The Alliance exists to encourage the flourishing of churches across England in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, praying for our nation, raising up disciples in this and future generations and working for the renewal of the church for mission in society.
We are a network of networks within the Church of England committed to our Anglican heritage of faith, holding to the received teaching of the Church of England, and part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. We are united in our confidence that the good news of Jesus Christ is as alive and relevant in England today as it ever has been.
We do not believe that church decline is inevitable, or that changing or developing doctrine or practice is necessary to reach present and future generations. Around the world many parts of the Anglican Communion are experiencing unprecedented growth whilst continuing to remain faithful to historic doctrine and practices. Our inherited faith offers the hope that so many in our society crave as a radical alternative to what the surrounding culture offers.
Consequently, we are dismayed by the trajectory being set by a majority of the House of Bishops in response to the Living in Love and Faith process. The effect of this trajectory is to propose teaching and practice contrary to the received doctrine of the Church of England, in particular in relation to marriage. The Church has proper processes for the introduction of new services. This process as set out by Canon B2 is designed to maintain the unity of the Church. It does so by requiring that a two thirds majority agree that new forms of services are not contrary to or indicative of a departure from doctrine. The trajectory set by the House of Bishops, and the intention to bypass the Canon B2 process, has resulted in an unprecedented split across every part of the Church of England. This has created an erosion of trust, anxiety, fear of discrimination, a decline in the pipeline of future clergy and a divergence of energy which is severely damaging mission.
We warmly welcome everyone irrespective of any human difference, including sexuality, to all churches within the Alliance. We affirm the 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10 in its entirety, including its clear repudiation of homophobia. We acknowledge and lament the profound pain and heartache that discussions surrounding human sexuality create for many people across the debate. Such pain and complexity make it all the more important that any proposals for change follow the highest standard of transparent and lawful constitutional process.
In all of this, our heart is to be gracious and generous, to work for unity, and to live out the call of Jesus in obedience to him. To that end, the Alliance has made, and will continue to make, ourselves available to work with the House of Bishops to help find a viable way forward.
However, in the absence of this, the Alliance has declared the intention to establish a new and temporary de facto parallel province within the Church of England in order to encourage the flourishing and growing of mission within our networks. We encourage all clergy and churches who are in sympathy with the Alliance to join us. This de facto parallel province addresses the need for three necessary temporary actions:
Alongside a decision not to use the Prayers of Love and Faith in our churches, these provisions are necessary to enable people to remain in the Church of England during this time of uncertainty. The Alliance is fully committed to the 2014 settlement and the Five Guiding Principles.
We pray earnestly that the DFPP is only needed as a temporary provision. However, if the trajectory being set by a majority of the House of Bishops in response to the Living in Love and Faith process is realised, we would need to work towards a permanent solution which safeguards the continuity of apostolic teaching and mission at the centre of the Church of England and maintains our fellowship with orthodox Anglicans throughout the world. For churches who are not seeking to change doctrine, this permanent solution will require legally guaranteed episcopal (and ultimately archiepiscopal) oversight with full ordinary jurisdiction from bishops who remain committed to historic doctrine. Such oversight would ensure, at a minimum, the following:
We believe provision would also be necessary for those seeking to change doctrine and practice.
The overriding aim of the Alliance in seeking these temporary and longer-term solutions is to ensure a sustainable platform at the heart of the Church of England from which we can continue to serve our nation through evangelism, mission and church revitalisation and so pass on the legacy of the faith we have inherited to future generations.