“Can anything good come out of Nazareth.” If Forward in Faith and the Anglican Church in North America were attempting to find the best venue for the ordination and consecration of Fr. William Henry Ilgenfritz, then we failed miserably. Charleroi Pennsylvania is not a main thoroughfare, and although it has been called the “Magic City” because of its former prominence as the center of several industries, since the closure of virtually every industrial facility, Charleroi has lost some of her magic.

But there in the midst of the mid Monongahela Valley, Charleroi became a type of Nazareth as Bishops, priests, deacons and laity processed from the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at St. Mary’s Church (Anglican) to Mary, Mother of the Church Parish (Latin Rite, R.C.) for the consecration of a bishop in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Inasmuch as the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in England is called “England’s Nazareth,” our emotions were further heightened in procession! In baseball circles the city just down the river from Charleroi, Donora, is immortalized due to its most famous son, Stan Musial, so Charleroi by the consecration of Bishop Ilgenfritz is now immortalized for American Anglo-Catholics. “Can any good come out of Charleroi?”

Since the 1970’s Anglo-Catholics have cried for a safe place in Anglicanism, and if the forerunners of Forward in Faith: ACU, CAM, ECM, and ESA could speak they would say that the cry for that safe place has been realized. In 1989 at the formation of the Episcopal Synod of America we asked for a new Province, and now we have our own Diocese in a new Province.

Incrementalism is the mode of operation for revisionists, for they have been quite content to change the truth one small step at a time. Traditionalists, however, are simply exhausted and want the entire package – right now! After all we have been waiting for thirty years! Oddly enough it is difficult for some to realize that thirty years really is not terribly long. And for some, what was accomplished in Charleroi is too little, too late. The Jews waited for centuries for the Messiah, and when they received that for which they had asked, they had a choice to make; is this what I wanted and is this what God wanted?

History will determine if what was accomplished in Charleroi is what God has wanted so that faithful Anglo- Catholic Christians may be assured of a future in Anglicanism. In the meantime, the onus is on members of Forward in Faith: (1) to work diligently for a sub province with ACNA in concert with the other Forward in Faith Dioceses – San Joaquin, Quincy, and Fort Worth, and our various partners (formerly called the Continuum) and (2) to burst outside the shackles of narcissistic rugged individualism that assesses the value of an action on the basis of whether or not it meets my need, my parish’s need, or my diocese’s need.

The real questions are, “Does it fulfill what we were asked to do, and is it in accordance with what God has commanded us to do.” How I personally feel is quite irrelevant. What God has required and ordained is what is relevant, and one of the major roles of Forward in Faith is not to take relish in personal security but to embrace those of our family who are still in isolated and persecuted settings looking for a glimmer of hope, and counting on those who believe they are secure not to forget those who suffer daily for their faith.

As I signed the Consecration document, sealed it with my Coat of Arms signet ring, and delivered it to the Registrar, I heard the words, “Signed, sealed, and delivered.”

That day our Lady sang Magnificat and we moved beyond our malaise, now it is time to move forward in Faith.

This article is from Forward In Christ magazine, a bi-monthly subscription magazine providing in-depth commentary and perspectives on Anglicanism today. Subscription Information Link

The Right Reverend Keith L. Ackerman, SSC, is the President of Forward in Faith, NA, and the bishop-retired of Quincy, IL.