Is the Anglican Communion Dying?
Bullied by Akinola and his allies, under fire in the Church of England, and his credibility waning in America, Rowan Williams seems incapable of preventing the final disintegration of the Anglican Communion.
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The Soul of Anglicanism
By Bishop Assistant Sergio Carranza, Diocese of Los Angeles
In the battle to capture the soul of Anglicanism, the great loser -after the Anglican Communion itself--would seem to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in a desperate attempt to preserve the unity of the Communion has submitted to the machinations of an anachronistic evangelicalism which pretends to "complete" the English Reformation by imposing a monolithic uniformity on the manner in which we interpret Scripture and carry on the contextual ministry that our culture requires.
When he was appointed by the Crown to the See of Canterbury, the gentle Rowan Williams tried to ingratiate himself with the radical evangelicals in the Church of England, who did not find him congenial to their subversive plans to take over the soul of the Communion.
The Archbishop was acting in good faith and desirous to extend the hand of friendship to all factions, since he did not have to please anybody, much less those who had nothing to do with his appointment.
Once enthroned, Rowan Williams found himself caught in the web of a plot of international dimensions in which radical British evangelicals, ultraconservative American schismatics and an ambitious African Primate, with his band of assenting minions, had joined forces to capture the soul of Anglicanism, at the same time that they advanced their own particular agendas. Up until the last meeting of the Primates in Dar es Salaam, the Archbishop of Canterbury tried to woo the leaders of the conspiracy by yielding to the majority of their wishes.
As was to be expected, the ringleaders took Rowan Williams' acquiescence for weakness, and redoubled their efforts to make him sanction an American schism.
Although he has not fully submitted to their demands, I do not understand why is it that he does not put a stop to Peter Akinola's grandiloquent harangues, or to his incessant interventions in the Episcopal Church, or respond accordingly to his bullying threats, such as "We will definitely not attend any Lambeth Conference to which the violators of the Lambeth Resolution are also invited as participants or observers." (2006 report of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa).
Neither do I understand Rowan's reluctance to meet with the House of Bishops. If the Archbishop of Canterbury allows the conspirators to have their way, they will not only validate an American schism, but alienate the other 21st century Anglican Provinces, and, in effect, render asunder the Anglican Communion by erecting their own ecclesial body where his primacy and moral authority will become superfluous.
Let us pray for Rowan Williams as he faces the greatest challenge of his life.
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Communion No More
from Britain's Daily Telegraph The The Archbishop of Canterbury's plan to save the Anglican Communion lies in near ruins.
The American bishops have rejected Dr Rowan Williams' scheme - endorsed by Anglican primates in Tanzania last month - to create a traditionalist enclave for conservatives opposed to liberal bishops.
They are also unlikely to promise not to enthrone any more homosexual bishops or bless same-sex unions. And they have set out their opinions in stinging language: not only is the Archbishop accused of promoting a "spiritually unsound" project, but it is also implied that he is behaving like a British colonialist.
The text of the American bishops' statement is damaging. This is a national Church speaking with an (almost) united voice.
The casus belli has shifted from the ordination of Gene Robinson, a bishop who is in a relationship with another man, to allegations of bullying by a group of primates led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dr Williams now finds himself out of favour with liberals and moderate conservatives in his own Communion. And, harsh though it may sound, he has only himself to blame.
In the past couple of years, he has allowed conservative Anglicanism to be hijacked by extremists. Archbishop Peter Akinola, Anglican Primate of Nigeria, is the leader of the Global South provinces opposed to the ordination of actively homosexual clergy. That is fair enough, but he has also defended new Nigerian legislation that makes "cancerous" (his word) same-sex activity punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.
The deeply divisive figure of Archbishop Akinola was central to Dr Williams's Tanzanian compromise; is it any wonder that it has been rejected?
The Archbishop's attempts to hold together the Communion have led him to a theological position so convoluted that he now has few natural supporters. He will find himself exposed at next year's Lambeth Conference - if, that is, it can take place at all without the support of the American Church.
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Canadian Primate Says the Archbishop of Canterbury is Indecisive (April 10, 2007)
The London Daily Telegraph
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
An Anglican primate has launched a stinging attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury's "indecisive" leadership amid growing fears that the worldwide Church will split within months.
The head of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, said yesterday that Dr Rowan Williams's handling of the crisis over homosexuality had been "disappointing and lacking" at critical points.
Archbishop Hutchison, a liberal ally of the American Episcopal Church, urged Dr Williams to meet the American bishops in an effort to avert a schism that could result in the Canadian Church splitting away as well. He also said that he had advised Dr Williams to cancel next year's Lambeth Conference, the 10-yearly gathering of bishops in Canterbury, to help defuse the crisis.
The archbishop's remarks a re particularly telling as they come a week before Dr Williams makes his first visit to Canada to lead a spiritual retreat for the Canadian bishops in Niagara, Ontario. They also follow last month's unexpectedly abrupt decision by the American bishops to reject demands for a parallel Church to accommodate conservatives in America who cannot accept the leadership of their Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori.
The demands were part of the final communique issued by the Anglican primates at their summit in Tanzania in February, in which they gave the Americans until the end of September to reverse their pro-gay agenda or face expulsion.
The American bishops also called for a meeting with Dr Williams before the September 30 deadline, complaining that he did not understand their situation. But they were angered to learn that Dr Williams was taking a two-month sabbatical in June and July, followed by his annual holiday in August.
Dr Williams has described the American bishops' initial response to the communique as "discouraging" and Lambeth Palace said no decision had been taken over such a meeting.
But Archbishop Hutchison, who has headed the Canadian Church since 2004, said: "If there is to be hope for the future, he must meet the US bishops face to face. I see it as of the utmost importance."
He said that it had been a "great disappointment" that Dr Williams had not met them as a group during his time as Archbishop of Canterbury, saying that it had sent out a very unfortunate signal.
He argued that the Archbishop's reluctance to be decisive and take a lead on a number of occasions had deepened tensions. He said: "I think that has been unfortunate, but like me the Archbishop is a liberal and the tendency of liberals is to think that if you put people in a room together they will eventually agree. We know that is not true but that is what we believe."
Archbishop Hutchison said that if current trends continued "we are looking at a parting of the ways".
Although Dr Williams's three-day trip to Canada is not officially connected to the crisis over gays, there will be several occasions for private discussions with the bishops, most of whom are supportive of the liberal stance taken by their American counterparts.
In fact, the Canadian Church may signal its own departure from the worldwide Church before the Americans.
At its General Synod in Winnipeg in June, it is highly likely to vote to give the green light for dioceses to go ahead with same-sex blessings.
Meanwhile, speculation is growing that Dr Williams may call another meeting of all the primates at the end of the year if, as expected, the American Episcopal Church still refuses to toe the conservative line by the end of September.
But a leading conservative delivered a veiled appeal to Dr Williams last night to end further prevarication.
The Primate of the Southern Cone in South America, Archbishop Gregory Venables, said: "With such clear and strongly held convictions on both sides, it is unnecessary and irresponsible to let things drag on any longer. To resolve this would not be a mercy killing but rather a new birth."
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