Anglican Mainstream

‘The theme of your Conference, ‘Equipping Bishops for God’s Mission’, is a matter that goes to the heart of the well-being of the Anglican Communion. The ecclesiological questions  which form the framework of your deliberations are a reminder that ministry conferred by ordination is bound by the apostolic faith handed down from the beginning and by the ‘regula fidei’ faithfully transmitted, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through the ages. Our different understanding of the divine plan for this ministry in the Church is one of the issues which the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has been addressing for the past forty years. New issues that have arisen in our relationship pose a further and grave challenge to the hope for full and visible unity that has been the long-standing goal of our joint ecumenical endeavour. Thus in our recent Common Declaration (23 November 2006) we committed ourselves ‘in our continuing dialogue to address the important issues involved in the emerging ecclesiological and ethical factors making [our] journey more difficult and arduous.’

From Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

‘We are aware that, during your forthcoming meeting, you will be devoting special consideration to the vocation and ministry of the bishop. For St Ignatius of Antioch, writing a few years before Hermas, the bishop - as presiding celebrant at the Eucharist in the local Church - is essentially the symbol and instrument of unity. Living as we do in an age of anxiety, at a time of rapid change and sharp controversy, it is often difficult for us as bishops to exercise our diakonia in an unifying way. With all our heart we as Orthodox pray that the present Lambeth Conference will prove to be a council of reconciliation and unity, an occasion for speaking the truth in sincerity and without compromise, yet an occasion for speaking the truth in love.’

From Patriach Alexy of Moscow and All Russia. (I am reproducing these from letters in the order they were printed in. Patriarch Alexy, along with the Archbishop of Cyprus, sent their letters written in the elegant, difficult scripts of their own tongues.)

‘The topic of Christian morality, linked with that of gender, is high on the agenda of the present Lambeth Conference. There is intense debate about these issues among Anglican bishops, clergy and laity. It seems to me that members of the conference have a very serious task: they have to choose between the traditional, biblical norms of morality and tendencies which consider sin and general permissiveness as manifestations of love and tolerance. That is why there is laid on members of the conference such a great, historic responsibility.

‘The decisions you will take today are of immense importance for the whole Christian world, for on them, in many ways, depends the future of the relations of many Christian churches and communities within the Anglican Communion. The outcome of the Lambeth Conference will have particular importance for the Russian Orthodox Church, for the history of our contacts with Anglicans goes back to the sixteenth century. As a rule it hass been marked by warmth and mutual understanding. I sincerely hope it will be possible to maintain such relations.’

I have to say I particularly loved the historicity of the letter from the Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus, which is represented here by Most Rev Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kition:

‘Unfortunately, after the Third Lambeth Conference, which was held in the year 1888, when a particular effort was made for the promotion of the relations between the Orthodox and the Anglican Church, no substantial progress has been made in this area though a most fervent desire for their union exists in both our Churches. The Orthodox Church of Cyprus, encouraged by the progress made at the time went ahead, as is known, in the year 1923 [and] recognised the validity of Anglican ordainments in the hope that this would be followed by more moves towards unity between our Churches.’

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens wrote that the conference ‘will have much to contribute on questions such as Episcope, episcopos and primacy; the Church and the Triune God: perspectives on heresy, schism and reception in Communion…..

‘In addition to these important topics on the agenda, may I suggest that the Conference not lose sight of the fact that the current year is the year of St Paul. This provides the Conference with a stimulus and an opportunity to reflect upon the message and the theology of the apostle to the Nations, and to examine to what degree the Church has remained faithful or has deviated from the Pauline teaching and principles, given that most of Europe was originally evangelised by the apostle St Paul and has immediate need of re-evangelisation.’

And then there is this enigmatic note from His Holiness Aram I of Cilicia:

‘We are living in a fast-changing world. The implications of unprecedented developments, in many areas of human life, to the church’s ecclesiological, moral and missiological self-understanding are significant, indeed.’

There are more. I expect you get the message. Will the Anglica bishops?

Just as an aside, security is intense here and Kent police dealt with two ‘incidents’ at the conference. One English woman was gently ‘removed’ from the campus after attempting repeatedly to talk to the bishops about the Bible. A group of Germans also attempted a sit-in, and they too left after asked by police.

And a bit more on that retreat. Readers here will know that one characteristic of retreats is that they are generally silent. Well, thankfully for me at any rate, you can never silence an Anglican bishop. I am reliably informed that the gathered episcope listened quietly to the Archbishop’s five lectures on Jesus and loving each other. This was a theme mirrored in his ecumenical homily where his voice was showing the strain with a slight hoarseness from all the talking he’s been doing.

But as soon as the Archbishop stopped talking, the 650 bishops started. And they wouldn’t stop. Apparently the nave became unbearably noisy with gossip. St Paul would have had a field day!

In the end, stewards had to separate the talkers from the silent. The naughty bishops were left in the nave, while the good bishops went in the ‘quiet corner’ behind the screen to meditate silently on Dr Williams’ words of wisdom.