Archbishop of Canterbury Visits President of Tanzania Amid Anglican Summit

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has made a courtesy visit to President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania on 16th February, and paid tribute to the progress the country has made in recent years.

|PIC1|Rev Jonathan Jennings, Dr Williams' press officer, quoted him as saying that "Tanzania has been a symbol of hope and stands for what can be achieved through democratic development."

Archbishop Williams was joined for the presidential meeting by Archbishop Donald Mtetemela of Tanzania, Bishop Alexander John Malik of Lahore, and Bishop Valentino Mokiwa of Dar es Salaam.

The visit has come as the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion has been taking part in a crunch summit in Tanzania with world Anglican Church leaders.

The summit thus far has not been without its drama, as a small group of Anglican leaders boycotted a Eucharist with other primates in the opening days.

The boycotting primates posted a statement on the Church of Nigeria website declaring: "We each take the celebration of the Holy Eucharist very seriously. This deliberate action is a poignant reminder of the brokenness of the Anglican Communion. It makes clear that the torn fabric of the church has been torn further. It is a consequence of the decision taken by our provinces to declare that our relationship with the Episcopal Church is either broken or severely impaired."

The statement was signed by Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, Archbishop John Chew of Singapore, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya, Archbishop Justice Akrofi of West Africa, Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda, Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone of the Americas, and Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda.

Explaining their boycott of the eucharist, the primates said, "Scripture teaches that before coming to sit with one another at the Table we must be reconciled ...We have made repeated calls for repentance by The Episcopal Church leadership with no success. We continue to pray for a change of heart. We are unable to come to the Holy Table with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church because to do so would be a violation of Scriptural teaching and the traditional Anglican understanding."

Earlier, a sub-group, whose members included Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, released a report stating that the Episcopal Church's response to the Windsor Report's call for a moratorium on the consecration of gay bishops has been "adequate", much to the dismay of the more conservative members of the Church.

The sub-group reportedly reached consensus that although it did not adopt the 2004 report's language calling for a "moratorium" on the election of gay bishops, "it probably did the most that could have been done, and the response to that request has been adequate," said Australia's Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, at the end of the primates' first day of meetings on 15th February.

The six-day Anglican summit commenced on the 14th February in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and will conclude on the 19th February.