Anglican Bishops back Williams for Windsor Report Implementation

The House of Bishops has given the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev Rowan Williams its full backing in ensuring that the Windsor Report is properly implemented and installed.

In February a General Synod will be held and bishops have shown their unity to endorse the workings and findings of the Lambeth Commission. They have shown their desire for the process of making the report come forward to the Anglican Communion to commence as soon as possible.

Divisions within the Anglican Communion have now run deep, and the House of Bishops has not been exempt from this impeding schism. The chaos caused by the Jeffrey John topic has split the House up very much, but a great strength has been shown by the bishops who have rallied bravely together to offer their consent to Williams in the run up to the meeting of the Primates which also takes place in February.

One of the representative bishops said, "We wanted Rowan to go knowing we endorse the position taken by the report. We want to be genuinely backing him."

Another bishop came forward also and reported, "It is critical the Archbishop goes to the Primates meeting with the support of his own house. If he’d gone with criticism and a lack of support, it would undermine his ability to do anything. The Windsor Report could be terrific if it’s given teeth."

Since the Windsor Report was released last October, bishops have grown increasingly impatient waiting for action to be taken on the points raised by the report.

The bishop also asked the American Church to express regret and to respect fully and comply with the moratoriums on the promotion of gays and bishops, and same-sex blessings.

The Chair of the House’s Theological Group, Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, and Rev John Hind, who is the Chair of the Faith and Order Group, have produced a briefing paper, which has been distributed to bishops.

The Bishops treated the matter as urgent, and it was placed high in the priority for issues to discuss, with other topics including Bishop Nazir-Ali’s report on the episcopate and professor McLean’s report on clergy employment.

The bishops also discussed the expressed their sadness at the tsunami devastation in Asia and Africa, but articulated how this terrible situation could be used to produce a glimmer of hope in the lives of people.

The House was encouraged by the massive response by governments and the public in supporting the aid work in south east Asia. It was hoped by the bishops that Christian churches and other faith groups could be strengthened by the global feeling of solidarity between people.