Anglican Rift Over Homosexuality Remains Despite Calls for Calm in Egypt

Leaders of the Anglican Communion gathered at the Global South Meeting in Egypt have issued a powerful condemnation of their more liberal counterparts as the rift between in the Church widened even further over the issues of homosexuality this week.

|PIC1|The Church leaders, representing approximately two-thirds of the worldwide Church, revealed their unity in their determination to force the expulsion of the USA and Canada branches of the Church if they continued to refuse to reverse their liberal policies on homosexuality.

The latest twist in the Communion’s dilemma came after a five-day meeting in Egypt, where leaders made clear that they were commencing the formation of alternative structured in case a partial of full schism takes place.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, spiritual leader to the worldwide Communion, who has also been highly criticised over the past year for his lenient stance on the matter, had flown to the gathering at the end of last week seeking calm.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has told Anglican Church leaders from the Global South that the only ground for unity in the Church “'is to be found in Christ”.

Dr Williams said as he addressed the gathering: “The Church is one because Jesus Christ is one; the church is holy because Jesus Christ is holy; the church is catholic because Jesus Christ is the saviour of all; the Church is apostolic because as the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends us. In other words, if we are to understand the nature of the church at all, we are to understand who Jesus Christ is and what he does.

|QUOTE|“Someone said recently that the path to heaven doesn't lie necessarily through Lambeth. I agree. The path to heaven lies solely through Jesus Christ our Saviour and the unity he gives and the only use and integrity of our instruments of unity comes when they serve that.”

Following the lecture, Dr Williams answered questions from the conference, and on sexuality, he affirmed that the Church had not been persuaded of the acceptability of same sex unions.

He said, “Theologians will go on discussing this and it will not be possible to stop them. For nearly a century, in the 4th century in this country of Egypt, the conflict over the Trinity raged between theologians and bishops and was not resolved overnight. I distinguish as clearly as I can a question a theologian may ask and an action or determination a church may take or a bishop may take. I think this is a necessary distinction for the life and health of the Church. It would be a tragedy if the church sought to suppress questions; it is equally a tragedy when the church seeks to create facts on the ground that fore-close discussion and reflection on such questions.”

On the Windsor Report, he said that it was too early to come to a judgement as to whether or not the reactions of the ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada satisfied the terms of the report.

|TOP|Dr Williams reported, “I don't think we could say that they have satisfied in a simple and direct way what Windsor asked because that process is still continuing and will continue. Archbishop Eames gave an optimistic reading of this; I'm waiting to see.”

The Church of England head said that he was happy to recognise them as part of the Anglican Communion, “There is no doubt in my mind that these networks are full members of the Anglican Communion; that is to say that their bishops, their clergy and their people are involved with the Communion which I share with them, which we all share with them. Now formal ecclesial recognition of a network, as if it were a province, is not so simply in my hands or the hands of any individual. But I do want to say quite simply yes of course; these are part of our Anglican fellowship and I welcome that.”

However, Dr Williams’ comments seem to have done little to have calmed the tensions that have become so apparent and public in the Communion. Leaders are still demanding that the ECUSA reverse their decision to consecrate Gene Robinson and the first Anglican gay bishop at the General Convention which will take place in 2006.

In addition, the leaders have been unshaking in their demands the Canada Church immediately drop its endorsement of same-sex blessings at the equivalent General Synod the following year.