THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

1
THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

• WHERE ARE WE HEADED? REFLECTIONS OF THE REV. DR.
  WARREN E. CREWS

2
COMPOSITION OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• Africa 34,725,000
• Asia 4,533,000
• Central 162,000
• S. America
• Europe 26,566,000
• N. America 3,935,000
• Pacific 4,630,000
• Total 76,650,000

3
HISTORY OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• In the beginning there were the Church of England
  (incl. churches in the colonies), the Church of
  Ireland, the Scottish Episcopaliansall in
  communion with each other through the Archbishop
  of Canterbury.
• After the American Revolution, we formed the
  Episcopal Church in such a way as to remain in
  full communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

4
HISTORY OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• Soon the British gave the C of E mission churches
  limited autonomy as provinces.
• In 1863 controversy erupted in South Africa over
  new methods of interpreting the Bible. The
  British government intervened. The Canadian
  bishops asked the Abp. of Canterbury to call a
  meeting of all bishops of the Anglican Communion
  to consult on this other matters. This term
  first used in 1851.

5
HISTORY OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• Archbishop Longley rejected the idea of an
  international body with judicial powers, but
  instead called all the bishops to come to Lambeth
  Palace to confer on issues of concern.
• In 1867 the first Lambeth Conference gathered in
  London, and has met roughly every ten years since
  then.

6
HISTORY OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• Most famous gathering was 1888 when it developed
  the Lambeth Quadrilateral to guide Anglicans in
  ecumenical negotiations
• Scripture as the rule ultimate standard of the
  faith containing everything necessary for
  salvation
• Apostles Nicene Creed as sufficient statement
  of the Christian faith
• Baptism Supper of the Lord
• Historic Episcopate locally adapted

7
HISTORY OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• That first meeting did not solve the issues in S.
  Africa
• the conservative evangelicals withdrew formed
  their own separate Anglican church with bishops
  provided by the Diocese of Sydney
• they have never been recognized as part of the
  Anglican Communionby the Abp. of Canterbury, who
  has always been the judge of who is part of the
  Anglican Communion.

8
STRUCTURE OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• After the British shed most of their colonies
  beginning in 1940s, Anglicanism exploded in
  growth.
• The Lambeth Conferences recognized the need for a
  more a more developed structure in addition to
  the Archbishop of Canterbury the Lambeth
  Conference to deal with issues
• An Anglican Consultative Council (1968)
• A Primates Council (1978)

9
STRUCTURE OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• Anglican Consultative Council
• includes a bishop, a priest or deacon, and a lay
  person from each of the 38 Anglican provinces,
• meets every three years,
• has a constitution, which was then ratified by
  all the provincesthis is the only document voted
  on by clergy and laity,
• voted in 2005 to include primates in the ACC, but
  this has not been ratified by the provinces.

10
STRUCTURE OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• The Primates, as the highest ranking bishop of
  each of the 38 provinces (archbishop or presiding
  bishop).
• have met every year since 1979,
• are a council of advice to Archbishop of
  Canterbury,
• since 1998 have sought to take on greater
  authority to settle disputes to discipline
  those provinces not responding to their
  directives.

11
THE ISSUES

• Part of the motive behind the formation of the
  ACC was the growing concern about division over
  the ordination of women. In 1970 the ACC
  narrowly approved the ordination of women.
• After the United States began to ordain women in
  1977 the 1978 Lambeth Conference ruled that each
  province was free to move ahead on this, in
  1988 asked that everyones decision should be
  respected.

12
THE ISSUES

• In 1978 again in 1988 Lambeth Conference
  affirmed traditional view of marriage, but called
  for a dispassionate study of new research on
  homosexuality how to provide pastoral care for
  this group.
• At Lambeth 1998 a large group of bishops (200)
  hammered out a balanced position, but it was
  overruled and a resolution simply condemning
  homosexuality as immoral was substituted. (I.10)

13
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• In 2003 the Primates asked General Convention not
  to confirm the election of Gene Robinson as Bp.
  of New Hampshire. Many of them felt that the
  Presiding Bishop misled/betrayed them when the
  Convention did confirm him.
• The Archbishop then set up a Lambeth Commission,
  which produced the Windsor Report, which the
  Primates the ACC adopted.

14
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The Windsor Report asked for
• an American Canadian apology for acting
  contrary to I.10 without consultation within the
  Communion,
• a moratorium on consents to gay consecrations
  same-sex blessing rites,
• those who consecrated Robinson to absent
  themselves from Anglican gatherings such as the
  upcoming ACC meeting,
• Americans Canadians to explain their rationale
  for such consecrations blessings,

15
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• the development of an Anglican Covenant
• to outline the basic theological principles that
  unite Anglicans
• to develop a Communion structure that could rule
  on whether a particular concept or practice is
  consonant with the Covenant
• to require subscription to the Covenant for
  membership within the Communion.
• Abp. Williams suggested that those accepting it
  would be the constituent members, those who do
  not would only be associate members.

16
RESPONSES TO THE WINDSOR REPORT

• The American delegation at the ACC meeting at
  Nottingham presented a defense, but that was not
  persuasive to many in the Global South.
• In 2005 the House of Bishops covenanted among
  themselves not to consent to the election of any
  bishop until the General Convention of 2006. No
  bishops in a same-relationship were confirmed at
  the Convention (because none were elected).

17
RESPONSES TO THE WINDSOR REPORT

• The General Convention of 2006 voted
• to participate in the development of a covenant
  that would help preserve the unity of the
  Anglican Communion,
• to request that bishops standing committees do
  their best not to consent to the election of
  anyone whose life-style is offensive to the rest
  of the Communion (B-033),

18
RESPONSES TO THE WINDSOR REPORT

• to remind the Communion that we have not
  authorized any public rites of blessings of
  same-sex relationships, but that private pastoral
  care of gay persons is legitimate (including
  blessings).
• GC elected Katherine Jefferts-Shori as PB, a
  supporter in the past of gay blessings
  ordinations.

19
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• Following GC 2006 several dioceses asked
  Canterbury for alternative primatial oversight
  visitations, consecrations, discipline due to
  PB Jefferts-Shoris views.
• Global South bishops have begun consecrating
  American bishops as members of their provinces,
  but for service in the USA with congregations
  that have withdrawn from ECUSA.
• That has led to a flurry of lawsuits.

20
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The Primates met in February 2007 in Dar es
  Salaam, Tanzania to receive a report from the a
  special committee chaired by Rowan Williams
• that said that in their opinion General
  Convention 2006 had adequately responded to the
  Windsor report, but that some further
  clarifications were necessary
• this was rejected by the majority of the primates.

21
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The Primates voted to
• ask the American bishops to accept a Primatial
  Vicar system that would be put into place by a
  special primates council
• ask the American bishops to state clearly that
  they will not consent to any more gay bishops or
  to same-sex blessing rituals, and to do so by
  September 30th.

22
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The House of Bishops met in March 2007 to respond
  to the Tanzania Communiqué
• rejected the Primatial Vicar system as contrary
  to our constitution and canons a step towards
  internationalization
• said that re B-033 only General Convention can
  interpret it
• did not act on the issues of consents and
  blessings.

23
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• was generally negative concerning the proposed
  covenant in the Communiqué, especially its
  enforcement mechanisms, which put ultimate
  authority in the primates
• asked Canterbury the Primates ACCs standing
  committees to join the HOBs September meeting.

24
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• Over the summer the consecrations by outside
  bishops intensified (Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya,
  Rwanda).
• Several dioceses have begun to remove any
  reference to the Episcopal Church in their
  constitutions (Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Quincy,
  San Jaquin, others to follow).
• Several retired bishops have joined the African
  groups several have become Roman Catholics.

25
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The House of Bishops met in New Orleans September
  20-25 together with Abp. Williams primates.
  They voted
• to reaffirm our strong desire to remain as
  constituent members of the Communion,
• to accept the PBs plan to delegate her primatial
  responsibilities to conservative bishops for any
  diocese requesting alternative oversight,

26
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• to reaffirm B033 to exercise great restraint in
  consecrating anyone whose life style is offensive
  to the rest of the Communion,
• to promise not to authorize public, official
  blessing rites (did not outlaw private, pastoral
  blessings),
• to reaffirm our commitment to the full inclusion
  of gay lesbian persons in the life of our
  Church

27
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• Immediate reactions to New Orleans Communiqué
• liberal bishops can live with it, but will
  continue their current practices.
• moderates feel progress has been made, but will
  push for separate recognition if the Communiqué
  is found inadequate.

28
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• Very conservative bishops key African primates
  immediately rejected it because
• no stated repentance acceptance of Lambeth I.10
• no agreement to ban all blessings
• no iron-clad agreement to prohibit new gay
  consecrations.
• refusal to accept Tanzania primatial vicar plan.

29
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• 51 bishops from 13 groups that comprise Common
  Cause met in Pittsburgh under the leadership of
  Bp. Duncan from September 25-28. They voted to
• organize themselves as a college of bishops which
  will meet every 6 months
• promise to work together at local regional
  levels, to achieve clergy interchangeability.

30
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• Follow a timeline of 15 months to call a
  founding constitutional convention for a new
  Anglican province in North America in
  consultation with supportive Anglican primates
• Meanwhile they will have to figure out what to do
  with 51 bishops for 600 congregations.
• They also will have to determine worship
  standards what to do about the ordination of
  women.
• Finally, they have to prepare for major court
  battles for the 5 Episcopal dioceses involved.

31
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• On October 3rd the majority of both the Standing
  Committees of the Anglican Consultative Council
  of the Primates gave their response to the New
  Orleans Communiqué
• that our Bishops response to the Primates two
  questions of clarification is adequate,
• that the PBs proposed primatial vicar system
  offer to consult with the Communion about them is
  adequate,
• that foreign interventions by primates stop.

32
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The African primates met on Oct. 5th
• Asked for a special meeting of the primates to
• evaluate the sufficiency of the American response
  to the Windsor Report
• To complete the Anglican Covenant to be submitted
  to the provinces for ratification
• For Lambeth Conference 2008 to be postponed until
  ratification is completed
• Only those accepting the Covenant be invited.

33
THE FUTURE???

• Having received the report from the joint
  standing committees who were in New Orleans, Abp.
  Williams will confer with the primates by
  telephone before issuing his own judgment of
  whether we adequately responded to the Primates
  recent Communiqués request for clarification
  regarding our response to the Windsor Report.
• Respond to the African bishops demands.

34
THE FUTURE???

• Options open for the Archbishop
• Declare that we have sufficiently complied with
  the Windsor Report to remain invited to Lambeth
  2008. Significant portion of the African bishops
  would then boycott it.
• Withdraw our invitations because of insufficient
  response. Smaller numbers of bishops who
  disagree with that might boycott.
• Postpone Lambeth until 2010 and proceed ahead
  with developing the Covenant make its
  acceptance a prerequisite for attendance.

35
THE FUTURE???

• My guesses
• The Abp. will go with the first option, following
  his previous judgment having spoken against
  postponement.
• The conservative African primates will not
  officially break, but will proceed ahead with a
  new province with the threat to form an
  alternative Anglican Communion based on doctrinal
  agreement rather than on Canterbury.

36
THE FUTURE???

• Lambeth 2008 will produce some sort of Covenant
  that we may not be able to sign.
• Abp. Williams would then attempt to institute the
  constituent associate membership categories
  down to individual bishops, which would could
  create havoc in many places with many dioceses
  parishes wanting oversight by alternative
  primates or bishops.
• This proposal will not fly with most provinces.

37
THE FUTURE???

• Good chance that no compromise will work we
  will end up with two Anglican Communions roughly
  the same size
• One centered around the Archbishop of Canterbury
  more loosely structured around autonomous
  provinces
• One centered in Africa more tightly structured
  with the primates being a final authority on any
  controversial matter.