More Anglicans Reject Global Meeting with 'Unrepentant' Bishops
Anglican leaders around the world have less than a month to reply to a personal invitation by the worldwide denomination's spiritual leader to attend a decennial meeting. Many, however, have already indicated their intention to decline the invite given the participation of American bishops who have been "unrepentant" of their controversial actions.
The Diocese of Sydney's Standing Committee - the council of advice for diocesan bishops - urged their archbishop on Monday not to accept the invitation to Lambeth 2008 in objection to "the continued participation of those whose actions have expressed a departure from the clear teaching of Scripture."
The Episcopal Church – the U.S. branch of Anglicanism – had widened rifts in the Anglican Communion in 2003 when it consecrated openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson and has since expressed no desire to go "backward" on their decision.
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If Archbishop Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney, does decide to accept the invitation to Lambeth, he was urged to protest the meeting's guest list, which includes U.S. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and other Episcopal bishops who supported the 2003 consecration. The Standing Committee specifically asked their archbishop to communicate to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams "our dissatisfaction at the attempt to maintain union with the unrepentant while continuing to refuse fellowship to faithful and orthodox Anglicans such as the Church of England in South Africa."
Invitations were withheld from Robinson as well as several bishops from conservative Anglican groups in the United States that were established in recent years by Anglican leaders from Africa who wanted to provide a spiritual home for those discontent in The Episcopal Church. The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns - who now oversees some 40 conservative congregations that split with The Episcopal Church and joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a mission initiative of the Church of Nigeria - and bishops from the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), a mission initiative of the Churches of Rwanda and Southeast Asia, were also not on the invitation list.
Discussion of the international Lambeth meeting dominated Monday night's Standing Committee meeting as members acknowledged the weight of the decision in communicating Sydney's position within the already strained Anglican Communion, according to the diocese.
Already, Church of Nigeria Archbishop Peter J. Akinola threatened to boycott Lambeth. And the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Henry Orombi, announced that he will not attend the Lambeth Conference, citing that the "violators" of the Lambeth Resolution were invited. Lambeth Resolution 1.10, which was reaffirmed in February, states that the Anglican Communion rejects "homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture" and "cannot advise the legitimizing or blessing of same-sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same-gender unions."
Additionally, bishops from the Anglican Church of Rwanda resolved last week not to attend the Lambeth meeting. The House of Bishops cited the non-invitation of its bishops in America who are providing oversight to about 120 congregations in AMiA and The Episcopal Church's continued unrepentance as reasons for their decision.
Anglican head Williams has requested a reply to the Lambeth invitations by July 23.
The archbishop has expressed that he is not "absolutely confident" that the Anglican Communion can get it together after the Lambeth Conference in an earlier interview with Time magazine. When asked if he was optimistic, Williams said he was hopeful, which he indicated was a "safer" word.
Lambeth Conference 2008 is scheduled for July 16 to Aug. 4 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England.
