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I have been invited to talk about something called "conciliarism" and its relevance for our life as Anglican Christians. There is an obvious reason for exposing this topic in a public forum within our church. And this is because, in the current struggle within Anglicanism, we have, both by default and by design, ended up acting out a debate over whether our Christian lives as churches together are to be governed by "common consent" within a council, or by some other, more local, individual, or informal means. And more generally, although conciliarism is not exactly a hot topic within the...
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As many predicted, some hopefully and some fearfully, the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) have given a positive assessment of the response of the The Episcopal Church's (TEC) House of Bishops to the Primates' Questions from Dar Es Salaam. In particular, in relation to the two key requests concerning TEC's response to The Windsor Report (TWR), JSC conclude By their answers to these two questions, we believe that the Episcopal Church has clarified all outstanding questions relating to their response to the questions directed explicitly to them in the Windsor Report, and on which clarifications...
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Many Anglicans were convinced that September 30th, 2007, would bring clarity to the ongoing struggle within the Anglican Communion over the church's coherent witness. By this day, it was hoped, there would be a clear decision as to the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops commitment to abide by the common teaching and discipline of the Communion; by this date "realignment" according to the definitions of this teaching and discipline would proceed with general and orderly consent. Obviously, this has not happened. But a new push to re-order the lines of jurisdiction within American Anglicanism...
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© 2007 The Rev. Canon Benjamin Twinamaani Now that the much anticipated 'final' meeting of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops in New Orleans has come and passed, and that the final resolutions from that meeting have been received with disappointment by many in the Anglican Communion, it is time to say this piece. "Your Grace, this is not the best of situations for a church family to be in, but since our American brothers and sisters love freedom so much, as it is part of their heritage that both defines them and by which they define themselves, they will always do exactly what they want to...
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While a number of aspects of my recent mapping of the Anglican Communion have been criticised (see my broader response here), probably the most controversial and contested aspect was the suggestion that we need to move from a simple pro-I.10 and anti-I.10 stance in relation to sexual ethics and distinguish four positions on the spectrum. I wrote As I've outlined previously in a recent Anvil editorial, I'm not sure how helpful it is to identify simply two camps on homosexuality. While any compartmentalisation is clearly open to challenge given that there is a wide spectrum of views, I think a...
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December 17, 2007 Four years ago ACI traveled to Orlando to help constitute what became known as the "Network". Martyn Minns, David Anderson, other conservative leaders and clergy, Bp. Robert Duncan and a cadre of bishops from conservative dioceses were there. Tensions became apparent after 24 hours and the bishops withdrew. The meeting was brought to a close with only a part of the agenda fulfilled. It was apparent that some were not happy with the direction of those who wished to form, as it would transpire, a 'new ecclesiastical jurisdiction.' That tension never went away. It appears that...
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Prepared by members of the Anglican Communion Institute The Archbishop of Canterbury's long-awaited Advent Letter is, in many ways, a sequel to his reflection of June 2006 - 'The Challenge and Hope of Being An Anglican Today'. It is, in fact, a longer document (at over 4,300 words compared to the earlier reflection's 3,350 words) and one which repays careful and repeated study rather than instant reactions. The present comments are not meant to pre-empt this need for patient reflection, through a simple summary; rather, we hope to contribute to it through attentive and extended reading of its...
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The long awaited Advent Letter promised by the Archbishop of Canterbury is now in the public arena. It is a remarkable piece of work-one that deserves careful reading and reflection on the part of all. Its rich theological content and wise procedural protocols will place it, along with the Windsor Report and the Communiqué from Dar es Salaam, in the center of all future discussions of the nature and calling of the Anglican Communion. It should be remembered that statements of this nature are not trial balloons or proxies for our voting, up or down, but rather have the character of Anglican...
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Rev. Dr. Sumner is the principal of Wycliffe College, Toronto This being Christmas Eve Eve, my question for you is this: back in your childhood, when Christmas had a numinous glow, what was the most memorable present you ever received? Several come to mind for me. There was a doll of my hero, Popeye, which I received on my 5th Christmas and dragged happily around the house all morning, only to discover to my horror later in the afternoon that my sister had performed surgery on him (we were surgeon's kids) and the surgery had gone very very wrong...not sure I have forgiven her yet. A couple of...
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Joint Annual Event of Wycliffe Collegeand Trinity College (University of Toronto, Canada) 28 November 2007 The Rev Canon Dr R. Mwita Akiri is the General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Tanzania & Visiting Scholar, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, Canada As some of you may know, Africa is a large continent. It has over 50 nation states and covers 30 million square kilometers, with a population of over three quarters of a billion. There are 12 Anglican Provinces in Africa (or national churches, each with a Primate) and the Diocese of Egypt. These form what is known as the Council of...
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