Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold Responds to the Open Letter from Primates of the Anglican Communion
Episcopal News Service. March 10, 1999 [99-035]
Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop and Primate
For: Colin F. Bazley; David M. Gitari; Richard H. Goodhew; Emmanuel M. Kolini; Ghais A. Malik; Donald L. Mtetemela; Maurice W. Sinclair; Moses Tay
My dear brothers:
Thank you so very much for your letter of fraternal concern regarding the reception of Lambeth resolutions on human sexuality and the authority of the Bible in some parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Joining me in this response are the nine members of my Council of Advice, each of whom was elected by that bishop's domestic province.
We have just concluded a meeting of our House of Bishops at which we noted how important it is when questions arise in the body of Christ for members of the same -- and especially bishops and primates -- to deal directly with one another, lest second hand information or biased reporting distort or misrepresent our actions or points of view. We are therefore responding to each of you directly, in the peace of Christ.
As bishops of the Episcopal Church and members of the Anglican Communion, and in light of our time together at the Lambeth Conference, we are aware that what happens in one part of the Communion can affect other provinces because of the very different historical and cultural contexts in which we seek to live our lives in response to the gospel. The bonds of communion which we enjoy with other provinces are precious to us, and the mutual sharing of the gifts between us is both a privilege and a blessing.
We write to emphasize to you that within the Episcopal Church USA, as in other provinces of our Communion, there exist divergent opinions on the question of homosexuality. The four understandings of homosexuality articulated in the Lambeth report on Human Sexuality, and quoted below, accurately described the opinions held among us. There are:
- "those who believe that homosexual orientation is a disorder, but that through the grace of Christ people can be changed, although not without pain and struggle;"
- "those who believe that relationships between people of the same gender should not include genital expression, that this is the clear teaching of the Bible and of the church universal, and that such activity (if unrepented of) is a barrier to the Kingdom of God;"
- "those who believe that committed homosexual relationships fall short of the biblical norm, but are to be preferred to relationships that are anonymous and transient;"
- "those who believe that the Church should accept and support or bless monogamous covenant relationships between homosexual people and that they may be ordained."
We therefore find ourselves in a process of discernment and "testing the spirits" and are instructed by the observation and wise words of His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury in a letter addressed to one of our primates, and which I have his permission to quote.
"First, let us remind ourselves that in reality the discussion at Canterbury was the very first time the bishops as a body had discussed it [homosexuality] at any length. A Resolution was passed that indicates where bishops stand NOW on the issue; it does not indicate that. we shall ever rest there. That MAY be the case -- but who knows? "Second, the debate showed -- and showed me more powerfully than I had ever seen before –- that argument and controversy solves nothing. "We need a new kind of 'conversation' -- one that begins with respect for the integrity of another and a willingness to study the scriptures together, to reflect on our experience -- ncluding the experience of homosexuals -- and to share in a process which attempts to put into practice what the writer Joseph Monti once called 'The Church as a community of moral discourse'. It is time we got a discourse going and started discouraging the polemic and bitterness that is around."
Therefore, in answer to your concerns, and in the interest of fostering conversation and "moral discourse" and an even greater relationship of affection and understanding, we invite each of you to visit those parts of our church which cause you concern so that you may inquire and learn directly what has animated certain responses to the above mentioned resolutions. Such visits will afford you the opportunity not only to query some of our bishops and representatives of their dioceses but also to listen to the experience of homosexual persons, which is mandated by the Lambeth resolution on human sexuality. I will be hoping to hear from each of you in order that we might plan visits for you such as I describe.
It is our fervent prayer and earnest hope that occasions of concern become opportunities for us to learn from one another to our mutual enrichment, in the name of the risen Christ, and in the power of the Spirit of Truth who alone can guide us into all truth.
With the love of God in our hearts and the upbuilding of the body of Christ as our hope, we invite you, in the words of Jesus to, "Come and see."
Yours ever in Christ,
Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
J. Clark Grew II, Bishop of Ohio
Robert H. Johnson, Bishop of Western North Carolina
James E. Krotz, Bishop of Nebraska
Julio C. Holuguin, Bishop of Dominican Republic
Jack M. McKelvey, Bishop Suffragan of Newark
Robert D. Rowley, Jr., Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania
Richard L. Shimpfky, Bishop of EI Camino Real
William Smalley, Bishop of Kansas
Douglas Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire