Posted on 01/28/2007 7:48:21 PM PST by Huber
Whither the Anglican Communion?
Just two weeks from Monday, the thirty-eight Primates of the Anglican Communion will be meeting in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for what is widely expected to be one of their most important gatherings, ever. What they decide may have the farthest-reaching ramifications for the whole of the Communion and for The Episcopal Church in particular.
In 2005 the Primates asked The Episcopal Church to respond to the several recommendations of the Windsor Report that were specifically directed to us. The Episcopal Bishops said the only body that can respond on behalf of the whole Church is the General Convention. The General Convention met in July of last year, and the Archbishop of Canterbury himself declared its response to Windsor incomplete; a “mixed response” was his exact phrase. He also made the quiet observation that “decisions have consequences.”
It is hard to imagine that the Primates can do anything other than determine that The Episcopal Church has significantly altered its relationship with Canterbury and the rest of the Communion.
I was one of ten American Bishops who visited with the Archbishop last May, and I had the opportunity to ask him directly: “If it is the conclusion of the Primates that The Episcopal Church has begun to ‘walk apart’ from the rest of the Communion, what will be the status of those Dioceses that wish to remain in ‘full constituent membership,’ and who are committed to being ‘Windsor-compliant’?” His answer was no less direct: “I will not abandon them,” he said. And he repeated it a second time, “I will not abandon the faithful.”
My sense is that our identity as members of the worldwide Anglican Communion is very important to many of us. And if that is the case, perhaps now more than ever it is time to wait just a bit longer to see what direction the Communion will take, post-General Convention.
The Committee that has been asked to draft an “Anglican Covenant” has just had its first meeting, and Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Chair of that Committee, tells me it was a good beginning. Between now and next year’s Lambeth Conference there will be a great deal of “unfolding” in terms of the Windsor Process, the drafting and consideration of the Covenant by the Provinces of the Communion, and the possible realignment of Provinces, dioceses, and parishes into “constituent membership” on the one hand, and “associate membership” on the other.
If there is anything we need to meet about between now and next year’s Annual Convention, we will do so.
It is my conviction that the Diocese of Central Florida can remain within The Episcopal Church while also remaining fully compliant with Windsor and in full constituent membership in the Communion. And we can vigorously press forward in living into the Great Commission and the Great Commandment as the twin priorities of the Diocese.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. "It is my conviction that the Diocese of Central Florida can remain within The Episcopal Church while also remaining fully compliant with Windsor and in full constituent membership in the Communion."
He must live at Disney World in Fantasy Land.
This is interesting as his previous letter seemed to indicate that he was going to seek primate overseer(ship?) from Bishop Ankinola (sp?). I am very surprised that Bishop Howe would recant that position.
What a difficult situation for Episcopal Bishops who are Christian. God bless them!
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