Two issues threatened that conference. First, it was the first conference to be attended by women, not just as spouses, but a number of them as Bishops in their own right. Many had predicted that the presence of Bishops of the fair sex would be resisted; that it might lead to a walk-out. But no such thing happened. The second was the issue of human sexuality; which is euphemism for the debate over whether homosexuality was a sin to be condemned or an orientation to which human rights apply. Again, there were those who expected the worst. But at the end Resolution 1:10, to which I shall return presently, came to the rescue. Although many there were who were displeased by the outcome, the Anglican Communion left the University of Kent venue of the conclave in one piece.
George Carey, the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and predecessor of Dr Rowan Williams must be thanking his stars that he left the worldwide Anglican Communion intact on his retirement in 2003. He spent about twelve years in office. Five years earlier he had led a largely restive communion through possibly one of the most difficult Lambeth Conferences ever. Two issues threatened that conference. First, it was the first conference to be attended by women, not just as spouses, but a number of them as Bishops in their own right. Many had predicted that the presence of Bishops of the fair sex would be resisted; that it might lead to a walk-out. But no such thing happened. The second was the issue of human sexuality; which is euphemism for the debate over whether homosexuality was a sin to be condemned or an orientation to which human rights apply. Again, there were those who expected the worst. But at the end Resolution 1:10, to which I shall return presently, came to the rescue. Although many there were who were displeased by the outcome, the Anglican Communion left the University of Kent venue of the conclave in one piece. So satisfied with the outcome of Lambeth 1998 was Archbishop Carey that he described the Communion as “significantly stronger” than it was before the conference. That is why many people must be wondering why things seemed to have unraveled so rapidly between then and now. A bit of retrospection may help here. Rowan Williams, a professor of theology who had been consecrated as Bishop of Monmouth in 1991 and Archbishop of Wales in1999, was announced as Archbishop of Canterbury in July 2002. He took office in December of that year, at age 52, becoming 104th head of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion worldwide. When his appointment was announced on July 23, 2002, acknowledged that an “enormous trust” had been placed in his hands and promised to “approach it with a degree of awe as well as gratitude that I have been thought worthy of it.” He said of his predecessor: “Archbishop Carey has set a very high standard in his selfless work for unity and understanding within the Anglican Communion; I shall have a fine example to follow as I learn how to approach this task…” He then declared: "I hope with all my heart that I can serve to nurture confidence and conviction in our Church, and to help Christian faith to capture the imagination of our people and our culture…I have much to learn, and hope that I shall discover how God is leading the Anglican Church, and how I can best co-operate with that leading." To nurture confidence and conviction in the Church; to learn the much that he needs to, and discover and cooperate with the direction the Holy Spirit would have him lead the Anglican Church would probably have required a tranquil season. Dr Williams didn’t have much of that! A mere five months after he took office on December 2, 2002, he found himself smack in the eye of a storm. Canon Jeffrey John, a very vocal gay priest who had been in the forefront of the campaign to have the Church change its stance on homosexuality was nominated as Bishop of Reading, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Oxford. That was on May 20, 2003. To say that the appointment was controversial is to understate things. John’s appointment was condemned not only within the Church of England, but also in the wider Anglican Communion. John’s nomination was faulted on two grounds despite his claim to celibacy: his strong pro-gay stance and, his refusal to publicly repent his past sexual activities as evidence that he accepted that they were wrong. So vociferous was the opposition to John’s appointment that hints of secession from the Church were heard from some parts of the communion. To date, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s position on Canon John Jeffrey’s nomination remained fuzzy. At a point he was quoted as saying that he “neither sought to promote nor obstruct the appointment”. This led to calls by people, including the European Editor of KINGDOMPeople magazine at the time, to ask him to “please clarify your position.” Such calls were however overtaken by events as Dr Jeffrey John eventually declined the appointment on July 6, of the same year, supposedly on the advice of the archbishop. Within a year, however Jeffrey John was appointed as Dean of St Albans and inducted. He was inducted on 2 July 2004. Those who know saw this appointment as a masterstroke, as his new office was said to be of “equal or even greater prominence and prestige, but without the hierarchical authority over others which gave conservatives within the Diocese of Oxford grounds for complaint.” It is to be noted that the celebrated homosexual celibate, Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans went on to enter into a civil partnership with his long-term partner, the Revd Grant Holmes in August 2006. Well, as Dr Williams was battling with the fire next door, a hurricane was developing from abroad. Three weeks before Jeffrey John publicly declined his appointment as Bishop of Reading, Rev Gene Robinson was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire on June 7, 2003. He was otherwise eminently qualified for the position, having served as an assistant to the bishop (Canon to the Ordinary) for nearly 18 years. In spite of protests from the so-called conservative wing of the church, he was consecrated a Bishop on All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2003, and was invested as the Ninth Bishop of New Hampshire on March 7, 2004. Now both developments must be examined against the background of Resolution1: 10 passed by a very wide margin by the Bishops at Lambeth 1998. Titled Human Sexuality, the resolution was the result of great compromise between the conservative arm of the church, now being branded fundamentalists, in some circles and the liberal wing. It reads in part: “This Conference …commends to the Church the subsection report on human sexuality; in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage” Resolution 1:10 also says that the conference: “recognises that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Many of these are members of the Church and are seeking the pastoral care, moral direction of the Church, and God's transforming power for the living of their lives and the ordering of relationships. We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ.” It rejected “homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture”, but “calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex” It also declared that the conference “cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions.” Now, the question is this: did the ordination of Gene Robinson and the general position of the Episcopal Church of the United States, and the Canadian church, among others run counter to Resolution 1:10? The Bishops of Global South and their supporters elsewhere who came together to found the Global Anglican Future Conference think so. What do you think? (Continues Next Week).
Pix: Dr George Carey, Immediate Past Archbishop of Canterbury
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