Provinces within the Anglican Communion should reconsider competitive elections as a means of choosing bishops and also examine their constitutions and canons to ensure that legislative bodies are free from undo influence, according to a group of 15 Latin American, Caribbean and East African scholars.

The group, co-sponsored by the Anglican Consultative Council and the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), addressed a persistent topic of tension and promise: "Church Governance and Growth in a Variety of Cultures."

"We weren't trying to deal with specific controversies, but rather the bishop's role in the growth of the church," said Richard J. Jones, group editor and professor of mission and world religions at the seminary. "If we become overly focused inwardly on things like authority, truth and who is in charge, we may forget those who are not yet members of this faithful community."

In order to help prevent that outcome, the group made a series of suggestions relating to ensuring "robust synodical governance." Among the suggestions are: broad participation in setting synod agendas, timely circulation of information about proposed agendas, rules of order ensuring adequate debate of issues and rules of order limiting the power of episcopal veto.

The group also addressed the way bishops are chosen and concluded that provinces should give themselves permission to consider alternatives to competitive elections. While that idea may sound strange to Episcopalians, Prof. Jones noted that Great Britain does not elect bishops. Competitive elections elsewhere within the Anglican Communion have on occasion been dominated by tribal or ethnic favoritism that led to resentment and factionalism.

The conference has no legislative authority, but is the first in a series initiated by the Center for Anglican Communion Studies at VTS.

Panel members consisted of priests, seminary professors and two bishops: the Rt. Rev. Rt. Rev. Julio César Holguá­n-Khoury, Bishop of the Dominican Republic, and the Rt. Rev. Mark Dyer, retired Bishop of Bethlehem and currently professor of theology at VTS.