Conger

Should a diocese in New South Wales elect a woman as bishop, the Archbishop of Sydney will not participate in her consecration.

Writing in the December issue of his diocesan magazine, Dr. Peter Jensen stated that while it was incumbent that the Church handle doctrinal disputes “courteously”, “truth is even more important than unity, and the consequences of unbiblical teaching have to be revealed and opposed.”

The Sydney archbishop and metropolitan of the Province of New South Wales stated he opposed the “innovation” of women bishops “on scriptural grounds.”

Dr. Jensen affirmed his belief in the “equality of men and women in Christ,” but noted their function within the church differed. The introduction of women bishops through a decision by the Appellate Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia on a point of grammar was the wrong way to resolve the issue, he wrote in his Christmas letter to the diocese.

The Australian Synod’s refusal to pass legislation permitting women bishops should not have been sidestepped by a “legal decision resting on a 4-3 majority.” This was “scarcely a sound basis for a change of this magnitude” and was a “shaky start to an innovation,” Dr Jensen said.

Working with the Anglo-Catholic bishop of Ballarat, Dr. Jensen reported on the October formation of the Association for the Apostolic Ministry to support Anglicans opposed to women bishops, “to represent their interests and to further educate the Church about biblical teaching on this subject.”

North Sydney Bishop Glenn Davies told Anglican Media Sydney Dr. Jensen’s absence at the consecration of a New South Wales bishop would mark a “a break in unity” of the church as the “visible fissures of disunity would only increase.” Sydney’s suffragans stated they too would not participate in the consecration of a woman bishop.

However, Bishop Davies said he was encouraged by the on-going conversation between Dr. Jensen and the Primate of Australia, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall on creating a safe space for traditionalists, as the “experience in the USA and Canada, where women bishops have been introduced, is not encouraging for the treatment of minorities.”