OCA | Dec. 12, 2009
CRESTWOOD, NY [SVS] — On Saturday afternoon, January 30, 2010, the Most Rev. and Rt. Honorable Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and senior bishop of the worldwide Anglican communion, will deliver the annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. The archbishop will speak on the topic “Theology and the Contemplative Calling: The Image of Humanity in the Philokalia.”
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary will also confer upon the archbishop a Doctorate of Divinity honoris causa, in recognition of his contribution to the academic study of Eastern Orthodox theology and spirituality. The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir’s, was examined for his own doctoral degree at Oxford University by the archbishop, then a professor of theology there.
“Many Orthodox Christians may be unaware of Rowan Williams’s research and contribution to the field of Orthodox theology,” said Father John. “But he was a pioneer in this field, with outstanding breadth and depth. The subject of his own doctoral thesis, for instance, was the work of the great Orthodox theologian Vladimir Lossky, the first academic study of the émigré theologians. He has also written beautifully on the icons of the Theotokos and the Transfiguration, and, most recently, has published a highly regarded volume titled ‘Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction.’ In recognition of his outstanding work and contribution to the study of Eastern Christianity, we are very pleased that he has accepted to deliver the 2010 annual Schmemann lecture.”
The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, chancellor and CEO of the seminary, likewise noted the import of the upcoming visit. “The archbishop is a patron of The Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius, a society of Eastern and Western Christians that held a major conference on our campus in 2008,” said Father Chad. “And we welcome his presence as a person who supports the continued dialogue of the society’s members.”
The lecture is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public. It will be filmed and live streamed by Anglican TV Ministries. The seminary is located at 575 Scarsdale Road, Yonkers, NY. Please visit www.svots.edu or call the seminary events coordinator at 914-961-8313 ext. 351 for further information.
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The following letter was sent to the Very Reverend John Behr – Dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, from Father Warren Shaw of the Anglican Catholic Church on 12-10-09:
Dear Fr. Behr,
I am concerned that the awarding of an honorary degree from an Orthodox seminary to Archbishop Rowan Williams will confer an aura of legitimacy to The Episcopal Church in the United States, of which Rowan Williams is a supporter and with which he maintans a relationship of full communion.
This is a church that has female bishops, openly gay and lesbian bishops, supports same sex marriage, lobbies for taxpayer funded abortions, allows modalistic names to be used for the Holy Trinity, and distributes Holy communion to unbaptized people.
At the same time, the archbishop refuses to recognize Anglican bodies in the United States that hold to traditional Anglican beliefs and practices. That includes the recently organized Coalition of Anglicans in North America, headed by Archibishop Robert Duncan.
I am very sorry that St. Vladimir’s Seminary has chosen to lend its reputation and prestige to this scholarly, but inneffective, leader and the heterodoxy and heteropraxis he protects.
Fr. Warren Shaw (Anglican Catholic Church)
A Russian Orthodox monk described the OCA to me as, “Eastern Rite Episcopalianism.”
I now understand fully what he meant.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams Compares Homosexuality to Marriage
http://healtheland.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/archbishop-of-canterbury-rowan-williams-compares-homosexuality-to-marriage/
The spotlight is back on Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams today after letters emerged in which the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion says gay relationships could “reflect the love of God” in a way comparable to marriage, according to media reports. Williams allegedly affirmed his liberal position on homosexuality in a leaked exchange of letters between 2000 and 2001 with Deborah Pitt, an evangelical living in his former archdiocese in south Wales.
According to media reports, Williams asserts in the letters his belief that parts of the Bible relating to homosexuality were addressed “to heterosexuals looking for sexual variety in their experience” rather than gay people in a relationship.
“I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness,” one letter was quoted as saying.
Three respondents, thus far, have voiced dissatisfaction with:
1) conferring the honorary degree on the Archbishop of Canterbury, because he presides over the Worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes unorthodox ecclesial jurisdictions and excludes an emerging “orthodox” province composed of four dioceses from the former Episcopal Church USA; 2) conferring the degree because an unnamed Russian monk questioned the Seminary’s pedigree with an apparent derogatory quip; and 3) conferring the degree because the Anglican primate is soft on homosexual unions.
On the matter of the first objection, I wish to contradict the facts presented for they are either dated or reflect private knowledge. Indeed, the presiding primate of the Anglican Church of North America, former Pittsburgh Archbishop Duncan, has been recognized by Williams on at least two well-publicized occasions, after Duncan vacated the See of Pittsburgh and was received by the primate of the Anglican Communion’s Southern Cone. If the argument were to reflect the correct and recent status of Duncan, then the argument would fail on factual grounds alone.
In reference to the second position, one must wonder which adjective loans authority to this dandy phrase: “Russian” or “monk.” Of course, authority might also come from combining the two, such as followers of a charlatan named Rasputin (d. 1914) were want to do. But that would amount to hear-say on my part.
In fact, only the third position advances a credible argument–at least on the surface. The facts that we read are true, but the reason not to award the honorary doctorate has nothing to do with the definition or criteria for the degree. Instead, the position advances a straw-man fallacy.
The current SVS Chancellor and Dean, Fathers Chad Hatfield and John Behr, with consent of the Seminary’s Trustees, have agreed that the recipient has met the definition and criteria for conferral of the degree. Unless we learn of late-breaking news that contest these facts, then SVS not only does well to confer the degree, but also continues to serve Christ with honor.
Bravo, Ioannis! I was disheartened by the previous posts (especially one from the “Blog Editor”), but you have restored some of my (forlorn?) hope for this blog. That being noted, the irrationality/rationality quotient for the blog comments (like many Orthodox blog comments) remains about 3:1, which is a standing impediment to many non-Orthodox looking for the truth in Orthodoxy. Thanks be to God for Father Stephen Freeman at “Glory to God for all Things” or else the Orthodox blogosphere would be a spiritual wasteland and destructive to the faith.
Anglican what is this supposed to mean: “That being noted, the irrationality/rationality quotient for the blog comments (like many Orthodox blog comments) remains about 3:1”? Are you implying that 3/4 of the posters on this blog are “irrational”? Could you be more specific on what comments and Orthodox points of view you find unreasonable? If you’re referring to Frank Schaeffer and his outright hatred and insults of many evangelical Protestants and conservative Orthodox Christians, then I would agree.
Ioannis said:
“…Unless we learn of late-breaking news that contest these facts, then SVS not only does well to confer the degree, but also continues to serve Christ with honor…”
Dear Ioannis,
Rowan Williams is in full communion with “bishop” Vickie Gene Robnison of the episcopal church. Rowan supported Vickie when he walked out on his wife and children to pursue the practice and promotion of homosexuality. Rowan is pro-sodomy.
Each year, the episcopal diocese of Texas sponsors a “street eucharist” in the annual gay pride parade in Houston where it encourages homosexuals who wish to mock Christianity to partake and have a good laugh. For years, liberal episcopalians throughout America have publicly desecrated the Holy Eucharist and trashed the Church, and have done so with the approval of Rowan who refuses to defend the Faith.
Rowan’s message to young people is that sexual liberation is more important than Salvation in Christ. Rowan is an evil instrument of satan who is attempting to divide the Orthodox Church and he has the support of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. The leaders of St. Vladimir’s and OCA should repent and rebuke Rowan.
The Archbishop of Canterbury “…has the support of St. Vladimir’s Seminary,” according to James on 01 January 2010.
Indeed, the Archbishop has the support of St. Vladimir’s Seminary to receive the Doctor of Divinity honoris causa on 30 January 2010. As best I can see, this fact alone in the message that James posted avoids speculation and nuance.
As for the remainder of your points, James, they bear careful consideration by anyone reading this blog.
The summary judgment that you draw from your points is: “The leaders of St. Vladimir’s and OCA should repent and rebuke Rowan.”
I take your judgment to mean that it is a sin for the administrators, faculty and trustees of St. Vladimir’s Seminary to identify for themselves, without advice and consent from naysayers, whether their own criteria for this honorary degree can be applied by themselves to a list of degree nominees who are not as Orthodox or “orthodox” as other qualified candidates might be.
Let me state my point more boldly, James. Level or degree of Orthodoxy or “orthodoxy” is not a criterion for sifting the wheat from the chaff of a nominee list.
I surmise that there are people who want to advance a criterion of the sorts — some criterion akin to an “abortion litmus test’ of would-be USA Supreme Court nominees. However, any accredited Orthodox seminary may decide to award the Doctor of Divinity honoris causa on a non-Christian religious or humanitarian leader. For example, honorary doctoral degrees have been awarded by acclaimed Orthodox seminaries across the world to men and women of good will who are not even Christian.
Just as important, it would help us as people of the Truth if we were to refrain from ad hominem arguments as you posted in this message. An ad hominem argument is a fallacy that refutes another argument such as the decision about the honorary degree, by attributing speculative fault to the persons involved in the decision. For example, James, you attributed speculative fault to the Seminary (e.g. “The leaders of St. Vladimir’s and OCA should repent”) , and multiple speculative faults with the intended degree recipient. Here are examples of your attributions, which are speculative:
1. “Rowan is pro-sodomy”
2. [TEC] “…it encourages homosexuals who wish to mock Christianity to partake and have a good laugh”
3. “…liberal episcopalians throughout America have publicly desecrated the Holy Eucharist and trashed the Church”
4. “Rowan’s message to young people is that sexual liberation is more important than Salvation in Christ.”
I trust that your love of the Truth Who is Christ motivates your concerns for our Holy Church. Let us continue to pray for one another. Christ is among us!
Ioannis said:
“…I trust that your love of the Truth Who is Christ motivates your concerns for our Holy Church…”
As noted in the post by the Blog-Editor, it is truthful to say that Rowan supports gay marriage. Those of us who have personally witnessed the travesty in the episcopal “church” know that Rowan has ordained openly gay men to the Priesthood and he actively promotes gay rights. Rowan passively tolerates malicious lawsuits against traditional Christians who reject his false doctrines. Rowan condones so-called “bishops” who blaspheme the Holy Spirit with their lies about sodomy and new revelations.
It is truthful and accurate to state the obvious fact that Rowan is openly and publicly pro-sodomy and has been for many years. Metropolitan Jonah and the current St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chancellor and Dean, Fathers Chad Hatfield and John Behr are well aware of this fact. Why are they doing this?
As Orthodox Christians and laity, we fear that great harm has come to our Holy Church when we see an Orthodox Seminary giving praise and honor to a flagrant heretic. Why are the Bishops in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) remaining silent and allowing this to happen? Metropolitan Jonah should explain this matter.
May God Have Mercy on our Orthodox Church and protect our children.
Ioannis,
Is St. Vladimir’s bestowing an honorary degree on Rowan Williams because they support his work and deeds or are they bestowing it for publicity? What has he done that St Vladimir’s sees as worthy of an honorary degree?