Pastoral Letter after the 2005 Primates Meeting

Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 6, 2005

Dear Friends in Christ,

The top leadership of the 38 Provinces of the Anglican Communion, known as Primates, gathered last month in Dromantine, Northern Ireland. The primary focus of their meeting was a consideration of the Windsor Report, which they commissioned in 2003 in response to the crisis the Episcopal Church triggered by its actions at General Convention that summer. The Windsor Report was published last October; but it wasn’t until last month that the Primates had the opportunity to study and respond to the Report. They released their long‑awaited response ten days ago.

The purpose of this letter is to point out some of the highlights of their statement, help explain what it means, and consider its likely impact on the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church (ECUSA), and Church of the Apostles.

Their statement is encouraging for the theologically orthodox! They reach and commend the following conclusions for dealing with the profound differences of belief and practice which the Episcopal and Canadian Churches in particular have opened up within the 70‑million member Anglican Communion.

1. All provinces are asked to consider their willingness to commit to what it means to be part of a worldwide Communion;
2. Every province is urged no longer to act unilaterally in the appointment and approval of bishops, but to open the process to the wider Church;
3. As long as there remains a question as to whether ECUSA and the Anglican Church in Canada “are willing to accept the same teaching on matters of sexual morality as is generally accepted elsewhere in the Communion, the underlying reality of our communion in God the Holy Trinity is obscured, and the effectiveness of our common mission severely hindered”;
4. ECUSA and the Canadian Anglican Church have been asked voluntarily to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) until the next Lambeth Conference, in 2008. Between now and 2008, they must offer a defense of their actions that have torn the fabric of the entire Church;
5. They recommend that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams establish a panel of reference to supervise the provision of bishops acceptable to parishes who are in serious conflict with their own diocesan bishop;
6. They agree to use their influence “to persuade [our] brothers and sisters to exercise a moratorium on public Rites of Blessing for Same‑sex unions and on the consecration of any bishop living in a sexual relationship outside Christian marriage.”

This statement is serving notice that ECUSA’s ability to remain part of the Communion is in grave jeopardy. Suspension from the ACC is not only a huge rebuke: it is an indication that further exclusions might follow. The ACC is one of the four “instruments of unity” in the Communion. To quote Bishop John Howe, it is “a very key player in the affairs of the Communion. For example: it normally sets the agenda for the Primates’ meetings.”

The Rev. Canon Martyn Minns, Rector of Truro Church, describes the Primates’ statement as “a miracle and a major turning point in the history of the church.” This action by the primates essentially turns the tables on ECUSA and Canada, as compared to churches like ours. Before, we were branded as “dissidents,” feeling marginalized and seriously pondering the need to withdraw from ECUSA. Now, it is ECUSA that has been officially branded as a “dissident” by the highest leadership within Anglican Communion. Should ECUSA eventually withdraw from the Anglican Communion, as seems the likely direction at the moment, churches like ours, who have banded together to form the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) in the US. will become the official province of the Anglican Communion in the U.S.—not ECUSA!

Martyn suggests that the meeting marks a power shift. The primates from the global south—a majority amongst the 38—have found their voice and their political influence. They are unabashedly willing to wield it for the sake of the Gospel.

Archbishop Rowan Williams, who has been hesitant to come down strongly against ECUSA, has now clearly identified himself with the global south. The emerging realignment of the Communion now has the support of its top leader.

The primates’ meeting doesn’t change much in the short‑term; there are processes and steps which must be followed. These will be evaluated in 2008, and decisive actions will follow if ECUSA remains defiant. Yet the primates could hardly be clearer in how they envisage and are defining the future—both ECUSA’s, but also churches like ours within the ACN. Revisionist faith and independent unilateralism have been outlawed; they will be allowed no room in the Anglican Communion.

In the meantime, I am keeping in close touch with other like‑minded rectors, and with the vestry leadership of this congregation. We will work collaboratively with our sister churches, developing strategies and plans in consultation with our friends, and always under the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I will be elaborating more on these matters in my address at the Parish Meeting on March 13. If you have any comments and questions, that will be a good time to raise them.

May the Lord in his mercy keep us fervent in prayer, united in heart and mind, and unswerving in hope.

In the love of Christ Jesus,

David Harper
Rector