Primates to address international concerns at February meeting in Alexandria, Egypt
Episcopal News Service. January 15, 2009 [011509-01]
Matthew Davies
The primates and moderators of the Anglican Communion will be hosted by the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East for a February 1-5 meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, a January 15 press advisory from the Anglican Communion Office has confirmed.
Meeting behind closed doors at the Helnan Palestine Hotel, the primates will discuss international concerns such as the proposed Anglican covenant, the situation in Zimbabwe, global warming, and Christian responses to the global financial crisis.
The primates will also hear an update from the Windsor Continuation Group and receive a report the group is presenting to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The group, which last met in December 2008, is charged with addressing questions arising from the Windsor Report, such as recommended bans on same-gender blessings, cross-border interventions and the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the episcopate.
The Primates Meeting will open February 1 with a quiet morning led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams followed in the afternoon by worship at St. Mark's Pro-Cathedral in Alexandria. The week will also include visits to the Alexandria School of Theology and the city library, where Williams will deliver a lecture.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori will attend the meeting in her capacity as presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. She announced in November 2008 that the Episcopal Church Executive Council's January meeting was being rescheduled one day earlier to enable her to attend the meeting.
The Primates Meeting, one of the instruments of communion in the Anglican Communion, will be chaired by Williams. The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, will act as secretary.
The Anglican Communion Office announced January 15 that press briefings will be held for any media present in Alexandria. The briefings will also be made available as podcasts on the Anglican Communion website. Details of press arrangements, including accreditation, are available here.
Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, will act as spokesperson for the meeting.
The ACO announcement said that all provinces are expected to be represented, with the exception of the Church of Pakistan and the Church of South India.
In instances where the primacy is vacant, "it is usual for the province to nominate the dean of the province or the senior bishop to represent that province," the ACO release said. The provinces of Central Africa, Melanesia and the West Indies all currently have vacant primacies.
Since they last met in February 2007 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as many as 10 new primates or provincial representatives are expected to attend the meeting from Bangladesh, Canada, Central Africa, Melanesia, Myanmar, North India, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and the West Indies.
In Alexandria, Archbishop of York John Sentamu will attend the Primates Meeting for the second time in his capacity as primate of England. Williams, as chief pastor of the Church of England, is primate of All England.
Alexandria, known as the Pearl of the Mediterranean, is the second largest city in Egypt and the country's main seaport. The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, under the leadership of President Bishop Mouneer Hanna Anis, includes four dioceses throughout Jerusalem, Iran, Egypt, Cyprus and the Gulf.
The Primates Meeting was established in 1978 by Archbishop Donald Coggan (101st Archbishop of Canterbury) as an opportunity for "leisurely thought, prayer and deep consultation."
Since 1979, the primates of the autonomous churches of the Anglican Communion have met regularly in consultation on theological, social, and international issues. Meeting locations have included Ely, England in 1979; Washington, USA in 1981; Limuru, Kenya in 1983; Toronto, Canada in 1986; Cyprus in 1989; Ireland in 1991; Cape Town, South Africa in 1993; Windsor, England in 1995; Jerusalem in 1997; Oporto, Portugal in 2000; Kanuga, USA in 2001; Canterbury, England in 2002; Brazil, in May 2003; London, England in October 2003; Newry, Northern Ireland in February 2005; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in February 2007.
Further information about the Primates Meetings is available here.