Five bishops are to resign from the Church of England to lead the defection of hundreds of Anglicans to Rome, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury Photo: DAVID ROSE
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is expected to announce the resignations as parishes across the country meet to discuss the Pope’s offer to accommodate disaffected Anglicans within the Roman Catholic Church.
Senior Catholics are finalising plans for a new group for Anglican converts who cannot accept women bishops and a detailed timetable for its formation could be announced as early as next week.
The defections have been triggered by a vote at the General Synod of the Church of England in July to support divisive plans for women to be ordained as bishops in England for the first time.
A compromise plan, backed by Dr Williams, was rejected, leaving many opponents of women’s ordination with no option but to consider leaving the Church.
Pope Benedict XVI announced last year that he would create a new body, known as the English Ordinariate, for Church of England traditionalists who wish to switch allegiance to Rome while retaining some of their Anglican traditions.
Lambeth Palace is expected to confirm the resignations of the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst; the Bishop of Richborough, the Rt Rev Keith Newton; the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham; and two retired bishops, the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, honorary assistant bishop of Winchester, and the Rt Rev David Silk, honorary assistant bishop of Exeter.
The five are said to be “dismayed” at the liberal reforms to the Church in recent decades and intend to join the Ordinariate in pursuit of “unity” with Rome when the new body is established next year.
They will cease pastoral work, which includes the oversight of Anglican parishes that are opposed to women priests, as soon as their resignations are announced, although they will remain officially in post until the end of December.
Sources on both sides expect about 25 groups, each typically containing approximately 20 converts, to follow the path to Rome.
The estimates suggest up to 500 individuals will join the Ordinariate in the first wave, with more expected to follow once it has become established.
Church wardens are arranging meetings to discuss the move in parishes across England. St Peter’s in Folkestone, in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s own diocese, became the first parish to declare publicly that it intended to join the Ordinariate last month.
Holy Trinity church in Reading is expected to make a decision on whether to follow in the next few weeks. Meetings are also planned at St John the Baptist church in Sevenoaks, Kent, and Holy Trinity, Winchmore Hill, in north London.
Fr David Elliott, parish priest at Holy Trinity in Reading, said many traditional Anglo-Catholics felt “squeezed” by liberal reforms in the Church of England.
“For congregations like this it is a big moment in their history,” he said. “These decisions aren’t made lightly. I haven’t resigned but I don’t see that there can be a future for Catholics within the Church of England.
“My own future I think does lie in the Roman Catholic Church but I can’t say when that will be. Obviously I have got to weigh up my responsibilities to the congregation.”
Pope Benedict XVI announced last year that he would create a new body, known as the English Ordinariate, for Church of England traditionalists who wish to switch allegiance to Rome while retaining some of their Anglican traditions.
Lambeth Palace is expected to confirm the resignations of the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst; the Bishop of Richborough, the Rt Rev Keith Newton; the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham; and two retired bishops, the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, honorary assistant bishop of Winchester, and the Rt Rev David Silk, honorary assistant bishop of Exeter.
The five are said to be “dismayed” at the liberal reforms to the Church in recent decades and intend to join the Ordinariate in pursuit of “unity” with Rome when the new body is established next year.
They will cease pastoral work, which includes the oversight of Anglican parishes that are opposed to women priests, as soon as their resignations are announced, although they will remain officially in post until the end of December.
Sources on both sides expect about 25 groups, each typically containing approximately 20 converts, to follow the path to Rome.
The estimates suggest up to 500 individuals will join the Ordinariate in the first wave, with more expected to follow once it has become established.
Church wardens are arranging meetings to discuss the move in parishes across England. St Peter’s in Folkestone, in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s own diocese, became the first parish to declare publicly that it intended to join the Ordinariate last month.
Holy Trinity church in Reading is expected to make a decision on whether to follow in the next few weeks. Meetings are also planned at St John the Baptist church in Sevenoaks, Kent, and Holy Trinity, Winchmore Hill, in north London.
Fr David Elliott, parish priest at Holy Trinity in Reading, said many traditional Anglo-Catholics felt “squeezed” by liberal reforms in the Church of England.
“For congregations like this it is a big moment in their history,” he said. “These decisions aren’t made lightly. I haven’t resigned but I don’t see that there can be a future for Catholics within the Church of England.
“My own future I think does lie in the Roman Catholic Church but I can’t say when that will be. Obviously I have got to weigh up my responsibilities to the congregation.”
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