Primates Boycott Eucharist at Anglican Tanzania Summit

A small group of Anglican leaders has boycotted a Eucharist with other primates as the Anglican Communion reaches a vital period during its crunch meeting in Tanzania.

|PIC1|All together seven primates called their actions a "deliberate action" to show the "brokenness" of the Anglican Communion and their provinces' "broken or severely impaired" relationship with the US Episcopal Church.

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.

This is the second time that the primates, who have kept faith in the traditional Church belief that homosexuality is contrary to Scripture, have snubbed a eucharist during a primates' meeting. The first being a meeting held in 2005 in Dromantine, Northern Ireland.

The large majority of worldwide Anglicans are greatly opposed to the shifts that have been seen in the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA) which have backed and even accepted openly gay clergy members.

The highly charged debate has been becoming increasingly fierce over the past two years, to the extent where it now threatens to bring about a schism amongst the 38 national worldwide Anglican churches which make up the Anglican Communion.

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."

The opening of the Anglican summit in Tanzania has been filled with controversy. 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.