The Guardian newspaper in Tanzania carried this report: Interview with The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Jim Naughton has some comments about this, and also makes reference to the Lambeth Conference encyclical of 1878, see Alarming words from Rowan Williams.
42 CommentsThe BBC Northern Ireland radio programme Sunday Sequence also had an item about the recent primates meeting.
See what William Crawley wrote about it on his blog, Schori lifts the lid on the Primates’ Meeting.
Stephen Bates and Archbishop Alan Harper are interviewed.
Go here and fast forward about 35 minutes to hear the material. About 12 minutes. URL valid only for one week.
Part of what William Crawley wrote:
Katherine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, briefing some New York church officials on Friday about the Primates’ Meeting in Tanzania, said the low point of the meeting was when one primate compared homosexuality to paedophilia and another questioned whether the church even needed to study homosexuality “if it doesn’t need to study murder”.
On today’s Sunday Sequence, I asked the new Archbishop of Armagh, Alan Harper, if that was the low point of the meeting for him too. He replied, “It wasn’t one of the high points”, then remarked that those views were not shared by many other primates at the meeting. When I suggested that the comments were “disgraceful comparisons”, he repeated the claim that they weren’t widely shared in the meeting…
and on a related topic, this:
1 Comment…Northern Ireland decriminalised homosexuality twenty-five years ago. It will be interesting to see how many Irish churches take the trouble, in this anniversary year, to add their voice to the many others now being raised in opposition to the Nigerian government’s proposal. Might we even expect the Archbishop of Canterbury to assert his moral authority and call on his Nigerian brother bishops to prophetically challenge their government’s plans rather than offering the state religious support for an abuse of human rights?
The BBC World Service programme Reporting Religion has this:
On this week’s Reporting Religion, we take a detailed look at leadership in the troubled Anglican Church. Dan Damon explores whether the existing leader, Archbishop Rowan Williams, can really handle the pressure. What should he do to unite two opposing groups? Or is he wasting his time trying to find unity in his Church? Dan is joined by one of the Archbishop’s supporters and one of his critics.
Those interviewed include: Andrew Brown, Bishop Tom Butler, Bishop Josiah Fearon, Stephen Bates, Bishop Zac Niringiye.
Listen here. This URL will be valid for one week only. 16 minutes long.
The BBC radio programme Sunday interviewed Archbishop Gregory Venables and also Bishop Mark Sisk this morning.
About 6 minutes long.
Better URL from the BBC now here.
Amended
Episcopal News Service has published an audio recording of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori speaking to people who work at the Episcopal Church Center in New York last week. You can find it here.
It is a little less than 25 minutes long, but I strongly recommend listening to the whole of it.
There is a detailed ENS news report of this, Presiding Bishop briefs Church Center community on Primates’ Meeting by Mary Frances Schjonberg. This quote has drawn some attention elsewhere:
The “low point” of the Primates’ Meeting came, Jefferts Schori said, when one primate equated homosexuality with pedophilia and another said he couldn’t see why the Anglican Communion should study homosexuality if it doesn’t need to study murder.
The Living Church also has a report, Presiding Bishop Outlines Discernment Process, Schedules Webcast.
Next Wednesday, while the English General Synod is debating Private Members’ Motions, there will be a live webcast featuring the Presiding Bishop, see Presiding Bishop sets live webcast to discuss current issues. The recorded programme will be online for viewing afterwards.
14 CommentsUpdated
Matt Thompson has comprehensive coverage of the pending Nigerian legislation at Political Spaghetti.
See his four five (so far) recent posts, One, Two, Three and Four; and now Five.
Passage Imminent III contains a detailed analysis of the Nigerian church’s position on all this, and notes that more than one Muslim legislator is reluctant to proceed.
According to the BBC:
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the umbrella body for Nigerian Christians, called for speedy passage of the law, describing same sex unions as “barbaric and shameful”.
And I saw no mention at all of this matter in the recent Communiqué from the Primates, or in any of the ensuing primatial statements so far.
Here is the most recent United Nations report:UN independent experts oppose proposed Nigerian ban on same-sex relationships.
12 CommentsA conference with this title was held last Saturday.
My own report of the conference appears in this week’s Church Times. The text of that report, on the CT website next week, is meanwhile reproduced here (with permission), below the fold.
A press release giving more details of the event is here. See also these pictures and audio files, the draft programme, and the full text of the statement made.
19 CommentsThe following letter has been posted as a PDF file on the CANA website:
20 CommentsConvocation of Anglicans in North America
Polycarp of Smyrna
February 23, 2007Dear Friends:
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our one and only Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing after a truly historic meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where the Primates of the Anglican Communion met to chart a way forward. The stakes were enormous and it was an intense spiritual battle. The setting was idyllic — the meetings were held in the White Sands Hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean — but the struggle was so fierce, we never found time to walk on the beach. Angela and I were there as members of a staff support team for Archbishop Peter Akinola and the other Primates of the Global South.
What were the results?
Many important topics such as the development of an Anglican Communion Covenant, Millennium Development Goals, and Theological Education were discussed. But the ongoing intransigence of The Episcopal Church (TEC) forced the Primates to devote the majority of the meeting to following through on The Windsor Report and especially determining the adequacy of the response from TEC.
One of the most positive outcomes from the meeting was a clear and unambiguous declaration of what we, as Christians and as Anglicans, believe. This was expressed both in terms of core creedal statements through the Covenant and also in a powerful recapitulation of our convictions regarding marriage and human sexuality: “in view of the teaching of Scripture, [the Conference] upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage.” Someone commented that this was almost un-Anglican in its clarity!
The Primates also recognized that while mission initiatives such as the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) and the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) do create some “difficulties,” they have a valid and important place in the Anglican Communion as TEC decides whether to abandon its innovations and seek to reclaim its place in mainstream Anglicanism. I was especially gratified by the recognition given to the important role that Archbishop Akinola and the Church of Nigeria have played in providing a safe harbor for those who simply want to get on with the work of the Gospel without compromise of our core beliefs.
While rejecting any attempt to draw a moral equivalence between our so-called “interventions” and the “innovations” now embraced by TEC, the Primates concluded that The Episcopal Church had NOT responded adequately to the requests of The Windsor Report and gave them one last chance with a date certain set for September 30, 2007. The Primates were clear that after that there will be serious, though not yet specified, consequences. It is clear that The Episcopal Church must decide if it will uphold the biblical teachings of the Anglican Communion or choose to walk apart.
The Primates urged the suspension of all property litigation since they — and we — do not believe that this is the way that our disputes should be handled. We already have communicated with both diocesan and national church leadership, urging them to follow through on this important request and we pray that there will be a positive response.
The Primates also recognized that many dioceses and congregations within TEC do want to embrace the principles set out in The Windsor Report and proposed a complex and unprecedented restructuring of TEC to accommodate them. At the heart of that proposal is the establishment of “Primatial Vicar” who will provide oversight in conjunction with the Presiding Bishop and a Pastoral Council jointly appointed by member dioceses, the Presiding Bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury. If it sounds terribly complicated . . . it is. “It is an experiment,” said Archbishop Rowan Williams at the final news conference. “Please pray!”
What does it all mean for us?
First of all, it means that we are part of a Communion that is determined to stand on the truth of the Holy Scriptures and is not willing to abandon such a stand despite enormous pressure from The Episcopal Church and its leadership. We are also part of a Communion that is led by gracious leaders who are both patient and wise — who are determined to do all that they can for the unity of the Church but who will not give up biblical truth for the sake of a false unity.
With regard to CANA, we were recognized as having a valid place in the life and work of the Anglican Communion, under the Primate of Nigeria, and our mission and ministry understood as prompted by our desire to serve as faithful Anglicans. As to whether there will be an eventual reconciliation between the various Anglican bodies operating in the USA — that question awaits both the response of TEC and also the effectiveness of the various structural recommendations. In the meantime, we will continue to work to provide a life-boat for all those who wish to embrace biblical truth and the Anglican tradition in North America.
Our task is to continue to grow and reach out to the people around us with the Good News of God’s inclusive and life-transforming love. We are to be reflections of the character of Christ into a world that is so desperately in need of hope. We have been distracted for too long by the endless struggles of TEC. We are no longer a part of TEC and our call is to show the world a new way of living and a new way of loving.
Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement. To God be the Glory!
In Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns,
Missionary Bishop of CANA
Anglican Mainstream has issued a Statement on the Outcome of the Primates’ Meeting at Dar es Salaam in February 2007.
It includes the following among other points (emphasis added):
We are concerned that…
We pledge
What is most interesting about the response though is its total omission of any reference to the Covenant draft. Graham Kings of Fulcrum has already commented that:
4 CommentsThe word ‘Covenant’ is nowhere to be found in the Anglican Mainstream response to the Primates’ Meeting, published yesterday:
This is very strange in that the discussion of the Anglican Covenant was a key feature at Dar es Salaam and was published the same night as the communique. It is crucial to the whole Windsor Process.
Maybe the clue is in Chris Sugden’s article about the so called Covenant for the Church of England, ‘A Covenant for a Confused Church’ in the Church of England Newspaper, 5 January 2007. In the following paragraph concerning the Communion, ‘NTW’ refers to the Bishop of Durham:
Who will provide the new consensus? It will not just be a matter of writing a theology or covenant that all can agree and everything will work. NTW’s project will not deliver the goods. It is not possible to solve these problems by getting agreement on the substance, on one agreed theologically orthodox correct statement.
It would be good to hear Anglican Mainstream’s views on the Covenant now.
The American Anglican Council has issued this press release: AAC Statement on the Primates’ 2007 Communiqué.
This includes the following:
…In a related development, the AAC also announced this week its formation of a Communiqué Compliance Office, which will monitor TEC’s acts of compliance and non-compliance with respect to the primates’ requirements throughout the period leading up to the Sept. 30 deadline.
“As a non-ecclesial body, the AAC is in a unique position to function as a watchdog on TEC’s compliance with the demands of the Dar es Salaam communiqué,” Canon Anderson explained. “Over the coming months, the newly created office will continuously gather information from around the United States and provide monthly accountings to the primates so that there is no doubt where TEC stands when the clock runs out…”
Also today, Anglican Mainstream published this AAC separate press release (not yet on the AAC site) AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL LIFTS INHIBITIONS which includes:
7 CommentsThe American Anglican Council (AAC) announced today that the 21 recent Virginia inhibitions are null and void and declared them lifted. When the clergy from two of the three Episcopal dioceses in the state of Virginia were declared inhibited in January by the current bishop of middle and northern Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, the clergy he acted against had already transferred to other Anglican jurisdictions…
…AAC President Canon David C. Anderson announced today that, after a careful examination of the facts, the inhibitions imposed on the 21 Virginia clergy associated with the departing congregations were baseless and without jurisdiction, and therefore have been lifted.
Asked by what authority the AAC could lift the inhibitions, Canon Anderson replied: “By what authority did Bishop Lee attempt to impose the inhibitions on clergy belonging to Uganda and Nigeria? Those faithful clergy are now declared Uninhibited for Christ!”
The Bishop of Pittsburgh, Robert Duncan, has published a “Pastoral Letter”. Whether you read it on the NACDAP website where it is titled “in Response to Primates’ Meeting” or on the Pittsburgh diocesan website where it is “Regarding the Primates’ Meeting” it is the same letter.
But only on the Pittsburgh site (so far) is there a live link to the statistics referenced in the text (a very small PDF file, stored in fact on the NACDAP site).
About these statistics, he writes:
In the statistics table the following further claims are made:
Against this the table claims the “Non-Windsor Dioceses” have a total of 1,761,563 baptised members (630,004 average Sunday attendance) in 5,792 parishes (again no total clergy figure).
These claims clearly confused the Bishop of Winchester.
5 CommentsThe Times Jonathan Sacks Failure is one of the greatest gifts bestowed on the faithful
Telegraph Christopher Howse The man who made Byrd live
Guardian It may be a poor imitator of Jesus’s inclusive love and tolerance but the church is necessary, says David Self in Face to Faith.
Church Times Giles Fraser Why Lent needs to be a bit less busy
And, See addicts as victims, not criminals by Paul Vallely
2 CommentsThe Tablet also has full coverage of the primates meeting on its website today:
Anglicans give US Church months to conform by Victoria Combe
Winds of change by R. William Franklin
‘Through many dangers, toils and snares …’ by Stephen Bates
And an editorial Stumbling towards unity
Update here’s a longer version of the Stephen Bates article from Comment is free which has titled it Tablet of stone.
18 CommentsThe Anglican TV video of the final press conference is now available here.
More ACNS pictures are available starting here.
ENS has published Episcopal bishops offer Tanzania communiqué reflections, predictions for future with links to many remarks in full.
titusonenine has the remarks of Archbishop Henry Orombi primate of Uganda, here.
For the comments of the Primus of Scotland, Idris Jones see this.
Archbishop of Canada, Andrew Hutchison is reported over here.
AMiA has issued this press release.
What Bishop Martyn Minns of CANA said can be found here.
And David Anderson of the American Anglican Council said this.
27 CommentsThe Church Times has full coverage on the web today:
Primates’ Meeting: Primates hold together, and issue a challenge to the US by Pat Ashworth
Primates’ meeting: The communiqué, the Covenant and fallout
Leader A new Communion: is it wanted?
2 CommentsThe Living Church has three new articles:
House of Bishops Will Begin Response to Communiqué in March
Primates’ Communiqué Draws Mixed Reactions From Bishops
Panel of Reference Not Bound by TEC Polity
Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press has AP Analysis: Episcopal choices
The Daily Nation in Kenya has Anglican bishops warn of split
The New Vision in Uganda has Orombi boycotts Holy Communion over gays
The East African Standard in Kenya has Anglican Bishops Issue Ultimatum Over Homosexuality
17 CommentsTomorrow’s Daily Telegraph has this:
Archbishop warns Church may still fall apart by Jonathan Petre
and Why the Anglican Communion matters by Rowan Williams
28 CommentsThis is a further selection of what other blogs are saying:
wannabepriest An unplayable delivery? Reflections on Tanzania
Raspberry Rabbit Time to quit the Jiggery-Pokery
The Ugley Vicar Charlie Brown’s football: why the Covenant is an irrelevance
Tony Clavier The Primates Speak
Anglican Scotist A Tacit Liberal Triumph at Tanzania
Scott Gunn More thoughts on the cost of Communion
Ken Arnold Giving Up Church for Lent
Caught by the Light A Personal Manifesto
Anglican Centrist Ash Wednesday
MadPriest Shite
16 CommentsThe Guardian today has a leader:Unity over integrity:
Compromise is often necessary and rarely glorious; but the outcome of the meeting of Anglican primates, which has just ended in Tanzania, does not even have the merit of balance. The communique issued at the end of the five-day session will dishearten all those who retained some hope that the Archbishop of Canterbury might be able to steer the church into less turbulent and more tolerant waters. It hands conservative elements of the Anglican communion much of what they wanted, while testing the patience of progressive members, many in Britain and North America…
And the BBC website is catching up, Anglican leaders struggle to unite by Robert Pigott
Otherwise, the London-based media have apparently reached saturation point on this story. However, the US media are just revving up:
New York Times Many Episcopalians Wary, Some Defiant After Ultimatum by Anglicans by Laurie Goodstein
Washington Post Some U.S. Bishops Reject Anglican Gay Rights Edict by Alan Cooperman
Associated Press Episcopal leader asks for time by Rachel Zoll
Los Angeles Times U.S. Episcopalians react to church ruling by Rebecca Trounson and Louis Sahagun
USA Today Anglicans ‘in interpretive free-for-all’ over their future by Cathy Lynn Grossman NB this headline has now been changed from “free-fall” which I thought much better…
Washington Times Episcopal diocese mum on lawsuits by Natasha Altamirano
Newsweek Difficult Choices by Lisa Miller
PBS Newshour Anglican Leaders Demand U.S. Church End Gay Unions
71 CommentsUpdated Tuesday evening
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments at the final press conference in Tanzania.
BBC Gay ultimatum for Anglicans in US
George Conger has this report in the Living Church Primates Elect New Standing Committee Members and Alternates
Time The Episcopals Under Fire Over Gays
Bishop Christopher Epting on Anglican Primates’ “Pre Meeting”
Updates Tuesday evening
Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori via ENS A Season of Fasting: Reflections on the Primates Meeting
Also Audio: Presiding Bishop reflects on Primates’ Meeting from ENS
Jan Nunley at epiScope Answers to reporters’ questions
Jane Lampman in the Christian Science Monitor After Anglican meeting, Episcopal Church on notice
The Church Times updated its report entitled Primates’ meeting ends.
26 Comments