Being Bishop: Against Anglican "Intercontinental Ballistic Bishops"

Dear Ben,

Thank you for sending me the article about the now confirmed split from the Anglican church of many prominent Virginia parishes. I have told you in the past, Ben, that I dislike the notion of "bishop shopping," and that I even agree with Bishopress Katharine Jefferts Schori (!) when she condemns "intercontinental ballistic bishops." It seems clear to me that a substantial portion of supposedly conservative Anglicans misunderstand the office of bishop, calling into question exactly how "episcopal" most American Episcopals are.

I am trying to summarize here an excellent article entitled "Why Doesn't the Pope Do Something about 'Bad' Bishops?" Many conservative Catholics, as you probably know, also grow frustrated with their bishops, mostly because of sins of omission. It is rare that a Catholic bishop would preach rank heresy, or encourage others to preach heresy. However, it is not at all uncommon for a bishop to avoid confrontation with priests and parishes that stray from Catholic teachings or engage in liturgical abuses.

The article asks why doesn't the Pope do something. This question, of course, is less relevant in the Episcopal church, but it seems to me you are still wrestling with the problem: what are we going to do with ineffective bishops? Why not just find a bishop we like and submit ourselves to his authority.

I see many, many problems with this. First, your local bishop is the father of the church in your area. My bishop, Archbishop Donald Wuerl, is the spiritual father of the Archdiocese of Washington. This is the teaching of the Church Fathers. Saint Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:15: "I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel." I point that out before anyone objects to the idea of spiritual fatherhood. Following the teachings of the Apostles, Ignatius of Antioch said:

As therefore the Lord, although united to him, did nothing without the Father, neither by himself nor yet by his apostles, so neither should you do anything without your bishop and presbyters (Letter to the Magnesians , 7).

The bishop is at the center of the local church. When it comes to the bishop, unity is key:

Wherefore let it be your endeavor to all partake of the same holy Eucharist. For there is but one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, one cup in the unity of his blood, and one altar. As also there is one bishop, together with his presbytery and the deacons my fellow-servants, so that whatever you do, you may do it according to the will of God ( Letter to the Philadelphians, 4).

Again, the bishop is at the center of the local church. He even represents the church the way Christ represents the Universal Church:

Wherever the bishop will appear, there let the congregation also be; as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church (Letter to the Smyrneans, 8).

This position, so far as I know, was uncontroversial in the early church. The bishop is the sign of unity, he is the spiritual father and visible head of the local church, which is the body of Christ here in this place, here in this town, here in this city.

If Bishop Lee is the bishop of the diocese of Virginia, and Bishop Chane is the bishop of Washington, they are your spiritual fathers. They hold the apostolic office in these areas. It is through them that the local churches are established, and through the local churches that the gospel is preached. We did not pick our bishops any more than we pick our "biological fathers." These things are chosen by God.

We may dislike the things our fathers do. We may wish our fathers would do things that they do not do. We may wish our fathers had more courage, we may wish they were less sinful. Still, dad is father. I hope to be a father someday, and I know already that I will be an imperfect father. What if my next door neighbor is far more charismatic than I, or more athletic, or more fun? What if my kids fall in love with him, and decide that they would like to live with him instead of me. I can imagine that I would be broken by this. If the neighbor was actually lobbying to get my kids to abandon me and live with him instead, I would be furious.

This is exactly what is happening when people start shopping around for bishops. It is an affront to the spiritual fatherhood of the local bishop. Since the time of the apostles, this sort of behavior has never been allowed in the Universal church. There have always been poor bishops, just as there have always been bad biological fathers. Only in the most extreme cases do we remove a father from his children, and we realize that this is an extremely tragic event. Likewise, only in extreme cases has the Church removed bishops. It is rare because the church realizes that a man must be very abusive or negligent before a good case can be made for taking away the children over whom God has given him authority. Most of the time, fathers can be very foolish men, and yet they still have rightful authority over their children.

Again, I have faults, and my kids might have good reason to dislike certain aspects of who I am, but I will still be their Dad. My faults do not change the ontological reality. When a priest is ordained, by the way, their ontological reality is changed. Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, a man is set aside by Christ the High Priest for a special ministry in the Church. Through the sacrament, bishops become true fathers to their flock. When a baby is born a man is changed forever, he is from then on truly a father. When a bishop is installed, he also truly becomes the father of his children in that diocese; Christ has put his children under that man's care. The bishops faults do not change his ontological status as ordained bishop any more than my faults will change my status as father to my children. In a certain sense, I will have authority over my kids, even when I am wrong, and so does a bishop. The bishop and I will both be accountable to Christ for how wisely we used our authority.

Perhaps you don't like your father...either your spiritual father or biological father. He is still your father despite your disgruntled feelings. You pray for him, you work with him, you try to lovingly show him the Truth. In the case of the bishop, you can also pray that the next bishop will be a better man. You do not--you cannot--simply find a father you like better.

This is where the whole concept of bishop shopping is so painfully modern. The idea of radical autonomy is at the core of it, that somehow we are not bound by the father we were given, but that we can choose the father we want. We see this in families all the time. People simply deciding that their father is not their Dad. "He's not my father." Yes, he is. You are not so radically autonomous that you can transcend reality and reject what is objectively true: he is your father. You would not be alive except for him. You may not like him, but you are stuck with him.

The exact same thing is true of the local bishop. The gospel does not fall out of the sky, it is given to us through the community, through a family, through the church. If the apostles did not pass on what they saw and what they were taught, the Church would have died out when they died. But they did pass it on to men who passed it on to men who passed it on to us. We learn about Christ through family...hopefully though our immediate family, and if not, then through Christ's family, the Church. Christ has given us a church that has offices, just as he has given us families with offices (mother, father, grandma, grandpa, brother, sister, etc.). We are bound to the Church as we are bound to our biological mother and father. We are born into our spiritual families--the church--through baptism, and it is not up to us to decide that we want to abandon our family once we realize that our parents are sinners too. Someone who remains loving and loyal to their father despite his grievous faults is a powerful witness. We do not follow our fathers in their sin, but we honor them despite their sin.

Therefore, it is an ugly modern mentality that has us running to Africa, Asia, or South America to find more suitable fathers. Christ has given us the families that we have, spiritual and biological, and we must be loving children who honor our Fathers, even when we disagree. Therefore, these few conservative churches who are Africa bound are actually being very liberal. If they were true Anglicans, true Episcopalians, they would stay put and tackle the problem through prayer and fasting.

I must admit, however, that I think the deed was done in Anglicanism way back in the 1500s. When King Henry refused to submit to his spiritual fathers but instead insisted on divorcing the Queen, I think the precedent was set for Gene Robinson. This radical desire for autonomy from proper authority is at the root of the Anglican church. The fact that there is heresy throughout the church, and the fact that bishops are able to preach such heresy without repercussions truly is concerning. I don't think the solution is to find another Anglican bishop in another land and therefore destroy the concept of "local bishop" in a diocese of the Universal Church. The solution is to submit yourself to the true local bishop, the true father installed by Christ in this place.

The question is, with more than one person claiming that office, who is the true heir to the chair? Who is the the spiritual father of the Universal Church in Washington? Virginia?

Rhetorical question. You know my answer.

This is Advent, a time when we prepare ourselves for the return of Christ. I pray, and I hope you will join me in praying, that when Christ returns he will not find his Church torn in a million pieces, but that he will find the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church with which he left us.

Rick