Kampala's Hotel Africana was the site for a Nov. 16-18 meeting of traditionalist leaders, concerned bishops and an informal group of primates and archbishops mostly from the "two-thirds world." The conference was a follow-up to a meeting held in Singapore in April [TLC, May 16]. It was designed to give the primates' group an opportunity to further assess the situation in the Episcopal Church following the Lambeth Conference and to decide whether it warrants intervention by other members of the Anglican Communion.

The meeting also included participants and observers from the First Promise group, Forward in Faith's English and American branches, the North American Missionary Society, Ekklesia, Reform, the Centre for Anglican Communion Studies, and the American Anglican Council.

The host for the meeting, which was co-chaired by the Most Rev. Emanuel Kolini of Rwanda, was the Most Rev. Livingstone Nkoyoyo, Primate of the Church in Uganda. Other primates and archbishops in attendance or represented included the Most Rev. Maurice Sinclair of the Church in the Southern Cone of South America, the Most Rev. Donald Mtemela of Tanzania, the Most Rev. Patrice Byankya Njojo of Congo, the Most Rev. Samuel Ndayisenga of Burundi, the Most Rev. Moses Tay of Southeast Asia, the Most Rev. Harry Goodhew of Sydney, the Rt. Rev. Peter Njenga (representing David Gitari of Kenya), and the Rt. Rev. Manasseh Dawidi (representing the Sudan).

Attending as participants or observers were bishops from Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and England. American bishops participating were the Rt. Rev. James Stanton (Dallas), the Rt. Rev. Steven Jecko (Florida), the Rt. Rev. Andrew Fairfield (North Dakota), and the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan (Pittsburgh).

During the three-day meeting, the primates and their representatives heard analysis of the nature of the crisis in the Episcopal Church from several different perspectives. The American bishops made formal presentations, as did First Promise leaders, the Rev. Canon James Wong of Singapore, and the Rt. Rev. Michael Senyimba of Mukono, Uganda.

In a letter to the participants and observers, the primates expressed their concern about "the damage and harmful results of these increasingly serious developments presented by participants." They assured them that "among us are those ready to respond to specific and urgent situations which may arise in the months before the Primates' Meeting" in Portugal March 23-28. Specifically they said, "Parishes and clergy under threat because of their loyalty to the Gospel and to Anglican standards must be supported and we will play our part in such support."

They promised to "inform our colleagues of the intolerable situation that you and others like you are facing. We will carefully document and commend a proposal to (the Primates' meeting) which, we believe, will address the problems in our Communion caused by misuse of provincial autonomy and innovations exceeding the limits of our Anglican diversity. In this we will be acting upon Resolution III6 (B) Lambeth '98." The resolution requests "... that the Primates' Meeting include among its responsibilities positive encouragement to mission, intervention in cases of exceptional emergency which are incapable of internal resolution within provinces ..."

"We will be seeking agreement on and the progressive implementation of effective measures to ensure a return to historic standards for ordination, moral and marriage disciplines where in our communion these have been notoriously breached. Our endeavor here accords with Lambeth Resolution I.10." The resolution upholds monogamy between a man and a woman and calls for abstinence for those who are not called to marriage. It further "recognizes persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation," and assures them "that they are loved by God and that all baptized, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ."

The Primates said they saw no immediate need for a third such consultation.

The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards contributed to this report.