The Anglican Church in North America is theoretically supposed to be the orthodox counterpart to the Episcopalian Church. However, they just unanimously elected a functional episcopalian to be their new archbishop.
The College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America has elected its next archbishop, the Rt. Rev. Steve Wood, bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas. The College met in conclave in the crypt of St. Vincent’s Basilica at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania from Thursday, June 20 through Saturday, June 22, 2024.
Bishop Wood will serve as the third archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America which was founded in 2009 and now has over 128,000 members in over 1,000 congregations across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The archbishop convenes the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, Provincial Council and College of Bishops, represents the Province in the Councils of the Church, serves as chairman of the Executive Committee (board) of the Church, serves as the President of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, and undertakes other duties as prescribed by the Canons of the Church. He serves a five-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms.
Steve Wood doctrinally and in practice supports women’s ordination, a liberal stance on perhaps the most dividing issue in the ACNA.
He’s also incredibly woke. In 2020, Steve Wood co-authored a struggle session letter in response to George Floyd’s death.
What happened to George is an affront to God because his status as an image-bearer was not respected. He was treated in a way that denied his basic humanity. Our lament is real. But our lament is not limited to George and his family. We mourn alongside the wider Black community for whom this tragedy awakens memories of their own traumas and the larger history of systemic oppression that still plagues this country.
George’s death is not merely the most recent evidence that proves racism exists against Black people in this country. But it is a vivid manifestation of the ongoing devaluation of black life. At the root of all racism is a heretical anthropology that devalues the Imago Dei in us all. The gospel reveals that all are equally created, sinful, and equally in the need of the saving work of Christ. The racism we lament is not just interpersonal. It exists in the implicit and explicit customs and attitudes that do disproportionate harm to ethnic minorities in the country. In other words, too often racial bias has been combined with political power to create inequalities that still need to be eradicated.
As bishops in the ACNA, we commit ourselves to stand alongside those in the Black community as they contend for a just society, not as some attempt to transform America into the kingdom of God, but as a manifestation of neighborly love and bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. We confess that too often ethnic minorities have felt like contending for biblical justice has been a burden that they bear alone.
It’s worth noting that George Floyd’s death had nothing to do with racism, but despite the lack of evidence, Steve Wood peddled this false narrative.
Despite several Anglican priests authoring a letter on female pastors, Steve Wood’s election was unanimous, meaning the letter went unheeded.
2 Responses
the infiltration of all church organisations continues apace.
I am a member of a parish of the Reformed Episcopal Church (technically associated with the ACNA, though under its own bishops and canons). Our parish priest was one of the signers of the letter cautioning against women’s ordination which you reference. I only just found out about this election and am appalled. I really thought there was a chance of electing at least a “compromise candidate” of sorts, but as you point out, Bishop Wood is not that candidate.
I know that the Lord will work all things together for good, so we will have to wait and see what happens to the ACNA as a result of this election. At present, it looks disastrous.