The Archbishop of Canterbury cited Irenaeus, the second-century bishop and theologian and his vision of God when he delivered the presidential address to the Lambeth Conference July 20 in Canterbury. Speaking before more than 1,000 bishops and spouses gathered in two halls, the Most Rev. George Carey focused on four areas on which the conference ought to focus: the renewal of vision, the church, mission, and vocation as bishops.

It was in the area of renewal of vision where the archbishop mentioned Irenaeus. He "had a wonderful vision of God and his activity in the world," Archbishop Carey said. "It is one we should foster too. For him Christ had redeemed all things. All things were reaching forward to their consummation when 'God will be all in all'."

In the hour-long address, Archbishop Carey said the first task of the once-a-decade conference of some 740 Anglican bishops is "to be a place of transformation and of renewed vision, for the sake both of God's church and, still more importantly, of the world.

"Here in this conference, we have the opportunity to bring and share with each other all the distresses, as well as understandings, and divisions of the Anglican Communion as well as all that unites us.

"I hope, of course, that we will see real progress being made over the three weeks as we seek to listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The danger may be, however, of a too rapid immersion in the issues with the result that the true scale of divine reality is forgotten as we focus on the detail."

Archbishop Carey said the conference needed to deal with matters of ecclesial structure before it ends Aug. 9.

"If we meet as a fellowship of self-governing, national churches, in what realistic form can we claim to be a Communion?" he asked. "The answer is found, I believe, in what we share and hold in common. A common heritage of doctrine, faith, liturgy and spirituality; an understanding of authority as expressed through a 'dispersed,' rather than centralized authority; episcopal leadership exercised in conjunction with synodical government. We make no apology for this form of polity which has real strengths because the conciliar forms of consultation are strong and rich."

The archbishop's final point dealt with vocation of bishops.

"As people called by God to hold a particular office in his church, we must seek the renewal of our vocation," he said. "For as leaders, we can function either as a barrier or as a channel. If we are not transformed, corporately and individually, through that constant practice of gratitude for a loving, sovereign Lord, his vision for the church and his people will never become a reality."

The Rt. Rev. J. Clark Grew, Bishop of Ohio, said he was moved by the archbishop's address. "I found it to be a gracious reminder of what the Anglican Communion is and needs to continue to be, and of what we need to recover," he said.

One of the first of the four working groups of Lambeth to convene was Section One, "Called to Full Humanity," convened by the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane. The archbishop reminded participants that they are all "under God so we throw away our anxieties."

The Rt. Rev. Frank Allan, Bishop of Atlanta, is one of the six sub-section chairs, heading the group on modern technology.

The Rt. Rev. Duncan Buchanan, Bishop of Johannesburg, South Africa, chairs the sub-section on human sexuality, and asked those present to listen to one another.

"None of us has the whole truth and all of us should respect each other's integrity," Bishop Buchanan said. "My prayer for our section is that we will listen as much as we will want to talk and in the listening hear something of what God is saying to us."

An ecumenical service of Vespers took place July 20 with Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, as the preacher.

"Are we not experiencing new and deep divisions among Christians as a result of contrasting approaches to human sexuality, for instance?" Cardinal Cassidy asked. "When such attitudes are in the ascendant, disunity between Christians will remain unresolved. Moreover, disunity becomes an increasingly grave matter within the still-separated churches as well. Authoritative proclamation of the gospel of Christ is diminished."

Bishops were greeted by Archbishop Carey during a liturgy of welcome July 18 at the sports halls at the University of Kent, a short distance from Canterbury Cathedral. In a Bible study titled "Leadership Under Pressure," the archbishop reflected on the opening verses of 2 Corinthians and spoke of the expectations and fears brought to Lambeth by participants.

"There are strong grounds for hoping that we shall go home in three weeks' time greatly strengthened and empowered for God's mission in the world," Archbishop Carey said. He added that there are "fears, on the other hand, that the good ship Anglicana may founder on some divisive issue or other, whether on the rocks of intolerance and indiscipline or the shoals of fundamentalism and liberalism."

The opening program included hymns and readings in six languages: English, Welsh, Maori, French, Korean and Swahili.

In an opening statement, the Most Rev. Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland, chair of the episcopal communications team for Lambeth, said the Lambeth Conference is about relationships.

"We will be exploring the relationships between rich and poor, and our relationship with people of other faiths, particularly Islam," he said. "The Lambeth Conference is about the total spectrum of human relationships in community."

Spouses of the bishops, including five males, took part in their own program in a large tent. More than 600 spouses participated in the program, which featured daily Bible study groups, workshops, seminars and presentations. Topics to be addressed in the workshops include reconciliation, trauma, and the gospel and culture. Four plenary groups also were scheduled during the three-week gathering - the Role of the Bishop's Spouse, Social Issues, the Anglican Communion, and Mission and Evangelism.