While the 38 primates of the Anglican Communion are gathered this week in Oporto, Portugal, there's far more interest in the meeting than usual. Anglicans throughout the world will be looking for a response to the Singapore consecrations [TLC, Feb. 13, 20]. It's possible they may be disappointed. Like the Lambeth conference, the primates' meeting has no legislative status. It's a gathering held every two years during which the leaders of the various Anglican provinces can discuss common concerns and problems and share stories of successful ministries.

Before the Singapore event, it was widely assumed the primates would have on their agenda the matter of dealing with the Episcopal Church and other Anglican bodies which are perceived by some to have gone too far in rejecting traditional Anglican teaching. Certainly the issue will be discussed by the primates, but now that bishops have been consecrated, some of the participants may be less sympathetic to the traditionalists. The subject of the Singapore consecrations certainly is of interest to the primates, but there isn't much they can do.