Anglican Communion Institute (ACI)

The new Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and a group of like minded bishops have just released a proposal to address an appeal by a number of dioceses for Alternative Primatial Oversight/Relationship.

It must be pointed out that this appeal was originally to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and thereby to the Primates of the Communion, and not to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, she herself symbolizing the very problems necessitating such alternative arrangements.

Three documents produced at the recent meeting of the Inter-Anglican Doctrinal and Theological Commission (ACNS 4189, 15 September, 2006) have been commended by the Archbishop of Canterbury for study throughout the Anglican Communion.

For over three years now, most of the Communion’s attention has been focussed on the Episcopal Church of the USA due to its decisions at the 2003 General Convention. It is easily forgotten that the current crisis was really triggered a year earlier when, in June 2002, the Diocese of New Westminster decided to authorise same-sex blessings through a synodical vote (the third, following similar votes in 1998 and 2001) and the consent of its bishop, Michael Ingham.

We appreciate the Presiding Bishop's reference to papers published on our web-site in his most recent letter to his own House of Bishops.

As he comes to the end of his tenure, we only regret that he has not chosen to engage the Anglican Communion Institute until this point and now only in this manner. In this case, we fear he may not have read very thoroughly or accurately.