Bishops Issue Message as Lambeth Conference Ends
Diocesan Press Service. August 24, 1968 [68-11]
LONDON, England -- Just as it began, the 10th Lambeth Conference came to a close today almost exactly on schedule.
It had been a busy three-hour morning session in which the Bishops of the Anglican Communion passed a packet of resolutions on a wide variety of subjects and heard A Message from the Bishops to the Clergy and Laity of the Anglican Communion read to them by the Bishop of London.
The Message had been prepared by the Steering Committee of the Lambeth Conference.
The Bishops then adjourned until the next morning for the closing service of the Conference in St. Paul's Cathedral, to make their last Communions together before going home and to hear a final sermon from the Metropolitan of India.
For the Bishops, it had also been a busy 30 days in which they had held plenary sessions, participated in discussion groups, preached all over the United Kingdom and shared in many social events.
But it most of all had been an opportunity for the 470 Bishops from all over the world to meet together, to share problems and concerns and to speak corporately on some of the pressing issues facing the Church and the world.
The Message read to the assembled Bishops prior to adjournment sought to speak to some of these issues and had been drafted against a background of war, social protest, poverty and radically changing institutions and theology.
It was first of all a proclamation of faith.
" God reigns, " the Message said. " This world is torn and distracted though it is His World; God has not abdicated. We believe in Him and in His Son Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever."
The role of the Church in the present world, the Message asserted, is that of a servant.
"The impatient protests of young men and women, " it said, "drove home to us that the Church will be renewed only in so far as she pursues that role. We have to confess that all too often we have failed to serve as our Lord served."
The Message also stressed the primary role of the laity in the ministry of the Church to the world:
"In the home, at work, in industrial disputes, in the exercise of economic power whether as employers and employed, in the bitterly divisive issues of race, it is for the laity to bring to bear a Christian influence towards social justice, compassion and peace."
The Message placed an emphasis on unity in its final section, asserting that "the fulfillment of the ministry of the Church would be a great deal easier if the Church were not divided. " It urged that all efforts to remedy social injustices whether at the national or local level be done ecumenically through councils of Churches and other united agencies bringing together all Christians.
"But even this," the Message said, "is a poor substitute for a reunited Church. Renewal demands unity. Unity cannot come without renewal. Much progress towards reunion has been made for which we thank God. Much more remains to be done for which we pray God's help and guidance."
"It is our belief that God is now renewing His Church. It is for us to recognize the signs of His renewing action and to welcome them and obey them. It is no time for either despair or doubt. Rather, it is a time to remember the Lord's saying 'Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'"
One highlight of this morning's plenary session was an interruption of the floor proceedings by a group of young people who filed into the Assembly Hall silently displaying a banner saying: "Justice, not Charity." They had previously picketed the opening service at Canterbury Cathedral and represented two peace organizations, one called "CHURCH" and another called "Christians for Non- Violent Action. " After remaining in the hall for a few moments the half-dozen young persons filed out.
Another incident during the course of the morning debate was initiated by the Rt. Rev. William Frey, Bishop of Guatemala, who asked the Conference not to vote on a resolution on youth which he described as being "a condescending pat on the head."
"I want to express my displeasure with the resolution, " he said. "We met with these young people and were impressed with their articulate and informed manner, their concern for social justice and the problem of want and the need for rapid change in ecclesiastical and secular structures. They asked for bread and we have given them a stone. I move that the resolution be 'not put.'"
The Bishops followed his suggestion and did not vote on the resolution.
One of the resolutions passed today recommended to the Churches of the Anglican Communion that assent to the Thirty-Nine Articles be no longer required of ordinands. It represented a change from an original resolution introduced by the Bishop of Durham which defended the retention of the Articles as part of the "historical context" of the Anglican faith.
In introducing the changed text, the Rt. Rev. George Luxton, Bishop of Huron, described the Thirty-Nine Articles as "theological smog and double-talk. " Other resolutions approved today:
Recommended "a renewed and vigorous" implementation of dialogue with religious and non-religious groups.
Supported the World Council of Churches in its appeal for industrialized countries to contribute a certain percentage of their Gross National Product to the developing nations of the world.
Urged an ecumenical approach in the Church's missionary role. Called upon the Church to use the skills of full-time professionals in the fields of social work, community organization, education, recreation and mass media.
Asked that the Church seek social goals in the fields of housing, health and wages.
Welcomed the continued conversations with the Roman Catholic Church, but with emphasis on the "collegiality" of Bishops rather than the primacy of the Papacy.
Approved resumption of Orthodox-Anglican discussions which had their start in 1931.
Supported proposals to eliminate parallel Anglican jurisdictions in Europe. Endorsed the concept of Mutual Responsibility and a re-study of its program in the Anglican Communion.
Recommended a General Episcopal Consultation to be called by the Archbishop of Canterbury and to include all Churches in "full or partial communion with the see of Canterbury."
Recommended also that Regional Episcopal Consultations should be held which would have a wider representation from the other non-Anglican Churches than would be true in the General Episcopal Consultation.
Received and commended for study the three reports prepared by the three sections of the Conference on: Renewal of the Church in Faith, Renewal of the Church in Ministry and Renewal of the Church in Unity.
Earlier in the sessions of the Lambeth Conference, its Steering Committee took issue with the Pope's encyclical on birth control, emphasizing the Anglican position that it approves, when exercised "by husband and wife in Christian conscience. " This was later re-affirmed by the Conference itself.
It established a new centralized organization for the Anglican Communion to be called "Anglican Consultative Council" to be composed of 50 members of the Church meeting every two years. It also created the new position of a deputy secretary general who would maintain offices in Geneva to strengthen relationships with the World Council of Churches. It would also include membership of two persons under the age of 28.
The Bishops voted to support the Anglican Center in Rome, which maintains a library and information center in the see city of Roman Catholicism. It had previously been supported only by the see of Canterbury.
They voted for the internationalization of the ocean floor for development of all nations under the principles of the United Nations.
The Conference approved liberalization of rules admitting non-Anglicans to Holy Communion and allowing Anglicans to make their communions at non-Anglican altars. It also approved the recognition of the Church of South India, and voted to accord the same privilege to three other new Churches when they are formed: The Church of North India, the Church of Pakistan and the Church of Lanka.
The Bishops also approved the recognition of women deaconesses as being within the diaconate, heretofore limited to men, and thereby opened the door to the ordination of women, at least to the diaconate. They left the question of ordination of women to the priesthood open, but hedged it around with definite safeguards. In the meantime, they recommended that women be allowed to conduct public worship, baptize, read the Epistle and Gospel at the Holy Communion and to assist in the distribution of the elements.
The Bishops also reaffirmed a previous stand that "war as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teaching and example of Jesus Christ" and condemned the use of nuclear and bacteriological weapons. They also "upheld and extended" the right to be a conscientious objector.
They supported a statement of the recent Assembly of the World Council of Churches which said that "racism is a blatant denial of the Christian faith. "