Alternate Primates’ Meeting Agenda Proposed

(The Rev.) George Conger
02/13/2007

The dismissal of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Archbishop of York John Sentamu will be among the first items under discussion in an alternate agenda proposed by the Global South coalition for the primates’ meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Following two days of meetings at a hotel near the Tanzanian capital, Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria wrote to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Feb. 12 setting forth the Global South’s concerns over the agenda and structure of the Feb. 14-19 meeting of the leaders of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion.

While the text and form of the letter, which was received by Archbishop Williams shortly before he left London for Tanzania, has not been made public, its contents are understood to follow upon correspondence between the two church leaders focusing on The Episcopal Church, the primates’ meeting, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops in 2008, and the structures of the Communion.

Global South leaders have objected to Archbishop Williams’ invitation to the Archbishop of York on structural grounds. Adding a second representative from the Church of England to the primates’ roster fundamentally alters the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, changing his role of primus inter pares to that of an executive officer, they have argued.

The objections to Archbishop Sentamu come not to the person of the Ugandan-born archbishop, leaders of the coalition told a reporter, but to Archbishop Williams’ “fait accompli” of having altered the primates’ meeting membership without consulting its members.

Archbishop Williams’ position that he has no choice but to invite Bishop Jefferts Schori in deference to her office as Presiding Bishop has also received short shrift from the Global South primates, who have argued that it is improper to place protocol above truth. The objections laid against Bishop Jefferts Schori’s presence at the meeting in the Kigali Communiqué and the “Road to Lambeth” paper should be heard and not prejudged, they argued, according to sources familiar with the exchanges.

The Global South leaders will ask Archbishop Williams to adjust the agenda so as to allow an early airing of their concerns. However, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, cautioned against speculation on the outcome of the meeting, noting that the primates were not ideologically driven, but were seeking to be faithful to God’s will for the church.

He also objected to characterizations of the Global South meeting as a rival camp to the primates’ meeting, noting the Global South had accommodations where they could meet for fellowship, prayer and conversation.

Upon his arrival in Tanzania on Feb. 13, Archbishop Williams acknowledged the “many challenges and decisions ahead of us” at an airport press conference, but added that he was confident that “God’s will [shall] be done and his purposes will be set forward in the days that lie ahead of us.”

This article comes from The Living Church Foundation
http://www.livingchurch.org/

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