More than 900 bishops from all around the world will be invited to a major Anglican conference in 2020 in what will be the biggest test of Justin Welby's tenure as archbishop of Canterbury.
The Lambeth Conference, a 10-yearly event that gathers together the leaders of the 80 million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion, will be held in Canterbury under the theme of 'God's Church for God's World: walking, listening and witnessing together'.
Welby said the conference will be a 'time of addressing hurts and concerns' as divisions over sexuality are expected to dominate the agenda as well as shared concerns over the persecution of Christians, conflict, and climate change.
'This is a significant event in the history of our extraordinary global family as we seek God's direction for an Anglican Communion equipped for the 21st century,' he said. 'I am looking forward immensely to welcoming bishops and their spouses from around the world.
'It will be a time of addressing hurts and concerns; of deepening existing relationships and building new ones; of grappling with issues that face the Church and the world. We will listen to each other; we will seek God's wisdom to find ways to walk together; we will build each other up as leaders.
'It's my prayer that, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Lambeth Conference will reinvigorate the Communion with the vision and resources to bring the transforming love of Jesus Christ to every level of society across the world.'
The conference will mark the greatest challenge to Welby's leadership as he attempts to avoid the boycotts by African and other global south bishops in 2008 who objected to the US Episcopal Church's decision to consecrate Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, as a bishop.
That conference was tainted after a number of leading conservative clergy announced a separate event in Jerusalem, the Global Anglican Futures Conference, which led to the formation of the GAFCON movement.
Originally scheduled for this summer, the conference was postponed by two years amid reports that Welby would not call the meeting until he was confident most if not all the key figures would consent to come.
A new website went live on Thursday confirming the meeting would take place from July 24 to August 3, 2020, and bishops' spouses would also be invited.
The archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, will design the conference's programme alongside others including the Lambeth Conference CEO, Phil George, who was appointed last September.
'I am excited at the way the conference is coming together,' said George. 'The creation of this webpage is a step forward – but it is only the beginning. The new site we are putting together will have a wealth of extra information on it and will be updated regularly with news, videos and other information.'
