Bishop James Parker Dees, A Low Churchman? Part 5

Excerpt from "Concept of the Holy"

A sermon by Bishop James Parker Dees

God has chosen certain places and things and people and days to be particularly holy in order that He may speak through them to the world.  He has set up holy places in which we worship.   We believe that God is everywhere, but we believe that He has particularly set aside His Church, our church, as a place in which His children may come and find Him and find salvation. A church building is not just something of boards and bricks or mortar, an organ, and pews, and so on; it is a holy place, dedicated to the Holy One who makes it holy by His Presence.  And His children know He does.  And that is why we kneel when we come into church--not simply because it is the practice of the Church, but because we are in the House of God, and in His presence, the presence of Him who sanctifies the Church and His people.  This is why we don't play light or unseemly music in Church—because it has been consecrated to God and is consecrated by His Spirit.  That is why we don't talk about unseemly and frivolous things in church -because reverence and worship are fitting in His presence. This is why we bow our heads when we pass in front of the Cross, recognizing the presence of Christ Jesus. The Church is a holy place; it is a holy place because it is dedicated to the worship of God and is blessed with His Spirit.  When we come into church, we should be reminded of the words of God to Moses:   "The ground whereon thou standest is holy ground ...

God has also called a people to be a holy people, and out of this holy people, He has called a sacred ministry.  He has called men into Holy Orders, His ministry, to make Him known to the world, and He gives to them His Holy Spirit. He has called them to mediate his Divine Grace which is able to save souls. His ministers are called by God for a special task, and have a special task, and are endowed with His Holy Spirit for that task. Their task is to bring God to man and to lead man to God. Ministers should be called of the Lord, and should be considered to be holy to the Lord, and they should consider themselves to be holy to the Lord. God's ministers are called to mediate God's Holy Spirit through the Holy Sacraments, through the Sacrament of Baptism, in which we are born into God's Holy family, and through the Sacrament of the Holy Communion, in which we are spiritually fed with our blessed Saviour himself for the strengthening and nourishing of our souls.  Jesus said, in the sixth chapter of St. John, "Except a man eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, he hath no life in him."  

Bishop James Parker Dees a Low Churchman? Part 4, Hyper Calvinism

April 25, 1984.

Concerning the XVII^th Article of the 39 ARTICLES OF RELIGION, entitled "Of Predestination and Election,” printed in the 1928 edition of THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER: We have observed that there seems to be a bit of ambiguity in the interpretation of it. We wish to make clear our position in regard to this article.

Some people have understood that this article endorses the position of  Election held by some who are termed “strict Calvinists.”

Although the article mentions "double predestination,” it does not affirm it.

Bishop James Parker Dees

We wish to repudiate this position and to affirm that this Church hold s to the position of "Free Grace" plainly stated in John Wesley’s sermon on this subject,… [This] Church  does  not  tolerate  the position held by some, that  God  predestines some people to go to hell before they are born , and that  there  is nothing that they can do  about it to change hell from being their eternal destination. This doctrine, we believe, as John Wesley states, is directly contrary to the Biblical position as a whole, and is contrary to plain and direct statements by Jesus himself. Salvation, we believe, is available to all who will receive it.

Signed: James P. Dees,

Presiding Bishop

 

Elsewhere on this subject Bishop Dees writes:

On: DOUBLE PREDESTINATION or "Special Election.''

There are many, many people who consider themselves to be Christians who do not believe that Christ's promises of salvation are made available to all men.

Many of them embrace the doctrine that is known generally as the doctrine of special election. This is embraced generally by those who call themselves Calvinists.

This doctrine may be summed up simply into this: that by virtue of an eternal, unchangeable, irresistible decree of God, one part of mankind is infallibly saved, and the rest of mankind is infallibly damned; that it is impossible that any of those decreed by G d to be saved, can be lost or that any of those decreed to be damned can be saved.

The Bible plainly shows by the words of Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy and who embodies Divine Truth, that this is not true. This doctrine represents our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous, "the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth," as a hypocrite; a deceiver of the people, a man void of common sincerity; for it cannot be denied that He everywhere speaks as if he were willing that all men should be saved.

Therefore, to say He is not willing that all men should be saved, is to represent him as a hypocrite, a dissembler and a liar.  It cannot be denied that the gracious words that came out of his mouth are full of invitations to all sinners.  To say that His grace is not available to all sinners is to represent Him as a gross deceiver of the people.

One cannot deny that he says plainly, "Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden." If then you say that he calls those that cannot come, those whom he knows to be unable to come, those whom he can make able to come, but will not, how is it possible to describe greater insincerity? They represent him as mocking his helpless creatures by offering what he never intends to give. These Calvinists describe Him as saying one thing while meaning another; as pretending the love which he does not really offer.  Him, in "whose mouth there was no guile" they make Him full of deceit and void of sincerity.

When He drew near to the city, He wept over it, saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together and ye would not.” These Calvinists who hold to the doctrine of limited  or special election represent Jesus as weeping crocodile tears;  weeping over the prey which he himself had doomed to destruction.  HOW CAN SUCH PEOPLE FACE HIM ON THE JUDGMENT DAY? To believe in Jesus is to believe in what He says. Not to believe in what He says is not to believe in Him, and to doom themselves to Hell.

James P. Dees,

Presiding Bishop

Bishop James Parker Dees a Low Churchman? Part 3

Bishop Dees is often remembered by traditional Anglicans for limiting his parishes to one celebration of Holy Communion a month.  However, when his actual views are examined the story is more complicated.   

Excerpts from “A Position Paper by the Presiding Bishop Concerning Worship…” by Bishop James Parker Dees dated November 1, 1980. 

“THIS CHURCH recognizes Holy Communion to be its principle service of worship;” 



Bishop James Parker Dees

Holy Communion should be celebrated “…the first Sunday in each month and on feast days, Saints’ Days, and other outstanding occasions such as ordinations, consecration of bishops, consecration of churches, installation of clergy, bishop’s visitations, outstanding holidays such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day, etc. “ 

“…it is permissible to transfer the celebration of a saint’s day to the nearest Sunday.” 

“It is in our tradition to hold regularly a morning Celebration of the Holy Communion once a week on a week day, if desired.” 

James P. Dees

Metropolitan

The Orthodox Anglican Communion 

Another directive sets forth the feast days and saint’s days to be celebrated in the jurisdiction.  The number of feast and saints days on this list total nearly 40 in number.  If the opportunities to celebrate Holy Communion are totaled (1^st Sunday, weekly weekday service, feast days, saint’s days, episcopal visitations, and secular Holidays) a parish could conceivably have held Holy Communion roughly 100 times a year.  The possibility of even more celebrations existed if there was a wedding, funeral, ordination, or installation.   

The official scheme Bishop Dees lays forth on paper may not be ideal or desired by many Traditional Anglicans today, but, at least on paper, his views cannot be accurately described as having necessitated the starving of the sheep for lack of the Sacrament. 

Bishop James Parker Dees a Low Churchman? Part 2

March 2, 1977
TO: THE MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY
SUBJECT: LAY PARTICIPATION IN THE CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION

Dear Friends:

Bishop James P. Dees

We are all in agreement, I believe, that [this] Church with its doctrine and worship is the continuation of the ancient and time-honored Church that has come to us from Apostolic times through the Reformers of the Church of England.

The Sacrament of the Holy Communion and our doctrine concerning it, we believe as established in the Book of Common Prayer and Thirty Nine Articles, is true to the Church's use in the earliest times and true to what our Lord instituted with the Apostles.

The Holy Communion Service from earliest times is a priestly function, and not a lay function, and has always been celebrated by ordained priests of the Church. This is borne out in the rubrics of the Prayer Book.

In recent years the Episcopal Church(USA), in its general breakdown of doctrine and morality and practices, has permitted violations of this ancient and accepted practice by giving certain roles in the Celebration of the Sacrament to the laity. This is contrary to both the doctrine concerning the priesthood and to the ancient practice of the Church.

I would like to request and to remind you that the Celebration of the Holy Communion is a priestly function throughout (except for the recognized and normal duties of the acolytes, who assist by giving the celebrant the bread and wine at the proper time, the lighting of the candles and putting them out, the disposition of the offering plates, etc.) The laity is not given the duties of reading any part of the Prayer Book Service nor of dispensing any of the elements (the bread and wine), which , as indicated above, are priestly functions and are to be reserved to the priesthood .

I believe that the clergy in our Church are celebrating already the Holy Communion as indicated above, in relation to the laity, but I wish simply to make this position clear so that you will have a definitive statement from the Bishop's Office as to the Church's position on this matter.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Sincerely your friend,

James P. Dees

Metropolitan

The Orthodox Anglican Communion

*Bold emphasis added

Bishop James Parker Dees a Low Churchman?

June 28, 1972

Memorandum To: The Clergy

Subject: The significance of the Episcopate, Holy Orders, and the Sacraments in this Church.

My dear Brethren:

Greetings!

As all of you know, we have been relying heavily on Bishop J.C. Ryle in the preparation of Lay Readers’ sermons.  Bishop Ryle was a man of great spiritual depth and was a profound Biblical Scholar.

Bishop James Parker Dees, 3/1969

I have found, however, that Bishop Ryle, in his writings, tends to minimize the Episcopate, Holy Orders, and the Sacraments.  He places great emphasis on the Scriptures and Biblical Truth and on a man’s personal relationship with God, but he belittles Ecclesiastical structure and the things mentioned above.  I have found that he has virtually no conception at all of the sacramental nature of the church, and he does not hesitate to run it down on many occasions in his writings, casting aspersions on the Episcopate, Holy Orders and those who are in Holy Orders, and on the significance of the Sacraments as well.

When preparing Lay Readers’ sermons from Bishop Ryle’s writings, we have wisely deleted Bishop Ryle’s observations concerning these things and have used his positive contributions in the area of the Scriptures.

I want to warn you all about this weak spot in Bishop Ryle’s writings.  His position in regard to these matters is not the position of this Church. 

[This] Church recognizes the Episcopate, Holy Orders, and the Sacraments as being the essence of this Church.  These things constitute the “esse” of this Church; and not just the “bene esse,” as some would contend.**  This is not to say that people in churches without the episcopate are lost.  It is to say that they lack something that this church has and which we think is necessary in order to have Apostolical ecclesiastical authority, and which we think is desirable for this and other reasons.

I consider the proclamation of the Gospel is also the essence of the Church.  If a church does not preach the Good News of salvation available to all mankind though faith in the redemption effected on the Cross, it certainly is not the Church of Jesus Christ.  We affirm that [this] Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic in all that these terms imply.

Clergymen in this Church are expected to strongly affirm their regard for the Episcopate, Holy Orders, the Sacraments and the Gospel Message, and not to emphasize one at the expense of the other.  They all stand together.

Be careful, therefore, in using Bishop Ryle and others who may not have concern for these things that we do.

God bless you all.

Sincerely,

James P. Dees

Metropolitan

The Orthodox Anglican Communion

*Bold emphasis added 
**bene esse (of the well being), plene esse (of the fullness of being), esse (of the necessary being)