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Two more Ontario parishes join Anglican Network in Canada
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5 October 2008
The congregations of St George’s in Ottawa and the Church of St Peter in Hamilton both voted with overwhelming majorities today to come under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Donald Harvey, Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) and under the Primatial authority of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
The two congregations demonstrated strong unity in making these decisions. At St George’s the vote was 130 in favour and 27 opposed, while at St Peter’s, 42 voted in favour and one was opposed. Attendance at both parish vestry meetings was unexpectedly high.
With the addition of these two parishes, ANiC now comprises 21 parishes, 13 of which were former Anglican Church of Canada parishes at the time of their votes.
“It is a great joy to welcome the people of St George’s and St Peter’s into a faithfully Anglican and unabashedly Christian organization,” said the Venerable Charlie Masters, Executive Archdeacon of the Anglican Network in Canada. “By aligning with the Anglican Network in Canada, they join a growing movement of Anglicans throughout North America seeking to remain in the mainstream of global and historic Anglicanism.”
St George’s, which is located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, has an average Sunday attendance of 250. Historically, about 100 St George’s members have attended vestries (church business meetings) to vote. The congregation of St George’s was formed in 1885 and continues to meet in the same location to this day. The people of St George’s are actively engaged in their community, offering practical assistance to the marginalized, Good News to spiritual seekers, and solid Biblical teaching to all who pursue a closer relationship with God. St George’s website is: www.stgeorgesottawa.ca.
The Church of St Peter (Hamilton) traces its roots to 1890. The current church facility was built in 1915 and this was later expanded with the additions of a parish hall and day care centre. St Peter’s has always had an orthodox membership, upholding the authority of the Bible and the divinity and lordship of Jesus Christ. From the beginning, there has been a focus on outreach and missions. The parish founded St Peter’s Hospital in the late 1800s and, more recently, the St. Peter’s Daycare. In addition to Sunday services, youth, children’s and men’s ministries, St Peter’s offers a variety to ministries in the community, including a monthly Soul Café for relaxed fellowship while enjoying the sound of local musicians. St Peter's website is: www.stpetersanglicanchurch.ca
These congregations acted because they are determined to remain biblically faithful, true to historic Christian orthodoxy and long-standing Anglican teaching. Unfortunately, the Anglican Church of Canada continues to abandon mainstream Anglican teaching and doctrine, particularly in relation to the authority of the Bible, breaking with the vast majority of global Anglicans. While orthodox Anglicans are in a minority in Canada, they are the overwhelming majority worldwide.
What is happening in Canada is part of a much bigger controversy in Anglican churches globally. Since 2003, the Primates of the Anglican Communion have repeatedly asked the Anglican Church of Canada to return to biblically faithful Anglican practice and teaching and to provide adequate episcopal oversight for dissenting parishes, but to no avail. In 2002, the communion-breaking actions of the New Westminster diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada first sparked the current global crisis and realignment now taking place in Anglicanism. Other Anglican Church of Canada dioceses have since voted to follow New Westminster’s lead, including the Dioceses of Ottawa and Niagara, where the parishes of the St George’s and St Peter’s are geographically located.
Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, has responded to the need of biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans for spiritual protection and care on an emergency and interim basis – pending a resolution to the crises in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Anglican Province of the Southern Cone is one of 38 Provinces that make up the global Anglican Communion. It encompasses much of South America and includes Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay and Argentina.
Members of the Anglican Network in Canada are committed to remaining faithful to Holy Scripture and established Anglican doctrine and to ensuring that orthodox Canadian Anglicans are able to remain in full communion with their Anglican brothers and sisters around the world.
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