Bishops are asked to set in motion the necessary consultations (and report back to the Synod within two years) about women bishops was passed by a large majority.

However, whilst this motion was being carried and the helpful amendments proposed by the Catholic Group in Synod were being swept aside wholesale, another battle was raging about the Blackburn Report.

This Report, the result of an enquiry set up by the Bishops on the working of the Act of Synod which brought into existence the whole Flying Bishop scenario was surprisingly complimentary about the way the Act of Synod was working, suggested one or two quite minor amendments to it, but clearly supposed that the Act would have an extended period of life for many years.

To the dismay of many, not least Archbishop George Carey himself who has always seen the Act of Synod and the Flying Bishops as a way of containing a potentially explosive situation, its reception by the women – priest lobby on the floor of the Synod was so unfavourable that it was found necessary to kick the whole debate into touch without even seriously considering its proposals. This was in marked contrast to the debate and the 98% majority originally given to the Act of Synod in 1992. One can only conclude that because the Act is working so well that its opponents are so hostile towards it and, surprise, surprise, a new group calling itself GRAS (Group for the Repeal of the Act of Synod) has now been set up with precisely this in mind.

So "here's a pretty how d'ye do" for the proponents of women bishops. It means that in what is supposed to be a "period of free and open reception" the advocates of women priests have decided to take another irrevocable step of women bishops before the antecedent matter of women – priests has even been resolved, agreed upon, received (or whatever the current jargon calls it). But it also means that the very conditions under which the ordination of women as priests was deemed "expedient" (and therefore enactable at law), namely, the provision of alternative oversight for those who could not accept that it was right is put under threat for no better reason than that it is working too well !

The final irony was that in the elections for the new Synod which took place shortly afterwards, those representing traditional Evangelical and Catholic views, so far from being eliminated as was predicted, did much better than expected and in some dioceses actually strengthened their representation

But enough of the General Synod and all its shenanigans! Let's now turn to the Annual Assembly of Forward in Faith – an altogether more exciting topic.

The most significant thing about this was the presence of at least three TAC bishops (Falk, Hepworth and Langberg), and the fact that Bishop John Hepworth was asked to make a joint presentation with Fr David Robarts about the state of the Anglican Church in Australia which so far as the "official" Anglican Church is concerned could hardly be worse! The exception to this statement is, of course, the Diocese of Sydney, that dyed – in – the – wool conservative – evangelical diocese which pays most of the bills for the rest of the Church. Sydney flourishes as none of the other dioceses does. It has to be recognized, however, that there is strong movement in favour of laypeople presiding at the Eucharist. At present, thanks to the firm stand on this matter taken by their bishop, the progress of this idea has been stalled. It will be a tragedy if Lay Presidency becomes yet another cause of division within the Anglican Communion.

Under the principle of Diocesan Autonomy by which it became possible for some dioceses in a province to do one thing whilst the others do not, such things were bound to happen sooner or later. If a Province allows each of its constituent dioceses to decide for itself about the ordination of women as priests, then there is no very good reason why they shouldn't apply the same principle to (say) Lay Presidency, the Nicene Creed or the legitimacy of same – sex marriages.

So as you will see, life hasn't been boring. There's a feeling in the air that Forward in Faith is now in a position to make a significant push forwards in recruiting members and adding parishes to the Guide (see above). The key issue is whether a large number of those whose names appear in the Guide can be persuaded to pass so – called Resolution C which is the first and most vital step towards obtaining alternative episcopal care. If our campaign is successful and if Fr Moyer's efforts in Philadelphia come to fruition, if Bishop Griswold heeds Archbishop George Carey's warning of impending schism, and if the gathering in Pawley's Island in January manages to stay within the bounds of Catholic faith and order, then things are really beginning to look up.

Dr Trueman Dicken, whose death is recorded elsewhere in this edition of The Rock, was one of the pioneers mounting the resistance movement within Anglicanism to the distinctly unAnglican practices which have beset us for the past thirty years. If things continue to look up in the way they are doing at the moment then his effort will have been anything but in vain.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear. But none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand.

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cow boy's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn't realize was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep. But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night. I was responding to a call from a small brick four-plex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some party people, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory in the industrial part of town. When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under such circumstances, many drivers just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance I reasoned to myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware. "Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she asked. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated." "Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Can you drive through downtown?" "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly. "Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long. I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. "How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse. "Nothing," I said. "You have to make a living," she answered. "There are other passengers," I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you." I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware, beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Mother Teresa moved to Calcutta, India in 1946 and soon after began working with the poorest of the poor. Teresa related one particular incident that ministered to her as much as she ministered to a dying woman. "One evening we went out, and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition. I told the sisters, `You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worst.' So I did for her all that my love could do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said two words only: `Thank you.' Then she died. I could not help but examine my conscience before her. And I asked: What would I say if I were in her place? And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said, `I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain,' or something. But she gave me much more; she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. Gratitude brings a smile and becomes a gift."

Giving thanks to God is a gift to Him. It acknowledges your dependence on His grace. Are you able to smile and give thanks to Christ? Today in prayer, give the Lord the only gift He desires – your thankful heart.

"For life and reason, and the use of speech, for health and joy and every pleasant hour, my Good God, I thank Thee." – Benjamin Franklin

"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing." – 2 Thessalonians 1:3

And so to the recent travels. I went first to visit the new continuing Church in Japan. I admit that this filled me with a considerable apprehension. My Japanese is absolutely minimal, my knowledge of Japanese geography even more so, and my ability to cope with Japanese culture is non – existent. To reach this group of clergy required a journey with four changes of train into remote mountain country. In spite of snow and freezing weather, I found the warmest of welcomes. I was taken to see beautiful churches, a youth training farm and a parish school. I met young priests determined to keep the faith and to keep these beautiful buildings. My host, a priest in his seventies, also took me to pagan temples so I would understand the difficulty of teaching the faith to a people where only one per cent is Christian, steeped in pervasive pagan cults. I need not have worried about the culture. On the first night, priests and bishop sat under a hot waterfall in open – air baths surrounded by autumn leaves and discussed theology. I thought it reminded me of James Bond confronting Francis Xavier, but I kept the thought to myself. Father Ivan Cosby, a TAC priest who is an academic in Japan, has inspired these clergy with a vision beyond synodical failure. There is whispered talk of one of the Anglican bishops of Japan leading this new Church. On the final afternoon the priests knelt at the altar rail of the beautiful stone Church of our Lady in Nagasakiya and asked for my blessing. There were tears in all our eyes. These men have great courage.

Then to London (a glib phrase to describe 15 hours sitting with knees under chin in an aircraft designed for a shorter type of human) where the Archbishop, Bishop George Langberg (TAC New York) and I attended the annual meeting of the TAC Church in England – the Traditional Anglican Church in England). That Church is growing in numbers and growing younger. Then the bishops went on a visitation of our parishes in England – which took three days and by English standards much driving. A number of our English parishes have adopted as mission projects the raising of money for Church buildings in Africa. If there is one thing all continuing parishes have in common wherever in the world they are found, it is a jollity and enthusiasm under oppression. These were very happy visits.

Back to London, where the Archbishop had an appointment at Lambeth Palace. Father Buckton had by some miracle got two copies of the latest Messenger to London in time for the Archbishop to put them on the table at the Palace. In the meeting Canterbury (through his ecumenical officer) heard more about TAC than it had been possible to communicate in the past 10 years. He was able to tell some of the stories of the oppression and persecution of Continuers. But in truth, the Archbishop concentrated mostly on stories of growth and enthusiasm. The fact that the Archbishop is now a regular participant in the conservative primates meetings came as a shock to Canterbury. The next day was a full – day meeting with the vicar general of South Africa (who many of you met last year in Australia). We finalised the appointment of a 4th bishop for South Africa (whom the Synod had requested should be English, white, single, self – supporting and able to live in primitive conditions (such is the balancing act of new multi – racial South Africa).

We expect to announce the name of this mythical person in the next few weeks. (See "News Flash" on page 23 – editor). My one free afternoon of 2 1/2 weeks of travel was spent on a visit to Salisbury Cathedral that was spoilt at the outset by being met just inside the great door by a creature in a cassock who announced "Hi! I'm Father Betty!" So I found a quiet spot in the transepts and gazed upwards at this miracle of 13th century devotion. It hurt that I couldn't burn a candle in the beautiful Sacrament Chapel – the Communion Statement we share with Forward in Faith is clear and stern on such things. Has there been any other moment in the long history of that building when uncertainty shrouded its sacraments? A church divided in itself is a tragic sight.

The next two days were the National Conference of Forward in Faith. Both the Archbishop and I addressed this gathering in Westminster. Even better than last year – full of faith and hope – but overhung by threats against the Act of Synod that provides the "Flying Bishops" and even darker threats of women bishops whose appointment would make the whole thing unworkable.

A quick dash to the airport and an overnight flight to Johannesburg, landing just in time for another quick trip across town to the first service of the day. This was a mass with the congregation formerly led by Father Klaus that was so rudely interrupted a few months ago by men with machine guns. After a day of services and meetings, including meeting two new ordination candidates, it was a quick sleep and a Gam flight to Port Elizabeth. The Archbishop asked me to spend a few days checking that the arrangements for January's consecration were in order. Instead I had three days of confirmations and ordinations with al most 1000 kilometres of driving; some of it through areas guarded by razor wire and armoured cars. (There were "taxi riots" in East London, and I found myself having a jolly discussion in the middle of a four lane highway with some pleasant soldiers about access to the new cathedral (yet another converted cinema!) about access for confirmations that evening. "The children are coming for confession at four o'clock!" "No problems, Father!" And there were no problems. And there were no problems at a confirmation and ordination in Grahamstown, where the Mothers Union gave the black suit as part of the offertory "so our priest can look like a priest, even though he is very poor". Later I went to look at the church from which our people were driven by police with whips and tear gas just two weeks after resigning from the Anglican Communion (a typical action of the "Tutu" church, ed.) One of the people told me "My brother was reading the first lesson at Evensong when they burst in." Then to the prison where the people were taken. One of the bishops – elect gave himself up to be imprisoned with his people.

From the English Prayer Book Society's magazine

Lord, in our modishness, help us to sway
To a chorus that's dismal, but right for today;
Victorian `slush' must never be heard,
Now the slush of our own time is so much preferred.

Lord, in our arrogance, we'll cry no more
To thee for thy mercy – it's now `you' and `your'.
For postmodern clergy think no one's `up there',
So let's not be caught using reverence in prayer.

Lord, in our growliness, may we depress
Every hymn to a low key where effort is less;
Exaltation's elitist, and harmony's doomed,
So we'll all bawl in unison – be equal in gloom.

Parent God, as we bowdlerize, help us to ban
All allusions to `brothers', or mention of `man';
With ladies so sensitive, if rude words get through,
A fit of the vapours is sure to ensue.

It's now inappropriate, Lord, to proclaim
That every knee shall bow to thy Name;
We're all for diversity, and self – esteem's in,
And we might give offence if we talk about sin.

Lord, we're informal, we giggle and chatter,
Let anything go, say the noise doesn't matter,
We mustn't be British, decorum must cease,
And we booby-trap strangers with hugs in the Peace.

Lord, for our client group, let it be said
That our church is a fun church, a church with street-cred;
If our words make us `different', out they are flung,
We're sure that profundity frightens the young.

Lord, we'll ensure that the last verse is wrecked
With one of our descants of horrid effect;
For we're all vandals now, and we know how to stop
Any good tune that's left to us – put a bad tune on top.

JULIET HOLE

Outside a small Macedonian village close to the border between Greece and strife – torn Yugoslavia, a lone Orthodox nun keeps quiet watch over a silent convent. She is the last caretaker of a site of significant historical developments spanning more than 2,000 years. When Sister Maria Cyrilla of the Order of the Perpetual Vigil dies, the convent of St. Elias will be closed by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Macedonia.

However, that isn't likely to happen soon, as Sister Maria, 53, enjoys excellent health. By her own estimate, she walks 10 miles daily about the grounds of the convent, land which once served as a base for the army of Attila the Hun.

In more ancient times, a Greek temple to Eros, the god of love, occupied the hilltop site. Historians say that Attila took over the old temple in 439 AD and used it as a base for his marauding army. The Huns are believed to have first collected and then destroyed a large collection of Greek legal writs at the site. It is believed that Attila wanted to study the Greek legal system and had the writs and other documents brought to the temple.

Scholars differ on why he had all the available documents destroyed – either because he was barely literate and couldn't read or because they provided evidence of democratic government that did not square with his own notion of rule by an all – powerful tyrant.

When the Greek Church took over the site in the 15th Century and the convent was built, church leaders ordered the pagan statue of Eros destroyed, so another ancient Greek treasure was lost. Today, there is only the lone sister, watching over the old Hun base, amidst the strife of war – torn Yugoslavia, and when she is no longer, the story will be over.

That's how it ends: No Huns, no writs, no Eros, and nun left on base.

Editor's intro. One year ago we published an article "Back to the Catacombs" by Joe Woodard, which delineated acts of anti – Christian persecution by governments and bureaucracies. It is increasing, made worse by the supine acceptance by nominal, sociological Christians. In what follows, Charles Moore asks the question – "Is Civil Disobedience becoming obligatory for Canadian Christians.?" In other words, how do we react to attacks? 1 suggest we find out how our ancestors in the faith dealt with the same situation, and be prepared.

Sooner rather than later, the Supreme Court of Canada will issue an edict that will cause Christians in Canada f~ to contemplate civil disobedience," predicts Ian Hunter in the October 31 edition of Christian Week.

For some Canadian Christians, it already has. Linda Gibbons, a Toronto pro – life activist, has spent most of the past six years in jail for repeatedly defying an unconstitutional court injunction – the so – called "bubble zone" law – banning pro – life activities on public property wi