Speaking without a script, Archbishop Williams described the city’s history in the life of the church, and touched upon some of the theological controversies of the past, alluding to the relevance of the Arian controversy in the present day. Christians should pursue stillness, quietness and diversity, he said, and not be quick to condemn those who hold opposing theological views. He urged the primates, and the congregation, to extend Christian charity to those with whom they disagree.
A question that has yet to be answered to the satisfaction of all the primates is what they hope to achieve in Alexandria. The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, general secretary of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), said the primates have come at the invitation of Archbishop Williams to “review the work of the Lambeth Conference”¦explore issues of common interest, [and] prepare for the gathering of the ACC” in Jamaica in May.
The contrast in visions between an activist primates’ meeting as envisioned by the 1988 and 1998 Lambeth Conferences and supported by a majority of primates, and an indaba-oriented meeting of discussion, where all points of view hold equal weight and no decisions are taken, may make Alexandria the last united primates’ meeting. None of the primates have threatened to boycott future gatherings, but archbishops on both theological sides share similar frustration with the current environment because “no one is listening anymore,” one primate said.
Think back to how Dar es Salaam was a missed opportunity to resolve the conflicts in the Anglican Communion. Although all the Primates agreed at that meeting, inculding KJS to a solution. TEC was not about to deliver on its promises yet again. Perhaps this will allow some more Primates to see that a new Provence for N America is at lease part of the solution.
http://www.pwcweb.com/ecw
All opinoins hold equal weight. Great. 1. I want to kill you. 2. I don’t want you to kill me. So what is the middle ground? I am going to kill you, but I will allow you a rebuttle afterwards?
LOL!!! They won’t look back, they have their heads in the sand!!! TEC is a rotted corpse, and the majority of the bureaucrats with the ABC will keep it propped up to keep their salaries and bennies flowing!!! That’s all that will happen at this meeting, and at the next, and the next, and the next. Fools!!!
I fold. Nice playin’ with you folks here but I’ve got to move on.
Doobesoobedoo indabada doobedoobedoo indabadaba, zzzzz.
The current ABC would still be dialoguing with the Arians, no doubt. Might even be in a covenant with them, so long as it resembles his desired covenant with heretics and faith-deniers of NA, United. Still, he could run better interference for the latter if he just recommended prayer in churches instead of any sort of -ugh!- action. Oh, wait…..
Reading this it is hard to believe the primates have been watching what has been going on for the last five years. Can anyone, anywhere really believe a “Covenant” without sanctions will ever be observed by the TEC? Simply astonishing. How can the Communion possibly hold together with this little regard for unity in doctrine?
This is so depressing. I can’t believe the solidarity shown by the primates at former meetings has dwindled to the point where they will let the ABC and the TEC hirelings on the staffs of the other instruments of communion get by with such a sham. What a waste of an opportunity to force action. Not, mind you, that I’d expect the ABC or other instruments to follow through with any DES-type agreements, or demands, but surely, something more than this worthless blather could have been hoped for. Well, I guess there are still a few days left in which something worthwhile might be accomplished, but it certainly doeesn’t look good.
The Episcopal Church has absolutely no intention of ever abiding by any covenant which denies them an advantage. A covenant without sanctions is nothing more than a worthles piece of paper!
Does the name “Chamberlain” ring a bell? How about that worthless piece of paper that he waved in his hand to a crowd of hopeful people at the airport when he arrived back from Berlin?
It appears to me, if this article is true and if Ab Aspinall’s statements in other threads above are true, the reasserting Primates seem to be simply listening (or not) and waiting for the meeting to be over, as if they already know what they are going to do, and this meeting is just one last attendance they have to make, because the AbofC asked them to attend. We may hear from GAFCON shortly of the recognition of ACNA and this may be the last meeting of all or most of Primates in AC. I say that because if the GAFCON Primates recognize ACNA, then it would seem logical that they will not attend anymore meetings of AAC, Primate, or Lambeth unless the “Primate” of ACNA is also invited, similar to their refusal to attend Lambeth because all of their bishops (like their bishops in the US) were not invited. If I’m correct about this, I truly am not sure that AbofC, York, Aspinall, or any of the revisionists really understand the consequences they are setting up by failing to give the Covenant, GAFCON and the Jerusalem Statement their due at this meeting in Alexandria. I can see PB Schori returning home like Chamberlain, proclaiming that she has won the battle of Alexandria, only to realize within a few months that she has lost the war.
#12, “… this has not been determined to be the official view of the Anglican Communion.” I certainly agree with you on that; in fact, probably everyone on this blog would agree with that. What we all wonder is why it hasn’t. And since it hasn’t, GAFCON, the Jerusalem Statement, and ACNA have come into being. But still, the revisionists in the AC continue to ignore and obfuscate. As I said in # 10, TEC, ACofC, and other revisionist provinces may win all the battles, but they will ultimately lose the war by ignoring what is going on, because while they deny koinonia to the reasserting part of the AC, that part is the only part that is growing and will continue to grow without the reappraisers, until the reappraisers no longer exist. There may be no official split or schism, but there will ultimately be recognition of ACNA and it will ultimately outgrow TEC and ACofC, until it will be the face of AC in NA, regardless of recognition by the AbofC (though he will ultimately be forced to recognize it, also).