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Five Days in Larnaca: An Overview

Episcopal News Service. May 11, 1989 [89087]

Barbara Braver

LARNACA, Cyprus (DPS, May 11) -- The city of Larnaca, on the southern coast of the island of Cyprus, was the setting for the April 27-May 2 meeting of the leaders of the 27 autonomous churches that make up the worldwide Anglican Communion. During the five days the group spent together, they were largely isolated in their meeting place, the Lordos Beach Hotel, because of their enormous workload. There was little time for the Primates to explore the beautiful and historic island, with its troubled modern history and its roots deep in the early history of Christianity.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Robert Runcie, remarked on the meeting location in his opening address to his brother Primates. "So though we meet at a holiday resort, we are very close to some of the most deep-rooted of human conflicts," he said. "They will be present in our prayers and deliberations. Some of our agenda is to do with conflict in the Church. Can Christians themselves come to terms with conflict? Can we learn to live together? If we can, we may have something to say to the wounded world the Church must serve and heal."

What might have been one of the most contentious issues for the Primates came early in the five-day meeting, and was dealt with in a spirit of unanimity, namely, a report from the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Communion and Women in the Episcopate. The commission was appointed by the archbishop following the Lambeth Conference of the bishops of the Anglican Communion last summer. It is chaired by the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Rev. Robert Eames. The Rt. Rev. Mark Dyer, Bishop of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, is a member of the seven-person group.

The purpose of the commission has been to look at how the autonomous provinces of the Anglican Communion can live in the highest possible degree of communion, given their varying views and practices concerning the ordination of women.

The commission has met twice, first in London in late November, and most recently on Long Island, in Garden City, New York, in March. Although the commission members have a wide variety of convictions on the issues before them, Eames was able to present a report that had the unanimous support of the commission.

The 31-page document [the complete text is included in this mailing] is grounded in the theological understanding of "koinonia," that is, the communion that God wills for all humankind. As the report says, "Where there is restriction in the elements of communion, separated groups interpret the tradition over and against each other. In this case, all are impoverished, and the richness of diversity and unity that mirrors the inner life of God the Holy Trinity is subverted."

The report also explores the place of "reception," noting that although synodical decisions must be respected, these governing bodies can be in error. Decisions, therefore, still have to be "received and owned by the whole people of God as consonant with the faith of the Church throughout the ages professed and lived today." During this "continuing and dynamic" period of reception of decisions, the commission said, "freedom and space must be available until a consensus of opinion one way or the other has been achieved."

After studying the report in their small groups (the same groups in which they met daily for Bible study), the Primates came back into plenary session and warmly endorsed the document, with one significant change in the pastoral guidelines.

The commission had suggested that, during the process of reception, a male bishop might participate along with a female bishop in performing ordinations. They noted that the practice of collegial ordinations did not "question the validity of a women bishop's consecration nor her capacity to confer orders but rather protects the interest of the ordinand and the communities in which he or she may minister in the future." This concept of collegial ordination was rejected by the Primates, who felt it was neither practical nor theologically appropriate as it would have the effect of questioning the validity of a woman bishop's consecration. At the same time, they acknowledged that "some Anglicans will feel unable to recognize the validity of ordinations presided over by a woman bishop."

The concept of "parallel jurisdictions," where within a jurisdiction one bishop would be favorable to ordained women and another opposed, was seen as unacceptable by the commission. The Primates emphatically concurred, saying that parallel jurisdictions would "jeopardize the role of the bishop as the symbol of unity."

The Primates encouraged exploration of an "Episcopal Visitors" scheme, but they also offered a caveat. Although the commission suggested the "Episcopal Visitors" proposal as passed by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1988 might be "looked at sympathetically," the Primates' statement said that particular scheme has been "criticized by both those in favor and against the ordination of women within the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. in the form in which it was passed.... However, such a proposal should be flexible as there is believed to be support for its development that would meet some of the objections that have been raised on either side."

The commission recognized that controversy concerning the issue of women's ordination is going to be before the Church for some time, and said that legalistic notions of individuals and groups being "in communion" or "out of communion" with one another as a result of their disagreement on this issue are "insufficient." As the report says, "A real degree of authentic communion is entailed from the common recognition of baptism among separated Churches. It follows that no province or individual bishop, still less priest or lay person, can meaningfully declare themselves to be categorically out of communion with another province or bishop."

Visits by women priests and bishops were considered by the commission as "particularly desirable where provinces have decided against the ordination and consecration of women or have yet to resolve the matter." The commission felt that such visits would give an experience of the ministry of women. Implicit in that was an understanding that such an experience would be positive, as has, in fact, been the case in those provinces with ordained women.

The Primates invited the Archbishop of Canterbury to renew the commission to "monitor developments," and he has indicated that he will do so. They noted that the commission might have a role to play within a province where there is serious disagreement. That is, after consulting the Primate concerned, the archbishop might "invite the commission to use its good offices to foster unity." The Primates also suggested that the commission's membership might be expanded "with special reference to the non-Western world and to gender."

The Eames Commission report was sent by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning to the members of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States before it was made public in Larnaca. It will be studied and discussed at the meeting of the House of Bishops in Philadelphia in September 1989.

Although the issue of the ordination of women has particular interest in some provinces of the Church, including the Episcopal Church in the United States, it was not the dominant issue on the Primates' agenda, or in their minds and hearts. Central to their discussions were issues of social justice and opportunities for evangelism.

The Primates released a four-page statement on social justice issues that reflected their views on situations in which they live and minister. As part of their statement they:

  • denounced Israel's handling of the Palestinian uprising;
  • commended the appointment of a high-level delegation to Namibia;
  • noted their deep distress at the "massive presence" of the South African Defense Force in northern Namibia;
  • outlined a process toward stability in South Africa, including lifting the state of emergency and the acceptance of a bill of rights;
  • deplored the "Contra" war in Nicaragua, "a war financed and sponsored by people sitting in the safety of foreign capitals."

"This [English] is not my mother tongue but I think it is right to say that we are 'limp rags,"' said one African Primate as the meeting drew to a close. Their daunting schedule had the Primates in motion from 7:15 A.M., with worship, often through to 11 P.M. or later, with meetings and other events. They moved quickly from small group to plenary and meal to meal, with the Bible study and worship the anchoring events of the day. Some expressed regret that there was not more time for those "conversations around the edges," where a great deal of business gets done.

Opportunities for venturing out of the confines of the hotel were also limited. The Primates and their wives did go in a two-bus caravan with a police escort to Nicosia where they participated in the celebration of Orthodox Easter by attending the three-and-a-half hour Good Friday ceremony of the Epitaphion, including a procession at dusk through the city. Worshipers lined the streets, and candles lit balconies where the faithful stood in silent remembrance. On the eve of their departure, the Anglican group also attended an ecumenical reception for some 1,400 people in the garden of the residence of Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Toward the close of their gathering, the Primates met with the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for a discussion of mutual concerns, including how each body will carry on its responsibilities within its own sphere of authority. A schedule of Anglican meetings through 1998 was set, including the meeting of the ACC in Wales in 1991.

A Standing Committee for the Primates was also established and a member selected from each of five geographic areas. The Presiding Bishop was chosen as the representative from the Americas.

The spirit of Lambeth prevailed at the Cyprus meeting; that profound sense of connectedness in Christ, one to another, which moves beyond differences in language, life circumstances, or opinions on issues before the Communion, carried the Primates through their hectic days and back to the disparate circumstances of their daily lives and ministries. Again, as at Lambeth, their meeting, rather than a discussion of communion, was a lived experience of that communion. As one Primate said, "We pray for each other, and we carry each other in our hearts."

[thumbnail: Primates gather at a pres...] [thumbnail: At the invitation of Orth...]