AUSTRALIA: Sydney's bishops, archbishop postpone response to Lambeth 2008 invitations
Episcopal News Service. August 15, 2007 [081507-02]
The Anglican Diocese of Sydney's five bishops and one archbishop have told Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams that they are postponing a decision about whether or not they will attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Bishops, scheduled for July 16-August 4, 2008 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England.
Williams mailed the Lambeth invitations in May to all but a small number of the Anglican Communion's serving diocesan, suffragan and assisting bishops, asking for responses of attendance by the end of July. But Sydney's Anglican leaders said in a July 30 letter to Williams that the timing "has proved difficult" and that they await the response of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops to the Primates' Communiqué before responding to the invitations.
"In view of the real hesitations that we experience in joining with those who have consecrated Bishop Gene Robinson, and with others who have allowed for the blessing of same-sex unions, and given the significance of these events, we feel that we cannot give an answer to your kind invitation until later in the year," the letter said. "We hope that you understand this delay and we look forward to communicating with you further on this matter at the earliest opportunity."
The Primates requested in February that the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops "make an unequivocal common covenant" that they will not authorize same-gender blessings and confirm that a candidate for bishop who is living in a same-gender relationship "shall not receive the necessary consent unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion."
An answer from the House of Bishops is to be conveyed to the Primates by September 30.
The full text of the letter from Sydney's Anglican leaders follows.
Dear Archbishop Rowan,
As Archbishop and Assistant Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney, we send our thanks for your kind invitation to attend next year's Lambeth Conference. Your invitation has been received with pleasure and it would give us a great deal of joy to be able to join you.
Unfortunately the timing of the invitation has proved difficult. We have been looking for the response of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church to the Primates' Communiqué from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. We understand that this response is due by 30th of September.
In view of the real hesitations that we experience in joining with those who have consecrated Bishop Gene Robinson, and with others who have allowed for the blessing of same-sex unions, and given the significance of these events, we feel that we cannot give an answer to your kind invitation until later in the year.
We hope that you understand this delay and we look forward to communicating with you further on this matter at the earliest opportunity.
With our best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
The Most Rev. Dr Peter F Jensen – Archbishop of Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Robert C Forsyth – Bishop of South Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Dr Glenn N Davies – Bishop of North Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Peter J Tasker – Bishop of Liverpool
The Rt. Rev. Ivan Y Lee – Bishop of Western Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Alan J Stewart – Bishop of Wollongong