25 October 2009

+ John Chichester Ready to Convert



John Hind, Anglican Bishop of Chichester has made it rather clear that he is ready to convert under the provisions of the new Apostolic Constitutions. I quote below from Fr. Dwight Longnecker's blog his insights as a former Anglican priest of the Chichester diocese:

I thought that it was only going to be traditionalists who already split from the Anglican Church who were going to be quick to respond to the offer of Personal Ordinariate, and that Anglo Catholics within the Church of England would continue to splutter and make excuses.

This amazing bit of news just breaking is truly momentous. A sitting Church of England Diocesan bishop has announced that he is ready to convert to Rome and be re-ordained. John Hind is the bishop of Chichester on the South Coast of England. His diocese is centered in the ancient city of Chichester (cathedral pictured above) Chichester is well known as an Anglo Catholic diocese. (It is the diocese into which I was ordained as an Anglican priest) If the bishop goes you can be sure that many of his clergy and people will follow.
The remainder of Fr. Longnecker's post may be found HERE. If the bishop, his clergy and the Anglican laity of Chichester all convert, I will pray that an arrangement could be made via Parliament for those church and cathedral buildings to go with them into the new personal ordinariate. Admittedly a long shot, nonetheless, with events transpiring this last week that I could not have imagined, I am emboldened to dream big and ask the Lord for more graces for all those involved.


Our Lady of Walsingham, pray that your Anglican children about the world will now come home to you.