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US and Canadians kicked off Anglican body in gay row

-25/02/05

The Anglican primates meeting in Newry, near Belfast, has taken the unprecedented step of excluding the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) from the Anglican Consultative Council, a key worldwide liaison body, in the run-up to the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops.

The primates, who are leaders of the 78 million strong Anglican Communion, have taken the decision to try to head off a looming split between those who oppose the inclusion of lesbian and gay people within the church and its recognised ministries, and those who oppose it.

The issues of contention are the election of the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, a gay man in a permanent relationship, to be Bishop of New Hampshire in the USA, and the action of some sections of the Anglican Church in Canada in blessing same-sex unions.

Conservative church leaders in England and across the world believe that the US and Canadian churches should be removed from the communion unless they ërepentí of their actions. They argue that the Bible unequivocally condemns homosexual lifestyle and practice. Others, who including senior theologians, say that this is an inadequate and inappropriate reading of Christian scripture and tradition.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who himself is known to hold inclusive views, but who keeps these separate from his role as overseer of the Communion, has tried hard to get the warring parties to listen to each other more deeply and sympathetically.

However the latest action suggests that those who believe the matter must be dealt with administratively and legally appear to be winning out over those who wish to pursue theological disagreement within the bounds of mutual recognition. Some commentators say the latest action makes a split more inevitable, others that it may head it off for a little longer.

The Anglican Consultative Council is an important instrument of world Anglicanism, but the step of excluding ECUSA and the Canadian Church from it in order to give them time to ëreconsider their positioní is less drastic than some other measures that could have been taken ñ such as exclusion from the Lambeth Conference itself.

However it seems likely that conservative primates see the measure as a step towards that eventuality too, and Bishop Robinson is in any case being asked not to attend the global Anglican gathering to avoid a massive haemorrhage in the church.

The primates behind this move say that they wish the American and Canadian churches to assent fully to the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution condemning homosexuality. But supporters of the two churches point out that Lambeth resolutions have never before had regulative power within the life of the Communion.

They also say that anti-gay church leaders are themselves deliberately defying another resolution passed at the same conference requesting Anglicans to listen to the experiences of lesbian and gay Christians.


Find books now:

US and Canadians kicked off Anglican body in gay row

-25/02/05

The Anglican primates meeting in Newry, near Belfast, has taken the unprecedented step of excluding the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) from the Anglican Consultative Council, a key worldwide liaison body, in the run-up to the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops.

The primates, who are leaders of the 78 million strong Anglican Communion, have taken the decision to try to head off a looming split between those who oppose the inclusion of lesbian and gay people within the church and its recognised ministries, and those who oppose it.

The issues of contention are the election of the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, a gay man in a permanent relationship, to be Bishop of New Hampshire in the USA, and the action of some sections of the Anglican Church in Canada in blessing same-sex unions.

Conservative church leaders in England and across the world believe that the US and Canadian churches should be removed from the communion unless they ërepentí of their actions. They argue that the Bible unequivocally condemns homosexual lifestyle and practice. Others, who including senior theologians, say that this is an inadequate and inappropriate reading of Christian scripture and tradition.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who himself is known to hold inclusive views, but who keeps these separate from his role as overseer of the Communion, has tried hard to get the warring parties to listen to each other more deeply and sympathetically.

However the latest action suggests that those who believe the matter must be dealt with administratively and legally appear to be winning out over those who wish to pursue theological disagreement within the bounds of mutual recognition. Some commentators say the latest action makes a split more inevitable, others that it may head it off for a little longer.

The Anglican Consultative Council is an important instrument of world Anglicanism, but the step of excluding ECUSA and the Canadian Church from it in order to give them time to ëreconsider their positioní is less drastic than some other measures that could have been taken ñ such as exclusion from the Lambeth Conference itself.

However it seems likely that conservative primates see the measure as a step towards that eventuality too, and Bishop Robinson is in any case being asked not to attend the global Anglican gathering to avoid a massive haemorrhage in the church.

The primates behind this move say that they wish the American and Canadian churches to assent fully to the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution condemning homosexuality. But supporters of the two churches point out that Lambeth resolutions have never before had regulative power within the life of the Communion.

They also say that anti-gay church leaders are themselves deliberately defying another resolution passed at the same conference requesting Anglicans to listen to the experiences of lesbian and gay Christians.