Statement Released by the Anglican Communion Institute:
Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20031207120041/http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.org:80/statement.htm
Over the past months the Anglican Communion Institute has been working closely with the Primates of the Global South, producing the booklet Claiming Our Anglican Identityfor Archbishops Venables, Akinola and Gomez. This booklet was distributed to all the Primates for the emergency meeting at Lambeth, just completed. Representatives of theACI were also on hand in London to work on final proposals for discipline earlier this week.
We commend the Statement of the Primates of the Anglican Communion, issued 16 October 2004.
First, the declaration that the official teaching of the Anglican Communion is to be found in Lambeth 1.10 firmly rules out the innovations voted on by the 74th General Convention (C-015 and the consent to the consecration of V Gene Robinson). We now call on those Bishops who voted against Lambeth 1.10 to repudiate their votes.
Second, in the firm language of the Primates' Statement, we submit that the consecration of Gene Robinson would place the Communion in jeopardy and therefore call on him to stand down. Bishops who choose to participate in a consecration, should such take place, will be recognized as in formal breach of Lambeth 1.10, and in suspended Communion status.
Third, we call on the Provinces of the Communion to assert their full Communion status with those who did not vote for consent to Gene Robinson nor C-015, and to declare those who pursued these innovation as in a state of Communion observers, and without license to function sacramentally in their regions. We call on the Primates of these regions to participate in Communion meetings only with members of the Communion who are prepared to uphold the teaching of Lambeth 1.10 as reaffirmed in the Statement.
We strongly urge the Bishops of the Episcopal Church (USA) to examine the documents produced by the Institute and prepared for the Primates in Claiming Our Anglican Identity. We call on these Bishops to bring their thinking and their conduct into line with the larger Communion's identity and purpose and to resist innovations contrary to the mind of Communion and without consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates.
The Rev. Dr. Christopher Seitz, President
The Very Rev. Dr. Philip Turner, Vice President
The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, Senior Fellow
The Rev. Donald Armstrong. Executive Director
