Anglicans Worldwide Look for Clues to the Future in Statement from Primates' Meeting
Episcopal News Service. October 20, 2003 [031020-1]
James Solheim
Anglicans and Episcopalians around the world are examining the statement from the October 15-16 meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion trying to determine whether the Anglican Communion is headed for a split-or a new way to live with its differences.
The statement was very blunt in describing the threats to the unity of the Anglican Communion posed by the election and confirmation by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop in New Hampshire and the approval of same-sex blessings in the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada.
"If his consecration proceeds we recognize that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the communion itself will be put in jeopardy," the statement warned, adding that "many provinces are likely to consider themselves to be out of communion with the Episcopal Church." It concluded, "This will tear the fabric of our communion at its deepest level and may lead to further division on this and further issues as provinces have to decide whether they can remain in communion with provinces that choose not to break communion with the Episcopal Church."
The center holds
In a news conference at the conclusion of the conclave, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams seemed clearly relieved that the center had held. He said that the statement was "an honest statement of where we are, a statement of our willingness to work together, and recognition of the obstacles to that working together which we still face."
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold said in the news conference that he stands fully behind the process used to elect Robinson and plans to attend the consecration. "I do think what binds us together is deeper than some of the things that divide us," agreeing with Williams that it was important to "keep our focus on the mission we share because there is so much in the world that cries out for our attention-beyond the issues of human sexuality."
In an October 3 letter prior to the London meeting, Griswold said that he hoped "all of us might move beyond a spirit of condemnation and reaction" and avoid labeling or stereotyping those who disagree with each other.
Huge crisis looming
In an interview with BBC Radio after the meeting, however, Williams appeared more gloomy about the future. "Undoubtedly there is a huge crisis looming," he said. "I think what we have achieved this week, though, is at least to find some way of talking through the crisis without instantly jumping into what appear to be quick solutions."
He said that the appointment of a commission to spend a year sorting through the issues will provide some "thinking time, inviting provinces to reflect on their reactions" and examine the "possible implications of a split because there are constitutional, legal questions for al churches involved."
When asked directly if he thought Robinson should be consecrated, he said, "No, I don't." He said that such a decision should be made by the whole church.
Archbishop Michael Peers of the Anglican Church of Canada was relieved that the statement affirms the autonomy of the member provinces of the Anglican Communion. "That's a very strong principle and has been ever since the Reformation. The document says that the possibility of breaking communion exists," he said, admitting that there are "dark, dark clouds on the horizon."
Hope and frustration
Both sides reacted quickly, some with cautious hope and others with clear and continuing frustrations.
A statement from the Diocese of New Hampshire after the Primates' Meeting said that Robinson's sexuality should be regarded as "incidental" to his abilities as a bishop. "Canon Robinson was elected based on his nearly three decades of ministry in the diocese, of his considerable pastoral skills, and his vision for ministry," the statement said.
The American Anglican Council (AAC) issued a statement arguing that the statement by the primates was a "clear rebuke" of the General Convention's decision to confirm the election of Robinson. Its board will meet soon to develop a strategy in the wake of the November 2 consecration of Robinson.
Others were hoping for more concrete action, especially to discipline the Episcopal Church. "There will be a split because there is no option," said Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone in South America.
The Rev. David Roseberry of Plano, Texas, one of the hosts of the recent AAC meeting in Dallas, called the statement by the primates a "stunning decision," one that represents "a substantial intervention." Not only does it reaffirm the church's traditional teaching on sexuality, as represented by resolutions at the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops, "It sets up a mechanism by which sanctions and discipline are, for the first time, possible in the Anglican Communion, from the archbishop of Canterbury to another province," and it provides "a way to protect beleaguered parishes and individuals throughout the Episcopal Church whose bishops may be hostile to the orthodox faith."
Bishop Jack Iker of Ft. Worth, one of four American bishops who met with the archbishop of Canterbury after the Primates' Meeting, said in an interview with the Star-Telegram that Williams will fight aggressively to prevent the Episcopal Church from splitting by promoting the concept of "alternative episcopal oversight." He said in the interview, "The concept of traditional congregations in liberal dioceses getting under orthodox bishops is the only way that the archbishop of Canterbury can see preventing a split in the U.S." He said that the archbishop is "attempting to look for a place for everyone in Anglicanism."
Other voices weigh in
Former archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, added his voice to the mix, calling Robinson's confirmation "an ecumenical scandal" that is diverting the church from more important issues. At a clergy retreat in South Carolina, he expressed the hope that nobody pulls out of the Anglican Communion over the disagreement. "I strongly resist a realignment of the communion," he said.
Robinson himself made it quite clear that he is convinced God wants him to go forward. "This is one of the hardest things I'll ever do," he told a Sunday adult education class at Grace Church in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to press accounts. "I do have this sense I'm supposed to go forward, and I do feel that's coming from God and not my own ego. But I don't know." He was accompanied by a police officer because of death threats.
When asked if he might be willing to reconsider because of the threat to unity, Robinson said, "If I step down, do you really think other qualified gays and lesbians wouldn't be elected? My standing down isn't going to make it all go away."
"I don't want anyone to leave the church," he said, "and I don't like being thought of as the reason they leave the church." He said that the acrimonious debate on sexuality would continue, with or without him. "It's going to be messy for a while," but he predicted that the church would survive the turmoil. "This is not our church to win or lose, it's God's church."
Coming realignment
Yet Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, vice president of the AAC and a leading conservative spokesman, said that the statement paved the way for a realignment of the Episcopal Church, creating a network of "confessing" parishes and dioceses in North America. Speaking at the AAC Dallas meeting, he said that dioceses will "deepen their level of cooperation and interdependence" and will create what he called a Network of Confessing Dioceses and Parishes, recognized by the primates as the one "with which they have communion and common cause, the remnant as an Episcopal Church under judgment." He added that the network "will extend across national borders from the beginning."
"There are parishes in every state in the union that would want to be allied with and provided for by a bishop they believe is teaching the faith," according to an AP report. "They would not want to be part of a diocese where same-sex blessings take place."
Reaction from the Rev. David Anderson, executive director of the AAC, was positive because "while the primates did not discipline New Westminster or the Episcopal Church, they did issue a firm and direct warning, opening the door to the possibility of intervention." He said that a break in the church was "in the vicinity of 80 percent likely if the consecration goes forward."
Bishop Edward Salmon of South Carolina said he was "greatly encouraged" by the statement. Among the reasons he cited was the call for provinces "to make adequate provision for dissenting minorities in consultation with the archbishop of Canterbury on behalf of the primates, not the local leadership." He said the statement also made it clear that "no province or diocese or congregation has the authority to unilaterally substitute an alternative teaching as if it were the teaching of the Anglican Communion."
Conservative Christianity Today columnist, Douglas LeBlanc, said that, "in reality, it appears, members of the American Anglican Council and other orthodox Anglicans just got clobbered." He said that the primates "merely acknowledge" the impending crisis in the Anglican Communion. "Heaven forbid that they attempt to prevent it," he said, arguing that the statement sounds "too clearly American and British. If we do not soon hear the lyrical voices of African primates, some of us believe today's Episcopal Church will be tomorrow's Anglican Communion. That is not news of joy and glad tidings."
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Southern Africa, the only African primate to speak in favor of homosexual ordinations, argued that it was necessary to consider the perspective. "We've been there before as a church not so long ago when the first woman bishop was elected, there was a big hype in the communion. And we survived. It's in the nature of the church to live in this creative tension."
A former primate of Central Africa, Archbishop Walter Makhulu, said his experiences under apartheid had led him to oppose an "exclusive church." Preaching at a service sponsored by Inclusive Church, a pro-gay lobby in England, he described the exclusion of gays as comparable with apartheid. "It is a heresy in the same way as apartheid was described as heresy," He said.
Others disagreed. "The homosexuality issue is of massive importance because it makes mission incredibly difficult when the Anglican Church is presented in terms of Western decadence and lax morality in largely Muslim countries," said Bishop David Evans, retired general secretary of the South American Missionary Society (SAMS). "The southern primates are very angry about this. They have got a strategy planned for November 2" when Robinson is scheduled to be consecrated.
Diocesan reactions vary
Reaction on the diocesan level is running the gamut. Delegates to the convention of the Diocese of Dallas voted to reduce the annual contribution of $512,161 to the national church to zero, while noting that parishes could make direct contributions with the approval of their vestries. The convention also called on Robinson to renounce his position as bishop-elect.
In the Diocese of Atlanta, Bishop J. Neil Alexander said that the primates' statement reinforced his belief that the Anglican Communion would eventually work through its theological differences. "The document suggests that while on other matters related to homosexuality we are not of a common mind, the center of the communion is holding."
The Diocese of Southwest Florida even halted its convention, already in session, a few days before the primates met. "In light of the rapidly unfolding events that surround us, I ask that we break and reconvene," Bishop John Lipscomb said. "Now is not the time to declare our lives cut off from one another. What we do need is constructive engagement with one another," he said. "Our primary concern must remain the mission of the church at home and abroad."
Bishop William Persell of Chicago told a clergy gathering that his role as a bishop charged to protect the unity of the church is in part "to create a safe place where we can discuss openly and without fear the issues on which we disagree."
Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish in the Diocese of Utah issued a statement supporting the consecration of Robinson while expressing a hope that the archbishop of Canterbury "will lead us in paths that, while challenging all of us, will also lead eventually to reconciliation and unity, however unlikely that may appear at the present moment."
Reexamining relationships
In the Diocese of Quincy (Illinois), delegates repudiated the decisions of the General Convention and committed the diocese to "ongoing communion and fellowship" with those who opposed the decisions. It expressed an openness "to take those steps necessary to begin to explore a possible realignment of churches and dioceses in the Americas." The diocese will meet January 10 to explore its future relationship with the Episcopal Church, after "time to consult with other Episcopal dioceses around the country who are also considering realignment."
Yet some dioceses continued to express support for Robinson's consecration-and the blessing of same-gender relationships. The Diocese of Nevada, for example, passed a resolution at its convention that said "desiring to support relationships of mutuality and fidelity which mediate the grace of God between those persons for whom the celebration and blessing of a marriage is not available, does hereby recognize that ceremonies to celebrate the relationships of such persons who are baptized members in good standing in this diocese may be conducted by clergy in this diocese, with the approval of the bishop, respecting pastoral discretion." The vote was 113 in favor and 58 opposed.
Bishop David Bane of Southern Virginia, who said he knows Robinson and respects his gifts for ministry, voted against his confirmation "knowing that people of deep faith remain deeply divided over this matter." In a statement in response to the Primates' Meting, he said that he was against any efforts "to divide the Episcopal Church into new jurisdictions or subvert the church's episcopal leadership, diocesan or national." He said that "what grieves the heart of God the most is when we allow our differences to tear apart the Body of Christ." He concluded, "We can neither ignore the pain, disappointment and sadness of all who oppose the consecration of Gene Robinson, nor the fear and alienation and disenfranchisement of Christians who have lived for generations knowing that their sexual orientation put them in constant danger of humiliation and abuse."