Update
The second item mentioned below, the report from the chairs of the Theological Group and FOAG, not previously available, is now on the web:
Original RTF format is here (this includes the HoB report itself as well as the annex)
an HTML version is here (just the annex)
A document GS 1570 has been sent out to synod members which contains two things:
The agenda papers also contain
Three of these four items are reproduced below. All are likely to appear on the CofE website on Monday.
SYNOD MOTION
The motion to be moved by the Bishop of Durham and debated by Synod (starting at 9am on Thursday 17 February) is:
That this Synod
(a) welcome the report from the House (GS 1570) accepting the principles set out in the Windsor Report;
(b) urge the Primates of the Anglican Communion to take action, in the light of the Windsor Report’s recommendations, to secure unity within the constraints of truth and charity and to seek reconciliation within the Communion; and
(c) assure the Archbishop of Canterbury of its prayerful support at the forthcoming Primates’ Meeting.
The other items are below the fold.
THE WINDSOR REPORT: A REPORT FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS
1. Following the publication of the Windsor Report [note 1] on 18 October 2004, the House asked the Chairs of its Theological Group and the Faith and Order Advisory Group, the Bishops of Rochester and Chichester (assisted by the Vice-Chair of FOAG, the Bishop of Guildford and the House’s theological consultant, Dr Martin Davie), to prepare a paper to help guide its own deliberations at its January 2005 meeting, with a view to this document forming the basis of the Church of England’s response prior to the Primates’ Meeting in Belfast on 20-26 February. This document, which was also informed by discussion at a meeting of bishops at Lambeth on 1 December, is attached. The House was mindful that the issues which the Windsor Report seeks to address have significant implications for Anglican ecumenical dialogue and inter-faith relationships.
2. In considering the Report, the House was very conscious of the critical and urgent issues addressed by the Windsor Report for the cohesion of the Anglican Communion, and the need to support the Archbishop of Canterbury in his dual role both in terms of the leadership of the Anglican Communion and as the representative of the Church of England at the forthcoming Primates’ Meeting. This meeting is potentially of great significance for the future unity of the Anglican Communion and its ecumenical relationships, and with this in mind the House decided to focus on questions of particular immediacy for this meeting (rather than, for instance, consider points of detail about the illustrative Covenant set out in Appendix 2 of the Report).
3. With the foregoing in mind, the House therefore:
a Affirms the basis of faith and life that binds Anglicans together as set out in paragraphs 1-11 of the Windsor Report and illustrated by the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral and accepts the basic principle of autonomy-in-communion exercised within the constraints of truth and charity set out in the Report. [note 2]
b Supports the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates in taking all steps necessary to seek to achieve reconciliation by persuading all within the Anglican Communion to comply with the mind of the Communion as expressed by the Instruments of Unity, [note 3] in the light of the recommendations of the Windsor Report.
c Supports the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates in requesting ECUSA and other parts of the Communion that have taken similar decisions to provide for the rest of the Communion the thought-out theological rationale, based on Scripture and Tradition, for the actions that have been taken that has been requested in the past but which so far has not been forthcoming.
4. The House also recognises that there are structural issues that will need to be resolved with some urgency in relation to how the Anglican Communion expresses its mind. The House supports the drawing up of an Anglican Covenant and commends an enhanced and properly resourced role for the Archbishop of Canterbury in fostering the unity and mission of the Anglican Communion.
5. Finally, the House upholds the Primates in its prayers as they prepare for their meeting in Belfast later this month.
(on behalf of the House of Bishops)
+ROWAN CANTUAR:
+ DAVID EBOR:
February 2005
Footnotes
1. The Lambeth Commission on Communion: The Windsor Report 2004, ACO �4.95
2. See paras 72-86.
3. For these Instruments of Unity see paras 97-104.
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EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF THE BUSINESS COMMITTEE GS 1560
Windsor Report of the Lambeth Commission (Thursday, 17 February)
41. The Windsor Report 2004, from the Lambeth Commission on Communion, was published on 18 October 2004. The Commission was set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Armagh, at the request of the Primates of the Anglican Communion following their meeting in October 2003. The Primates asked that the Commission should engage in urgent deep theological and legal reflection on the way in which the changes identified at that meeting, concerning developments in the Episcopal Church of the USA and the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada, should be addressed.
42. The Primates have established a process for the reception of the Report, which is being handled by a reference group under the chairmanship of the Primate of Hong Kong. The next steps will be considered at the meeting of the Primates in Belfast on 20-26 February.
43. Following publication of the Windsor Report, the House of Bishops asked the Chairs of its Theological Group and the Faith and Order Advisory Group to prepare a paper to help guide its own deliberations (at its January 2005 meeting), with a view to this document forming the basis of the Church of England’s response to the Primates’ Meeting. This paper is circulated as an annex to a short report from the House of Bishops (GS 1570). The House is very conscious of the critical and urgent issues addressed by the Windsor Report for the cohesion of the Anglican Communion and the need to support the Archbishop of Canterbury in his dual role, both in terms of the leadership of the Anglican Communion and as the representative of the Church of England at the Primates’ Meeting. The House has therefore focused on questions of particular immediacy for the Primates’ Meeting and the motion has been formulated accordingly.
Many thanks for making this information available, Simon.