An Open Letter from Primates of the Anglican Communion to the Most Reverend Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of E.C.U.S.A
Episcopal News Service. March 18, 1999 [99-034]
Dear Brother in Christ,
We write as Primates and Archbishops of the Anglican Communion in the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Reformed Church, having assembled last year for the Lambeth Conference at Canterbury. We give thanks to Almighty God for granting us that opportunity for consultation, determination and expression of our common mind in the Anglican Communion.
At this time of decision we send to you, your fellow bishops, and all the members of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America our most cordial greetings. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is with joy that we recall how blessed our beloved Communion is with growth in its witness to God's Word around the world. We rejoice too in the fellowship of prayer and faith we enjoyed together in Canterbury as a family united across the nations. We are conscious of the issues of moral and theological importance with we have engaged, including international debt, economic development, ecumenism and inter-faith relations. It is our prayer that we will now go forward mutually strengthened in a common resolve to undertake together the great work of evangelization and renewal in Christ to which we are called.
The study of scripture together, at Lambeth, was a special source of inspiration to us all. In St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians there was much to encourage us, but also a stark warning: "Examine yourselves, to make sure you are in the faith." The words contain a challenge from which none of us should shrink. It is our earnest prayer for the Church that where anything is amiss God will reform it and where it is in error God will correct it.
We know it is in the thoughtful and prayerful study of the Bible and the careful application of its message that we can sustain our common life and deepen our faithfulness. Resolution III.l bears witness to this. It recognises afresh the primary authority of the Holy Scriptures and calls us "to promote at every level biblical study programmes which can inform and nourish the life of dioceses, congregations, seminaries, communities and members of all ages." There is here a task that can involve us all and can deepen our unity in mind as well as in heart.
It is our prayer and commitment that as a Communion we may hold together "by mutual loyalty sustained by the council of bishops in Conference." None of us can rightly ignore the fellowship in the Spirit which the Lambeth conference represents. Each Province is accountable to the whole Communion. True Christian freedom lies within the compass of truth and love and not in the satisfaction of mere autonomous desire.
It is therefore with sorrow and disappointment that we have heard from different parts of our Communion statements at variance with what was resolved at Lambeth. Some even appear to repudiate resolutions before they are fully published. We realise that this situation has affected you deeply. We know too that there are leaders within your own Province who do not wish to follow, and in the past have even broken, the teachings reaffirmed at Lambeth. We think of the resolution disavowing any action against bishops who in conscience cannot ordain women to Holy Orders. We think with particular concern of Resolution 1.10 stating that, "this Conference, in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those not called to marriage," and that our Communion "cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining of those involved." It is our concern that we should work sensitively and pastorally in full recognition of this resolution which affirms the Gospel welcome, as well as the Gospel obedience and Gospel hope. Regardless of sexual orientation, all are loved by God and nothing can cut us off from the love of Christ. The Church must listen to all her members but they must listen to the Church as well. For, to echo the words of Archbishop Carey, we must listen not only to each other, but also to Scripture. We must seek to bring healing to every kind of brokenness with both the compassion and the truth of our Lord.
Fidelity to Christian truth cannot be reduced to aspiration; it entails definite and present obligations. Our particular responsibilities oblige us to say that the continuance of action at variance with the Lambeth resolutions, within your own or any other province, would be a grievous wrong and a matter over which we could not be indifferent. We therefore ask you, dear brother, to examine the directions apparently proposed by some in your Province and take whatever steps may be necessary to uphold the moral teaching and Christian faith the Anglican Communion has received. In doing this you will have the prayers and support of us all and you will bring healing and renewal to your church.
The best hope for preserving the fullness of our unity in one Communion is found for each of us in drawing closer to our common Lord and Saviour and in prayer and intercession together. We write this letter in the cause of such unity and koinonia. Our aim is fraternal for we believe that within our family of faith heart should speak to heart and speak the truth in love. Reticence should not prevent us from speaking lovingly, openly and directly. We take to heart the words quoted by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Pastoral Letter "Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you." May God give us light to guide us, courage to support us and love to unite us always. AMEN
David M. Gitari, Archbishop of Kenya
Richard H. Goodhew, Archbishop of Sydney
Emmanuel M. Kolini, Archbishop of Rwanda
Ghais A. Malik, President Bishop, Jerusalem and the Middle East
Donald L. Mtetemela, Archbishop of Tanzania
Maurice W. Sinclair, Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone of America
Moses Tay, Archbishop of South East Asia
Colin F. Bazley, Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone 1989-95